If you’ve streamed a show on Peacock and the ending was abruptly cut off, you’re not alone.
During my testing of NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service, I encountered a recurring playback issue: The stream would stop toward the end of a show and advance to the next episode.
This didn’t happen with every show or every episode, but it was enough for me to investigate further.
Peacock Is Cutting Off Shows and Frustrating Cord Cutters
The last time Peacock cut off the final moments of a show that I was watching, I recorded exactly what happened using my cell phone so that I could prove it.
In the YouTube video below, you’ll see how an episode of Dateline ended prematurely.
The episode was titled “A Villainous Plan” — Season 27, Episode 31.
When I reopened the show, the stream picked up at the point in the episode where it previously cut off.
At the top of the screen, there was an option to “Watch From Start” or “Resume.”
However, this choice disappeared from the screen so quickly that I couldn’t make a selection.
Toward the bottom right of the screen, the next episode titled “Facing the Music” was about to auto-play.
I tried to use my Roku remote to select cancel, but I couldn’t get there quickly enough.
After the screen went blank for a few seconds, the next Dateline episode automatically played from the start.
I never got to see the conclusion of “A Villainous Plan.”
Contacting Peacock for Answers
I’ve experienced this problem with Peacock cutting off episodes of Dateline a handful of times, but why is it happening?
- Is it because I was using the free tier?
- Was it only for Dateline episodes?
- Does it have anything to do with Roku?
These were just a few questions that I had, so I reached out to a public relations contact at Peacock for an explanation.
Here’s what I wrote:
Dateline is one of my favorites. I watch it on Peacock. I’ve noticed the ending is sometimes cut off and you have to reopen the show and FF to the end to see it. Here is a Reddit thread from a year ago dedicated to Peacock cutting off shows. Is this a known issue? https://www.reddit.com/r/peacock/comments/hud7b9/peacock_cuts_off_shows/
I was told “Will get back to you on this one,” but I never heard back from anyone at Peacock.
In that email, I included a link to an archived Reddit thread.
That post and several others that I reviewed confirmed that other people have complained about the same issue dating back to shortly after Peacock’s launch in 2020.
Next, I reached out to Peacock’s chat support and explained the issue.
The customer service representative offered two common-sense troubleshooting tips:
- Remove the Peacock app from my Roku and reinstall it.
- Sign out of Peacock and sign back in.
After following the instructions, I went back to the Dateline episode “A Villainous Plan.”
It started playing from a different point in the show, so I was encouraged for a brief moment. However, the episode once again ended before Lester Holt’s sign off.
That’s how I knew the playback issue wasn’t actually resolved by following the troubleshooting steps.
Final Thought
I give Peacock a lot of credit for launching a streaming service with a free tier.
That’s great for consumers.
But a year after Peacock launched, shows should not continue to be cut off without even an acknowledgement of the issue.
Have you experienced any playback issues with Peacock? Leave a comment on my YouTube video!
Hi Mr. Michael, I’ve been having the same problem. It seems to be Peacock in general. I’ve experienced the ‘issue’ multiple times when watching Law and Order ( the original) and also Kevin Hart’s new talk show, Hart to Heart- the only 2 shows I’ve checked out using this streaming platform.
Strange thing though, it seems to happen with nearly every episode when I’m watching on my TV while using my ROKU, but not so much when watching directly online using my laptop.
So thank you for posting your article, because I thought it was just me.
I signed up for the $5.99 subscription and the same thing happened on Dateline. I use a Chromebook to watch.
The same issue happened for me. I was able to restart the episode and go to the end and watch a few more seconds, but it still cut off.
The Chat on customer service blamed Chromebook – but I doubt if that is the problem.
It’s certainly not you or the Chromebook. It’s Peacock.
This has been happening on my iPad as well! I get the pay version with no commercials. It’s quite frustrating!
This happens on everything you watch on peacock 😡 I’m trying to watch law and order criminal intent and every single episode is cut off😐
Absolutely true on my end as well! Frustrating to be disabled and tv is about what I do most of the day. But for Peacock to cut the last part, after you’re invested in how the episode will end. . . It’s enough to want to cut off the end of Peacock itself!
Linda
I have the same issue with no help from Peacock.
I am enjoying Peacock although extremely frustrating that 1/2 hour into the movie it stops
and goes onto another program, whats-up with that?
I paid $5.99 for the Peacock service and it cut off the shows as well.
I can confirm that as of March 2022, this is still happening with Peacock when watching Dateline. The only difference is that I can only watch about 30 seconds of each show, then it begins auto-playing the next. Very annoying.
Trying to watch the French Open. Watch about 2 min of commercials, then it just cuts and exits Peacock. To then go back and choose it again, I get to watch 2 more min of commercials, resume the show, and within 5 minutes it just drops me out of Peacock again. VERY DISAPPOINTED!
I’ve been having the same issues with peacock fast forwarding to the next episode while watching any one of the tv series that I watch. It doesn’t matter if I’m watching the office or parks and recreation or modern family! It is super frustrating!!!!
Hey..its june 2022 .Most shows i watch on oeqcock using a fire stick .. always cuts off before the end of every ep of Martin. It didnt do that on Bel Air for some reason. I pay for a subscription. This is rediculous and they need to do better. I will cancel this.
Same issues as above – can’t watch a show all the way through – going to have to lose Peacock as we never know how a show ends – REAL DRAG {we use the paid subscription }
Same issues here, on smart TV and Roku. Paid for a year but I can’t put up with missing the ending on 99% of the shows I watch on Peacock.
It is still happening, now October 2022. Though I expect it at the end (try turning off autoplay?) I don’t expect to have it mid show and I am certainly not getting the resume or start over window when it happens to me. It seems it is app related rather than streaming from the web related? Though when it isn’t at the same point when it restarts it makes me wonder if it is a buffering issue. I have been advised that I have “inconsistent” internet – sometimes it’s fast and sometimes not. Shrug. Maybe I will try ditching the app because it is annoying beyond belief to have this happen so much.
It’s not just you. I’m seeing an uptick in traffic to this article for the past week. Sorry I don’t have a great solution.
This has been happening to me for weeks, since I started trying to watch some shows on CBS website. They cut off before the ending! Dreadful set up and so frustrating.
Forget this nonsense about restarting your device, you router, etc. If the problem was on YOUR end, then other apps would also have problem. But it is only Peacock. So what does that tell you?. They hire third-graders to be their software engineers. I will not be renewing after I finish this season of Yellowstone. Vote with your dollars-cancel the service.
Yep this happened to me yesterday while watching Pokerface. End of episode lost and went on the the next one. No way to go back and rewatch the episode. Annoying. Won’t be renewing next month.
Yes we have been experiencing this a lot. One thing I’ve noticed: you know how during the commercial breaks there is a countdown timer? If that is not there it’s an early warning that it’s going to do the premature autoplay to the next episode. Unfortunately, even when you know it’s coming there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do to prevent it. We’ve tried backing out all the way to the Roku menu and go back in and it still happens. Researching this I see it’s been happening to people FOR YEARS and Peacock’s only response is “We’ll get back to you.” NOT ACCEPTABLE!!!!!
Same here, but also had the same problem with CW. They claimed the the next update would resolve the problem. A year later, no update, same problem. Wonder how many other channels are using the crappy app.
It seems they are using the same app with by those bad programmers, which thinks the show is over after xx minutes, forgetting that the commercials are adding several minutes to the total time.
So it minimizes the screen before the credits even start to roll, and says “next episode starting”.
Here it is July 2023 and Yellowstone always cuts out 1 to 2 minutes at the end of each episode! When the next episode starts, about 45 seconds in, I get a pop up asking to skip ending credits that I obviously can’t see because it was cut off!
Here it is July 2023 and Yellowstone always cuts out 1 to 2 minutes at the end of each episode! When the next episode starts, about 45 seconds in, I get a pop up asking to skip ending credits that I obviously can’t see because it was cut off!
July 13,2023 I watch Days of our Lives everyday. It started cutting the last 5 minutes of the show off about a month ago. Also it use to not have commercials now I have to endure watching them. I tried to reach a customer service dept 😂they want a cc and charge me $74 a year no way. I was loving Peacock with days but now it sucks with it cutting off and commercials.
Same happens to me, but only on my TV. I get the whole show when I watch it on my phone. When I contacted them, they said it could be my tv! What in the world would that have to do with it?? I’ve watched days almost from it’s start, but am tempted to stop & go thru withdrawals! Days made a mistake going to Peacock.
July 13,2023 I watch Days of our Lives everyday. It started cutting the last 5 minutes of the show off about a month ago. Also it use to not have commercials now I have to endure watching them. I tried to reach a customer service dept 😂they want a cc and charge me $74 a year no way. I was loving Peacock with days but now it sucks with it cutting off and commercials.
It’s cutting off the last few minutes of Charmed too. Ruins viewing for me. I’ll get back to you” is what I’ll probably say if they ask why I’m canceling.
Yes still doing this on dateline episodes as of tonight. Frustrating.
I’m having the same problem with anything I watch on peacock.
Still cutting off episode on my paid plan too! Very frustrating!