Hiway Closed Beta: What We Built, What We Learned, What’s Next
Over the past few months, we quietly launched Hiway in Closed Beta to a group of early filmmakers, distributors, and rights holders. Here’s what we learned.
In this article
- Hiway Hits the Red Carpet
- The Industry Problem
- What We Delivered in Closed BETA
- What Our Users Are Saying
- What We Learned
- What’s Coming Next
- Public Launch Incoming
Over the past few months, we quietly launched Hiway in Closed BETA to a group of early users: independent filmmakers, rights holders, distributors, financiers and creators. This wasn’t a soft launch. It was a full test of the workflows, tech stack, and business model.
We didn’t just ask for feedback. We’ve built our roadmap around it.
“The system is broken. We need new infrastructure, not another platform.”
That’s exactly what we’re building.
Last week marked a milestone: Hiway powered the UK premiere of The Partisan, a WWII spy thriller starring Morgane Polanski and Malcolm McDowell, produced by High Fliers Films.
🍿 The Partisan premiered at Vue Leicester Square.🇬🇧 Streaming exclusively in the UK via Hiway from next month.
As part of the campaign, we launched a competition for fans to win red carpet tickets by watching the trailer - our first public-facing distribution push and proof of how flexible the platform can be.
The feedback across the board is consistent:
Content is hard to monetise
You lose control the moment you hit share
You don’t own your audience or your data
You wait months to be paid
Tech platforms take too big a cut and gate your fans
Hiway changes that. It gives you one place to:
Upload and protect your content
Share with buyers, fans, press or partners
Set pricing, rights, access rules
Track views, earnings, and engagement
Monetise via PPV, rentals, and coming soon, subscriptions, advertising, sponsorship or e-commerce
Get paid fast, split revenue automatically
You keep your audience. You keep your data. You keep your money.
SmartLink SharingOne link per title. Switch from screener to sales link. Track everything.
Landing Pages & EmbedsCustom players and storefronts, hosted by Hiway or embedded on your site.
Pay-Per-View (TVOD)Local market pricing, buy or rent.
Real-Time Analytics & CRMViewer data, earnings, and contact capture (both B2B and D2C) in one place.
Rights Management ToolsTerritory-level access, multi-language
Secure StorageMaster files, ads, social content, behind the scenes, press junkets - all with relevant metadata.
“It’s easy to make a film. It’s very, very difficult to get a film seen.I’ve looked at a lot of platforms, and from a technical and interface point of view, I haven’t seen anything as well thought through as this.Honestly, this should’ve been built ten years ago.”“Hiway feels like a breath of fresh air. As an independent producer, being able to decide what content goes up, how it’s shared, how it’s priced, and who sees it, all while staying in control of the audience, is exactly what we need.”“Finally! I’ve been waiting for technology like Hiway to come to market for years, providing us with all the tools we need to manage and monetise our movies worldwide.”
“Hiway gave us the ability to launch Edward & Bowie directly to Bowie fans across the internet: no middlemen, no delays, no nonsense.”“Hiway has given us an opportunity to go directly to Ricky Gervais and music fans across the internet, across the world.”“The way Hiway lets you upload once and sell everywhere, globally - is a game-changer.”
“This is the tool we’ve been waiting for - especially for films that don’t have a studio behind them.”
“We made our first revenue during this BETA.Thank you!”
Closed BETA was not just about testing tech. It was about surfacing real needs:
Creators need built-in marketing tools, not just distribution.
Rights holders want granular control over windowing and territories.
Everyone wants to own their fan data.
Influencers want to monetise directly, not rent reach from platforms.
Distributors need B2B tools for secure storage and sharing with partners, colleagues, investors, agents and production companies.
We’re building tools that respond directly to these needs:
Find Your Audience – AI-powered marketing to reach and convert fans
Revenue Sharing – Licensing contract-driven splits with cast, crew, and investors
E-Commerce in Video – Add merch, tickets, or products into your player
SmartRooms – Private, curated sales rooms for agents, buyers, and press
Live Streaming – for sport, music, creators, premieres, events, and Q&As via your Control Panel
We’re preparing for a broader launch in Q4. The waitlist is open. New features roll out weekly. Every line of code is built around real user feedback.
Hiway isn’t another content platform. It’s the infrastructure you wish existed 10 years ago. Now it does.