Peacock has acquired the rights to stream Love Island USA seasons 4 and 5 after the first three aired on CBS. Based on the British reality dating show Love Island, the American version is one of many in the international community; other countries that host their own versions include Australia, Spain, France and Poland. Since 2019, viewers in the United States have enjoyed watching the nicknamed islanders attempt to stay coupled up to share the $100,000 grand prize. If couples aren't careful, they can even be voted off by the public, who are the same group that chooses the winner.
Love Island USA has been full of twists, turns, drama and laughs since its first episode. While most people that match will break up long before their season begins airing, some, like season 3's Shannon & Josh and Cashay & Cinco, remain a match made in heaven. Despite the entertainment Love Island USA brings to fans, ratings have always been on the lower end of CBS' programming. Although season 1's episodes averaged 2.19 million viewers, season 2 viewership dramatically dipped to 1.62 million. Season 3 in 2021 fared a bit better at 1.66 million viewers; to compare, Big Brother season 23, which aired the same year on CBS, averaged 4.08 million.
According to sources from THR, ITV, which produces Love Island USA, put the show's rights up for sale when CBS wanted to scale back the number of episodes for season 4. After continuously lower-ended ratings, this seems to have been the last straw. The bidding war, which was described as a “highly competitive situation” for Love Island, was ultimately won by Peacock, which is owned by NBCUniversal. Chairman of Entertainment Content Susan Rovner explained that Peacock is looking to expand their audience, saying, “As we continue to make Peacock a destination for must-watch original programming, partnering with a global powerhouse like ITV enables us to build on their internationally beloved formats to attract all new fans to the platform." ITV CEO David George reaffirmed the partnership, explaining, “Peacock and NBCU are the perfect home for Love Island because of their strategy to grow the show, utilizing the greater NBCU television portfolio and other platforms to help propel the series."
Announcing the good news on Twitter, Peacock revealed that their heart was beating faster than normal due to the excitement. With their clever spin on the heart rate meme, the news quickly began circulating. Many fans are excited that Love Island USA is moving from a cable network to a streaming platform, as they believe this will affect the level of censorship. And according to Jenny Groom, who is NBCUniversal's Executive VP of Alternative Programming and Development, they're right, saying, "We are thrilled to be able to bring an all-new version to Peacock this summer anchoring our unscripted slate.” George did consider Peacock's acquisition to be "an unprecedented deal for an unscripted brand" but that ITV was "excited to elevate the show through a bold new collaboration.”
Love Island USA season 4 will premiere this summer and began scouting new contestants at the end of last year. While ITV and Peacock have confirmed that the show's format won't be changing, there are rumors that the show may finally introduce LGBTQ+ couples after Love Island UK came under fire for claiming the decision would make casting "a sort of logical difficulty." Now that a new company will be hosting seasons 4 and 5, fans are interested to see how the move impacts Love Island USA.