YouTube Premium Is Getting Peacock, But Shows And Movies Will Come With Ads

YouTube and NBCUniversal have announced a new multi-year partnership that will bring Peacock into YouTube's Premium subscription, with eligible subscribers in the U.S. gaining access to Peacock Premium at no extra cost early next year. NBCUniversal is calling it Peacock's biggest wholesale distribution deal to date, and it's easy to see why the company is excited, since it hands Peacock instant access to more than 325 million subscribers who are already paying for YouTube Premium. Considering Peacock is only sporting around 46 million subscribers as of recent data, that's a huge jump in the amount of people that might view the company's content.

And while the news might be intriguing to those who have been eyeing Peacock, there are a few important details you'll want to be aware of. For starters, the version of Peacock arriving on YouTube Premium is the company's ad-supported tier, which means shows and movies from Peacock will still come with commercial breaks. YouTube content will remain ad-free, but depending on how YouTube bundles everything together in the app and on the webpage, it might be difficult to tell what's what. We'll know more about that once YouTube official reveals more details.

The price of YouTube Premium already increased in 2026, but YouTube hasn't mentioned if any additional price hikes with the introduction of Peacock Premium as part of the plan. YouTube Premium's individual plan currently runs for $15.99 per month, while Peacock Premium costs another $10.99 per month on top of that. That means anyone paying for both of these streaming services today is spending close to $27 per month combined. Users can already access Peacock Premium Plus as part of the primetime channel add-ons that YouTube offers, so this deal might feel like an evolutionary step for some users who are already bundling Peacock into their YouTube account.

If you're currently paying for YouTube Premium and Peacock as two separate subscriptions, then this deal could save you some money once it arrives next year, but the overall savings — and whether this is a good deal for you — will ultimately be determined by which plan you have. Peacock offers three plans with Select costing $7.99 a month, Premium sitting at $10.99, and Premium Plus, the actual ad-free option, priced at $16.99. So, if you're currently paying for Peacock Premium Plus, this bundle won't fully replace what you have, and you'd still need to pay the difference to keep watching Peacock content without ads.

It's worth being a little skeptical here, since this isn't purely a gift dropped in the laps of YouTube Premium subscribers. Commenters on Reddit are already concerned about how this might lead to another price hike for the service, especially since it is being folded into the base Premium subscription plan and isn't appearing as an additional bundle you can sign up for.

YouTube has been adding more features to YouTube Premium, which might help alleviate some of the concerns around the overall price of the subscription. However, if the company continues to bundle these other subscriptions into the mix as a way to justify additional price increases, fans may eventually become fed up with the practice. Many already recommend ways to get rid of ads without paying for Premium, which has led YouTube on a massive crusade against ad blockers over the past few years.

Unfortunately, we'll need to wait to see if YouTube is indeed going to raise its prices again due to the change. Peacock is expected to arrive as part of your Premium subscription in early 2027, though no exact release date has been shared just yet.