Ryan James Tobin ’26

by Ryan James Tobin ’26 on February 26, 2026

One of the most notable moments of 2025 was Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Brothers, demonstrating how big of a role streaming services play in the current climate of the world. With that being said, each streaming service has relied heavily on their respective heavy hitters to bring viewers in. Peacock has been one of the more underrated streaming services since its creation in 2020. However, there is no denying that Peacock took home the gold medal for streaming service performances in February. With new shows such as The Burbs starring Keke Palmer and PONIES starring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lue Richardson, paired with the return of the Emmy winning series The Traitors and the globally admired phenomenons of both the Super Bowl and the 2026 Winter Olympics held in Milan and Cortina—Peacock scored a touchdown on its entertainment lineup.  

The Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, split by an astonishing Bad Bunny halftime performance, delivered 125.6 million viewers to NBC’s streaming platform. Similarly, the Winter Olympics continued to bring a surge in viewership to Peacock on a daily basis starting the night of the Super Bowl (Feb. 8) until the closing ceremony (Feb. 22). NBC’s streaming platform received more than 20 million viewers every day for 14 days straight. This was also the most watched winter games in over a decade, dating back to when the games were held in Sochi, Russia in 2014. 

The Burbs, which also released the same day as the Super Bowl, has received critical acclaim and was the No. 2 most viewed show on any streaming platform for its first two weeks after its release. With over one billion viewing minutes on Peacock, the hit horror-comedy reimagining of Tom Hanks 1989 filmis the most viewed Peacock original series of all time. Peacock’s new spy show surrounding persons of no interest, PONIES, which came out in January but took a moment to gain traction on the platform, also performed well—peaking at the No. 28 most watched television series in early February and contributing to Peacock’s big month. The most prominent show that Peacock had to offer and what truly added much momentum to Peacock’s dominant viewership rating was the critically-acclaimed and social-media presence of The Traitors. This particular season of The Traitors brings a star-studded cast and exceptional gameplay with the finale coming out Thursday, Feb. 26. The finale is sure to see a surge in viewership, but the murder mystery reality competition show sees a steady 600 million viewership minutes rating per episode. Only time will tell if Peacock can keep up this unprecedented success, but the bar has definitely been set within the first two months of 2026.