CASE STUDY-Bayyinah TV helping Muslims better understand their religion

Photo: Bayyinah Founder and CEO Nouman Ali Khan

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Bayyinah TV is one of the key offerings of Bayyinah Institute. It aims to distill scholarly research on the Quran, Arabic, and Islamic history into a digestible format for mass consumption through a digital online platform. 

Bayyinah TV works to produce rich, meaningful content on free platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. Many viewers who discover Bayyinah TV on social media end up becoming subscribers, further strengthening its steadily growing worldwide reach.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

1. The founder, Nouman Ali Khan, has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Jordan.
2. Bayyinah TV is recognized as one of the top 10 leading digital Islamic services in the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2015/16 report, based on an aggregation of global rankings in web traffic sites, including Alexa and SimilarWeb.

OPPORTUNITIES BEING ADDRESSED

There is significant demand for educational services that go beyond traditional classroom-based instruction and provide open access and flexible learning for users. The massive open online courses (MOOC) market was estimated at $1.83 billion in 2015, with projected growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36 percent to reach an $8.5 billion market by 2020.

This growth is driven by rapidly increasing demand for courses due to the high cost of education and the inability of colleges and universities to meet the global demand for higher education.

Additionally, Muslims are estimated to be worth $107 billion to the global digital economy in 2014 and is a big growth market for providers such as Bayyinah TV to tap into. 

COMPANY STRATEGY

Helping Muslims improve their spirituality through a subscription package

Bayyinah TV’s online classes are targeted to Muslims and non-Muslims seeking to enhance their understanding of Islam. Founder Nouman Ali Khan highlighted four key audiences: (1) women, (2) Muslims not well-versed in Islam, (3) youth interested in Islamic studies, and (4) non-Muslims interested in learning about Islam.

Bayyinah TV currently has seven courses, including “Arabic with Husna” (Arabic studies), “Quran: Cover to Cover” (running translation and explanation of the entire Quran), “Divine Speech” (literary appreciation of the Quran), and “Themes from the Quran” (lectures on different topics and subjects in the Quran), as well as many extras, such as khutbahs (sermons), workshops, and talks. The site has over 400 videos and lessons and is constantly growing.

The channel currently offers two subscription plans: a monthly subscription ($11/month) and a yearly subscription ($112/year).

Emphasizing scale over revenue

Although Bayyinah TV has a subscription model, it seeks to build scale in its offering. Nouman Ali Khan explained, “One of our key values is that the value we provide should far exceed the cost to our customers … Goodwill will always be valued more than revenue. For instance, we would much rather have a massive base of unpaid subscribers benefiting from our services than an exclusive paid-only subscriber base.”

To support this objective, the company has an anonymous gift program. “There is no barrier for entry,” Nouman Ali Khan said. “Any user that cannot afford subscription is able to use a gift subscription at no cost. Through an anonymous gift sponsorship program, many of our paid subscribers support the constantly growing gift recipient base.”

Offering a range of complementary services

Bayyinah TV is the core and most accessible service offered by the Bayyinah Institute, but several others have also been developed to meet the varied needs of its subscriber base.

There is a range of offline and intensive classes for students keen to learn in-person, such as “The Dream Program”, an intensive six-month program offered annually in Dallas; a part-time access program available both online and in-person in Dallas; and an intensive 30-day program held annually in Dallas.

OPPORTUNITIES

Bayyinah TV has significant room to expand its core offering and continue growing its user base. Raising venture capital can help accelerate growth and enable the company to broaden its Islamic media offering.

Nouman Ali Khan commented, “Though VC funding has been on the table, Bayyinah TV continues to be bootstrapped and has a secure growth trajectory not needing additional funding. In the hypothetical case that Bayyinah TV did accept VC funding, primary investment would be made in creative film production.”

CHALLENGES

The company faces several operational constraints as it seeks to grow. Nouman Ali Khan mentioned three in particular: developing technologies to meet user demand and bandwidth; expanding customer support and engagement capabilities; and navigating through video censorship in certain countries.

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