Hayu, the streaming service specialising in bringing us reality TV such as Keeping up with The Kardashians, Real Housewives and Top Chef is now the first in Australia to offer offline viewing.
The only all-reality service of its kind — curated and fully integrated with social media — Hayu launched for Australian audiences in March, and it basically offers everything we wish “regular” streaming services would.
There’s over 3,000 episodes of content, with over 500 slated to be added every year. The “Box Sets” make it easy to catch a series from the very beginning, and most episode are available at the same time as the US. You can watch on multiple devices — smartphone, tablet, laptop, Smart TV, Apple TV — and now offline on both smartphone and tablet, too. And it’s less than $6 a month.
Since most of its viewers are social media fans (The Kardashians, for example, have over 100 million Facebook fans) hayu knows that’s where its market is, and puts the effort in. “Snippets” are short takes from the shows designed to be shared on social. Even the ratings system uses emojis instead of a star rating — you find programs based on your mood.
NBCUniversal International also struck a deal with Foxtel in June including free hayu access for E! Entertainment Television package subscribers.
While the content of hayu may not be for everyone, it’s hard to argue with its ambition — and it definitely ticks a lot of boxes we’d like to see other streaming services take note of.