As the year's first quarter ends, it is an opportune time to look at the state of the streaming wars. We're stepping into a fresh chapter of the saga, where virtually every contender has armed their business model with an ad-tier offering, marking a shift in the streaming landscape.
The first streaming era kicked off around 2013 with prestige programming like Netflix's House of Cards, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, and Amazon Prime Video's Transparent. Then, around 2017, the content shifted to focus on high-fantasy and science fiction programming like Netflix's Stranger Things, Apple TV+'s For All Mankind, and Disney+'s Wanda Vision.
However, now that over half of all American households don't have a cable or satellite plan, streaming TV is essentially becoming what we used to call TV. This seachange means we're entering a new era where streamers are no longer green-lighting programming that interests a niche audience but ones that appeal to the masses.
Nobody is doing that in 2024 better than Peacock. Peacock launched in 2020. The pandemic thwarted their grand plan to leverage the Summer Olympics as a multi-million dollar catapult into the streaming universe, leading to a launch that was more whimper than bang.
However, in the first three months of 2024, two massive hits put them on the map. The first is Ted, a prequel to the 2012 movie about a foul-mouthed talking teddy bear. In the opening episode, the teddy bear's parents enroll him in high school after coming home to find that he had used the recoil of the family's rifle to propel himself down a slip n' slide. It's true stoner comedy.
The other Peacock hit came from an adaption of a British reality TV show called The Traitors. Contestants from other reality TV shows are sequestered in a Scottish castle where they get drunk, compete in missions, and accuse one another of being the titular traitor; typical reality show fare.
I highlight these two programs because they reached the top of the streaming charts after premiering earlier this year and are perfect examples of our new background TV era. Shows that demand little from their viewers, allowing the audience to multitask, completing chores or scrolling on their phone.
The spectacle of a fire-breathing dragon or a cyborg dueling its doppelgänger might rally the fanatics, but when it comes to reaching the masses, there's no beating a show that demands a fraction of your focus and still allows you to participate in the watercooler conversation come morning.
Peacock seemed to understand this from the beginning about their viewing audience. People who supplemented their cable package with a streaming service or two wanted movie-quality programming showcased in an ad-free environment. Once streaming became their primary entertainment channel, they just wanted something to entertain them without having to keep track of dozens of characters or plotlines.
Peacock might still be the underdog of the streaming realm, barely visible in the rearview mirror of Netflix's staggering 260 million global subscribers. Yet, in 2024, this Peacock is strutting its stuff, throwing punches far outside its weight class. It's leading the charge into a new era of streaming TV, which, in an ironic twist, seems suspiciously like a nostalgic nod to the pre-streaming era before Netflix launched the first salvo and declared war on traditional TV. Who knew innovation could look so much like a rerun?