Saturday Night Live is one of the most iconic programming pieces in television history, and it’s currently in its 50th season. To celebrate this performance, NBC and showrunners planned and executed, including Lorne Michaels, and performed well – all live – SNL 50 -Year anniversary special, which was sent a few weeks back on February 16, 2025.
Instead of shooting up a classic TV antenna or choosing my Hulu Live TV subscription, I decided to open peacock using an Apple TV 4K -one of the best streaming devices -ultimately to look at the anniversary special. This is not the first time I have approached the NBC-owned streaming service to see a live event, this honor goes to the summer of 2024 Paris Olympics, where I also used the multiView feature to see more competitions at once.
This time I was greeted with a SNL 50 overlay and could jump right into the live broadcast of the show with a single click. For those who wonder, I jumped around midway through the opening with Paul Simon and Sabrina Carpenter on one of the best streaming services.
The power started without problems and looked pretty sharp if I say so myself. I also did not encounter pieces or a stop in the stream, nor did I even see advertising -rather I was presented with a text in the direction of “The SNL 50 -Year anniversary would resume soon” with the theme song playing on a loop and various glam shots of the recognized 8H study where the show binds.
It was a wonderful experience for a live-stream event, an easy way to watch the 50th special without the need for a linear TV experience, and it went pretty much without any problems. Something that the linear broadcast for some did not do as the special race over. Still, 14.8 million viewers over Peacock and NBC (linear TV) saw the specialist either live or within the same day. That makes it NBC’s most primetime event in the last five years, the Golden Globes passes.
Peacock has a kind of special sauce in the streaming service sector – yes, it is a new offer since the premiere of 2020, but it is supported by NBC, which has been in business with live TV and events rolling in real time for years. The streaming service also knows how to compile its backlog of content with other elements and live events. We looked back with the Parisol The opportunity to see each category, a few of them together in Multiview and a trove of new content, including Snoop on The Games and a show that hosts Alex Cooper.
The SNL 50 acquisition was a similar feat that had a goal of letting fans reach the content they wanted to be all the episodes of the 50th season or earlier, specially released documentaries or even SNL 50 Homecoming Concert, which also streamed live at Peacock. We also see a similar acquisition come on March 21, 2025, when Evil Hits Peacock and begins streaming for all subscribers of the service.
Building a platform that supports the highest levels of performance
In a speech with Techradar, Patrick Miceli, CTO for Global Streaming and NBCU Media Group, said since Peacock’s start, “we have invested in building a platform and technical infrastructure that supports the highest levels of performance, security and reliability to deliver a seamless and incomparable experience for our customers.”
Miceli also noted that even with the complexity of live streaming, “achieved a 100% success rate in video quality and reliability on our NFL and Olympic coverage last year”. This comes when other services, including Netflix with Logan Paul Vs Mike Tyson Fight, have struggled to keep streams fluid with a heavy demand for the audience.
It is sufficient to say, peacock and NBC as a whole felt confident in going into the weekend with the Olympics, NFL Games and other events, including Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in History Books. Still shared Miceli, “We still spend a lot of time preparing for each event and accounting for a variety of scenarios to make sure we’re ready for something”.
I was impressed with Peacock’s performance, and countless others shared that the power was a top practitioner on social media using the hashtag #SNL50. Given the performance here, I am eager to see what kind of package of peacock cures for future offers, live events such as the next Olympics and NBA games that will hit the streaming service in 2025.
Of course, even if it’s not live I will still go to peacock when I need my bravo -fix as Cottageruns of Vanderpump rulesor a recovers of a timeless classic with SNL Alums Amy Poehler (Parks and recreation).
