Saturday Night Live is one of the most emblematic programming pieces in television history, and is currently in its 50th season. To celebrate that achievement, NBC and Showrunners, including Lorne Michaels, planned, produced and executed well, all live, the SNL 50th anniversary special, which was broadcast a few weeks ago on February 16, 2025.
Instead of turning on a classic TV antenna or opting for my Hulu Live TV subscription, I decided to open Peacock, using a 4K Apple TV, one of the best transmission devices, to watch the anniversary special. It is not the first time that I turn to the transmission service owned by NBC to see a live event, that honor is destined to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, in which I also used the multivew functionality to see multiple competitions at the same time.
This time, I was received with a SNL 50 overlap and could jump directly to the live broadcast of the program with a single click. For those who wonder, I got up to half of the opening with Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter in one of the best transmission services.
The current began without problems and looked quite strong if I say it myself. Nor did I find stuttering or a transmission unemployment, and I didn’t even see commercials either, rather, they presented me with a text in the “SNL 50th anniversary line soon” with the main song that reproduces in a loop and several glamorous sessions of the acclaimed 8h studio where the program was recorded.
It was a good experience for a live broadcast event, an easy way to see the 50th special without the need for a linear TV experience, and went almost without problems. Something that the linear transmission for some was not like the special ran. Even so, 14.8 million viewers in Peacock and NBC (Linear TV) saw the special live or within the same day. That makes it the most horribor event of NBC in the last five years, surpassing the Golden Globes.
Peacock has a kind of special sauce in the transmission services sector: yes, it is a new offer since its premiere in 2020, but it is backed by NBC, which has been in the live television business and events in real time for years. The transmission service also knows how to cure its content portfolio with other live elements and events. We saw again with the Paris Olympic Games the ability to see each individual category, some of them together in Multiview and a new content treasure, including Snoop Dog in the Games and a show organized by Alex Cooper.
The acquisition of SNL 50 was a similar feat, which had the goal of letting fans reach the content they wanted, either all the episodes of the 50s or the previous ones, especially documentaries, or even the welcome concert SNL 50, which also broadcast live in Peacock. We will also see a similar acquisition on March 21, 2025, when Wicked Peacock hits and starts transmitting for all service subscribers.
Build a platform that supports the highest levels of performance
Speaking to Techradar, Patrick Miceli, CTO of Global Streaming and NBCU Media Group, said that since the beginning of Peacock, “we have invested in the construction of a platform and technical infrastructure that supports the highest levels of performance, safety and reliability to offer a seamless and incomparable experience for our clients.”
Miceli also pointed out that even with the complexities of live broadcast, Peacock has “reached a 100% success rate in the quality and reliability of the video in our NFL coverage and the Olympic Games last year.” This comes when other services, including Netflix with Logan Paul vs Mike Tyson’s fight, have fought to keep the currents afloat with a strong audience demand.
Suffice it to say that Peacock and NBC in general felt insurance when entering the weekend with the Olympic Games, the NFL games and other events, including the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in History Books. Even so, Miceli shared: “We still spend a lot of time preparing for each event, which represents a variety of different scenarios to ensure that we are ready for anything.”
I was impressed by the performance of Peacock, and innumerable others shared that the transmission had high performance in social networks using the hashtag #SNL50. Given the performance here, I am anxious to see what type of peacock package is cured for special futures, live events such as the next Olympic Games and the NBA Games, which will arrive at the transmission service in 2025.
Of course, although it is not live, I will still go to Peacock every time I need my brave solution like Summer houserepetitions Vanderpump rulesor a rewatch of a timeless classic with SNL Amy Poehler students (Parks and recreation).
