Image: Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Bravo
The reality genre has always been a competitive strength for Peacock. Fans of the genre are spoiled for choice on this platform with options ranging from competition reality series like “The Voice” from NBC to the slew of reality programming from Bravo.
While reality content on other platforms contributes a smaller share of revenue compared to the amount of catalog space it occupies, on Peacock this genre actually overperforms when it comes to the financial value it is delivering to the company. About 1 in 4 shows on Peacock are reality series but these accounted for over 30% of the subscriber revenue delivered to the platform by series in Q3 2024 according to Parrot Analytics' Content Valuation system.
Reality series are a key part of Peacock’s value proposition and overdeliver in terms of revenue for the platform, however, the relative importance of this genre has been trending down over the past few years as the platform has diversified its catalog. As of Q3 2024, reality content drove about 20% of Peacock’s overall subscriber revenue which is below the early days of the platform when nearly a quarter of subscriber revenue was coming from reality series. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because a falling share of revenue from reality content is a sign that the platform is diversifying its catalog while still remaining the go-to destination for reality fans to get their fix.
Looking at specific reality franchises, the massive value of “The Real Housewives” franchise to the platform becomes apparent. In Q3 2024, “The Real Housewives” franchise delivered $33M in subscriber revenue to Peacock. Parrot Analytics' Streaming Economics model calculates that in the four years since the platform launched, this franchise has cumulatively earned just shy of $300M in subscriber revenue. One factor in the franchise’s success is its sheer scale. With eleven series in the US and 21 international adaptations there is a deep library of content to keep fans engaged on the platform.
“Below Deck” has also been successful at extending its franchise and delivering more revenue for Peacock over the years. We’ve measured that the “Below Deck” franchise has contributed nearly $130M in subscriber revenue to the platform since Peacock launched. “The Traitors” clearly had its breakout moment during its second season at the start of last year. In that quarter it raked in nearly $15M for the platform and surpassed “Below Deck” in terms of subscriber revenue. The competition reality series is still in the middle of its third season but watch closely to see if it can build on last year’s momentum.
