NBCUniversal is reshaping its media strategy around a broader portfolio that combines broadcast television, streaming and digital distribution. At the center of that approach is Peacock, which became profitable this year but remains far smaller than Netflix.
Speaking on Decoder, NBCUniversal Media Group chairman Matt Strauss said the company is focused on maximizing reach and engagement rather than treating broadcast and streaming as separate businesses. The strategy brings programming, marketing, product and technology, research, and advertising teams together across NBC, Bravo, Peacock, NBC Sports, NBC News and Telemundo.
Strauss said NBC’s broadcast network has helped Peacock attract and move audiences across the company’s services. Peacock, in turn, has reached viewers who may not have grown up watching NBC or its cable networks. He described this movement between platforms as a “flywheel” supporting the wider business.
The company is also placing a major emphasis on YouTube as part of that distribution strategy. The available discussion presents YouTube as an important avenue for reaching audiences beyond traditional television and paid streaming, fitting NBCUniversal’s broader aim of meeting viewers across the platforms they already use.
Live sports remain the central advantage NBCUniversal believes it can bring to streaming. Its portfolio includes the NFL, NBA, MLB, Big Ten sports, the Premier League and the Olympics. Rather than putting all of that content exclusively behind Peacock, NBCUniversal combines broadcast coverage with streaming and other digital services to expand its total audience.
Strauss said NBCUniversal now evaluates reach across linear television, streaming, DVR and TV Everywhere instead of relying on a single distribution channel. By that measure, he said, the company has reached some of its largest sports audiences in decades. The Super Bowl broadcast on NBC reached about 137 million viewers at its peak across the company’s platforms, according to Strauss.
The same approach was applied to the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. Peacock carried the full range of live events, while NBC provided a more curated primetime presentation focused on storytelling and athlete narratives. Strauss said the combined strategy helped the Olympics achieve a rating roughly 96 percent higher than the Beijing Games, attract about 25 million viewers, double digital viewing minutes compared with all other Winter Olympics combined, and double advertising revenue.
NBCUniversal has also reorganized following Comcast’s decision to separate several cable assets into Versant and begin spinning off NBCUniversal as a standalone company. Strauss said operating independently should give the business greater clarity over investment decisions and allow it to move faster.
For Peacock, the company’s broader plan is to use major live events, NBC’s reach and digital distribution to attract viewers, then guide them across the wider NBCUniversal portfolio. The emphasis is less on a single platform than on making content available wherever audiences are watching.
Sources: The Verge.