A chat with Robyn Hurd

We were pleased to place Robyn Hurd at Fox Entertainment Global in January this year as Consultant EMEA, Content Sales. Searchlight’s Marketing Coordinator, Candace Francis-Dwyer recently sat down with Robyn to reflect on the past few months and learn more about her role and her thoughts on the current state of the industry.

Throughout Robyn’s career, she has consistently excelled in Sales roles and as a senior sales leader, she thrives on having direct territory responsibilities, allowing her to remain closely involved in the full sales process. She oversees the major European territories, primarily the UK and Iberia but also others. As well as working across linear and digital she also sells scripted and unscripted formats, animations and various genres across multiple markets.

Whilst working in sales for the last 30 year, she has witnessed a complete transformation of how content is bought and sold. Originally, distribution followed a clearly defined sequence from Pay TV to free TV to Cable or Satellite with strict holdbacks between each window.

Today that model has evolved, as the number of windows has multiplied and the traditional order has largely disappeared. For instance, free TV buyers often acquire content after Netflix, benefiting from the exposure and marketing driven by streaming platforms.

She has also observed a significant rise in revenue-shared models, particularly across FAST and AVOD where success depends on deep catalogues and recognisable franchises. In addition, the global expansion of streaming has fuelled the rise of large-scale international deals, shifting the market from a reginal to a truly worldwide focus.

When asked her leadership strategies, Robyn prioritises clarity, mentorship and collaboration as the foundations of her approach. She believes in providing her team with a clear understanding of rights, terms and deal structures to guide effective and strategic deal making.

Mentorship is central to her style as she invests time in guiding her team, offering clarity and hands-on learning opportunities such as client shadowing and participation in sales trips.

Robyn also places strong emphasis on rigorous rights management to maximise windowing opportunities, while ensuring newer team members feel supported through accessibility. Creating psychological safety, prompting questions and valuing diverse perspectives are all key to the inclusive, learning-focused environment.

The industry is healthy, creative and constantly evolving. While challenges persist such as advertising pressures and ongoing market consolidation Robyn sees continued strength in demand for content across multiple monetisation windows.

She believes linear TV remains far from being seen as irrelevant with audiences still engaged. The rise of FAST and AVOD platforms, particularly in the U.S. marks a major shift, though their global revenue potential is still emerging.

New formats like micro-dramas are exciting spaces for experimentation whether as revenue generators or incubators for fresh talent. Ultimately, she sees the industry’s adaptability and resilience as its defining strengths.

Robyn sees the greatest opportunities emerging in the continued growth of FAST and AVOD, though effective monetisation remains a challenge as advertising models evolve. Audience fragmentation and the decline of traditional ad revenue also present significant hurdles for the industry.

At the same time, Robyn believes real opportunity lies in creative partnerships and innovative deal-making by finding new ways to maximise rights, revenue and audience reach through flexibility and strategic thinking.

The discussion then turned to AI and it’s growing influence, she responded sharing AI will have a significant impact on content distribution, particularly in streamlining operational processes such as materials preparation and presentation creation. AI-driven localisation could make content more accessible to smaller broadcasters, helping to unlock additional catalogue for FAST and AVOD platforms.

While she recognises the ethical and legal challenges surrounding likeness and intellectual property rights, she views AI as a tool that enhances productivity and accessibility rather than replacing creativity. In the long term, she sees AI as a force that could democratise content creation, making it more inclusive and affordable, while also helping to discover and support emerging talent in an increasingly self-monetised creator landscape.

Robyn has observed a major shift across EMEA from scheduled linear viewing to on-demand streaming, with linear TV now serving largely as a promotional tool for its own digital platforms. Younger audiences, particularly Gen Z and Millennials rarely engage with live TV, while older generations still rely on it, though even they are gradually transitioning to streaming services.

Viewing habits are now driven by immediacy and flexibility: binge-watching entire seasons has become standard and short-form content, such as micro-dramas and mobile-first videos, continues to rise, especially amongst younger viewers.

At the same time, ‘long-tail’ viewing has become more prominent, as audiences rediscover shows years after release across different platforms. With exclusivity becoming less critical, collaboration and re-licensing are extending the lifecycle and reach of content more than ever before.

Finally, Robyn advises aspiring professionals in international content sales to immerse themselves in as much diverse content as possible. Developing an understanding of audience behaviour and creative intent is key. It is important to think critically about why content is commissioned and who it’s designed for, while also gaining a strong grasp of distribution models from Pay TV and SVOD to AVOD and FAST.

She recommends monitor the windowing strategies of top properties in the scripted and unscripted space staying up to date with platforms such as Tubi and Pluto, as well as and reading industry trades such as Broadcast, C21 and Variety, study the viewing data, understand how viewing habits are evolving. Above all, the value of curiosity and genuine passion in content opens doors to new opportunities in an industry that is changing rapidly.