Reelz Channel is coming to Peacock.
The niche cable channel will bring its live linear feed and on-demand programming to NBCUniversal’s streaming service beginning March 1.
Reelz Channel’s biggest show is On Patrol: Live, a police reality show that can trace its origins to the canceled A+E series Live PD. OPL, like Live PD, is hosted by Dan Abrams and a pair of former police officers who follow live footage of police on duty across the country. Reelz picked up the show last year, and earlier this month handed it a 90-episode renewal.
Under the terms of the Peacock deal, OPL will stream live on Peacock, and episodes will be available on-demand the day after they air. Reelz also airs other true-crime fare including Cops, Jail and On Patrol: First Shift.
There is one quirk under the Reelz deal: While it will include the channel’s live linear feed, it will not stream Tuesdays in the 10 p.m. hour, as Reelz airs Major League Wrestling in that hour. Peacock has a streaming deal with the WWE, which has exclusivity in the category on Peacock.
Peacock’s deal with Reelz continues the streaming service’s push to add new sources of programming and bulk up its offerings. The WWE is a big piece of that puzzle, and last year Peacock inked a wide-ranging deal with Hallmark Media, which included a live feed of Hallmark Channel and some on-demand programming.
Most notably, the deal gave Peacock access to Hallmark’s trademark holiday movie slate.
With the latest deal, Peaock now has live feeds for Reelz, Hallmark, WWE and local NBC stations.
While Reelz doesn’t have the brand capital of Hallmark, the police programming has a similarly broad audience in middle America. Live PD, before it was canceled amid the protests against police violence in 2020, was the most watched show on cable TV.
