Matt Strauss on Building Peacock Differently—and What Comes Next for Streaming

Matt Strauss, Chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group, shares his thoughts on Peacock’s record-breaking performance and continued growth.

August 11, 2026

It’s been a summer of huge momentum for NBCUniversal. Love Island USA season 8 ranked as the #1 streaming title in the U.S. this summer and Peacock’s most-watched original season ever. The Five-Star Weekend launched as Peacock’s #1 scripted series ever in overall reach. Love Island USA and America’s Got Talent were the top two most-watched summer reality series across all of TV. Add in the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Spanish, Major League Baseball (MLB), WNBA and the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks special – it all points to the same thing: incredible growth and momentum for Peacock.

I sat down with Variety's Cynthia Littleton to talk about where we see the next evolution of Peacock and streaming white space. A few takeaways from our conversation:

Content first, platform second. This has been our strategy from day one: great content should reach people wherever they watch. We manage linear and streaming as one portfolio and build partnerships that extend our content’s reach.
Engagement over subscribers. The next phase of streaming is about frequency and retention, not just sign-ups. That’s how we’ve built Peacock, using the breadth of NBCUniversal’s portfolio to introduce audiences to more of what they love. This summer, 40% of Love Island USA viewers also watched World Cup coverage on Peacock, and NBA viewers spent 86% of their hours with non-sports content, proof that breadth drives engagement.
“The Great Rebundling” is here. Viewers want simplicity and value. Our new expansive YouTube partnership, which includes a bundle of Peacock Premium and YouTube Premium starting in early 2027, extending our reach to millions of customers, is the latest step in our intentional distribution strategy. We spent Peacock’s first several years focused on building a strong standalone DTC business and direct relationship with consumers, with the expectation that the market would eventually move toward more aggregation. That next phase is now underway, and it doesn’t come at the expense of our own platform. We’re continuing to invest in Peacock directly, building the features and experiences that super-serve our most engaged fans.
From subscribers to members. We’re piloting what membership could mean for Peacock, evolving the relationship beyond a monthly transaction into something that reflects the full value NBCUniversal offers. It's a bigger ambition than subscription alone, and a natural next step as streaming matures.
Daily habit matters. Live sports and events bring audiences through the door; entertainment, news and deep content libraries give them reasons to stay. There is something live on Peacock every day, creating urgency and giving audiences a reason to come back.
From streaming service to entertainment platform. The experience itself is evolving beyond video. We're investing in vertical video, AI-powered personalization, interactive gameplay like Law & Order: Clue Hunter and Jeopardy! TODAY, microdramas and live formats like Multiview and Courtside Live, giving fans more ways to go deeper. It's an early look at where we see this going.