Tag: MTV

Music channels face uncertainty

Year 2010 saw major changes in the music and youth TV channel genre. Firstly, the space got further cluttered with the launch of a new player – Mastiii. Secondly, at least three channels – MTV, UTV Bindass and 9XM – were fighting week-on-week to know who is first among the equals. And thirdly, the focus of the channels shifted – some went for pure music and others for pure youth.

The 13-odd channels in the genre (as per Tam) are locked in a rat race. From January –December 2010, in the C&S 15+ age group of Hindi speaking Market (HSM), MTV and 9XM were leading the pack with a 14 per cent average market share. UTV Bindass was, however, in hot pursuit with 13.9 per cent.

To add on to the fierce competition, Sri Adhikari Brothers’ Mastiii, which launched in July, quickly climbed and captured a good 12.6 per cent average share.

Meanwhile, Channel [V], Zoom (Bollywood and lifestyle channel), B4U Music, ETC and E24 (Bollywood news channel), which Tam puts in the same genre, followed with 9.1 per cent, 8.8 per cent, 7.7 per cent, 6.5 per cent and 6.3 per cent respectively of the overall pie.

The also rans include Zing, Imagine Showbiz and Vh1.

The question remains: How the music and youth channels will survive with such competition? Industry pundits peg the whole pie between Rs 2.5–3 billion yearly and believe the market is small while the players are too many. Some say that the music space has undergone tremendous transformation and today they all have the more or less same generic content – be it music or reality shows.

But how true is it? Answers Channel [V] EVP and GM Prem Kamath, “TV is not the primary medium for music anymore as it is available everywhere. More importantly, the greatest monetisation in television comes from differentiation. The biggest limitation of the music television model has been that there is no scope whatsoever in differentiating the content of one channel from another. Every channel has access to the same pool of music and, hence, very little differentiates one channel from another.”

And to counter this situation, Channel [V] has cut down its reliance on music drastically. The channel airs music only between 7-10 am band, which is a prime slot for music channels.

However, at the same time, pure play music channels – 9XM and Mastiii – are doing great so far as ratings go. What is their success mantra?

9XM programming head Amar Tidke says, “It’s all about how you package your content. Yes, you have to break through the clutter and for that we have animated characters.”

Tidke believes that other “youth channels” have diluted the music proposition. And on the point that music is skewed towards Bollywood only, Tidke strongly replies that it is wholesome music. “Bollywood music contains all the forms of music including romantic, sad, sufi, bhajans, etc. So it is wrong to say that we are neglecting other forms of music,” he says.

And while Channel [V] and Bindass are youth channels, through and through, MTV, the long standing undisputed leader of the genre, changed its positioning twice in the year.

While MTV continued cutting down its music content to 20 per cent, in the later part of the year it backtracked and increased it to 50 per cent. Some rival channels executives believe the step taken by MTV is rather unfortunate. “The channel has lost its positioning. It had a head start with cult shows like Roadies. But they have spent a lot and the latest seasons of the shows did not perform well. The high cost may have been a reason behind going back,” one senior executive on condition of anonymity said.

However, MTV India channel head Aditya Swamy said that the channel has adopted a new “Raw” identity. “MTV as a brand is much bigger than a TV channel,” Swamy said. “We felt that a good combination of music and reality is necessary, so we have increased the music content.”

However, experts believe that pure music channels 9XM and Mastiii are forcing the older music channels to relook on their music content. “MTV and Channel [V] had taken steps to reduce their music content as they repositioned themselves as youth brand channels. MTV could now be trying to play a fine balance between their reality and music content,” says a media tracker.

Meanwhile, on the reality content front, MTV’s reign is shaking as UTV Bindass has succeeded with bold homegrown reality shows like Emotional Attyachaar and Dadagiri. And Channel [V] also is upping the ante with new reality shows.

Also, as per ad sales executives, a pure play music channel can have a revenue upside of Rs 600-650 million, if it leads the genre and buying music is not expensive. And that precisely is the opportunity Sri Adhikari Brothers’ saw while launching Mastiii.

As might be the case with MTV, the reality content doesn’t come cheap. It increases your cost significantly, while results are not always that great. So is it not safe to play pure music? Kamath disagrees. “Music is very easy form of content to put on a channel, but then there is a limit to grow. Moreover, many pure play music channels are getting good ratings from retro songs, which are not sampled by youth,” he says. Channel [V] claims of targeting youth in the 15-34 year segment.

Meanwhile, the year 2010 saw a slight increase in the whole genre, presumably because of the launch of a new channel and the combined effort of other channels to market their shows.

However, 2011 will be a tougher year for the players. There is one more new player in Sony Entertainment waiting for licence to launch its music channel – Sony Mix. Imagine Showbiz has also changed ownership and is now in the hands of Anil Ambani. So wait for more uncertainty in the genre.

January 15, 2011
UTV Bindass aims at strong growth in FY’11

MUMBAI: After consolidating its position among the youth entertainment channels, UTV Bindass, the UTV Global Broadcasting (UGBL) channel, is now gearing up to monetize its position.

“All our efforts are paying in the expansion of the brand and we are seeing a significant jump in the revenues this year,” says UTV Bindass business head Nikhil Gandhi.

Bindass fights in a market which is too cluttered with youth and music channels including MTV, Channel [V], Mastiii, and 9XM.

So far, MTV gets the lion’s share of the revenue in the genre. So will Bindass come closer to MTV?

Answers Gandhi, “We will end the fiscal very close to our nearest competitor.”

Bindass was launched in September 2007, touted as the first 360 degree entertainment brand for Indian youth. Bindass adopted the brand values of youth – fun, frank, and fearless – and built it as a platform to cath its target audience using TV, movies, web, mobile, ground and campus activities.

“We have grown to become the number one channel in the genre, because we understood the need of the youth. It is a result of extensive research and planning,” claims Gandhi.

Gandhi is also pinning hopes on the upcoming shows, which the channel will launch in the coming six months, to take its share further.

“The next four months are very important for us. You will see new format shows, one reality show in dating space, one more relationship based. We will also launch a action reality show and a youth-based fiction show in the fourth quarter of the fiscal,” Gandhi adds.

Further, the channel is also looking at advertiser funded programming (AFP) as a major revenue stream. “We have set up a special team, which will take care of the AFPs. We are taking this very seriously,” Gandhi said.

Interestingly, 15 per cent of MTV’s revenue comes from Viacom Brand Solutions (client lead stuff, events and advertiser funded programming). The channel has done some AFP shows like Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania, and MTV Force India The Fast and The Gorgeous.

December 4, 2010
B4U Movies launches 2 October; plans to go pay in January at Rs6.50 sticker price

Sticking to a schedule laid out at the end of July, B4U Entertainment Channel becomes B4U Movies on 2 October 2001, it was announced today.

And wasting no time, the plan is to encrypt B4U Movies by November, Debashis Dey, chief distribution officer, B4U Television Network Ltd, says. According to Dey: “The proposed date for going pay is sometime in January ’02. We feel that two months will be a reasonably good period for viewers to sample the channel.” However, sister channel B4U Music will remain free-to-air a la MTV.

“After going pay in January the average rate per subscriber per month is proposed at Rs. 6.50p. We also feel that our channel will be a refreshing change, as it is not clustered by a bouquet of unwanted content, which currently the operators are forced to subscribe to,” says Dey.

As for the programme line-up, current titles include – Lajja, Devdas, Suno Sasurji, Pyaar Deewana Hota Hai, Baas Itna Sa Khwab Hai, Daraar, Silsila Hai Pyaar Ka, Mohabbat, Beti No 1, among others, apart from hit films like Taal, Josh, Jungle, etc and old classics.

B4U Movies will telecast three hits per week – a Friday premiere, a Saturday blockbuster and a Sunday classic. In addition a super-hit ‘Movie Of The Month’ will be screened, says Dey.

“In between films we intend to showcase a host of Bollywood based shows, highlighting film shooting, the studios and the classic films attached with them, Bollywood masala, gossip, behind the scenes, raw cuts, countdowns, market, flops, hits, comedies, super stars, and many more unique programmes in innovative formats,” Says Dey.

Among the shows that are planned are:

Lehren – A Bollywood video magazine. The long running and popular ‘Lehren’, will provide updates on Bollywood and the stars.

Studio Beat – A weekly round up from the studios in Mumbai. Using archival footage and interviews with old timers, stories around the studios that made the industry what it is today.

Superhit Hungama – A weekly countdown show set in exotic locations. Money Talkies – An update of the industry that throws light on the losers and the winners.

Box Office – A weekly update on collections and performance, reviews and analyses from trade pundits.

Shot Cut – Full length films cut down to half an hour, keeping only key scenes intact.

Director’s Cut – Interviews with directors.

Stardom – profiles the stars.

Riot – The show presents some of the most hilarious scenes in Hindi movies. Countdown Café – The Indipop countdown that brings to you the best 10 tracks of the week. Ghazals, Punjabi Pop, Remixes and more.

South Side Story – Film update and news from southern India.

The Preview – Previews of the movies to be telecast on B4U.

Rushes – Daily updates on recent events in Bollywood.

The B4U Network is promoted by steel magnate L M Mittal, Kishore Lulla and Gokul Binani, all based in the UK. Lulla is also the promoter of Eros International LTD, the largest overseas film distributor and the first to take Hindi movies to the UK and the US.

September 25, 2010

‘We are completely format and genre agnostic’ : Channel [V] GM Prem Kamat

Badly bruised by MTV. Not really. Not really. Channel [V] has turned around to the same formula – cut down on music content while adding reality format shows.

The overhaul to fit into the garb of a youth channel is beginning to pay rich dividends. Channel [V] has shored up its ratings and, more importantly, the brand is being polished to cater to an expanded audience base.

Channel [V]‘s focus is on the seven metros. That is where its grip on audiences is strengthening as it tries to catch up on market leader MTV.

In an interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Gaurav Laghate, Channel [V] GM Prem Kamat talks about the drive to expand the brand across TV, internet, mobile and on-ground platforms.

Excerpts:

It‘s been more than three months since the relaunch of the channel. How has the response been so far?

It‘s been fantastic. Actually, it has surpassed all our expectations…both from a market share point of view as well as the revenue standpoint. The kind of upswing that we are seeing is absolutely phenomenal. When we started out- even before the revamp when we began changing things around the channel and getting some basic things in place, transforming the kind of music we play, all of it – we were having a 0.2 – 0.3 per cent share. And as per the latest data, our share now has increased to 0.81.

That‘s actually a fourfold increase. We were expecting to be at this stage probably in the next five to six months down the line, but we have reached that point already.

Also, shows like Dare 2 Date have become hugely popular. There are websites dedicated to it. There are fan pages on Facebook and popularity is huge.

But how do you see competition with MTV and Bindass who are much ahead in viewership and targeting the same youth audience?

The case is pertinent to the time when we started out. However today, MTV‘s share is 1-1.2 per cent while we stand at 0.8. Thus, our gap with MTV has significantly narrowed.

Talking about focused markets, we have been always ahead of Bindass. So for the slice that we take amongst the youth, we have been consistently ahead of Bindass. Specially, post the relaunch.

But the Tam data does not show the kind of growth that you are boasting of. You talked about your focused markets…
As you know, slicing the audiences is a game that people play to suit themselves. We always maintain that we are a youth channel; we focus on the seven metros. So we are an upscale urban youth portal, channel, medium… whatever you call it. And 15-24 is really the age group that we define.

So that‘s really the set of people we talk to.

But just the seven metros. Don‘t you think youth is scattered across?

It is. But I think it is very important for us to define what our focus areas are and which are the places we wish to operate. When you say seven metros, it still counts to about 55 per cent of the Tam markets. So it is a significantly large percentage of the population.

In terms of consumption, for most brands these seven markets will contribute to over 60-70 per cent of their volumes. In terms of television viewership, these again contribute about 60 per cent of the total viewership. So it‘s really about saying that, of course Channel [V] is consumed outside these seven metros, but every time we create something when we use audiences as a guiding force for the kind of stuff that we should be doing, these are the markets that we talk about. And hence, everything that we measure revolves around these markets. These are the set of people we are catering to.

Coming to shows, music channels are shrinking their music content while upping their format shows. Is this the inevitable model?

No, not necessarily. I really believe it depends on how you define your own programming philosophy. I think there are two ways to approach this. One is by staying faithful to the genre, second is by staying faithful to your audience.

At Channel [V] we always say that we are going be faithful to our audience and not the genre. So, if a 15-24-year-old wants to consume a certain kind of content, that‘s the kind of content Channel [V] will put up.

We do not believe that we are a channel which stays faithful to the genre. This particular audience has a wide variety of interests. It is our endeavour to try and reflect every aspect of that in the edgiest, the most interesting and most entertaining form possible. That is what you will see happening on our channel as well.

It‘s not that Channel [V] has stopped playing or showcasing music. A large part of our content is still music, but we have taken a conscious call to move beyond music and get into a whole series of different things.

‘We are seeing Channel [V] as not just a television channel but as a brand with legs like TV, internet and mobile. In short, an all round engagement platform‘

MTV had started the transition in 2007 when it shed its music content from 80 to 60 per cent. Now it is just 20 per cent of their programming. Is Channel [V] taking the same route?

Like I said, it‘s not a decision that is driven by the genre at all. While I cannot comment on MTV‘s stand on this and how they are approaching it, our take is very simple. We pride ourselves on having a very strong pulse on what the consumer needs and what our target group enjoys. Our endeavour is constantly to be on the ball as far as this consumer pulse is concerned. Our content mix will always be a reflection of this.

If the genre shifts in a completely new direction tomorrow, and the trends indicate that the youth choices are changing, that will be the direction we will take.

Currently, your music content share is 60 per cent. Are you planning to cut it further?

Currently, the kind of yield that we are getting from our shows is very good. But that doesn‘t mean that we are going to abandon music and populate the whole channel with shows. There are a variety of other constraints and considerations to take into account.

This is the content mix that we decided on at the beginning of the year in July (as per News Corp‘s financial calendar) and we intend to continue this till at least June-end. Then, we will take a call on our content again.

So with your revamped programming, you mean that youth is more interested in reality?

Absolutely. I think it is fairly clear for everybody to see that. And it is not just reality. Reality is just a format, a form of programming. We are not constrained by that at all; we are completely format-agnostic and genre-agnostic. So it does not matter to us if the show is reality or fiction or documentary. What matters is whether it interests our target audience. And we have ample evidence all around us to say that their interests go far beyond just mere music.

For example, our show Campus Buzz can‘t be put under any genre. Here students make video blogs and submit it to us. It is user-generated-content on television, but the engagement is also online.

These are things that are representative of how we can push beyond the boundaries of genre and reality and fiction or non-fiction content.

Also the cost of content for these kind of shows is very small?

Absolutely, because a large part of it is user generated. We do guide them to some extent. But you are right in saying that the cost of producing something like this is very very small.

But isn‘t the cost higher for other reality shows like Exhausted, Kidnap, or [V] The Player?

Different shows have different cost structures, depending on what you are doing with it, where the shoot is, who you are getting and length of the shoot. But yes, on a ‘per half hour‘ basis, creating your own custom programming is more expensive than playing music. But it also offers you the advantages of creating something that is unique, something that is differentiated and something that is much more of a fit with your brand personality. And most importantly, creating something that the audience will find engaging and interesting.

But is the revenue also looking up?

Yes, because what these shows also do is provide you with customised solutions for clients. When someone (client) comes to Channel [V], it‘s not merely for the reach or for the conventional matrix of reach and frequency. They select a channel like us for the kind of engagement that we provide with the audiences. I think it is fair to say that a consumer of Channel [V] is far more involved with the brand than let‘s say the consumer of a regular conventional GEC (general entertainment channel) or a movie channel for that matter. That is really the advantage we can offer to the advertisers.

What we bring to the table is a far higher degree of engagement with the viewers and far greater avenues of engaging with these people than just playing a 30-second commercial.

Coming to promo properties, Channel [V] has created characters like Quick Gun Murugan, Lola Kutty and Sampoo Singh. Has the focus shifted now?

Not really. Probably there has been a lull in the last two years for various reasons. But it is not that we have stopped. For example the ‘Bai‘ on Channel [V] that says Itne Paise me itna hi milega. It‘s something that the Bai said on Channel [V] and has become a very popular lingo.

We are also creating more characters. Bai has been joined in by Bhai, her brother who is on-air right now. Things like these catch on with the audiences on their own…we can never promote these. Our best bet is to create these characters and put them out to see what happens. It will be very arrogant to believe or to say that we can create these characters at will.

Do you see the no-appointment viewing pattern as a problem for youth channels like yours?

For certain shows yes, for certain shows – no. Channels like ours don‘t have the kind of appointment viewing that a GEC has. Therefore, all of us follow an alternative model of airing a high number of repeats. If on a GEC a show repeats once or twice, on a channel like ours it will repeat 11-12 times. It gives us an opportunity to far more sample that show.

The business model for us is a combination of attempting the scheduling in a different manner and finding new avenues for more consumption, whether it‘s online or mobile.

So that is why you are more bullish on internet?

Exactly. If you see our revamped website, only 10 per cent is about the content that we put on TV. It is our firm and unshakable believe that people don‘t go online just to see what is on TV. Hence, even if the website caters to the same kind of audiences and the same areas of interest, it does so in a manner that is suitable much more for the internet.

You will find a lot more articles and advises on youth-centric issues, love and relationships. It is created exclusively for the internet, though it is for the same set of audiences.

How does the strength of a network like Star help Channel [V]?

It gives us a very strong platform to promote our shows. It is also a very strong source for driving in efficiencies, weathering cost efficiencies, and learning. Because of the network, we have far more channels from where we can learn or cross pollinate ideas. Also, we can source content on a much larger scale, which gives us a cost advantage.

What is the way going forward?

You will find that we will continue to do shows. Internet as well as mobile and digital will become important for us. On-ground is also another important proposition. We are planning to take our brand on-ground on a grand scale.

We are seeing Channel [V] as not just a television channel but as a brand with legs like TV, internet, mobile and on-ground. In short, an all round engagement platform.

January 5, 2010

‘We are getting into the broader international entertainment space’ : Ferzad Palia – Vh1 India associate GM

In May, Viacom18’s international music and lifestyle channel Vh1 started the makeover process. Repositioned as an international entertainment channel, it ushered in new shows and introduced a new tag line ‘Vh1 – Get with it’.

Vh1 will, thus, stand on three legs – music, shows, and fashion and lifestyle. Music, however, will still constitute 50 per cent of the programming mix.

In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto, Vh1 India associate GM Ferzad Palia says 25 shows will be launched during the fiscal and the new-look image will result in a 100 per cent revenue growth.

Excerpts:

What factors prompted the rebranding of Vh1 to an English GEC?
We launched in 2005 when there was a need to fill the gap for international music. Music channels had all gone desi and mass. Vh1 came in as a flanker and a need gap fulfiller for lifestyle and international music. It has now been four years and we have achieved our targets. We have repopularised international music. We have also ensured that good international acts come into the country.

In 2008 we did research as we felt there was a new need gap. The lifestyle shows on our channel like Pimp My Ride were popular. The audience felt that we were taking the lead towards differentiated international entertainment. This buoyed us into getting into the broader international entertainment space.

Music still constitutes 50 per cent of our mix. But now we are also going towards international entertainment with a renewed vigour.

What about content repositioning?
The channel has a new look and feel to it. Our tagline is ‘Get with it’ and is demonstrative of our brand, personality and content that is new and cutting edge. We bring in trends from across the world. We have launched four reality shows in the Monday-Thursday 11 pm slot. We also launched an animation show, South Park. The good news is that these shows cut across our TG.

Our focus for the next few weeks will be to launch content that allows people to gather information on entertainment on a real-time basis. We will look at new gadgets, gizmos, Formula One and Hollywood.

Vh1 currently stands on three legs – music, shows, and fashion and lifestyle.

What is the brand philosophy of Vh1?
Vh1 is a combination of entertainment and edutainment. The brand is young and vibrant. The tagline, ‘Get with it,’ expresses that.

What value is Vh1 looking to bring to the English general entertainment landscape?
While other general English entertainment channels run similar shows, our product mix is different and daring. Nobody has taken the lead on international music. Going forward, you will see that Vh1 will cover the fashion and lifestyle segment the most.

I don’t think that we fit into the English GEC space per se. Our focus is on international entertainment and it covers different formats.

Who is your TG?
Our TG is 15-45 SEC A,B. Most of our viewership comes from the southern metros. The interesting thing is that the mature audience from 25-45 watches us as much as the youngsters do due to the variety in our offerings.

Our audience is 60 per cent male. We talk to different audiences at different time bands. Youngsters watch us in the morning, early in the evening and also after 11 pm which is when we air reality shows. The mature audience tune in at around 9 pm and, to an extent, early in the morning. While we do Hip Hop hustle for the youth, we also have Vh1 Jazz Masters for the older and more discerning viewer. Our analysis tells us that our audience watches news to get information – and then for entertainment they tune in to Vh1.

‘We have 110 advertisers on board. We expect 100 per cent revenue growth for the year‘

Could you talk about the shows that allow Vh1 to be differentiated and daring?
Pimp My Ride is about taking a thrashed automobile and making it a wow machine. The audiences took note of us with this show. Then our positioning got accentuated with a show called Yo Ma Ma (it is about kids trash talking each other). This concept had never entered India. This was a big point. All our shows have had some sort of twist. Punked with Ashton Kutcher gave birth to MTV Bakra. The difference is that Kutcher punks his celebrity friends. We launched Saturday Night Live.

We will launch 25 shows this fiscal.

What are the plans for the weekend?
Sunday Brunch with Jim Morisson will return. This airs rare, unseen footage about an artist. We are launching a party block from 10:30 pm-2 am on Saturday and Sunday. We also air stacks of episodes of shows like South Park on the weekend for people who might have missed out on episodes over the week. At the same time we are conscious of not repeating our content too much.

You had mentioned giving people the latest news on fashion and Hollywood. How would this work?
Content will be filmed and shown weekly. So we will launch a weekly show on Hollywood called The Scene over the next 10 days. We have a daily show at 10 pm from Monday to Friday, Daily 10, which is about the 10 top things that have happened in the world of entertainment. It is slightly gossipy in nature. Then there is The Fabulous Life which is one of our flagship shows. It takes you into the lives of the rich and famous celebrities. We also have a show that profiles what happens each week in the world of fashion. Another show BG Racing on Track is about Formula One. It tells you what happened in the previous race and also goes behind the scenes with the drivers and sees what they are doing and where they are partying.

What marketing activities is Vh1 doing to spread awareness among viewers and advertisers about the repositioning?
We have done a high decibel outdoor campaign. We used radio. We tied up with about 50 gyms and salons across the country. We use this as an activation platform. We are also on Facebook and Yahoo.

Are you looking at creating local versions of any of your international shows?
Yes! However we will be very selective in what we do or else there will no difference between us and competition. We are in the process of finalising a few concepts. A Pimp My Ride India is a distinct possibility.

Then we will be doing an initiative called India Rules later this year. Here we will take Indian Acts abroad and give them an international platform. For us , it is a reverse migration and cross pollination of ideas.

We have a lot of local talent but there is no platform to allow it to go to the next level. We feel that it is our responsibility to give them a platform. This I would like to clarify will not be a hunt for a rock band. Anybody with musical talent can approach us. Our message is that the world is waiting for you.

What are Vh1’s plans on the events and digital space?
We constantly do on-ground experiential events. We bring down international artists often. We are now looking at the consumer product space. A lot of brands have evinced interest in associating with Vh1 as there is synergy. We are looking at like minded brands. They have to be premium and have a certain amount of audience respect. Categories could be telecom, handsets, apparel, footwear. The tie ups will be in the nature of products and services.

We will also make a big play on the digital space. It could involve packaging content for the mobile and the Internet.

Do you see the brand tie up business growing to become a significant source of revenue, apart from advertising?
It will eventually be a big source of revenue. At this point of time, our objective is to build the brand.

How is the channel being pitched to advertisers?
It is being pitched as a unique content channel. The way we integrate brands sets us apart. These days you have to work harder for every rupee. Nokia has an express music phone. We created a show Nokia Vh1 Playlist. Viewers decide what plays here; they send us their playlists. Nokia’s brand proposition is touch, play, share. On Nokia’s site you can see the playlist. When we play the song, your mug shot comes along with a few lines like why you like Bryan Adams’ song Summer of 69. You could dedicate it to your girlfriend.

We started it last year as a weekly and now as it worked, we have made it a daily show. With Airtel we have an initiative Hello tunes Made Easy.

How many clients do you have?
We have 110 advertisers on board. We expect 100 per cent revenue growth for the year. The client list is diverse from a 50 paise candy to a Rs 500,000 jewelry set. We have not been affected by the slowdown to the extent that we had originally feared.

June 22, 2009

‘When you are a market leader, it’s necessary to shake things a little’ : Ashish Patil- MTV India GM and senior VP creative and content

MTV India was primarily known for music, comedy, spoofs and “Fully Faltoo” attitude. The team of Cyrus Oshirdar (creative and content), Cyrus Broucha and Cyrus Sahukar was giving its viewers a “no-tension” dose of comedy and music.

In 2007, Viacom and Network18 got together to create a joint venture. What followed was the redrawing of the roadmap for MTV. The positioning changed and music became shorter in line with its new image of being a youth entertainment channel.

The man in charge of this content revamp was Ashish Patil as he churned out shows that would stand the new look – Its My MTV. From Fully Faltoo to Kick Ass and from Bakra to Splitsvilla, MTV has scored points in segmenting, targeting and positioning for the youth.

The channel has also extended its wings in the US, New Zealand and Australia.

In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Gaurav Laghate, MTV India GM and senior VP creative and content Patil says that the game has just started.

Excerpts:

Is the ongoing producer-plex owner’s tussle affecting MTV as there is no new music release to lap up for content?
We have in any case reduced our music content as a strategic move. Moreover, whatever music we play is full length, which comes out after 1-2 months of release. So far we have enough of new music to run on the channel.

Why are you going less on music and more on non-music content?
We have repositioned ourselves as not just a music but a music-plus-masti (fun) channel. It is a youth adda (hangout) channel now. Last year we were playing approximately 70 per cent music content, which we have reduced to 45 per cent at present. By the end of this year, we will be having only 25 per cent of music content.

What was the need for this change in identity?
There was consumer as well as a business need. Research suggested that youth is looking out for much more than just music. Youth has needs ranging from style, fashion, romance, passion, thrill, and much more.

And so far as the business goes, the music pie is limiting. Music as a commodity is playing everywhere; so eyeballs are limiting and revenues have hit a ceiling.

Even the market leader in the music channel genre had to change?
You have to grow the product. And it’s necessary to shake things a little or else the leader will also get stagnant. The world has gone too far and to get our core audience’s eyeballs, we have to lead the other mediums as well. Also a lot of emphasis is on packaging, looks and graphics, apart from content.

So what is the new positioning of MTV?
We have created a new category for ourselves where we are no longer a niche channel. Nor are we a general entertainment channel. We are laser focused on the needs of the youth and have evolved as a mass youth channel. Many players tried to copy us, but failed as it is a very difficult path to tread.

‘Music as a commodity is playing everywhere. So eyeballs are limiting and revenues have hit a ceiling‘

How will you describe your TG?
Our core audience is the 18-21-year-olds. Within that demographic, it is the SEC A in the metros particularly Mumbai and Delhi. Our next target extension is viewers among the age group of 15-24 years, SEC AB 1 lakh towns, in the Hindi speaking markets. Beyond that, we look at the 12-35-year-olds (SEC AB, All India 1 Lac+ towns).

This target audience is very fickle and impatient. If they don’t like something, they have multiple options to switch over to. And anything that catches youth eyeballs is competition for me. Be it malls, gizmos, movies, mobiles, ipods, internet, etc.

So that is why you are making your presence felt on internet and other space?
The intent is to take MTV to every place where the TG is. Be it web, mobile, on-ground, merchandise. It’s a circle of lead, reflect and affect – one leading to the other. I will follow my viewer everywhere. You see the kind of response we have on the Roadies community on Orkut. It has over 300,000 members now. We have tied up with PVR Cinema, Inox, T.G.I.F., cafes etc for our shows. Roadies merchandise is available in more then 20 categories. We are tapping audiences everywhere by reaching out to them.

But don’t you think some of the content is not fit for small towns, or non-metros?
I don’t think that content is not fit for people in the smaller towns. Youth everywhere have same aspirations; the core of youth is the same. So my content is appreciated throughout by my TG – be it metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore or non metros like Gwalior, Indore, Chandigarh etc. Also, some of the content may be more evolved. But in such cases, I do have a simpler version on the same premise for mini metros or small towns. The idea is to have a spectrum of content for different people.

Is your programming strategy confined to unlicensed thrill, living on edge and speed?
Not just that. It is, of course, one part of it. But we have other shows like On The Jobs, which talks about alternative careers; ibibo Superstar (the making of stars); Splitsvilla (intense romance); Roadies (which has a cult following now); and who can forget MTV Bakra (known for its wit). Then we have spoof movies, which are well received.

So my aim is to cater to all the needs of my TG. We are now building on our franchise. Earlier I had only Roadies as a fixed offering on Saturdays at 7 pm. Now I have shifted it to Sundays and got the highest opening for Splitsvilla season 2 on Saturdays.

So you mean you are now getting appointment viewing?
Absolutely. As I said, earlier we used to launch shows on Saturdays at 7 pm band. I had a great following there, courtesy Roadies. It was a gamble when I shifted it to Sundays, but it did well for us. Now I have viewers for Saturday as well as Sunday. Also, in December, I launched Haven @ 7 on weekdays. So I am taking baby steps to get more viewer attention. I am already getting more viewership than many general entertainment channels (GECs).

So what are the plans ahead?
As I said, I am taking baby steps. We have just started. From making just one Roadies two years back, we launched many new shows last year. This year, we will launch even more shows. Recently, with Force India we have launched The Fast and The Gorgeous and are coming up with Pulsar MTV Stunt Mania soon.

How has the JV between Viacom and Network18 helped in MTV’s growth in India?
In many ways. It has been a fabulous ride since the JV has been formed. It is in many ways kind of a vitamin supplement. Earlier, it was MTV and Nick supporting each other and suddenly I have the strength of a full network; it’s much more than just financial support.

Also, both (Viacom and Network18), as players, are front-foot batsmen. It has put our transition in the fourth gear. Our efficiency has increased and so has our brand value, distribution, marketing, headcount and infrastructure.

Have we seen MTV’s revenues grow over the last couple of years?
We have doubled the revenues during this period. We are expecting a 30 per cent growth this year.

Ad sales accounts for 65 per cent of our revenues, of which 5 per cent comes from international clients. Around 15 per cent comes from affiliates, which is also increasing. 15 per cent comes from Viacom Brand Solutions (client lead stuff, events and advertiser funded programming) like The Fast and The Gorgeorus, Stunt Mania etc. The remaining 5 per cent comes from L&M and movie previews (Ghajini).

Also, we are opening up supplementary revenue streams through mobile, web, and even through ticker. Our ticker has a fan community on social networking sites and advertisers want to be there.

May 18, 2009

Viewers looking for FM feel in visual space?

The viewer‘s verdict for music channels for the year 2007 is out. The long established players like MTV and Channel [V] are losing on the front of relative shares while new kid on the block 9XM has shown an unprecedented growth from the second month of its launch.

Indiantelevision.com‘s analysis of music channels using Tam data (HSM, CS 15 – 24 years, all day parts) during the one-year period beginning January 2007 reveals that 9XM is way ahead than MTV and Channel [V].

Launched in October 2007, 9XM, with its tagline Haq Se, had secured a relative share of 43 per cent by December. In comparison, MTV stood at 20 per cent while Channel [V] had 11 per cent.

Music Channel‘s Relative Shares
Channel	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
9XM	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	34	43
MTV	32	29	31	32	29	30	31	31	32	29	21	20
Channel V	15	14	13	11	11	14	13	11	13	16	11	11
Music India	12	15	12	14	19	20	18	17	16	17	11	7
B4U Music	12	11	11	11	9	10	10	13	13	11	6	5
Zee Music	8	11	11	11	12	7	10	12	9	7	5	4
ETC	15	12	12	9	9	10	8	8	7	6	4	4
YO Music	3	3	6	7	6	5	5	4	4	4	3	3
Enterr10	4	4	4	4	3	2	4	3	5	5	4	3
Lemon	0	0	1	1	2	2	2	1	1	1	0	0
Source: TAM, TG 15 – 24, HSM, Jan-Dec 2007, All Day Part

From January to October 2007, MTV was on top of the music channel heap with an average relative share of 30 per cent while Music India and Channel [V] were tossing for second and third position with 15.8 per cent and 12.8 per cent respectively.

The whole scenario changed dramatically with the launch of 9XM in October. By the second month of launch, 9XM had 34 per cent whereas MTV was reduced to 21 per cent and Music India and Channel [V] had 11 per cent each.

In December, it was thumbs down for other channels like Zee Music (4 per cent), B4U music (5 per cent), ETC (4 per cent), Enter10 (3 per cent) and Yo Music (3 per cent). Wooden spooner Lemon‘s share is so insignificant that it has not even registered on the GRP scale.

On the new market scene, INX Media‘s music entertainment channel head Vikas Varma says, “I think the qualities of youth are what our channel targets, not necessarily as the demographic youth. That is why we are getting the unprecedented ratings.”

It is to be noted that 9XM has no VJ‘s, only some animated characters. The USP of the channel is current Bollywood songs. However, the verdict among the media pundits is that 9XM is playing only songs; it is more like an FM station in the visual space.

The ratings have not got in much by way of ads as yet though so how is it going to generate revenue? Avers INX Media revenue management, advertising sales and new media group director Probal Gaanguly, “We are offering ‘Club INX‘ partnerships to sponsors. Very soon we will officially announce the tie-ups. An exclusive platform will be provided to them.”

MTV India vice president ad sales and marketing Aditya Swamy has a different story to tell: “Our ad sales and revenue has gone up. We have established the youth based music channel in India. Roadies, Konees (animated characters) etc are our initiatives; it is not fair to compare it with a channel like 9XM. We are a youth brand.”

Channel [V] head honcho Amar K Deb sings a similar tune. “Channel [V] has won awards for many initiatives we have taken. We have our hands full and our competition is not with 9XM. It is anyways too early to comment on the future,” avers Deb.

Music India that started life without ad breaks, gave in to the lure of commercials in 2007. 9XM appears to be going the same route, with a few ads visible on the channel intermittently since the beginning of the year.

If indeed all that the Indian viewer is interested in is uninterrupted songs sans ads, it will be interesting to watch how the year unfolds for 2008.

January 23, 2008

2007: Radio powers ahead-Radio Mirchi CEO Prashant Panday

Its an amazing feeling when you sit back at the end of the year and think of what ACTUALLY happened during the year and in most cases, the stories are of incrementalism. In the case of radio fortunately, there’s a much more substantial story to write home about!

For starters, radio spread out across the country. From just about 15 cities covered by private FM on 1 January, 2007, we have more than 50 towns boasting of private FM across the country today. This is on account of the roll-outs of the new stations that were auctioned under phase II of the radio reforms in Jan 2006. Its been a long wait, but finally, the radio networks have arrived! And there is a medium today that challenges the national coverage that satellite TV hitherto offered exclusively.

Then there is the fairly robust growth of radio advertising revenues to write about. I would only call it “fairly robust” and not “terrific” (an adjective I am prone to use every now and then!) simply because while the growth has been in excess of 50 per cent for the second year running, the fact is that on the small base that radio had/has, a century would have been nicer! Nevertheless, two years of good growth, and its clear no advertiser/agency planner worth his basic MBA degree is asking questions like “Radio? What’s that?” or “But you charge more than even MTV”!!

Yes, radio rates have indeed gone past MTV’s. In fact very substantially. Today the larger radio players (City, Mirchi) charge more for Mumbai or Delhi individually than MTV charges nationally. But are the prices commensurate with what they deliver? No way and that’s what makes the story for 2008 (You will realise I am already preparing the piece for next year’s story!). In terms of the importance of the medium, radio is inching closer and closer to TV. For eg., Mirchi alone gives more reach (and now the diary (RAM – though only 17per cent accurate) shows that it delivers more GRPs too!) than most TV channels. And the advertiser realises that and has started to pay us accordingly. Today, the average price for the Mirchi network is of the order of Rs 12,000 per 10 seconds with premium schedules going upwards of Rs 15,000. Same question again: Commensurate with what we deliver? No way!

Its interesting how radio truly has reflected the growth in the Indian economy itself. The largest segments of advertisers on radio are media and entertainment, telecom, retail, auto and of course the all-time-favorite FMCG (but with declining importance).

Here-in also lies the prognosis for 2008. Radio is bound to grow – When businesses are spreading their wings into the mini-metros and smaller towns, the primary medium for communications is indeed radio! As brands seek more touch-points for their brands at local levels, the ONLY medium really is radio (adding strength to an activation exercise). When advertisers need consumers to respond to their products, they will have no where to go but radio. When IPOs market themselves, and target certain key but dispersed markets (Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Surat, Calcutta, Mumbai), the only real medium to hammer home the reminders is radio. 2008 surely looks like a good year for radio!

In summary, the year 2007 reflects the coming of age of radio. The romance has started. The first date has happened. Now the real action should be unfolding. Hopefully, this will a happy story and not a Balaji tearjerker!!

January 3, 2008

‘Blogumentary is our USP’ : Amar K Deb- Channel [V] India head honcho

Thirteen years on, Star India’s music channel is experimenting with ‘blogumentary’ content and has adopted the tagline Channel [V] made by you.

The recipe for getting more eyeballs in a genre which is seen to be stagnating also includes the reality format.

In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Richa Dubey, Channel [V] India head honcho Amar Deb speaks about his plans to incorporate user generated content as a key value of the channel in its new avatar while hanging on to the central positioning of being a “music channel.”

Excerpts:

Is there pressure for music channels to reinvent as their revenues are stagnating?
We have revenues going up by 25 per cent every year. Advertisements and trailers are a major source of our income.

MTV has recently repositioned itself as a youth channel. Is Channel [V] also looking to target youth with alternative content outside music?
Channel [V] is a music channel. We love and believe in promoting music. On Channel [V] music is flanked by other stuff like glamour, humour, and fun which are also youth centric.

So you advocate the benefits of non-music properties?
Get Gorgeous is one of the highest rated shows on the channel. It’s great because we found some really beautiful looking girls who are not models and they went on to become Miss India and Miss Universe.

We also discover new faces and talent with shows like Launch Pad. Our promos are popular and have got terrific responses. We won 17 awards at Promax, New York. Our average is of getting around 40 awards every year. That is a good sign.

How do you split up the music and non music shows?
We are a music channel and our programmes are all music centric. We largely have music based shows except for a couple of shows like Get Gorgeous. We stick to music while some or other fun things keep happening like Simpoo, Channel [V] IQ etc.

What about the interactive elements that MTV has introduced?
Channel [V] has come up with that by introducing blogs in our content mix. This happened in January and we have got a good response.

How did you go about selecting bloggers?
We had around 2000 people applying for it. We reviewed 200 and finally choose ten of them. Those ten were given hand held cameras and they shot the concert in there own creative ways.

Following this, we did Launch Pad and Get Gorgeous which was also shot by bloggers. With this trend, we have got more and more viewers and people participating in the contests run by us. Thus reinforcing our stand as – Channel [V] made by you.

How else have you extended Blogumentary on Channel [V]?
After the Channel [V] concert, entire eight sessions at Hard Rock Café for Launch Pad was shot by bloggers. Get Gorgeous was shot by Bloggers and that is the speed in which we will take the entire concept forward. Blogumentary is our USP and we see others following us.

What happens to the production team if bloggers play such an important role?
Our production team is always there to help our bloggers. It is just a kind of innovation that we are doing. They are the ones who direct the bloggers. The post production team works really hard to make the entire program look interesting. They make sure that bloggers create things that get viewers hooked on to our content.

‘On Channel [V] music is flanked by glamour, humour & fun which are also youth centric’

Is this reflecting the new face of Channel [V] which has turned 13?
For the first time on Indian television, we did a ‘blogumentary’ in Channel [V] concert. Fans and young people had cameras and were shooting the eventwhich saw performances from Atif Aslam, Akon and many more.This resulted in an eight week, spectacular television series of half hours.

With reality shows gaining importance even among music channels, what is your take on the inclusion of this format into programming?
We did reality with Popstars 1 and 2 and Super Singers. These were not talent hunts. They provided platforms for people to perform. However, we are not doing traditional reality shows where judges throw tantrums and walk out. On Channel [V] nothing is scripted. Everything is spontaneous and real.

But isn’t controversy a necessary ingredient for a successful reality series?
Unfortunately, today’s channels have lost the sense of reality and they are not able to do justice to it. If you do something just for the heck of it to create sensation, it does not prove to be reality.

What are the upcoming properties in the pipeline?
We will unveil My India Report, which is also based on the blogging format. There is a recruitment procedure going on right now which is also online. We want to know whether the new generation really lives with the values that our forefathers lived with. We want to know the views of today’s generation on various issues. It’s like a docudrama wherein five young people go out, speak to people, and capture it. They will together document what it is to be an Indian today.

The show is still in the pre-production stage. Currently, we are looking for the kids who will travel across the country. The recruitment is happening online. We expect to launch it in three month’s time.

Unlike Freedom Express which was promoted by our VJs, My India Report will be done by the freshers and bloggers.

Channel [V] has been very active in the internet space. What are the plans on that front?
We have a strong online presence. Lot of our stuff is lined up in YouTube. Lola videos are amongst the most watched videos on YouTube and she has a large fan following on Orkut.

Channel [V]’s Bai promotion was highly appreciated. All our properties have a vast community on the web. We are very ‘new media friendly’ – and a lot of the new media generation is aware of what we do. In fact, the band that we found for Launch Pad was through Orkut.

Channel [V] made by you is a huge user generated content phenomena.

What has the channel lined up on the promo front?
So far Simpoo, the animated character, has been by far the best promo that we did. People really liked and enjoyed watching it. So we have a new Simpoo KBC promo coming up.

Our promos always reflect the trends of society. For example, we have a promotion for Get Gorgeous saying Moral Police sue us. It got us eyeballs.

We will be unveiling many more promos including one based on an upcoming Go Green Campaign on Global Warming.

Does Channel [V] bank a lot on movie marketing?
Channel [V] is a popular chosen platform for movie marketing. Rang de Basanti, Bluff Master and Don were some of the exclusive movies that we promoted on Channel [V]. Ram Gopal Verma’s Aag is the next movie we are going to promote. We are still working on it.

August 19, 2007

”Music channels need to differentiate themselves’ : Amit Jain- MTV India managing director

Viacom’s channels in India have not had an easy time in the last couple of years. For starters, the music genre has been stagnating in terms of viewership. Nick, which is being given a push now, had also failed to compete with the likes of Turner and Disney.

The company’s recent focus has been to improve operating margins by removing unproductive costs. It is also looking at its brand solutions business as a way forward.

Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with MTV India MD Amit Jain to find out more about the company’s growth plans.

Excerpts:

MTV globally has positioned itself as a brand solutions provider. What is the strategy to transpose that to India?
As a backgrounder, we have brands in the music, kids and entertainment space. The challenge is to evolve this into a business model which is viable, profitable and works in the long-term. MTV globally is different from other channels. We don’t believe that we simply air content. We are brands. Our channels stand for a specific brand promise to a specific audience.

We are not about simply putting a pipe out and putting in content that tests well. We have a whole consumer focus which is investment in consumer insight, investigating tastes and preferences of audiences, their lifestyles. We are then able to take decisions based on insight as opposed to taking a show concept and doing research.

We looked at whether we could take the attitudes of our listeners which is talent, careers and getting double big results in half the time and use that as an insight into our positioning and channels.

You have brands, research and most importantly in-house creativity. A typical channel thinks of a show concept and gives it out to a production house.

We, however, have a deep rooted philosophy where we create our own content. 90 per cent of our content is in-house and this allows us to get more aggressive in our programming. We have only outsourced news from a learning perspective. You have everything from A-Z under one roof. On Nick, while we haven’t done local productions before we now have the confidence to do it ourselves.

Finally instead of being space sellers our team over a period of time has been very client focussed in terms of offering solutions and client integration. While everybody does it here you have a small repertoire of clients. Our managers sit down and discuss with them. They are invited to meetings.

Agencies take us for client meetings. We are invited to talk about youth branding. We are in a position to understand consumers and clients requirements when we create solutions in-house. We are not a middleman who puts things together and gives it somebody else.

We use our VJs, events, international properties to create solutions. We are in a position to create value for clients that goes beyond plain vanilla advertising.

In this manner, we are feeding of our own competence. Viacom Brand Solutions is a premium service for select clients. We are not going out there and making pitches. We work with clients who seek us out and want to do innovations. Our top 10 clients want to work with us in a more effective manner.

When was the service launched and who are the clients?
We launched it in January. We have a roster of over five clients. We have worked with Cadbury’s, Unilever, Nokia. The most interesting one was what we did for xBox.

xBox invited us to popularise the concept of gaming. With MTV we did a short film. It was featured on MSN’s desktop ads. VH1 created modified videos which had gaming characters. Nick had Jimmy Neutron making gaming simple for children. We extended this to the web and now we are looking at other applications. Nokia wanted to position a phone brand strongly in the music space. We tied up with a band pentagram and they gave us the music score. We invited user generated content and a video was to be created. We were stunned at the sheer creativity of untrained minds. The rub off that VHI and Nokia got through the advertising, on the website was good. VH1 did a creative job of making the first user generated music video in the country. Any of around 50-60 entries could have been used.

Cadbury’s was very different. They wanted to do an innovation around Bytes. It launched with a new package and on purchase of the package it gave the consumer an opportunity to download an MTV ringtone.

It brings together our expertise in partnerships in the mobile space, our creative expertise. We got seven mobile operators for this deal and around 85-90 per cent of the country’s mobile users were covered by the promotion. Cadbury’s also asked us to work with agency and create a commercial spot. This is an A-Z solution. The technical delivery across different platforms was very good. We had some operators calling up and complaining that the download of the ring tone was not working.

Our guys were scrambling in places like Madhya Pradesh where the ringtone was not activated on Idea Cellular. There were tense moments but when it came together it rocked. Most recently we worked with HLL. This was Lux Body Wash. They worked with our team to create music videos. They wanted to own the space of dancing, music. We created a music video for them based on their brand positioning. The music video is called Friday Night Fever. The song was written in-house and produced within our own studios. They have asked to make one more video and this time around we are working with an internationally famous VJ. We have international scriptwriters. While it is early days if clients are saying that they want to do more, it is a pretty good report card. We have three more upcoming projects.

So a recent media report that says that MTV is looking to outsource ad sales is rubbish?
Yes! You could not have summarised it better. I don’t know where that came from. It doesn’t make logical sense. The beauty of the Brand Solutions division is that we are not in conflict with anyone. The client and media agency welcome us. We are in a joint venture with the creative agency. It is a truly collaborative effort and we are not substituting anyone at anytime. Brand managers constantly look at ways to activate consumers in a unique way. There aren’t too many options of activating consumers in a relevant manner. We offer solutions to address youth and kids. The solution will never be mass market though.

MTV globally is in restructuring mode. Is this impacting India in any way?
We now report directly to MTV international. Earlier we reported to London. Bob Bakish who is the head of MTV International is my boss. There is better focus and we get a lot of support from MTV International. For a lot of our brand solutions we are getting excellent help from our global digital team. There is a lot of sharing of experience.

Could you talk about the new team that has been put in place?
This is my favourite topic. The big challenge is that while we have always had a creative team, how do you convert it into a business? We have put in place a completely empowered matrix structure. There are three general managers. They are Ashish, Keertan and Nina. Then you have functional experts – head of ad sales, distribution. The general manager and functional expert jointly run the channel. This is the innovation that we have brought in. I do not make too many decisions.

I set the policy and hire people. My job is to drive the culture and set a course for the future direction. I look at the vision three months to a year. We are a collaborative organisation. I run a skip level lunch for those who have been with the company for a couple of months. There are no bosses and no hierarchy. Everybody for a secretary to a general manager attends the lunch. We have freewheeling dialogue about how the experience has been. We are a young organisation. All our general managers are in their mid-30s. Sanjeev Hiremath and myself are the only 40 plus grey hairs in this organisation.

One of MTV’s key goals globally is to increase operating margins. What is the gameplan in this regard in India?
It is simple. Identify unproductive costs and convert them into productive costs. Drive the yields. We used to outsource 40 per cent of production, editing and post production work. We have invested in an integrated production and editing facility. The easiest thing that I see people do is outsource jobs that they do not want to do. That is not what we are doing. We are among the most cost effective content producers in the country today. We also cut costs. Last year the entire leadership team including myself did not stay in a five star hotel or fly business class. While these measures will not affect the bottomline, they are symbols of the importance of belt tightening.

We took out overheads and invested them back into the business. We focussed on remunerative clients. We were not afraid of letting clients go who were not paying us a remunerative rate. We improved our client mix in a challenging year. We brought down our inventory by 30 per cent as we wanted to clean the environment. We took down our inventory and took up our use. We now have a strong revenue line on the back of less inventory, We are looking at a high double digit revenue growth.

Tam data indicates that ratings for music channels are falling. What is the way forward for MTV?
This is the most important question. The genre has been stagnating for quite a while. So what do you do about it? There is a lot of fragmentation happening in this genre. Last year four more music channels launched. We have held on to our share. Now you have 16 music channels. Typically the leader gets affected. We have however managed to avoid that.

In difficult times Ashish and his team have done a creditable job in keeping up in the midst of competitive pressures. After eight years what generally happens is that new entrants take bites out of the leader. It is never number three or four that is hit. We however have not been hit despite being the leader. We are sitting on 34 per cent of viewership.

A few things need to happen. From an industry point of view music channels need to differentiate themselves. This is critical. Being the leader, we have to show the way. Consumers listen to Bollywood music. You cannot be presumptuous and tell them to listen to other stuff like ghazals instead of Bollywood music. Led by consumer insight, we found that for youngsters getting up in the mornings is the most dreary part of the day. Getting a lift is very important.

So we launched MTV Kickass Mornings. It starts with a high energy promotion with two ninjas. We have hits, humour, horoscopes and health. Most content here is audio driven. For instance health tips like how to cut down on spicy food, how much water to drink are spoken. Whatever you are doing, you will not miss out.

Music channels get 30 second, 60 second clips as an entry point. As they do not have to pay, they are happy to play them. We are investing in content though. We are doing full length music videos. Thanks to our relationship with music labels we normally get a first look. The entire Kickass Mornings is about new music. From 100 videos a maximum of 30 are chosen. We are offering a newer and richer music experience than anybody else. And we are packaging the whole proposition. MTV helps your day get brighter and better. This is our message.

We also recently started Soundcheck. As a leader we want to take a call and put our reputation on the line by saying what works and what does not. It is a music ratings service. There are speakers that determine the rating. Music experts are helping us make these choices as to what is emerging music as opposed to what is selling. We are not afraid to take on big names saying that their music is absolute rubbish. Some popular videos have been thrashed by us.

How important is MTV’s reality portfolio in the programming mix and is it mostly males tuning for this?
Research shows that youth are tiring of fiction. They genuinely see soaps as there is no alternative. If they are given quality programming in their space they will switch despite the presence of single TV homes. Last year we took a punt on ramping up Roadies. There was an 18 city audition and covered 3600 km from Kerala to Kashmir down to Sikkhim. It was niot stage managed. We did not handpick good looking faces.

There were kids selected by the sheer dint of their talent. We had a fantastic partnership with Hero Honda. Their ability to manage large selection was invaluable. The show had a rating of 1.9 in the metros which is really good for a special interest channel. The Roadies finale got a rating of six. Reality among the urban youth is a conceopt that will work really well.

How would you describe your relationships with the Indian music labels and film producers who always want more in terms of license fees?
We have a win-win relationship with them. A lot of labels look at us as an extension of them. That is because we are careful about partners. We see ourselves as a marketing arm. If you look at the likes of Yash Raj Films most of them give us a first look.

We premiered the making of Tara Rum Pum on MTV. If it is in the youth space, film producers give us a first look. We are not victims of hard bargaining. They see the value we deliver in marketing to the right audiences. We do not have the buyer seller relationship. It is a genuine partnership.

Could you talk about how taking up social causes like Aids has helped boost MTV’s brand image and perception?
In terms of perception it come down to whether it is fun and frolic or does MTV have a larger meaning. It adds a reason for our existence. We are now going into an additional initiative and we are taking up the cause of illegal human trafficking on an international level across borders. We are looking to build awareness around that.

The Indian government recently banned FTV and earlier AXN on the grounds of obscene content. What steps has MTV taken to ensure that its music videos and shows do not offend anyone?
I must admit that early last year we faced this challenge. We got a notice. Our response was to fly down and apologise. We promised that it would not happen. We later told them why it would not happen.

The entire MTV team showed them a new system that has been put in place. Since that incident the Ministry has complimented us for the work that we have done.

I would appreciate your views on the proposed content code.
This should be formulated by dialogue involving all parties. Accountability should not rest with one party. Besides the broadcaster the content cerator should also be held accountable.

Could you elaborate on Nick’s strategy to challenge Turner and Disney?
I am a believer in doing the basics and not trying to do too many things at one time. We will not take on Disney in the South. We have to be a serious player among the first two to three channels in the Hindi Speaking Markets. Now we are not yet there. But six months back we were the number seven market player. Now we are going to be number four.

In six months the stickiness on Nick has doubled. The time spent has moved form the 50’s to the 90’s. Distribution, time spent, promos are in place. Now we are focussing on marketing and brand building. In the last four months a strong brand building promos are in place. They are not multi crore promos. We did a Bakra Pakdi initiative and got 80,000 entries.

Nick has appropriate and safe content. We take our responsibility as a broadcaster seriously. We avoid violence. We are the safest babysitter available. If a mother is to leave her child in front of the television it would most likely be Nick. I can say that with confidence. We like to be the best destination for comedy. So Nick is about fun, smiles and seen from a child’s point of view. I would be surprised if we are not number three by the end of the year.

Has the deal for ad sales with NDTV worked?
Well our MTV and VHI teams have fared so well people wondered what we were doing. Here is where I come from. When you grow a business you need a portfolio approach. You have to make choices.

Strategy is about what to do and what not to do. That is what I tell my team. You cannot do a little bit here, a little bit there and hope to succeed. Last year people were shocked that nick did not invest in marketing. We were focussed on building up content.

Now in the priorities of Nick do we want to make a multi crore investment in a sales team or do we want to put the same money into brand building? We have chosen to do the latter. The deal with NDTV allows us access to several hundred clients for a share of revenue. We have limited resources and we decided to build the brand and let an expert handle client management.

How is VH1 faring?
It is a uniquely different brand in the Western music and lifestyle space. There is no brand close to it in this space. BH1 is delivering the highest quality audience in the country. While it may be small it delivers the highest incidence of car, refrigerator, mobile owners etc. We target a high propensity to consume buyers. Clients get no wastage. Its wastage factor is the lowest in the industry.

On the distribution front what progress has been made to boost the reach of the channels across Asia?
When we launched in Pakistan late last year people were sceptical. But if you look at it over the last three years with the growth in the Pakistan economy siome disposable income has come into the hands of the youth.

Economic growth leads to a more Westernised consumption culture. Over the last three to four years the McDonalds, KFCs, Pepsis, Cokes and mobile operators have opened the doors of consumer culture. Their economy is growing as fast as ours. This has formed a middle class.

The television industry in Pakistan is ad driven. If you do not have consumption expenditure among a large audience you cannot have an ad sales proposition. MTV was also waiting to have enough content to have a sustainable 24 hour channel. Their music video content is as good as ours. Sometimes it is better. We have Indus Television as our partner. We did research about the brand MTV. Will it be rejected? Are there going to be any negative connotations by some elements of society?

The consequences have been positive. We trained the Pakistan team in terms of promotions, packaging.

Then we launched Nick in Pakistan with Ary. It launched this year in English. Our markets are all licensing deals except for Pakistan which is ad driven. The tourism economy has helped us grow in the Maldives. A lot of our revenue comes from the resorts there.

With India going through digitisation with Cas and DTH the time seems ripe to bring in more channels. Are there any plans in this regard?
We are waiting for the digital platforms to consolidate. Let DTH reach four million homes and then we will examine options. Comedy Central is one channel I would look at bringing in. Spike TV is a channel for men is another as it is a clear differentiator. There is a correct time to do things.

VH1 launched at the right time. I come back to the point about what I tell my team – strategy is not only about what to do. It is also about what not to do. In hindsight one can say that Nick should not have been launched so many years ago. If the management team at that time was not going to invest in it then the launch should have happened later. It is now that we are investing in it and giving it a clear direction and goals that it is moving towards.

May 7, 2007