Despite taking its name from one of the flashiest animals on the planet, NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service is at risk of blending in with the flock.

On Thursday at Rockefeller Center, the media company, owned by the cable giant Comcast, made the case that Peacock would distinguish itself from Netflix and Disney Plus, among others in an increasingly crowded field, because it will rely on advertisements, rather than subscriptions, to generate revenue, while offering live broadcasts, including news programming and sports coverage, in addition to 15,000 hours of TV shows and movies.

The streaming service announced itself to the world with the help of a 15,000-pound topiary peafowl sculpture that towered over throngs of Midtown tourists for much of the day. As the 4 p.m. presentation approached, investors, journalists and ad-agency people headed through the doors of 30 Rock toward Studio 8H, the home of “Saturday Night Live,” to hear the Peacock pitch from company executives and stars.

Stephen B. Burke, the chief executive of NBCUniversal who recently announced that he would step down in August, was the first to take the stage. He described Peacock as “the equivalent of a 21st century broadcast business, delivered on the internet” before making way for a procession of NBC talent.