As Peacock continues to trail behind major players in the entertainment industry like Netflix, TikTok, and YouTube, the streaming service is adopting strategies similar to its rivals with two new initiatives: mini-games and a short-form vertical video feed. The company previewed these experiments at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Monday.
Starting this month, Peacock will begin piloting the new features on its iOS and Android apps before a broader rollout later this spring. During the initial testing phase, a company spokesperson told TechCrunch that some users will see both the games and the vertical video playlists, whereas some will see one or the other, and some will see neither.
The platform is likely trying to keep pace with other major streaming services as it faces challenges in subscriber growth. Peacock lags significantly, with only 36 million subscribers compared to Netflix’s impressive 282.72 million. Since introducing its gaming division in 2021, Netflix has launched over 120 games. YouTube and Sling TV have also rolled out free gaming offerings to compete.
Peacock is currently testing five games: Daily Sort, Daily Swap, Predictions, What The, and Venn. These fast-paced games aim to enhance fan involvement with the most popular titles, as they offer gameplay influenced by TV shows and sports programming. Linking games to popular IP is a smart move, as it attracts players who are interested in those titles.
For example, with Venn, players sort items into the appropriate circles based on a daily theme that relates to episodes of shows like “Below Deck.” The Predictions game allows users to predict the outcomes of specific shows and sporting events, enabling them to return later and see how accurate their guesses were.
Meanwhile, the streaming platform is also testing new curated vertical video playlists, which will feature short clips from Peacock’s entire library, such as TV shows, movies, sports, and news. These will be updated daily and weekly, with many clips debuting exclusively on the app. Users can tap on the clips to be directed to the respective show’s page, making it easy to jump in and watch.
As the potential TikTok ban looms and users grapple with shorter attention spans, Peacock’s vertical video playlists could become a popular feature for viewers seeking quick entertainment. The latest test takes after Tubi, the Fox-owned free ad-supported streaming service, which also embraced short-form video with its new feature called “Scenes.”
