As a seasoned media executive with years of experience in the industry, I find McDermott’s strategy for Hayu intriguing. The focus on single-genre platforms and niche streaming services is not only smart but also necessary in today’s competitive marketplace. It allows them to cater specifically to their target audience, providing a tailored viewing experience that resonates with their subscribers.
In March of 2016, Netflix expanded its service to an additional 130 nations, such as India, Nigeria, Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey. However, major Hollywood studios are not expected to introduce comprehensive streaming platforms for several more years.
Comcast’s NBCUniversal is attempting to stay one step ahead by developing a unique streaming service focused on reality TV shows, capitalizing on its robust portfolio of reality programming outside the United States. On March 1, 2016, they introduced this streaming service, Hayu, in the U.K., Ireland, and Australia.
As a diehard fan, I can’t wait to make “my go-to spot” for unmissable, globally acclaimed reality TV shows! In essence, it’s a one-stop shop designed specifically for us enthusiasts who crave nothing but reality programming all day long!
Hayu is fueled by the Kardashian family, a well-known group of housewives, as well as other prominent figures from reality TV. Notably, shows like “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” its offshoots such as “I Am Cait” and “The Real Housewives,” as well as “Million Dollar Listing,” form a significant portion of their content library. Additionally, the “Top Chef” series and other offerings are also part of Hayu’s programming lineup.
The Hayu streaming service expanded to Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark in November 2017, before making its debut in Canada in September 2018 and the Benelux countries in December 2018. Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore, followed suit in October 2019. Germany and Austria joined the platform in November 2020, with France, Italy, Spain, and the Czech Republic among 11 other European countries in February 2021. The latest addition to the list was New Zealand in 2023.
As a devoted fan, I’m thrilled that Hayu, now almost nine years old, has expanded its reach to 45 markets worldwide. This weekend, on October 26, the first-ever Hayu FanFest will unfold in London, marking another exciting milestone in the brand’s journey of growth and evolution.
In a natural and easy to read manner:
In every market where we operate, we’re still experiencing growth, although this rate can differ from one market to another. In our established markets like the UK, for instance, our focus has shifted towards maintaining existing subscribers and identifying premium customers with greater potential value.
Hayu was among the first to enter the streaming market, which has since grown quite competitive. As NBC generates a significant amount of unscripted content and leads in its production, the platform was developed before many direct-to-consumer SVOD platforms had debuted. McDermott elaborates, “We produce around 2,000 hours of unscripted content annually, with a large portion coming from renowned U.S. brands like E!, Bravo, and Oxygen. This early entry was driven by our desire to make this content accessible to as many viewers as possible.
It’s been said that reality programming didn’t always have a track record for consistency compared to other genres. However, NBCU found potential in this area due to the strong interest shown by dedicated fans of reality TV. As McDermott explains, “We also knew from our domestic experience in the U.S. that people really enjoy reality TV and tend to consume a lot of it.” The success came about because we had a wealth of content at our disposal back then, not just a few hundred hours. In fact, we launched with over 3,000 hours of content, which is a substantial amount to start with, and since we produce so much content regularly, we can continually add to it each year.
As a passionate fan, I’m always excited to discover new content on Hayu, and here’s why: every year, we get between 750 to 1,000 hours of fresh programming! That means in the U.K., we’re currently enjoying around 10,000 hours of content from over 300 shows. Most of this content is from NBCUniversal, but they also acquire shows from other studios like Warner and Paramount to fill gaps during the summer months when new content from our network partners isn’t as abundant. Some of the shows you might find are “Paris in Love,” “Basketball Wives,” and “Love & Hip Hop.
As a gamer residing in Canada, I’m thrilled to be the exclusive license holder for the U.K. version of “Love Island” on Hayu. Since our streaming platform is available globally, we can easily shift content like this from one country to another, ensuring that we bring the best shows to our diverse audience across different regions.
Hayu’s method of handling language is distinct from other streamers. As McDermott explains to THR, “We decided against dubbing or subtitling our content for several reasons.” One reason being the technical aspect of it, which would involve expensive dubbing. Another reason is based on research findings, showing that viewers prefer watching content in its original language and with the original speaker’s voice, such as Kim Kardashian’s. Consequently, Hayu opted to follow an initial English language path, then an English-friendly one afterward.
In essence, the upcoming region, known as the Nordics, is predominantly multilingual with English being widely spoken and a significant amount of content being disseminated in English.
In examining Southeast Asia, it was intriguing to discover that, as seen through our YouTube channels, audiences in countries like the Philippines and India were consuming a significant amount of English content. Using this data, we hypothesized that there could be a potential market. Consequently, we expanded our presence into the Philippines, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
He doesn’t reveal specific numbers, but he does mention that the UK is Hayu’s largest market, with Canada and Australia coming in second and third respectively.
The market with the largest number of non-native English speakers is Scandinavia, particularly the Nordics. McDermott describes it as an exceptional television market, with viewers consuming vast amounts of content. It’s also a highly promising market for unscripted content and for our company specifically. McDermott elaborates that we employ a two-pronged approach in this market. We have our own direct-to-consumer platform, but we also collaborate with local partners in most cases. This means we integrate our Hayu platform within their platforms. For instance, in Norway, TV 2 is our partner and they offer the TV 2 Play streaming service. So if you subscribe to this service, it includes a Hayu subscription as well.
The executive emphasizes that Hayu doesn’t have a preference for whether its subscriptions come directly or through partners like TV2, Amazon, YouTube, etc. Instead, they aim to be subscription-platform independent, meaning they are fine with subscriptions coming from any source. This strategy is adopted to ensure the widest possible access to our content and encourage more people to subscribe to our platform.
McDermott has been asked if there’s another company offering a service like Hayu. He explains, “We believe we’re the globe’s unique all-reality subscription video-on-demand platform, and that’s significant to us. We don’t aim to compete with other SVOD services providing general entertainment. Instead, we view our platform as a supportive service.
He continues: “So we wouldn’t say that we’re competing with Netflix or competing with Amazon Prime. You would have a Netflix subscription and a Hayu subscription. In order to do that, we have to price our platform quite competitively — in the U.K., it’s 4.99 pounds ($6.48). As a result, we think that we can be a complementary service. We are a single-genre service as well focused only on reality. So, while other services may have some reality content, none of them have only reality content.”
Despite many general entertainment streamers continually increasing their subscription fees to boost their profits, Hayu in the U.K. has only seen a single price hike from its initial 3.99 pounds ($5.18). McDermott also mentions that there has been one price increase in Australia and Canada as well. “It’s an essential part of our business strategy over time,” says McDermott, “but it’s crucial to stay competitively priced since consumers often face tough decisions.
Specialty streamers, those who focus on specific genres, are experiencing a surge in popularity, McDermott contends. “Single-genre platforms are arising in the direct-to-consumer market, and they represent a robust choice for subscription. The competitive landscape of general entertainment is intense, and the business model can be overwhelming due to factors like marketing, subscriber growth, content costs, and more. However, being a single-genre service enables us to zero in on our ideal subscribers and offer them countless hours of content tailored specifically for their interests.
As a gamer, I’m super excited to share that we’re venturing into a fresh territory – live events! This coming Saturday, Hayu FanFest is dominating Magazine London in the East End of the city that never sleeps, from 4 p.m. local time. The ticket price matches our monthly subscription at just 4.99 pounds. With the event already sold out, get ready for panels, meet-and-greets, and an unforgettable after-party!
McDermott explains to THR that this next step in our growth aims to enhance fan engagement. The Hayu FanFast initiative offers a unique opportunity for UK fans, as well as international viewers, to connect with our prominent stars. We’re planning on inviting some of the most recognized American celebrities to interact with their fans through this event. This is designed to create an exciting and interactive experience for both parties.
Some notable celebrities heading to London include Andy Cohen, host and executive producer of The Real Housewives, Lisa Barlow from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, Craig Conover and Austen Kroll from Southern Charm, Sutton Stracke (from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills), Jessel Taank (from The Real Housewives of New York City), and Captain Sandy Yawn from Below Deck, along with several others.
McDermott stated that since this is the first year for FanFest, they are going to assess its success before deciding whether it will become an annual event. However, based on the strong ticket sales and high demand, he expresses hope that they might be able to host it again in the future, but only after evaluating how well it goes this time around.
With no definite plans announced for the resumption of Hayu FanFest, could the platform be considering original content as an option instead? “Original content has been something we’ve contemplated,” McDermott shares with The Hollywood Reporter. “It hasn’t been a part of our strategy up until now because we have access to a vast library of popular content. However, it is definitely something we are exploring.
McDermott explains that the brand name Hayu was chosen for its simplicity, as they aimed to introduce a new platform featuring various types of reality content without relying on an established brand. They looked for words they could trademark and build around, considering both the brand and a memorable, easy-to-remember URL since more platforms were web-based at that time. Hence, Hayu was created!
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2024-10-25 11:25