Following our article about the improvements to the Premier League viewing experience on Peacock, we took the opportunity to ask Peacock executives the questions that are important to you, the readers.

Finding the balance between USA Network and Peacock

Slowly, the number of Premier League games streaming via Peacock has increased over the seasons. When NBC Sports had a product called Premier League Pass, it was 140 games per year. More recently, it has been 175. Then, this season it’s 180 games. We asked how NBCUniversal finds the balance between showing games on linear television versus Peacock Premium, and whether that 180 number could increase more in the future.

“I don’t think we’re precious about exact 175 or 180,” said Peacock’s Chief Commercialization Officer Rick Cordella. “It depends how the schedule falls sometimes. Each and every year has been different. COVID and the Olympics last year changed things a little bit. This year with the World Cup in November will change things a little bit. It’s more a macro sort of environment. Not ‘how do we hit 180 or 175.’

“Each and every week working with the NBC Sports team, we make these tougher choices of where games go, whether it’s going to maximize the viewership or the economics for the company.”

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Peacock Premium’s customer satisfaction results

“When we first launched Premier League on Peacock, there was some pushback of having a SVOD (subscription video service) even back to the [NBC Sports] Gold days.

“We do consumer surveys, and the surveys of Premier League fans is the highest it’s ever been — even higher than the average customer on Peacock. We’re really happy with the feedback we’re getting.”

Peacock execs answer questions about PL TV Channel

One of the features of Peacock that’s a favorite among soccer fans is the Premier League TV Channel.

This season, so far, one of the points of contention has been the lack of availability of on-demand programming from it. We queried Peacock executives to find out what the situation is with it.

“It’s a little bit of a chicken and egg situation with those. It does take a little bit of resource to cut those up and put them in VOD (video on demand), so we try and take what the most popular shows are and put those in VOD. Other ones, we let them flow through as a linear channel.

“If the data suggests that people have an interest in this, we will certainly take a look at it.”

Available as a 24/7 channel streaming on Peacock, the Premier League TV Channel schedule features a range of shows direct from Premier League Productions in the UK. The show Generation xG has been a particular favorite among many soccer fans this season.

Peacock becoming a major player in sports

Asked whether the long term vision for Peacock may change in the future, sports are still a key part of the strategy.

“We use sports as a catalyst to get people into the ecosystem,” Cordella said. “Sports are fairly sticky content. Premier League has been an anchor to our service. All the way back to day one, we had Premier League matches on our launch day, so it’s been incredibly important to us.

“We [just] announced the Big 10 deal, so Big 10 football and basketball are coming on [to Peacock]. You mentioned WWE, but we [also] have a lot of golf. US Open, The Open Championship — exclusive hours from both of those big events. The French Open. Sunday Night Football, and the simulcast from NBC. We have an exclusive NFL game in 2023.

“So sports are a pretty big part of our content.”