iWorld
NBCUniversal announces ad innovations for Peacock streaming service
Mumbai: US-based media conglomerate NBCUniversal held its first Peacock Newfronts presentation at the Highline Stages in New York City. During the presentation, the company unveiled two new ad innovations for the AVOD streaming service, extending the company’s One22 commitment to enhance the ad experience for consumers and marketers.
The Peacock Frame Ad keeps users connected to the content they love while a brand frames the experience with contextually relevant messaging and offers for purchase. Brands can leverage our robust first-party data through NBCUnified and a full suite of commerce capabilities including our new partnership with GoPuff, the instant commerce platform that delivers everyday essentials to a customer’s doorstep within minutes.
The streaming service is also exploring the Peacock In-Scene Ad, which would integrate a brand’s product and/or messaging during post-production. This prototype aims to find the right moments within top shows for more personalized messaging. This custom solution ensures maximum brand familiarity by showcasing the right product in the right content, at the right time, on the right screen.
Peacock Streaming Council Members will be the first partners to test these new ad innovations.
“At NBCUniversal, we are constantly developing new and impactful commercial innovations for our marketing partners,” said NBCUniversal president of advertising and partnerships Laura Molen. “With Peacock, we are testing and learning hand in hand with our partners by tapping into NBCU’s data, technology and creative capabilities combined with our iconic storytelling. Research shows that Peacock’s ad innovations deliver better results for our marketers than other CTV competitors all through the purchase funnel. No other media company out there can deliver the pristine ad environment we have already built as well as continue to evolve with our partners and viewers.”
“NBCUniversal has always been a leader in delivering ad-supported entertainment across platforms and we are proud to be setting the bar for what brands and consumers have come to expect with Peacock’s best-in-class AVOD streaming platform,” commented Peacock senior VP of product and UX John Jelley. “The majority of Peacock customers are opting for our ad-supported experience and we remain focused on collaborating with our brand partners to develop innovative, personalised ad experiences that continue to enhance the customer experience.”
“The Peacock Newfront is the next step in NBCUniversal’s series of partner events, designed to create a symphony of opportunity for our partners,” said NBCUniversal global CMO – advertising and partnerships Josh Feldman. “At One22, we unveiled the data-driven future of media and technology. Today, we put a spotlight on the future of streaming, and how we are furthering our commitment to Commercial Innovation with two new additions to the Peacock ad experience. As we look ahead to the Upfront later this month, we’ll continue to celebrate the content that informs, entertains and shapes our world.”
iWorld
Why Peaky Blinders is one of television’s biggest hits that still deserves more attention
Six seasons, multiple awards and the release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man bring the Shelby saga back into the spotlight
In the crowded universe of streaming content, only a handful of shows manage to leave a lasting cultural footprint. Peaky Blinders is overwhelmingly considered one of the biggest global hits of the past decade. Yet many viewers still haven’t fully explored the dark, gripping world of the Shelby family.
Originally produced for the UK’s BBC and later finding a massive global audience through Netflix, the series quietly grew from a British period drama into a worldwide streaming phenomenon.
Created by Steven Knight, the show follows the rise of the Shelby crime family in post-First World War Birmingham. What begins as a gritty street-gang story gradually expands into a sweeping narrative about ambition, politics, power and survival.
At the centre of the saga is Thomas Shelby, portrayed with extraordinary depth by Cillian Murphy. The casting of Murphy is widely regarded as perfect for the role. With piercing eyes, restrained dialogue and an almost hypnotic screen presence, he transforms Shelby into one of the most unforgettable characters in modern screen storytelling.
Murphy’s brilliance lies in his restraint. He rarely shouts or performs theatrically. Instead, a quiet stare, a calculated pause or a subtle shift in expression conveys the emotional storms within the character. Beneath the ruthless gang leader is a war veteran carrying trauma, guilt and loneliness. Murphy captures this complexity with remarkable precision, making Thomas Shelby both terrifying and deeply human.
Beyond its central performance, Peaky Blinders stands out for its unfiltered portrayal of reality. The show does not romanticise crime. Instead, it exposes the harsh social conditions of early 20th-century Britain, from poverty and class struggle to political extremism and the psychological scars left by war.
The series also presents powerful female characters who hold their own within the Shelby empire. Polly Gray, played by Helen McCrory, is the strategic backbone of the family and one of the most formidable figures in the story. Women in the series shape decisions, influence power structures and challenge the rigid social norms of the time.
Across six seasons, the narrative grows dramatically in scale. What begins in the smoky streets of Birmingham evolves into a story involving political conspiracies, fascism and international criminal networks.
The series has also earned significant critical acclaim. It won the BAFTA Television Award for Best Drama Series in 2018 and multiple National Television Awards for Best Drama, cementing its reputation as one of Britain’s most celebrated modern shows.
Another defining feature of the series is its iconic music. The show’s opening theme, Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, became instantly recognisable and widely associated with the Shelby universe. Combined with a powerful soundtrack featuring artists such as Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead, the music helped shape the show’s dark, stylish identity and became hugely popular among fans.
And the Shelby story is not over yet.
In fact, its legacy is unfolding right now. The long-awaited feature-length continuation, Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, was released on March 6, 2026, bringing the Shelby universe from streaming screens to cinemas and giving fans a new chapter in the saga.
For viewers who have not yet stepped into this world, the timing could not be better.
Six gripping seasons are ready to binge on Netflix. A new film has just arrived in theatres. And at the heart of it all stands one of the most magnetic performances in modern drama by Cillian Murphy.
So if Peaky Blinders has been sitting on your watchlist for years, this weekend is your moment.
So, by order of the Peaky fookin’ Blinders, consider this your cue to finally step into the ruthless world of Thomas Shelby. Pour yourself a drink, clear your schedule and press the play button. Because when the Peaky Blinders give an order, you listen.
