Hayu now available in Australia: Review

At just $5.99 it’s by far the cheapest streaming TV service you can sign up to. However, while Netflix, Stan and Presto which are all battling to offer you a huge variety of shows, genres and formats just like a TV network would – Hayu has a set niche and genre – it’s all about Reality TV.

Rather than offering a few series or options of different Reality shows mixed in with dramas, comedy and other content Hayu is proud to be super-serving reality TV fans.

And it’s available today in Australia.

Hayu sent me an iPad with the service pre-loaded before the launch to see how the experience work, and right from the start – it was very similar to my experience with Reality TV shows on Foxtel.  I handed the iPad to my wife and told her to give it ago.

Having downgraded our Foxtel to be just the basic package with sport, we no longer have access to the Real Housewives of wherever it is, so this seemed perfect timing.

The interface is very different to all the other streaming services, because Hayu looks to over-serve content.  Not just the episodes of TV shows but related articles and social content too.

For the Real Housewives there are links to the Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts of all the cast members.  There’s also links to online articles about the shows, broken down into individual episodes – this becomes a real deep-dive into your love of any reality show on the platform.

Technically, it’s fantastic.  Streams are good quality though on a 65 inch screen they are behind what you might be getting on Foxtel, and you can view them on your mobile, tablet, desktop and up on your big-screen via AirPlay or ChromeCast.  It’s really quite easy.

We had some buffering issues originally, which turned out to be our home network – switching to our second network cleared that up.

And for that $5.99 you’ve got over 3,000 episodes of shows like the Kardashians, Real Housewives, Top Chef and The Millionaire Matchmaker.

Perhaps the most important test was the episode delivery.  Having watched recent episodes on Foxtel, my wife was curious to see if the most recent “housewives” was on Hayu.  Tick.  The Majority of US shows will be available on the service on the same day as their US launch or broadcast.

The upshot is this, we now have 20 free-to-air TV channels offering  a vast array of shows.  Plus you’ve got services like Netflix, Stan and Presto competing for your streaming dollar.  Hayu doesn’t compete with any of this, it complements it.  If anything, Foxtel customers who take a good hard look at their viewing and perhaps realise these Reality TV shows are the majority of it – they should be looking at what a $5.99 subscription might save them on their monthly plan.

Like the others, there is no contract, no setup fees, and you can test it all out for 30 days for free – after that, $5.99 – almost not worth thinking about.  Give it a go – if the Kardashians and Housewives are your thing of course:)