New streaming service Peacock is launching on July 15. In addition to the deep catalog of NBC series available on the platform and recently licensed ViacomCBS content, the platform is launching with a number of Peacock Original series. Here we provide a check-in on the pre-release performance of the new platform’s original series.
It is perhaps surprising that to date the most in demand of these series is the children’s program Curious George. In the week leading to July 10 it was on average 9.5 times more in demand than the average show in the US. Where’s Waldo?, another children’s series, looks to be a success on the new streamer’s launch day slate as well.
The Capture and Intelligence are actually international series which have already been released in their home markets. Peacock snagged distribution rights to these and is branding them as Peacock originals in the US. Of these, The Capture was the most in-demand in the week prior to July 10.
It may be a slightly disappointing result so far that Brave New World, Peacock’s hyped original series based on the famous novel, has registered such low levels of demand going into the platform launch. However, there is still time for this show to build momentum and make a splash on launch day, July 15.
As a point of comparison, below is the pre-launch data for HBO Max, the most recent comparable streaming service to launch. The greyed out area represents pre-launch dates for which Peacock does not yet have data.
Demand for Peacock’s top original series, Curious George, is still outpacing where HBO Max’s original series were at this point. However, around one week before HBO Max launched on May 27, its original series Love Life and The Not Too Late Show with Elmo saw notable spikes in demand. For Peacock’s original series other than Curious George this jump in demand has not yet materialized. This could be due to a number of factors. Peacock had a soft launch to Xfinity customers on April 15 which may have spread out excitement for the launch that would otherwise have been concentrated around a single launch date. Additionally, licensing international series which have already been released abroad and rebranding them as Peacock Originals may not generate the same enthusiasm for a show as a genuine never-before seen original release.
