In Conversation with Reagan Feeney, SVP, Live TV Content Programming & Partnerships, Hulu

RW: Last year, Hulu became the official streaming destination for some of the largest music festivals in the US, including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, and Austin City Limits Music Festival. Tell us more about what motivated Hulu to venture into livestreaming music festivals.

RF: At the heart of every decision we make at Hulu are our subscribers, and after livestreaming Lollapalooza in 2021 (our first-ever exclusive live music event), we noticed a strong response and saw an opportunity for more. The pandemic certainly increased consumers’ appetites to have live events available from the comfort of their own homes, and we haven’t seen that desire slow down even now that events have returned to normal operations. We are fortunate to partner with amazing organizations like Live Nation that have helped us build out our live offerings significantly over the past couple of years.

RW: Hulu is bringing some of the most highly anticipated music festivals into people’s living rooms across the US. How is livestreaming music festivals helping you connect with new audiences?

RF: Hulu and Live Nation share a similar desire to provide entertainment for diverse audiences no matter what type of programming they’re into, or music genre they favor. By engaging with the artists who perform at the festivals and encouraging them to activate their passionate fanbases, we’ve seen new audiences logging in to Hulu to make sure they don’t miss a single song. We’ve also seen high levels of engagement and viewership across our live events, meaning that not only are fans tuning in to their favorite artists, but they’re staying to watch others as well.

This comes as no surprise, as we already knew our subscribers were passionate about music. Our on-demand music programming, like Academy Award-winning documentary Summer of Soul, critically-acclaimed docuseries McCartney 3, 2,1, and library favorites like Glee, American Idol, and The Masked Singer, are incredibly popular, and we recently expanded our Hulu + Live TV lineup to include several linear Vevo channels. Adding the festival livestreams was another way to super-serve these fanbases!

RW: In addition to livestreaming the festival performances, you also have the Hulu House onsite – a fan favorite. As a traditionally more digital-facing brand, what has connecting with fans in person during live music moments brought to your brand?

RF: We are always looking for ways to provide added value to our current subscribers, and engage potential new ones. Having the onsite activations has allowed concert-goers to understand the Hulu brand's unique spirit fully. So we wanted to find a way for them to experience a little piece of Hulu, and we think we’ve delivered that via the Hulu House this year.

RW: Hulu is setting new expectations around livestreaming live events. What’s special about live content to your viewers and platform?

RF: For more than three years now, Hulu has been the go-to destination for subscribers to stream live events, including music festivals, sports, news, and cultural events. It is just one of the many ways that our platform sets itself apart in a very busy streaming landscape. Consumers have come to expect that they can find it on Hulu no matter what kind of live content they’re searching for – whether that be a music festival they couldn’t travel to, their favorite team’s latest game, or a national news event. Through these events, we are able to provide a shared experience and engage viewers not only through the livestream but through other channels like our social media pages. It’s amazing to see first-hand the power of these culture-shifting events, and we are proud that Hulu has become a part of that conversation.