If you asked me which streaming service has the best TV shows, I’d say Apple TV (recently freshly rebranded from Apple TV+). But if you asked me which has the fewest TV shows, I’d also say Apple TV. I love Severance and all, but when it’s not releasing new episodes, there’s usually not enough to keep me subscribed. That’s why I’m so interested in the new bundle deal from Apple and Peacock: For just $2 more than a standard Apple TV subscription—or the same price as a monthly Peacock subscription—you can get them both.
Peacock isn’t my favorite streaming service, exactly, but because it pulls from most of NBC and Universal’s respective catalogs, it does usually have enough to keep me interested between new seasons of Poker Face, especially when it comes to its library of movies. The highs aren’t quite as high as Apple’s, but there’s enough there that you’ll probably find something to watch when you need background noise. Combining it with Apple TV is a smart way to shore up each platform’s weak spots.
How to sign up for the Apple TV/Peacock bundle
According to Apple, the new bundle goes live on Oct. 20, so it’s not quite here yet. But once it arrives, you’ll be able to pay $14.99 per month to get Apple TV and Peacock Premium together, or $19.99 per month to upgrade to Apple TV and Peacock Premium Plus without ads. Given that a month of Apple TV costs $12.99, on its own and a month of Peacock Premium would cost $10.99 on top of that, it’s a pretty good deal.
It’s also good timing for Halloween, as Peacock is home to classics like The Thing as well as more recent hits like the Terrifier films. For some reason, a good deal of the Universal monsters films seem to be making Tubi their home this year instead, but Peacock’s horror selection is still stronger than Apple’s on its own.
What do you think so far?
As for whether it’s worth the extra $5 for the Peacock Premium Plus bundle, it depends on how much you hate ads. That package is a good deal more expensive than Apple TV would be on its own, but on the other hand, a month of Peacock Premium Plus would typically run you $16.99 on its own, so the $19.99 you’d be paying to add Apple TV to the mix isn’t a bad deal. For your extra dollars, you’d be eliminating ads from your Peacock viewing, as well as adding on the ability to download content to watch offline.
Apple says that once the deal goes live, you’ll be able to access it through either the Apple TV or Peacock websites/apps. Meanwhile, if you’re subscribed to an Apple One Family or Premier plan, which includes Apple TV alongside a number of other Apple platforms, you’ll need to sign up for Peacock separately. However, Apple says it will offer a 35% discount to Peacock Premium Plus for Apple One subscribers, which will knock the price down to about $11 a month, or around the same price as the ad-supported Peacock Premium.
