Peacock quietly raised the price of every subscription tier it sells, and the increase is about to reach people who signed up months or years ago and have not touched their account since. Streaming has become one of the fixed monthly costs retirees track closely, and this round of hikes is large enough, and timed closely enough to a specific date, that it is worth a look before the next bill lands.
What Changed On August 18
Effective August 18, 2026, NBCUniversal’s Peacock service raised the price of all three of its plans. The ad-supported Select plan rose from $7.99 to $8.99 a month, Premium climbed from $10.99 to $12.99, and Premium Plus, the ad-free tier, went from $16.99 to $19.99, according to Peacock’s own pricing notice. Annual plans rose by similar amounts: Select annual moved from $79.99 to $89.99, Premium annual from $109.99 to $129.99, and Premium Plus annual from $169.99 to $199.99.
Every one of Peacock’s core plans went up, not just the premium tiers, which means there is no cheaper version of the service left at the old price for anyone signing up new. The gap between tiers widened as well: the difference between Select and Premium Plus grew from $9 a month to $11, so a household that upgraded years ago for the ad-free tier is now paying proportionally more than it was when it first chose that plan.
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When Existing Subscribers Actually Feel It
New and returning subscribers were charged the higher price starting August 18. Anyone who was already subscribed before that date keeps their old price a little longer: the new rate takes effect on the first billing date on or after September 17, 2026, roughly a month-long grace window built into Peacock’s billing system. A subscriber billed monthly on, say, the 5th of each month would still get one more cycle at the old price before the September 17 cutoff moved their next charge to the new rate.
Peacock’s notice specifies that current annual subscribers, and anyone on an active promotional offer taken before August 18, keep their existing price until that plan or promotional period runs out. The higher price only applies once that annual term or promo ends and the subscription renews.
The Apple TV Bundle Follows On September 1
The increase was not limited to Peacock’s standalone plans. The Apple TV and Peacock bundles also went up, effective September 1, 2026: the Apple TV and Peacock Premium bundle rose from $14.99 to $17.99 a month, and the Apple TV and Peacock Premium Plus bundle rose from $19.99 to $22.99. Existing bundle subscribers get their own grace period, with the new price taking effect on their first billing date on or after October 1, 2026. Together, the two rounds of increases mean there is no Peacock plan, standalone or bundled, that has not gone up this cycle.
How To Avoid Paying The New Rate
Peacock says it notifies existing users of the change by email, sent to whatever address is on file for the account, which means a stale or unmonitored inbox can leave a subscriber unaware until the higher charge shows up on a bank or credit card statement. Checking the Subscriptions tab in the Peacock account settings shows the plan type and the next billing date directly, without waiting on an email.
Subscribers who want to avoid the new rate on their current plan have two options before their billing date arrives: cancel the subscription outright through the Subscriptions tab, or switch to a lower tier, keeping in mind that changing plans can itself end an active promotional rate early. For a household weighing several streaming subscriptions against a fixed monthly budget, matching the billing date against the September 17 cutoff is the only way to know exactly which cycle the new price actually starts on.
One More Subscription In A Stack That Keeps Growing
A single monthly increase of one to three dollars on a streaming plan rarely changes a household budget on its own. The pattern is what adds up: a retiree who also pays for a second or third streaming service, plus a phone plan, internet, and a handful of smaller subscriptions, can see the combined bill creep upward several times a year without any single increase feeling large enough to notice or cancel over. Because Peacock ties the new price to the account’s own billing date rather than a single calendar cutoff for everyone, two neighbors with the same plan can end up paying the new rate weeks apart, which makes it easy to assume an increase has not reached an account yet when it actually has.
Reviewing a bank or credit card statement for the exact date a Peacock charge lands, and comparing that date against September 17, is a faster way to confirm the new price than waiting for a notification email that may never be opened.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
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David M. Keller is a finance writer based in Columbus, Ohio, covering personal finance and consumer-focused economic topics. He earned his degree in journalism from Ohio University and began his career reporting on local business and economic trends for a regional media outlet. Since then, he has contributed to a variety of online publications, focusing on clear, practical coverage of topics such as cost of living, debt, and everyday financial decision-making.
