UK ‘Netflix for history’ firm seeks funding

A UK VoD start-up positioning itself as a “Netflix for history shows” has launched a crowdfunding campaign led by TV presenter and podcaster Dan Snow.

Dan Snow

VoD history channel HistoryHit.TV is aiming to raise £100,000 (US$127,000) on Indiegogo in the next month and is already a quarter of the way towards that at the time of writing.

History Hit, the firm behind the service, is aiming to launch it to the public in November, priced at £5.99 a month in the UK and US$6.99 internationally.

It will produce original series covering historical subjects, and claims to be in discussions with producers about new shows. It will also feature existing documentaries and factual titles acquired from distributors.

The company has also pledged to donate 10% of its annual profits towards education projects around the world.

Snow, chief creative officer of History Hit, is best known in the UK for his work with the BBC on programmes such as The One Show, while he also hosts the podcast Dan Snow’s History Hit.

“Mainstream broadcasters operate a commissioning system where one or two people decide what they think you want to watch. We think this is old-fashioned and ripe for disruption,” he said.

The executive team at History Hit includes head of digital Justin Gayner, the former creative director and co-founder of UK online producer ChannelFlip, which was sold to News Corp in 2012, and veteran factual producer Tom Clifford as CEO.

Clifford said: “Traditional broadcast TV, by the nature of its broad audience, has a challenge when it comes to intelligent content for people with a passion for history.”

“As a channel dedicated to high-quality, intelligent programming, we will deliver a level of documentary better suited to our audience – and without the need to chase ratings. We want to take topics and themes and cover them in richer and more comprehensive detail than any TV channel has ever done before.”