The division, established on July 15, 2007, primarily produced one-off factual programs and specials, airing across both NBCUniversal and third-party networks.

Peacock served as an incubator for new production technologies that have later been adopted by NBC News, such as tapeless recording.

The merger came in response to the growing popularity of non-fiction programming on television (with a particular emphasis on cable channels and digital outlets), and in the wake of a recent series of budget cuts at NBC Universal that affected NBC News's long-form production units[2] In May 2012, Today senior producer Marc Victor stepped down and joined Peacock to lead a new unit, Tomorrow Productions — which would leverage the resources and talent of Today.

[1] The studio shut down on March 2, 2020, with NBC News stating that it was "shifting its documentary strategy to an entirely new model, consistent with industry trends".

An employee reported that streaming video had reduced the demand for the type of low-cost documentaries traditionally made by Peacock.