Comcast Lands Deal to Stream Peacock on Amazon Devices, in Time for Olympics

(Bloomberg) -- Comcast Corp. reached a deal to make its Peacock app available on Fire TV devices from Amazon.com Inc., ending a long dispute weeks before the streaming service is scheduled to broadcast the Olympics.

Peacock will launch on Amazon’s Fire equipment starting Thursday, the companies said in a statement. Comcast also reached a distribution agreement for its network applications, allowing 15 apps for channels such as NBC and Bravo to appear on Amazon’s gear.

Peacock, which is operated by Comcast’s NBCUniversal division, debuted nationwide last July and features a mix of entertainment and live sports, including “The Office” and Premier League soccer. It has roughly 42 million accounts. About one-third, or 14 million, are active monthly users.

The service has been held back by its lack of availability on popular streaming devices, but that’s been changing. It reached a deal with Roku Inc. in September after a dispute over sharing advertising inventory, and struck an accord for Samsung smart TVs in June. Roku and Fire TV are two of the most popular tools to watch streaming services on a TV.

Peacock’s Twitter account had been responding to frustrated Amazon Fire TV users by suggesting they “sideload” Peacock onto their TVs, a technical workaround that Peacock’s website warned “is pursued at a user’s own risk.”

Starting July 23, NBC will broadcast the Olympics and will use the 17-day games to promote Peacock to millions of viewers. Peacock will stream four studio shows a day during the Olympics and carry live events, highlights and interviews.

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