Peacock adding live NBC local stations to premium plus plan

Peacock subscribers with the $10 Premium Plus plan will soon be able to watch their local NBC stations live, the streaming service said Tuesday. The new offering will be available 24/7 and is set to begin streaming on Nov. 30 in 210 NBC affiliate markets.

Viewers will have access to NBC’s local news, weather and sports, talk shows like Today, and a host of primetime series, like Chicago Med and The Voice. That means you’ll be able to watch these shows as they air in real time on NBC. Because these are live local stations, you should expect to see commercials.

Currently, you can stream live sports broadcasts for Premier League, WWE and Sunday Night Football on both of Peacock’s premium tiers. And both plans, the $5 Premium and $10 Premium Plus, offer next day streaming for new episodes of shows like Chicago Fire and Law & Order: SVU, with access to a selection of 50 live channels. But this latest move is a plus for cord-cutters who may miss watching live NBC programming on their local station.

Paramount Plus has offered streaming access to CBS local affiliates on its $10 Premium Plus plan since its launch in 2021. Subscribers can watch those stations live 24/7 as well as other CBS channels like CBS News Streaming Network and CBS Sports HQ. And in 2020, Hulu added a live ABC News channel for customers who have standalone basic subscriptions.

Peacock also offers a free tier that grants access to 10,000-plus hours of TV and sports programming, which is a portion of its library. To watch its full catalog of 80,000-plus hours of content, which includes complete seasons of shows, new movies and live sports events, you must upgrade to either Peacock Premium (with ads) or Peacock Premium Plus (ad-free). Check out our coverage of what’s offered in each Peacock plan and where to stream live news broadcasts for free. CNET