NBCUniversal's hybrid SVOD/AVOD streaming platform — avails format, technical specifications, tier-specific rights, and the delivery workflow distributors need to get content live across Peacock Free, Premium, and Premium Plus.
Peacock is NBCUniversal's hybrid streaming platform, launched in July 2020 and now serving 30 million+ paid subscribers across a three-tier model — Peacock Free (ad-supported, limited catalog), Peacock Premium ($5.99/mo with ads), and Peacock Premium Plus ($11.99/mo ad-free). Delivering content to Peacock requires navigating tier-specific licensing, SCTE-35 ad marker density rules for the AVOD tiers, and NBCUniversal's proprietary Content Pipeline delivery portal. Molten Cloud, the rights management and royalties platform for film and television, automates Peacock avails generation with tier-aware rights handling, validates delivery specs against NBCU's technical requirements, and ensures every title submitted is backed by verified rights data — so distributors deliver only what they have licensed, at the correct tier, with the right ad-supported and ad-free permissions.
Unlike a pure SVOD platform, Peacock's tiered model means a single title can have different rights positions at different tiers. Distributors must be able to articulate — and enforce — exactly which tiers each title is licensed for.
| Tier | Price | Monetization | Rights Package |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peacock Free | $0/mo | Ad-supported (AVOD) | Limited catalog, ad-supported only — SCTE-35 required |
| Peacock Premium | $5.99/mo | Subscription + ads (hybrid SVOD/AVOD) | Full catalog, ad-supported rights required — SCTE-35 required |
| Peacock Premium Plus | $11.99/mo | Subscription, ad-free (SVOD) | Full catalog, ad-free rights required — no SCTE-35 needed |
Because Premium is a hybrid tier (paid subscription with ads), it requires both subscription rights and ad-supported rights in the underlying license. Many distributors miss this: a standard SVOD clearance is not sufficient for Premium without the AVOD rights attached. Molten Cloud tracks tier-specific rights separately so Peacock avails only expose titles cleared for each specific tier.
Peacock avails follow NBCUniversal's proprietary metadata schema, built around EIDR identifiers with NBCU-specific extensions. Each avails row defines a title-territory-window-tier combination — meaning a single title licensed for all three tiers in the US across a 24-month window produces three avails rows.
| Field | Description | Common Errors |
|---|---|---|
| EIDR ID | Entertainment Identifier Registry ID for the title/edit | Missing EIDR or using wrong version (title vs. edit level) |
| Territory | US primary; Sky/NOW territories where licensed | Submitting Sky/NOW territories without confirmed rights |
| Tier | Free, Premium, Premium Plus | Missing ad-supported rights for Free/Premium; wrong tier |
| Ad-Supported Rights | Boolean — is the title cleared for ad insertion? | Defaulting to true when contract is ad-free only |
| Window Start / End | ISO 8601 window open and close per tier | Premium Plus window extending beyond Premium window |
| Content Rating | MPAA (film) or TV Parental Guidelines (series) | Missing descriptor flags (V, L, S, D) |
| NBCU Proprietary Fields | Peacock genre codes, franchise tags, sports flags | Using generic genres instead of NBCU taxonomy |
| Localization | Audio/subtitle tracks per territory | Missing Spanish SAP for US Hispanic audience |
A 40-title catalog licensed for all three Peacock tiers in the US generates 120+ avails rows, each requiring tier-specific ad-supported flags, window dates, and rating data. Manually assembling this — especially when different titles have different tier clearances — is where most rights errors originate. Molten Cloud derives tier-specific avails directly from the underlying deal structure.
Peacock splits delivery into two pathways: IMF packages for premium originals and top-tier licensed content, and ProRes 422 HQ masters for standard licensed catalog. H.264/H.265 is used for downstream streaming encoding, not for distributor delivery.
| Specification | Premium Originals | Licensed Catalog | Downstream Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Master Format | IMF (Interoperable Master Format) | ProRes 422 HQ | H.264 / H.265 |
| Resolution | Up to 3840 × 2160 (4K UHD) | 1920 × 1080 (HD) / 3840 × 2160 (4K) | Adaptive (up to 4K) |
| HDR | Dolby Vision + HDR10 | HDR10 where available | Dolby Vision / HDR10 passthrough |
| Container | IMF (MXF components) | MOV (ProRes) | CMAF / fMP4 |
| Frame Rate | 23.976 / 24 / 29.97 fps | 23.976 / 29.97 fps | Source-matched |
| Audio | Dolby Atmos + 5.1 + stereo | 5.1 surround + stereo | EC3 / AAC |
| Loudness Target | -24 LKFS (±2) | -24 LKFS (±2) | -24 LKFS |
| Captions | CEA-708 + IMSC1 sidecar | CEA-708 + SCC or IMSC1 | WebVTT |
| Ad Markers | SCTE-35 (Free/Premium tiers) | SCTE-35 (Free/Premium tiers) | SCTE-35 → SCTE-224 manifest |
SCTE-35 ad marker density rules are Peacock's most common QC rejection. NBCU specifies minimum and maximum ad break counts per runtime bracket, minimum spacing between breaks, and prohibited placement zones (no breaks within 90 seconds of title start or end credits). Markers must be encoded as SCTE-35 splice_insert or time_signal messages within the IMF or muxed into the MOV wrapper — sidecar SCTE files are not accepted. Loudness must hold -24 LKFS (±2) integrated across the full program.
Delivery to Peacock runs through NBCUniversal's Content Pipeline portal — either directly for approved distributors, or via an aggregator partner for smaller catalogs.
1. SCTE-35 density violations. The single most frequent QC rejection. NBCU has strict rules on break count, spacing, and placement — too few markers, too many, markers inside the first or last 90 seconds, or gaps under 10 minutes between breaks will all trigger rejection. Rules vary by runtime bracket and content type.
2. Tier rights confusion. Submitting titles to Peacock Premium without ad-supported rights in the underlying contract. Premium is a hybrid SVOD/AVOD tier — standard SVOD clearance alone is insufficient. Ad-free content can only go to Premium Plus.
3. Loudness drift. Delivering masters at broadcast -23 LUFS (EBU R128) or theatrical -27 LKFS instead of Peacock's -24 LKFS (±2) target. Automated QC flags deviations immediately.
4. EIDR mismatch. Using a title-level EIDR in avails while the master is registered at edit level, or vice versa. NBCU matches avails to masters via EIDR — a mismatch breaks the link and the title cannot go live.
5. Caption format errors. Delivering SRT captions (not accepted) or CEA-608 only (required to be CEA-708 with 608 backward compatibility). Sidecar IMSC1 is accepted alongside embedded 708, but cannot replace it.
Peacock's hybrid SVOD/AVOD model makes rights hygiene the single biggest delivery risk. Molten Cloud's Peacock-aware avails generation is built around that risk:
Distributors deliver content to Peacock through NBCUniversal's proprietary Content Pipeline portal — either directly after distributor onboarding, or via an NBCU-approved aggregator for smaller catalogs. Premium originals and top-tier licensed content deliver as IMF (Interoperable Master Format) packages with Dolby Vision and Atmos; standard licensed catalog delivers as ProRes 422 HQ masters. Avails are submitted alongside masters in NBCU's proprietary metadata schema (EIDR-based with Peacock-specific fields for tier, ad-supported rights, and window dates). SCTE-35 ad markers are required for any content flowing to the Free or Premium (ad-supported) tiers. Platforms like Molten Cloud automate tier-aware avails generation and pre-validate SCTE-35 density before submission.
Peacock accepts two master formats: IMF (Interoperable Master Format) for premium originals and high-value licensed content, and ProRes 422 HQ in MOV containers for standard licensed catalog. Resolution supports up to 3840×2160 (4K UHD). Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio are supported for premium originals; HDR10 and 5.1 surround are the standard for licensed content. Integrated loudness must hold -24 LKFS (±2). Closed captions must be CEA-708 (with 608 backward compatibility), with optional IMSC1 sidecar. SCTE-35 ad markers are mandatory for content delivered to the Free or Premium tiers, following NBCU's specific density rules for break count, spacing, and placement. Downstream streaming encoding (H.264/H.265, CMAF) is handled by NBCU — distributors deliver masters, not streaming renditions.
Peacock operates three subscription tiers: Peacock Free (ad-supported, limited catalog, $0/mo), Peacock Premium (hybrid SVOD/AVOD, $5.99/mo with ads, full catalog), and Peacock Premium Plus ($11.99/mo, ad-free). Licensing deals must specify which tiers each title is authorized for, and ad-supported rights are negotiated separately from ad-free subscription rights. Because Premium is hybrid, it requires both subscription rights AND ad-supported rights in the underlying contract — a standard SVOD clearance alone is insufficient. Ad-free content can only be licensed to Premium Plus. Distributors delivering to Peacock must track rights at the tier level, not just the platform level — Molten Cloud models each Peacock tier as a distinct rights position to prevent titles from being exposed on tiers they are not licensed for.
Yes — SCTE-35 ad markers are mandatory for any content delivered to Peacock Free or Peacock Premium (the two ad-supported tiers). Markers must be encoded as SCTE-35 splice_insert or time_signal messages within the IMF package or muxed into the MOV wrapper; sidecar SCTE files are not accepted. NBCU enforces specific density rules: minimum and maximum break counts per runtime bracket, minimum spacing between breaks (typically 10+ minutes), and prohibited zones (no breaks within 90 seconds of title start or end credits). SCTE-35 density violations are the most common Peacock QC rejection reason. Content delivered exclusively to Peacock Premium Plus (ad-free) does not require SCTE-35 markers, but most distributors include them to preserve optionality in case the license is later extended to ad-supported tiers.
Molten Cloud generates Peacock-ready, tier-aware avails from your rights data — correct ad-supported flags, validated SCTE-35 density, no unlicensed tier exposure.
See how platform delivery works in Molten Cloud
