Media Insider: Hayu streaming service relaunches in New Zealand with expanded offering

NBCUniversal's Hayu is expanding in New Zealand, offering exclusive TV series such as season four and five of Hacks.

Listen to this article — Media Insider: Hayu streaming service relaunches in New Zealand with expanded offering

The battle for Kiwi viewers’ hearts, eyes and wallets is intensifying with global TV giant NBCUniversal expanding its Hayu streaming service in New Zealand.

Hayu launched in New Zealand in October 2023, offering a set of exclusive reality series – including Below Deck and Real Housewives – and a library of hundreds of popular shows.

But as streaming wars intensify – Warner Bros Discovery’s HBO Max is about to launch in New Zealand as well – Hayu is expanding its menu, with new-release shows beyond its core menu of reality TV.

It is relaunching and refreshing today as a general entertainment streaming platform, offering expanded content, including major movies and TV series and exclusive, premium scripted shows such as Hacks, Prisoner and The Five Star Weekend.

In making the move, NBCUniversal has signalled its intention to compete far more fiercely with the likes of Netflix, Amazon’s Prime, Disney+, Neon, TVNZ+ and even YouTube.

That’s before HBO Max launches on June 16 – shifting its own hit shows from Sky TV’s Neon platform.

Below Deck is one of the world's most popular reality TV shows.

“When it comes to New Zealand – where we have long super-served our loyal and predominantly female fan base with an unrivalled reality TV proposition – we saw an opportunity to build on that by evolving into a female-skewing general entertainment service," International DTC NBCUniversal managing director Hendrik McDermott told Media Insider today.

He declined to share Hayu’s subscription numbers in New Zealand, other than to say he was pleased with the momentum since late 2023.

Current subscribers pay $9.99 a month for Hayu and will do so for the “foreseeable future”. New subscribers will pay $10.99 a month with the expanded content.

Hayu operates in 45 markets globally; New Zealand is the first where the streamer is expanding its content beyond its usual menu of reality shows and library of other titles.

The majority of its reality shows stream on Hayu on the same day as the USA, including The Real Housewives, Below Deck and Vanderpump Rules.

Other examples of shows, series and movies that will feature on Hayu include Universal Television comedies The Office, Parks and Recreation, Will and Grace and 30 Rock and NBCUniversal drama series Suits, House and Downton Abbey.

Universal movies Jurassic World Rebirth, How to Train Your Dragon, Wicked: For Good, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and Prime Minister will also be made available in the “Pay-1 window”.

Meanwhile, HBO Max has yet to announce its New Zealand pricing. In Australia, HBO Max costs between A$11.99 and A$21.99 a month.

Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie is one of New Zealand’s most experienced senior journalists and media leaders. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including Managing Editor, NZ Herald Editor and Herald on Sunday Editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.