Where can I watch Peacock programming in Canada?

Comcast / NBCUniversal's new streaming service, Peacock, officially launched in the United States on July 15, 2020. However, all indications are that it will not be available as a standalone service in Canada for the foreseeable future. Canadians will instead have to access Peacock's programming through other outlets, to the extent that Comcast and/or other TV and streaming outlets decide to make these shows available.

Summary:

• Corus, owner of Global and several specialty channels, has deals with Comcast covering "marquee" Peacock original series like Saved by the Bell, Rutherford Falls, Girls5eva, MacGruber, and Bel-Air, as well as many of its imported series like the British comedies Intelligence and We Are Lady Parts.
   
• If you have a cable (or similar) TV service that includes Showcase, W Network, Food Network, and Slice, you should be able to watch these programs on linear TV or through the Global TV app. If you're a cord-cutter without a TV service subscription, you'll need to subscribe to Corus' StackTV package for Prime Video, or VMedia's RiverTV, to access this programming.
   
• Canadian rights to sports (and sports entertainment) programs carried by Peacock continue with their existing rightsholders. In Canada, rights to WWE Network programming is controlled by Rogers through 2024, and are not affected by WWE's U.S. deal with Peacock. However, Rogers made WWE Network available over-the-top in Canada via Sportsnet Now in October 2021.
   
• Some Peacock originals, and many of the service's library series, are not covered by these deals, but may be available on other channels or streaming services. Many pre-existing broadcast and streaming rights deals should continue for now; in particular, it appears that The Office (U.S.) will continue to be available on Netflix in Canada for the foreseeable future. Read below for more details.

Update (September 4, 2022): We've seen a lot of traffic to this page in the past month, likely relating in part to NBC's announcement that soap opera Days of Our Lives will move exclusively to Peacock for U.S. viewers in September. We've put more details on the effects for Canadian viewers in a separate post.

Where can I watch Peacock original programs?

Corus Entertainment, owner of channels like Global, Showcase, Slice, and W Network, announced on June 23, 2020 that it has acquired Canadian broadcast and streaming rights to "marquee" original programming from Peacock.

Canadian telecom industry news website Cartt.ca has reported that under the terms of the deal, Corus pays NBCUniversal both a flat rights fee, and a percentage of the revenue that Corus gets from selling advertising during Peacock programs.

Corus says it has "long-term stacking" rights to these shows, meaning that unlike some series where only the most recent season, or even the last few weeks of episodes, are available, all episodes can be available to stream through StackTV and/or the Global app, at least until well after the series concludes. In practice, however, we've noticed that Corus has pulled some cancelled programs like Brave New World and A.P. Bio from the Global app after that series has finished airing, while leaving it available on StackTV.

To be able to watch Peacock Originals, Canadian viewers need to subscribe to Corus channels like Showcase and W, either through a TV provider (like Rogers, Bell or Shaw), through Corus' StackTV package on Amazon Prime Video, or through VMedia's over-the-top multichannel service RiverTV. It's possible that certain shows could air (or re-air at a later date) on Corus' broadcast network, Global, which is available over the air in most major Canadian cities, but you shouldn't count on it.

What Peacock original programs can I watch in Canada?

Some of the Peacock Originals programs that have already aired, or have been scheduled to air, on Corus channels in Canada include the following:

• Brave New World began airing Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET on Showcase starting September 13, 2020, only for it to be cancelled by Peacock later that fall. As of March 2022, the full season remains available on StackTV, but is no longer available to cable subscribers to Showcase.
   
• The Saved by the Bell reboot debuted on W Network on Thursday, November 26, 2020, day-and-date with its release on Peacock. All ten first-season episodes were made available for on-demand streaming on StackTV that night. The second season was released similarly beginning in November 2021. Episodes have also been made available to stream after broadcast to W Network cable subscribers via the Global TV website.
   
• The third season of the comedy series A.P. Bio, which was released on Peacock in September 2020, aired on Showcase beginning on January 17, 2021. Previous seasons aired on NBC, and Global in Canada. Episodes from the third and fourth seasons are currently only available to stream on StackTV, while the first two seasons were added to Netflix Canada in late 2021. Episodes are also available for digital purchase, including through the Apple TV Store.
   
• The reboot of Punky Brewster premiered on Thursday, March 4, 2021 on W Network, with episodes also airing on YTV. All episodes are available to stream on the Global TV app for W subscribers, and on StackTV.
   
• Rutherford Falls, a sitcom starring Ed Helms and co-created by Helms, Sierra Teller Orenelas, and Michael Schur, debuted in Canada on Showcase on Thursday, April 29, 2021, one week after its U.S. release, with the first episode simulcast on Global. Episodes are also available to stream on the Global TV app and on StackTV.
   
• Girls5eva debuted in the U.S. on May 6, 2021, and aired on W Network in Canada from June 3 to 24. We've made a separate post with additional details.
   
• Psych 2: Lassie Come Home, a sequel movie to the 2006-14 series Psych and 2017's Psych: The Movie, is now available to stream on the Global TV app and StackTV. It presumably aired on Showcase at some point as well.
   
• Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol aired on Showcase in fall 2021 but was subsequently cancelled by Peacock. The full season is available to stream on the Global TV app and on StackTV.
   
• Limited series Dr. Death also aired on Showcase in fall 2021, and is available in full on the Global TV app and StackTV.
   
• The first season of One of Us is Lying aired on W Network in fall 2021, and can be streamed through the Global TV app and StackTV.
   
• Baking It airs on Food Network Canada; the first season (released in December 2021) is available to stream on the Global TV app and StackTV.
   
• MacGruber, based on the Saturday Night Live sketch and 2010 film, began airing on Showcase in January 2022, and episodes are available on the Global TV app and StackTV.
   
• The Real Housewives of Miami (i.e., the second iteration of the series beginning from season 4 onwards) has aired on Slice since January 2022; episodes are available on the Global TV app, StackTV, and NBCUniversal's reality streaming service Hayu.
   
• Bel-Air began airing on Showcase on February 13, 2022. Episodes are available to stream on the Global TV app and on StackTV. Refer to our separate post for more details.

Additional scripted Peacock Originals that have been confirmed to be coming to either Showcase or W Network at a later date, and are expected to premiere during the 2021–22 season, include:

• Angelyne
• Bust Down
• Queer as Folk (re-imagining of the original British series)
• Psych 3: This is Gus

Unscripted Peacock original programs expected to premiere in 2021–22, likely on Slice and/or Food Network Canada:

• Below Deck: Down Under
• Ex Rated with Andy Cohen
• Real Housewives Mash-Up [working title]

Corus' announcements have not mentioned a few other original series that Peacock has ordered, like a second reboot of Battlestar Galactica, unscripted shows like the limited-run talk show Wilmore, or spin-offs of NBC's late night shows like The Kids Tonight Show. That could mean a number of things – perhaps Corus will have rights to some or all of these too, but chose just to focus on a few of the offerings for now; perhaps they don't fall under the grouping of "marquee" programming that was offered to Corus at this point; or perhaps they are not available to Corus because of rights held by broadcasters for their parent programs (for example, the regular Tonight Show currently airs in Canada on Bell Media's CTV2).

The Amber Ruffin Show (a weekly spinoff of Late Night with Seth Meyers) has aired on NBC late Friday nights (early Saturday mornings) on two occasions – February 26 and March 5, 2021 – as a promotional test for the program. Unfortunately there is no guarantee that this will occur again in the future. Unlike Late Night itself (which airs on CTV2), Amber is not otherwise available in Canada.

I heard that Peacock will be airing some international series too. What about those?

In addition to the original series noted above, Peacock has purchased American first-run streaming rights to a number of other international series.

Many of these originate from Sky Studios, the production division of the European satellite broadcaster Sky, which has been a sister company to NBCU under Comcast since late 2018, or were otherwise co-produced with NBCU.

So on top of its deal for Peacock originals, Corus struck a separate multi-year deal with Sky which will cover much of that company's production output, including the following series:

• Code 404 (British comedy-drama starring Stephen Graham) – Sundays at 10:30 p.m. ET on Showcase – premiered June 20, 2021
• Intelligence (British comedy starring Nick Mohammed and David Schwimmer) – Sundays at 10:00 p.m. ET on Showcase – season 1 premiered September 13, 2020; season 2 premiered June 20, 2021
• Hitmen (British comedy starring Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins, arguably best known to Canadians as the BBC-era hosts of The Great British Bake Off Baking Show) – premiered September 13, 2020; all episodes now available on demand to Showcase subscribers
• We Are Lady Parts (British comedy written and directed by Nida Manzoor) – premiered June 9, 2021; all episodes now available on demand to Showcase subscribers

One other Peacock acquisition, the limited drama series Departure starring Archie Panjabi and Christopher Plummer, was in fact a Canadian co-production involving Corus, and it began airing in Canada on Global in fall 2021, though a few weeks after it debuted in America on Peacock.

Several other series, however, do not fall under Corus' deals. Instead, the producers (and their distributors) have the ability to sell Canadian rights separately. Amazon, not Corus, acquired the Canadian rights to the well-reviewed British crime drama The Capture, which was originally broadcast in the U.K. on BBC One. That series is already available in Canada on Prime Video.

Even for series distributed by Sky and available on Peacock, it seems it's possible for some specific programs to end up elsewhere – such as Intergalactic, which will be available on Crave beginning in July 2021.

Does Peacock's deal with WWE affect Canada?

No. The multi-year agreement whereby Peacock will hold exclusive U.S. rights to WWE Network programming is explicitly stated as applying "in the U.S." – and nowhere else. Reporting by other outlets has made clear that the international versions of the WWE Network will maintain the status quo.

In Canada, Rogers Communications holds exclusive rights to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming, including distribution rights to WWE Network, until 2024. For many years, Canadians could only subscribe to WWE Network through a TV service provider, for a minimum of $12.99 per month – the price varies by provider, with Rogers Cable itself offering it for slightly more at last check. To be abundantly clear, the provider does not necessarily have to be Rogers – as such, WWE Network is also offered on competitors like Bell and VMedia.

In October 2021, Rogers finally launched an over-the-top access option for WWE Network in Canada, via the Sportsnet Now streaming platform. This costs a minimum of $14.99 per month (though bundled options with other Sportsnet programming are also available). It's also our understanding that, unlike the WWE Network service in most countries, this version also includes access to live and recent on-demand editions of WWE's weekly programs like Raw and SmackDown as aired by Sportsnet 360.

What about everything else? "The Office"? The Kardashians?

Many of the other films and TV series in the NBCUniversal library remain available on other streaming services in Canada, including Netflix (which appears to be keeping Canadian streaming rights to The Office for the foreseeable future despite having lost U.S. rights at the end of 2020), Crave (which streams 30 Rock), and Prime Video (Parks & Recreation, and more recently certain seasons of Law & Order and most of its spinoffs). These may change from time to time, but we have seen no indication that any of them would be specifically affected by Corus' deal for Peacock's original programming.

NBCUniversal already operates the Hayu streaming service in Canada, which carries much of the catalogue of reality series from NBCU's U.S. networks like E! (e.g. Keeping Up with the Kardashians), Bravo, and Oxygen, and which from all indications will continue to operate as-is. (Note however that, following the 2021 end of KUWTK and the family's new deal with Disney, future Kardashian programming will stream in Canada on Disney+ / Star.)

Finally, the vast majority of Peacock's sports events are covered by separate rights contracts in Canada. For example, several Premier League soccer games will be exclusive to Peacock in America, but the Canadian rights to all games are currently held by DAZN. Similarly, the Canadian rights to the Tour de France, which are exclusively held in Canada by FloSports, are unaffected by U.S. streaming on Peacock.

To be clear, despite all of this, there are a number of other programs from the NBCUniversal library which are being made available on Peacock but are not currently available on streaming in Canada. If there's a particular program you're looking for, the best we can suggest for now is to contact NBCUniversal and/or one of the streaming services you subscribe to (or would be willing to subscribe to) and let them know you're interested in that program.

We will endeavour to update this article as warranted.

It's free though, right? Couldn't I use an American VPN to access these shows?

Only the Peacock Free tier is free to everyone (in the U.S.), and that tier will not include most of the original or U.S.-exclusive series noted above. The Peacock Premium tiers will require a paid subscription and we expect that, consistent with other American-only services, it will require a U.S.-based payment method and billing address, and it may be subject to cancellation without notice or refund if unauthorized use is detected (and already we've seen a number of reports of Peacock denying access to known proxies).

Should you wish to attempt to use a virtual private network (VPN) or another sort of anonymous proxy to attempt to access Peacock (whether free or paid tiers), such use is "at your own risk". While there are many valid uses for VPNs for privacy protection and the like, we would not encourage you to subscribe to a proxy service solely to access streaming services like Peacock as there is no way to guarantee it will work consistently.

Significant revisions

• March 5, 2022 – several updates to current series and availability
• October 4, 2021 – a few interim updates, including re WWE
• June 26, 2021 – various updates, including programs recently announced by Corus to debut in the 2021–22 season
• May 2, 2021 – updated to Rutherford Falls and Girls5eva
• April 11, 2021 – added Rutherford Falls
• March 28, 2021 – a few belated updates, including Punky Brewster
• January 26, 2021 – updates related to Peacock's new agreement with WWE
• December 31, 2020 – various updates
• November 9, 2020 – Saved by the Bell announcement
• November 5, 2020 – A few more minor updates.
• September 24, 2020 – Minor updates including on-demand links.
• August 3, 2020 – Added details on Corus' plans for Brave New World and certain Sky series.