Too Much TV: Your TV Talking Points For Monday, October 3rd 2022

If I ran Peacock.....

Here's everything you need to know about the world of television for Monday, October 3rd, 2022.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO TURN AROUND PEACOCK?
I have written a great deal in recent years about the idea of a streaming service's "perceived value." Simply put, perceived value is a customer's opinion of a product's value to him or her. It may have little or nothing to do with the product's market price, and depends on the product's ability to satisfy his or her needs or requirements. In other words, a streaming service is worth what most customers consider to be a fair price for what they're receiving when they subscribe.

No matter how you define perceived value, it seems clear that for a majority of people, Comcast's streaming service Peacock doesn't yet provide the entertainment value necessary in order for large numbers of people to subscribe. While the service has been reasonably successful with its free ad-supported programming tier, the paid subscriber version has struggled, and as of the most quarter ending June 30th, the company had 13 million paying subscribers. And even worse, the number of paying subscribers is stagnating.

As I've talked to people in recent weeks, there seems to be a fair amount of speculation about Peacock. Comcast executives seem reasonably committed to the service - aside from the occasional longing glance at Hulu. But at least from the outside, there doesn't appear to be a focused game plan for how to move Peacock from the also-ran category of major general interest streaming services.

As I mentioned in a newsletter last week, someone asked me what I would do if I was in charge of running Peacock. And I've given that a lot of thought in the days since, speaking with people both at Peacock and at rival streamers. I certainly don't know every internal roadblock at Peacock, but here are the five things I would push for if I ran Peacock.

1) Increase the content spend on non-sports related original programming. 
Honestly, this is a decision that is out of the hands of Peacock executives. The spending decisions come from Comcast and they have convinced themselves they can spend a bit over $3 billion on content in 2022 (increasing to maybe $5 billion in 2024) and somehow remain competitive with other streaming services. To put that $3 billion into context, Disney is spending more than ten times that amount this year. Yes, it's a bit of an apples and oranges comparison, given the wider global reach of Disney+ and the heavy sports. It's also worth noting that $3 billion is about twice what Peacock spent in its first year. I am aware that Comcast faces its own budgetary challenges, as it wrestles with the dangerous combination of a slowing ad market, collapsing linear TV subscriber numbers and a high debt load. But $3 billion a year isn't going to cut it. And to be blunt, Comcast executives would be better off publicly committing to a higher spend rate as part of a renewed commitment to Peacock. In an industry when perception is important, refusing to say "yes, Peacock will be here in five years" says a lot to the creative community and to potential subscribers.

2) Streamline the decision making and marketing efforts internally.
One of the consistent themes I heard from people working at Peacock is that the internal decision making process is needlessly complicated and the ultimate goals of various executives could be hard to discern. Peacock has begun a bit of a streamlining process, most recently with a restructuring of its communications operations into more definable efforts. Specifically, Peacock publicity is being rolled under its marketing division, reporting to Peacock’s CMO Shannon Willett. That is a typical arrangement in the industry, although the downside is that PR and marketing efforts can have varied and sometimes conflicting goals. So the trick is to take advantage of the increased speed while not simply having publicity seen as another marketing tool.

I expect to see more restructuring moving forward and if I ran Peacock, it's something I would push for. Without getting into personalities or dropping names, there are a couple of otherwise talented people that seem to just be in the wrong roles, if my interviews are to be believed.

3) When it comes to content, overserve the niches.
The biggest challenge for Peacock is that it doesn't feel like a service most people "have" to commit to with a paid subscription. Sports is fine and it is moving the needle a bit on the the subscription acquisition and churn fronts. But sports isn't just expensive. You're also paying for expensive content that you don't own. And because it's so expensive, a lot of the rights are scattered across multiple streaming services and networks. If a streaming service has to send out an email every week to remind subscribers which game they'll be able to watch, the impact of that game on subscriber growth is limited.

I think it's fair to say that very little of the original Peacock content so far has had a marked impact on subscriber growth or engagement. There have been a series of reboots/reimagining’s that haven't stuck and while it's great that Community fans will be getting a new movie on Peacock, that's just a one-off treat for fans of the show that even in its heyday was popular, but not POPULAR.

So it comes down to targeting niche audiences and overserving them new stuff. There isn't some magic content wand that Peacock can wave which will turn things around. overnight. Even one massive hit that dominates the pop culture zeitgeist won't be enough. It's not sexy, but the best medium-term solution is to pick groups of viewers who are engaged in their specific niche and create content engaging enough that they'll subscribe to the premium service just to see their favorite stuff.

* Horror: As I write this, the first choice on the Peacock home page rotating promo carousel is a collection entitled "Halloween Horror." There's a special "Halloween" tab in the left navigation bar. Horror fans are devoted and loyal. They'll pay for new stuff, and companies ranging from Blumhouse to the streaming service Shudder have figured out how to monetize that interest. So take a hunk of programming money - say $75 million to start - and hire some eager young horror directors to create their low-budget horror dream projects for Peacock. Universal is still working out how committed it is to its Universal Cinematic Universe built around classic Universal monsters. But give these directors the chance to do their take on a classic character or just something new and unexpected. This isn't an instant fix, but small budget films can probably be turned around in a 12-18 month timeframe. Create a permanent Peacock home for horror and populate it with acquisitions and catalog films until the new direct-to-Peacock movies begin to roll in.

* We love TV. NBC Universal has a long and rich history of creating great television. And maybe, some not so great. But lean into that history. Acquiring titles such as The King Of Queens certainly keeps some subscribers around and boosts engagement. But how many people are paying for a premium subscription because they can watch the series run of Murder, She Wrote or even Everybody Loves Raymond? And those titles are familiar enough that they aren't going to build the social media buzz that says "hey, I can't believe you don't have Peacock!" Spend the money to digitize and clear as many music rights as possible for classic TV shows that aren't streaming anywhere else. In the past couple of years, Crackle was able to acquire an astounding amount of television from Sony TV that hadn't been seen since they originally aired.

Universal already has licensing rights to many obscure and little seen classic TV shows and when it comes to deciding which ones to spend money on, Crackle's philosophy of focusing on goofball high-concept shows, short-lived series with actors who later became famous and unsuccessful spin-offs seems like a good place to start. I'd also argue that negotiating to nail down the streaming rights for a few of NBC Studios/Universal TV's higher-profile busted pilots would also be a solid idea. The argument against this idea is that these aren't shows that will draw huge audiences and that is certainly true. But what it will do is build buzz for Peacock as a brand. And generate the kind of positive earned press that Peacock desperately needs.

* True Crime TV. Yes, it's not sexy. And a surprising number of executives in the television industry see true crime television as one step above streaming random drunken farmers wrestling in some Kansas wheat field. But when I speak with streaming executives - from the smallest art film niche streamers to those at Netflix and Amazon - they all tout the high engagement of true crime fans. And as Netflix's recent Dahmer documentary illustrates, those true crime specials can often grab huge audiences. NBC has one of the true pioneers of true crime reporting in Dateline and its sister cable network Oxygen has leaned heavily into original true crime programming.

It wouldn't take much of a shift to create a true crime programming tab on Peacock and use that interest to build out the section. There is plenty of other true crime programming that can be licensed, especially if Peacock takes advantage of Comcast's overseas co-production with networks such as Sky. It would also be relatively easy to tap into the NBC News archives to slap together quick hot topic documentaries that focus on previously produced news coverage and a few new interviews. Certainly having a Peacock Presents: Dahmer - Then  & Now special would engage a lot of subscribers who have been hearing about the Netflix special.

4) Leverage the synergy between linear TV and Peacock. For all of the upsides of Peacock now having access to next-day airings of the NBCUniversal-owned linear channels original programming, the downside is that especially on the cable TV side, new scripted programming is becoming very scarce. So why not take advantage of that by offering up a weekly block of Peacock original programming, stripped out simultaneously across as many NBCU networks as possible. Maybe it's a new scripted series, maybe it's a true crime documentary. While it's true that none of these blocks are likely to nab huge numbers, it's effectively just another way to get new eyeballs to try Peacock. And run ads during the block offering a special annual rate for new and returning subscribers. Tie people into the service long-term, even if it's at a severely discounted rate.

5) Spend more resources on the boring stuff. Here's just one example. Do more A/B/ testing of program tiles. It seems pretty clear that Peacock just generates a bland tile for each program, with a static image and the show title. There is a reason why everyone from Netflix to Mr. Beast have dedicated teams devoted to just creating and testing program tiles. It sounds dumb, but the right tile, presented to right subscriber, can massively increase engagement and subscriber satisfaction. These things aren't sexy and they don't receive much attention from outside the industry. But the best UX, including optimized images and text, can move massive numbers your way.

Tomorrow, I'll have some thoughts from some of you, who sent me suggestions on changes they'd like to see at Peacock. And I'll be back to a more news-centric presentation.

WHAT'S NEW FOR MONDAY:

Here's a quick rundown of all the new stuff premiering today on TV and streaming:

Best In Dough Season One Finale (Hulu)
Chip & Potato Season Four Premiere (Netflix)
Meet Marry Murder (Lifetime)
Miss USA Live (FYI)
Mysteries Decoded Presents: Spirit Squad (The CW)
POV: The Last Out (PBS)
Rosie Rules Series Premiere (PBS Kids)
The Good Doctor Season Premiere (ABC)

Click Here to see the list of all of the upcoming premiere dates for the next few months.

SEE YOU TUESDAY!

If you have any feedback, send it along to Rick@AllYourScreens.com and follow me on Twitter @aysrick.