Mumbai: Curt Marvis is recognized globally for his vast and successful experience in both traditional and digital media and for his pioneering efforts in digital distribution.
Marvis is currently CEO & Co-Founder of QYOU Media Inc., a publicly held company (TSXV: QYOU OTCQB: QYOUF) which operates in India and the United States producing and distributing content created by social media stars and digital content creators. In India, the company’s flagship brand, The Q, curates, produces and distributes premium content including television networks and VOD for cable and satellite television, OTT and mobile platforms.
QYOU Media’s India-based influencer marketing division, Chtrbox, is among the leading influencer marketing platforms in India for connecting brands and social media influencers. In the United States, the company creates and manages influencer marketing campaigns for major film studios, game publishers and brands.
QYOU Media in India the growth & the penetration.
The growth is massive for us if compared to when we started. We launched as a VAS channel on TATA Sky with English content and a very small audience base. We then shifted our focus to create a Hindi language version and began partnering with better creators and people that could relate to the audience that we were trying to reach. As this was being rolled out, COVID hit and hurt us a little bit in 2020; just as we were starting to get off the ground with advertisers. So, we waited until the situation settled and focused on the product. In late 2020 we were chasing channels like Zoom, Bindass and MTV on the GRP level. Our reach and the size of our audience just kept climbing. At this point, our COO, Krishna Menon insisted that we get our channel on DD Free Dish.
Today we have grown to become what I believe is considered a mainstream channel. We have since gone on to launch new channels on Connected TV, which we’re big believers in. We’re on app-based platforms like Snap and on mobile platforms like Jio TV. So, we have really expanded the audience reach with what we’re doing. We acquired Chtrbox two years ago and as a result added an influencer marketing business and agency here in India. So as a company, we are drastically more developed than we were when the original vision was to put a little channel up on TV in India. We also very recently acquired Maxamtech Digital Ventures, a gaming company, as part of our business.
On the growth of Connected TV and how has QYOU capitalised on it?
I’m a huge believer in the Connected TV business globally. More specifically for India since it’s free, and people want to have broadband connections. In addition, even without broadband if you can take your phone and you just cast your phone to the TV. So, I’m a huge believer in the Connected TV business in general.
We have witnessed the growth of CTV in the United States where if you are into a broadcast or a television business you must be part of the Connected TV space. This is going to happen here in India, and it’s just going to keep getting bigger and bigger. It’s going to spread out into the rural areas. The Connected TV prices are also very competitive. So, for us being on Connected TVs is a priority. It’s as important as anything that we’re doing right now.
On acquiring Chtrbox and Maxamtech Digital Venture.
We started as a single television channel, but the concept behind our business was always to be a media business that was multi-tiered. In terms of the platforms that we were on, the television channel was just the first step and the first building block of a much larger vision that we hope to accomplish. Our belief is that our audience is what we call ‘Young India’. And we believe that young India is dialled into what’s happening around the creator economy.
Everything we do is set up using this as the centre of our universe. Therefore, we are going to compete and do things with other products that are not just television, but mobile apps, and games. We are going to do things that people are going to use and be able to engage with transactional content and social commerce. All of this is on the roadmap.
On the recently launched Q PLAY direct-to-consumer app?
Q PLAY app aggregates all our channels under one roof. And it’s a lightweight app that requires no registration. The purpose of Q PLAY is that as a company we will get increasingly into a direct-to-consumer relationship. Now that we’re starting to build up more of a critical mass of reach on a weekly basis. Q PLAY app is putting our foot into the swimming pool and building that direct-to-consumer relationship.
On being on Free Dish and how does it drive business to your channels
DD Free Dish is a spectacular platform in terms of the number of users that it has. It really was a game changer for us because I think it also exposed us to an audience that we didn’t even necessarily know about but that we do know now. This is an audience that had never seen a lot of what we were doing and a lot of people that watch us on Free Dish hadn’t really been that exposed to YouTube or to social media.
As a brand, we’re trying to be new, fresh and different. Our tagline is ‘Zara Hatke’ for a reason. We think we are a little different. We are a little offbeat. We also think that young people all over the world, especially in India, are very cost conscious about content. Hence our audiences are going to show up on a platform that they can get for very little money. So Free Dish aligns with where we are at as well as in that regard.
Way forward for 2023
There are several things. The direct-to-consumer strategy that we were talking about is an important priority for us to continue to venture cautiously into it. I think a lot of what 2023 is going to be about is starting to leverage the direct-to-consumer relationship. To build the foundation. It’s also about doing more of what we have done right now better, to monetize it, satisfying the consumer to drive more consistent audience numbers. All of those things are a huge priority for us right now. We are at a place right now in India where we need to make sure that we’re optimising all that we have been building over the last couple of years. It’s not just about running onto the next thing; it’s about making the most of what we’ve got. So that’s a big part of what we want to do this year.
On linear TV and Connected TV co-existing in India in the future
Change always takes longer than everybody thinks; people are creatures of habit. I’m a big believer that human nature is kind of constant, even from country to country and that people don’t change their habits instantaneously. Even young people, we talked about how fickle they are, it still takes time for people to change how they do things. Traditional linear is going to be around for years and years. Areas like rural and tier two, tier three, and tier four cities are single television households and they have only one smartphone. There’s a lot that’s got to change before that kind of transitions into the world that we know in the metros and urban areas today.
