Peacock Launching Ads at Start to Allow for More Streaming Ad Opportunities

Peacock is shaking things up by showing ads as soon as you open the app or website, starting next year. This move is aimed at attracting more advertisers to the platform, but it also has the potential to annoy viewers.

According to Variety, when you open Peacock next year, you’ll see ads on the profile selection page. Instead of just showing your different profiles, the page will feature a big ad image, with the user profiles pushed to the left side of the screen. To avoid these “Arrival Ads,” you can opt for Peacock’s priciest ad-free plan, starting at $17 per month (cheaper ad-based plans start at $8/month).

Peacock is making this change in an effort to boost revenue. The streaming service, which currently has 41 million subscribers, is still not profitable. In its recent earnings report, parent company Comcast revealed that Peacock lost $217 million in the last quarter. Despite its subscriber base, Peacock has struggled to grow viewership and has had the same number of subscribers since early 2025.

To attract more subscribers and ad dollars, Peacock is exploring new ad formats, including showing ads on its mobile app’s video feeds. The service is also dabbling in live events, although these can be costly. Ad revenue has been a bright spot for Peacock, helping NBCUniversal’s ad growth by 2.6 percent.

The new launch ads on Peacock might be a turn-off for some viewers, as they introduce a new layer of advertising before you even access the content. This move could set a precedent for other streaming services to adopt more disruptive ad formats.

It will be interesting to see how viewers respond to these changes and whether other streaming platforms follow suit. As more people turn to ad-supported streaming services, the line between content and advertising may blur further.