NBCUniversal just announced a big change to Peacock by adding “Arrival Ads” that show up on your profile page as soon as you log in. This new ad format lets brands take over the first thing you see when entering the platform. It sounds like a bad experience for users, but advertisers are thrilled about it.
Peacock is the first streaming service to offer this type of ad in a premium ad-supported video service. Since this spot is one of the most valuable on the platform, it creates high visibility for almost every person who uses Peacock daily. It basically turns the platform’s entrance into an ad space for brands.
The ads don’t stop there. NBCUniversal is also expanding Pause Ads into the programmatic marketplace. This lets advertisers target you automatically when you pause your show to grab a snack or take a break. Pause Ads have already worked well in direct campaigns, boosting ad memory by 68% and increasing store visits for advertisers by 106%.
The company is using AI to match ads with live content in real time
These updates were announced before the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show in January, as NBC gets ready to celebrate its 100th anniversary. Mark Marshall, Chairman of Global Advertising & Partnerships at NBCUniversal, talked about the plan.
“Premium video is more valuable to advertisers than ever, and with these new innovations, we are providing solutions clients have been asking for, backed by the power of NBCUniversal’s entire cross-platform ecosystem; setting a new industry standard for success,” he said.
The biggest tech upgrade focuses on making live programming better for brands. NBCUniversal is launching Contextual Targeting in LIVE, an AI tool that scans live content as it happens. This makes sure an advertiser’s message matches relevant moments during live shows.
An early test with a luxury brand showed good results, with 27% more people enjoying the ad and 14% agreeing the content made the brand message better. While some executives embrace transparency with their teams, how this Starbucks CEO handled employee concerns shows a different corporate approach.
They’re also launching LIVE Total Impact, the first tool that takes viewership from big live events and extends it across the entire NBCUniversal network through retargeting. A test during Sunday Night Football with Telecom and Retail brands showed higher brand awareness through targeted follow-up ads. The test showed a 10% increase in awareness and memory. Viewers who saw retargeted ads visited the brand’s website 6.8 times more than those who didn’t see the ads.
NBCUniversal is also introducing the Performance Insights Hub, a platform that gives advertisers a complete view of campaign performance and audience data in real time. They want to prove that premium video delivers real results.
Partnerships with major retailers like Walmart Connect and Instacart support this claim. A recent streaming campaign with Instacart for a food brand brought in $6 for every dollar spent. Campaigns for brands like Advil also showed strong returns, achieving $5.41 for every dollar spent.
Peacock is also expanding popular features that include ad placements. They’re growing the Multiview feature, which lets you watch multiple feeds at once. More than 10% of viewers used Multiview during the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
They’re also bringing the Live in Browse feature to more shows like SNL, where live content plays automatically on the homepage with a brand logo in the preview. This reaches over 80% of daily users and increases ad memory by 50%. Similar to how DoorDash requires all employees including executives to follow unusual company policies, NBCUniversal is making bold moves that affect every user’s experience.
Published: Dec 17, 2025 05:45 pm