Warner Bros Paramount deal approved, pressure mounts on Netflix

Peacock is losing subscribers at a rate no other major streaming service can match 9% every month so far this year, according to data from measurement firm Antenna. After six years on the market and more than $11 billion in cumulative losses, Comcast's streaming platform is still the odd one out in a field that is rapidly consolidating around it.

Peacock has been good at drawing people in. The Super Bowl, Winter Olympics and NBA All-Star Weekend pushed its share of US TV viewing to 3% in February, a new high, and the service now counts 46 million subscribers.

The problem is keeping them. Its monthly cancellation rate is the worst among major streaming services, according to Antenna, and Comcast's own decision to sell Peacock through third-party platforms like Amazon has made that worse, not better.

High churn is expensive. It forces Comcast to spend marketing money to win back the same customers it already had, on top of an already-growing programming budget. The company insists its actual churn is closer to the industry average, but those figures haven't been made public.

Comcast Chairman Brian Roberts has watched two potential dance partners, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount+, combine without him. He previously explored buying Electronic Arts and Warner Bros. Discovery but walked away from both rather than cede control of his media business. His stock is down more than 40% over five years, which limits his leverage in any deal talks.

However, Roberts does have his strengths. The company's theme parks are doing well; the studio portfolio is looking good; and the firm's internet business has had an excellent quarter.

Additionally, Roberts has recently offloaded most of his cable networks. What remains unclear, however, is whether patience will do any good at all in the case of Peacock or whether the window for negotiating a streaming partnership is closing fast.

In addition, Comcast already divested itself of its interest in Hulu. Following the merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount, options for a streaming partner are now considerably reduced.

The creator of the popular series Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan, is slated to bring some of his content to Peacock in the next two years. However, recent hire Jez Butterworth can help tide the streaming service over for now.