As Peacock continues to lag behind entertainment industry giants like Netflix, TikTok and YouTube, the streaming service is adopting a similar strategy to its rivals with two new initiatives: mini-games and short-form vertical video feeds. I'm doing it. The company announced these experiments Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Peacock will begin piloting the new feature on its iOS and Android apps this month, followed by a broader rollout later this spring. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch during early testing that some users will see both games and vertical video playlists, some will see one or the other, and some will see neither. He said he was there.
The platform is likely trying to keep pace with other major streaming services as it faces challenges in growing its subscriber base. Peacock lags far behind, with just 36 million subscribers compared to Netflix's staggering 282.72 million subscribers. Since introducing its gaming division in 2021, Netflix has released over 120 games. YouTube and Sling TV are also rolling out free gaming services to compete.
Image credit: Peacock
Peacock is currently testing five games: Daily Sort, Daily Swap, Predictions, What The, and Venn. These fast-paced games aim to increase fan engagement with the most popular titles, as they offer gameplay influenced by TV and sports shows. Linking your games to popular IPs is a smart move as it attracts players interested in those titles.
For example, in Venn, players sort items into appropriate circles based on daily themes related to episodes of shows such as “Below Deck.” Predictions games allow users to predict the outcome of a particular show or sporting event, so they can go back later and see how accurate their guesses were.
Image credit: Peacock
Meanwhile, the streaming platform is also testing a new curated vertical video playlist featuring short clips from across Peacock's library, including TV shows, movies, sports, news, and more. These are updated daily or weekly, and many clips debut exclusively on the app. Users can tap on a clip to go to the respective show's page, making it easy to jump to and watch.
As a potential TikTok ban looms and users grapple with shorter attention spans, Peacock's vertical video playlists could become a popular feature for viewers looking for quick entertainment. The latest test is modeled after Tubi, the Fox-owned free ad-supported streaming service, which also embraces short-form videos with a new feature called “Scenes.”