Some of Hulu’s most popular programs will now focus on Peacock. The contract between the parent companies of the streaming services Disney and Comcast for streaming NBCUniversal broadcasts to Hulu has been terminated.
“The agreement with Hulu has been terminated,” NBCUniversal spokeswoman Lisa Scalzo told The Verge.
The partnership will see episodes of NBCUniversal-owned shows, such as Saturday Night Live and The Voice, debut on Peacock, not Hulu, after a pay-TV broadcast. Since Hulu will no longer pay for some of NBC’s biggest titles, the deal could give Hulu the financial freedom to look for more originals.
The change is likely to take effect next broadcast season, probably around September and October. The termination will not delete all of Nulu’s NBCUniversal programs, as the companies have deals that will hold back programs such as Hulu’s Law & Order SVU and This Is Us for several more years, Variety reported.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported that a shift in programming from Hulu to Peacock is inevitable.
The deal is a huge win for NBCUniversal’s young Peacock, who relies heavily on rights to major sporting events such as the Olympics and the LVI Super Bowl to recruit. But Peacock is struggling to make as much noise with its original programming (except, perhaps, Yellowstone).
In a highly competitive streaming space, adding hugely popular shows to Peacock’s program list can help it retain and even attract subscribers who might otherwise take their wallets elsewhere.