MxMIndia

Tag: Sudhanshu Vats

  • SONIC in its new swish avatar will go live, starting 3rd May, 2016

    Sonic undergoes rebranding; revisits content strategy too

    By A Correspondent

     

    Kids franchise, Nickelodeon is set to rebrand its 2011 launched kids channel – SONIC.  With this rebranding, SONIC, an integral part of the kids franchise, is all set to evolve its content strategy to now include edgy comedy along with riveting action. The evolution in the content strategy will be brought alive through the renewed graphic elements and the new vibrant logo imbued with energy and life.  SONIC will go live, starting 3rdMay, 2016.

     

    The channel is already prepped for the transformation through a refreshing programming line-up. This change has already been set into motion with India’s first action comedy series, Shiva moving to SONIC. There will also be new episodes of Pakdam Pakdai and Oggy the Cockroaches along with the ever-green shows Supa Strikas and Shaun The Sheep.

     

    “Our flagship Kids channel Nick has been the genre leader for almost 2 years now and our Kids portfolio is amongst the top 2 in India. Seen in this light, the rebranding exercise for Sonic is part of an evolving  content strategy aimed at building Sonic up as a strong second to Nick, thereby increasing the combined viewership share of our Kids portfolio as we aim to cement our position as the number one Kids’ content destination in India,” said Sudhanshu Vats – Group CEO, Viacom18, as he further underlined the importance of the Kids genre, “Our commitment to the genre is reflected in how we’ve placed it across our network through Consumer Products and a dedicated section in our OTT service Voot.”

     

    Talking about the rebranding of SONIC, Nina Elavia Jaipuria -EVP and Head – Kids Cluster, Viacom18 said “While Nickelodeon continues its dream run, our focus for this year is on building SONIC into a formidable channel that becomes a part of every child’s daily life. Our research shows that Children love action but with a significant dash of comedy.   It is aligning to this insight that we have curated the all new SONIC that is fun, refreshing, vibrant, full of action and entertainment  and with an edgy sense of humor which we are sure that children will love.”

     

    The refreshed look of the channel will be brought to life with the Shiva campaign. The expansive marketing campaign will have promotions with an extensive cross channel plan, large scale on-ground, ambient engagement and interesting on-line interactivity. Adding to this will be the on-ground initiatives like retail and mall partnerships, the association with Pantaloons for the Junior Fashion Icon, SHIVA themed games and meet-and-greets at Funcity, etc, all of which will introduce as well as allow kids’ to engage with their all new SONIC.

     

    With an enthralling programming lineup and an enhanced visual experience, SONIC is all set to zoom into the daily life of every child in India.

     

  • MTV releases 'The Many Me Project' report at its annual Youth Marketing Forum held last week

    The Many Facets of the Young

     

    By Anuka Roy

     

    Multi-Dimensional. Open Minded. Creative. Confident. Ambitious. Smart thinker. Thought. Brave. Witty. Inspired. Mindful. Fun. These could be tagged as the many facets of a youth’s personality, as determined at the extensive research study titled ‘The Many Me Project’ at released at the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016 last week.

     

    “I thought the youth was in a very bad place. But this study opened the eyes for a lot of us” said Ferzad Palia, Executive Vice President, Viacom 18, Head, Youth and English entertainment. “This is probably the largest youth study in the country. We do not know too many brands that go so deep into the youth. Unless you do this you cannot stay ahead of the curve” he added.

     

    And, what are some of the major findings of the study? The two new words that came out this year when the youth were asked to describe themselves were: Smart thinking and multidimensional.The study also investigates on the widespread social media etiquettes and the stark difference in their online and offline personalities. This study highlighted that the today’s youth are very pragmatic in their approach. From new age gender definition and its impact on their relationships between friends, families and significant others, the research explores the youth psyche in depth. They accept and embrace their flaws- ‘flawsome’ is something MTV came up with to describe this quality. “If you see some of the superhero movies these days, equal footage is given to the superhero fighting others and fighting their inner demons. So, it is more about fighting your inner demons than conquering the world” said Chatterjee about the youth accepting their scars and flaws. Inspirational quotes are something that is shared the most by youth across various social platforms. Humour is the key weapon for this generation.

     

    With technological advancement in internet and mobile devices, the youth gets an opportunity and exposure to be whatever they want to be. They choose and curate the best version of themselves, and there are several versions. Today’s youth are self- reflective, but not existential. Optimism is there in them but they are not impractical. They are seamless across online and offline. The Many Me headline truly captures the multi- dimensionality of today’s generation.

     

    MTV Insights Studio, the insights arm of MTV, conducts these research studies every couple of months to understand the trends among young people. This year they conducted an extensive research exercise to understand the young people between the age group of 13-25 years, across 50 plus cities in the country, using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methodology. The focus was to understand the attitudes and desires of these 11,000 odd respondents with the help of content- what they consume and what they publish.  The study was conducted among NCCS SEC A, B, C, where the cities belonging to the category C were the new entrants in this year’s research.  They deployed interesting non-intrusive yet immersive techniques like selfie- project, peerscope, digital shadowing  along with ethnographic interviews, peer group discussions to understand the new face of young India. This year, ThirdEye Qualitative and Juxt Smart Mandate have done the fieldwork for the project.

     

    Talking about the cities that this study was conducted, Sumeli Chatterjee, Head, Marketing and Insights, Youth Cluster, Viacom 18, said, “Some of the cities we have gone this time is, for example, Amritsar, Bhatinda, Rohtak, Mathura, Nizamabad… it is very representative of India. That is the reason when Ferzad said that a lot of the findings surprised us. We did not expect a lot of smaller cities to actually behave like this. So, it is actually eye opening for us too”

     

    Speaking about the MTV Youth Marketing Forum 2016, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom 18, said in a press release, “For the past 10 years, MTV has been working incessantly to understand every nuance of each interaction youngn people have amongst themselves and their media consumption habits. It is these patterns of consumption and interaction which then form the basis of everything we do at MTV.  The headline study for this year- ‘MTV Many Me Project’- has thrown up some fascinating insights into the lives and minds of this absolutely dynamic demographic.” This research is going to be used across the Viacom 18 networks to create youth centric content.

     

    The MTV Youth Forum, held in New Delhi on April 29, was addressed by Ferzad Palia, Head, Youth and English Entertainment, Viacom18, Mike Reiss- Co-creator, producer and writer of The Simpsons, Cindy Gallop- Founder, MakeLovenotPorn and If WeRantheWorld, Will Sansom- Director, Content & Strategy, Contagious Insider,  Kerry Taylor- SVP, Youth and Music, Viacom International & CMO, Viacom UK, Shravan and Sanjay Kumaran- CEOs, GoDimensions and Yuvraj Singh, cricketer and youth icon.

     

  • Says Viacom18 Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats on the path ahead for the group's most ambitious foray post Colors and the ETV acquisitions

    Viewers, viewership & then monetisation: Sudhanshu Vats

     

    Last week, Viacom18 launched its OTT platform Voot with much fanfare. MxMIndia caught up with Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats on the launch of the platform, the content strategy and whether the group intends getting into sports. Excerpts from the interview…

     

    So Voot took a long time coming?

    I have been answering this for everyone. There are two ways of looking at it. One, you could argue that we’ve taken little longer, but I think in digital, it’s important to get it right. The digital ecosystem is evolving rapidly. The number of new consumers on mobile, digital, video eco-system this year will double compared to last year. So I think we are fresh for them. Two, it’s about getting a product and content right. For digital, you have to keep refreshing technology every year. Tech upgrades which are needed for digital products are almost at a frequency of a year so it’s like a new product for everyone.

     

    So would you say that there’s a first-mover disadvantage for those who came in early?

    No, I would say that I think the point is if you’ve got your product and content differentiated, you are as good as first-mover here.

     

    There’s a lot of talk about OTT, including the FICCI-KPMG report. On how it’s going to boom in a big way. For Viacom18, this kind-of completes the picture, right?

    Yes, yes. I think it’s good that we have got a product now which sort of stitches all our content for the viewer in a very digital experience. Another differentiation is we haven’t gone TV to digital. Yes, we’ve got a lot of original hours of content of television which will be on this product but we’ve done a digital product and I think that’s a fundamental difference from bringing your TV starting with a brand name, starting with the discoverability. I don’t know whether you notice small small things. Each of our programmes have a 40-60-word description, each of the episode within that tells you what is happening, that’s a very digital product… that’s the way the digital piece goes.

     

    A lot of work has gone into the existing piece also. But tell me, what’s going to happen is from now onwards the existing websites of the various channesl that you have, whether it’s the Colors or MTV websites, some of which are exceedingly popular will now obviously merge into Voot, right?

    No, I think what will happen is our product websites, for all our channel websites and brand websites will remain because they’re very important marketing tools, they will remain but videos, the moment you want to watch and you will also have an option to start playing the video from there. But, supposing you go onto Colors and you want to watch Naagin, what it will do is it will bring you to Voot and will play Naagin for you… But our websites and our social interaction tools, our Facebook pages, all that will remain.

     

    You mentioned about all the programming across channels that you have will be on Voot. Does this mean that some of your older shows which aren’t on air right now will also be there?

    Yes. So we do about 10,000 hours of programming every year from Viacom 18. To answer your question, most of our stuff will be there but we’ve picked and chosen things. We’ve not put everything which was there in the past. For instance, if someone wants to see Balika Vadhu from the beginning will that option be there? The answer is yes.

     

    Specifically, will Comedy night with Kapil be there?

    Obviously it will be there.

     

    He has left and joined another channel…

    But it is our content so it will definitely be there and it will find a pride of place under comedy.  We are proud of that work, and it is on Voot.

     

    Coming back to Viacom 18, what else now…? You don’t have sports as part of your bouquet, you’ve just about got back the movie channel which had been exited some years back. What about sports and any other white spaces that you would like to fill up?

    There are white spaces for us to plug and I think movies was one of them which we recently done. Theoretically, there are English movies as well as some regional genres which are white spaces for us. Our focus on youths and kids is a little higher compared to anyone else in the business. In the brands, you’ve got dedicated brands. We’ve got enough white places to plug before we start thinking of sports.

     

    Is it because the kind of money you need to invest over there is…?

    No, it’s a combination of everything. There are 3 things with this: it’s very high investments, longer gestations and a business model which is not fully proven in the Indian context because subscription is not there so that is perhaps resisting us. The second piece which I was saying however which is that we’ve also got so many new other things to do which are clearer and which have got much better, and which have got better returns are attractive propositions which we would drive.

     

    One of your joint venture partners is Network 18 and it is going to come up with a huge telecom offering… do we synergies of Voot with that?

    There will be lot of synergy. We are continuously working with Jio and there are synergies at all levels.

     

    Will there be some exclusive content availed only to Jio subscribers?

    We are looking at all options. With the amount of content we have, there are things which we will be able to do, which are in this area. To give you an example, and this is my favourite example which I keep giving. So, if you look at Big Boss, a Big Brother, we’ve got 70 cameras in the Big Boss house. These 70 cameras are actually shooting for 24 hours. Let’s assume for the moment that for 12 hours people are sleeping and there is hardly any recording. Even if you look at 12 hours, that means 12 hours x 70 cameras which is 840 hours and what you show on the TV is sanitised 40 minutes of that. Therefore, our ability to do content around content and exclusive in this is pretty high. So whether we do it as Voot exclusives or for our partner exclusives, I think those things we will continue to explore and we will drive those synergies as we go forward.

     

    In the last two years, from the time you took charge, there has been much activity. You’ve had the regional and the English channels, the movie channel, now Voot. What’s coming next?

    We are actively looking at a lot of spaces and we will continue to grow. We will continue to grow our broadcast TV channel space, we will hopefully grow our digital space which we have just done. We will be growing our ancillary space both on consumer products and this.

     

    One last question… From what we have seen over here, obviously investments have been huge on Voot. Would it be right to say that it’s possibly your biggest investment after Colors?

    It is a substantial investment in terms of our greenfield investments If you look at Viacom 18, there have been three significant investments. There was an investment when Viacom 18 was formed and the investment in Colors was big.Then there has been an investment basically through acquisition of the ETV piece which was also substantial And the third… basically this is also going to be a slightly longer term high investment. I think we need to stay invested here because digital as I keep saying, digital models, across every industry are going to be different models and they are not conventional revenue models of business we grew up with or we were taught. The focus has to first be on viewership, users, usage and monetisation so in our case it will be viewers, viewership and then monetisation and there it will take some time.

     

  • Alok Nath, Gulshan Grover, Baba Sehgal and a host of celebs will frontline originals in advertising-led Voot platform

    Viacom18 unveils Voot with originals and huge kiddie content

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom18 has launched Voot, a digital video-on-demand platform that will will be advertising-led and available for free on iOS, Android and web-led devices.

     

    Other than 17,000 of Viacom18 content from across channels and languages, the Voot drivers will be a massive kids foray plus a diverse set of originals. Voot will house popular characters from across networks – from Nick characters like Dora, Spongebob, Motu Patlu to blockbuster characters like Chhota Bheem and Pokemon. Meanwhile, Voot Originals will roll out shows in both long and short formats across genres like comedy and drama. Bollywood actors Gulshan Grover, Baba Sehgal, Alok Nath and a host of celebrity scriptwriters and directors will be frontlining these shows. Furthermore, Viacom18 will move its entire content library, including Colors, MTV and Nick, to be digitally available only on VOOT.

     

    Commenting on the launch, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, said, “India is at the cusp of a digital boom with over 400 million internet users and 200 million+ smartphone users spending significant amount of time online with entertainment and allied content being the prime driver. As more people move towards consuming content online, it is time for Viacom18 to move into the world of connected screens. Hence Voot.”

     

    Echoing his CEO’s enthusiasm, Gaurav Gandhi, COO, Viacom18 Digital Ventures explained further, “As a network we are a content powerhouse, be it through our television channels or through our film studio. Our content strategy for Voot is true to Viacom18’s philosophy of inclusive entertainment. Between Voot Originals, Voot Kids, our network content and Content-around-content created exclusively for the platform, the idea is to peddle happiness to the ‘always wanting’ India, racing to go digital. Our marketing campaign, set to kick off in the next few days, also highlights this brand philosophy that is at the core of Voot. ”

     

     

  • IBF in association with AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India) had formed a joint credit collections committee which scrutinizes, regulates and evaluates the credit worthiness of the advertisers

    Sudhanshu Vats to chair IBF Credit & Collections Committee

    By A Correspondent

     

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation announced the appointment of Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, as the Chairman of the IBF Credit and Collections Committee & Co-Chairman of the joint IBF- AAAI Sub-Committee.

     

    IBF in association with AAAI (Advertising Agencies Association of India) had formed a joint credit collections committee which scrutinizes, regulates and evaluates the credit worthiness of the advertisers active through AAAI member advertising agencies on IBF member channels. It plays a pivotal role in dispute resolution between channels and agencies vis-a-vis advertisers.

     

    Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, who is also an IBF Board member stated, “I am delighted to have been entrusted with this responsibility. Strengthening our relationship with the advertisers would be our goal and I look forward to introducing newer mechanisms in line with the global standards, to normalize the revenue mechanisms for all parties.”

     

    The outgoing Chairman I Venkat mentioned, “I know Sudhanshu would bring his ethos and greater clarity in the functioning of the Committee. I am thankful to all the members for their support and  their valuable contribution and also to Ashish Bhasin , the Co- Chairman of the Committee, AAAI  who helped me conduct these meetings in a more organised and transparent manner”.

     

    IBF President Uday Shankar says, ”Both Mr Vats and Mr Venkat have been valuable colleagues in the IBF Board and both deserve admiration and appreciation for taking up the task of revamping the broadcaster’s ad revenue flow. I am sure Sudhanshu will bring greater efficacy and democracy to the functioning of the Committee.”

     

  • Here's what a cross-section of industry persons said on the Union Budget from the M&E standpoint

    What they say about Budget 2016-17

     

    Here’s what a cross-section of industrypersons said on the Union Budget from the M&E standpoint

     

    Rakesh Jariwala, Partner & Head – M&E Tax Advisory – India, EY (Ernst & Young)

    “As part of the budget proposals, India has levied an equalisation levy – what is known as ‘google tax’ globally. The tax @ 6% of the consideration will apply on services relating to online advertisement, provisions on online ad space or other facility or services for the purpose of online advertisement, when such services are provided by a non-resident to either an Indian resident or a non-resident having a permanent establishment in India. The payer for these services are required to deduct 6% prior to making the payment. This is the first time that online services are being taxed in India.”

     

    Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18, and Chairman, National Media and Entertainment Committee, CII:

    “Kudos to the government for presenting a disciplined and inclusive budget. The emphasis on rural development and commitment to the fiscal deficit target augur well for the economy in the long-run. The proposal for a more conducive excise duty regime for STBs and other ‘entertainment-access devices’ is welcome. While many of us from the industry were anticipating more sector-specific announcements, I’m sure that this budget will benefit the larger economy and therefore, by extension, have a positive impact on our industry as well.”

     

    Ashish Bhasin’s (Chairman & CEO South Asia – Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman Posterscope & MKTG – Asia Pacific):

    “Overall there are some positives and some negatives in the Budget. On the positive side, not increasing the service tax is a positive, particularly for the advertising and media sector. General expectation was that Service Tax may go up in anticipation of higher GST rates. Controlling the fiscal deficit and several steps to invigorate the rural economy and rural consumption are positive signals. A rural consumption revival will help the economy and the advertising and media sector tremendously. On the negative side, there was an expectation, based on what the Finance Minister said in the past, that corporate tax rates would come down. That is not to be so for most large companies. Introducing double taxation on dividends  is also a negative.  In balance this seems to me to be a mixed bag budget with a positive bias. If it is able to spur overall economic growth, we could see good times ahead for the advertising and media sector.”

     

    M K Anand, MD & CEO Times Network

    “Digitisation, in my opinion is the most important factor for the Broadcast sector currently, we are very happy about the excise duty changes proposed for Set Top boxes which will help in the last mile infrastructure of DAS 3 and 4. Overall a stable and positive fiscal situation is good for the economy and that will support our Ad Sales growth projections. All in all Budget 2016 looks good for the Broadcast sector.

     

    Vivek Gambhir, Managing Director, GCPL:

    “Overall, this is a responsible “Rural First” Budget that attempts to revive demand, while continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation. For the FMCG sector, initiatives to support the revival of rural and urban consumption should help bring growth back on track. Focused efforts on alleviating rural distress and uplifting the agrarian economy, will help put more money in the hands of farmers. Statutory backing of the Aadhar scheme will ensure more targeted delivery of benefits to those who need it. The need of the hour is job creation and focusing on skilling and education to make people more employable. The implementation of transformative reforms, like the GST, at the earliest, are however imperative to fast track economic growth and boost consumer confidence. Given the Government’s intent to stick to its path of fiscal consolidation, we look forward to an interest rate cut or more liquidity in the system to drive private capital investment. Going forward, given the plethora of schemes that have been announced, it will be important to deliver on the promises made through effective on-the-ground execution.

     

    Sanjay Sethi, CEO, Shopclues.com

    “Finance Minister Mr Arun Jaitley has certainly made several important announcements for start-ups in his Union Budget speech. We are pleased that a sizeable sum has been allocated for ventures founded by women entrepreneurs and members of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. This is a great step towards empowerment and inclusive growth for those communities that have hitherto found less representation in business. The fact that start-ups will get 100% tax exemption for three years  out of 5 years  and long terms capital gain for unlisted companies has been reduced from 3 years to 2 years will also be a great boost to the economy and will aid in creation of jobs. However, we do believe that overall a lot more impetus could have been given to the start-up ecosystem through this budget.”

     

    Sanjeev Gupta, MD, Global Advertisers:.

    “We are glad that there is no increase in taxes. Since the government is said to be pro-development and has allotted significant money for the rural infrastructure, railways and road development, we think it’s a positive sign for our future. We are also seeing great potential in expanding our reach to small cities now. The finance minister has also hinted at amending motor vehicles act for better transportation facility in the country. This may give us the opportunity to position our ads more effectively while on the move. We feel that in this critical economic condition, the budget has been so far satisfactory for the advertising industry.

     

  • The 24×7 Hindi movie channel is scheduled to be launched in the last quarter of the year

    Viacom18 to rev up Hindi movie channel space with ‘Rishtey Cineplex’

     

    By A Correspondent

     

    Four years after selling a large Hindi films library to rival Star India and shelving plans to launch a Hindi movie channel, Viacom18 has announced its plans to fill in the gap. A move that has been described as a “no-brainer” for any entertainment network by a trade analyst.

     

    Films like Bajirao Mastani, Airlift, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 and still-to-be-released flicks like Force2, Kapoor and Sons and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil are part of the Rishtey Cineplex arsenal. “The channel’s launch further paves the way for new film acquisitions to offer quality film-based entertainment and big television premieres to viewers,” a communiqué adds.

     

    Sudhanshu Vats

    Commenting on the launch, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO – Viacom18 said, “With the launch of Rishtey Cineplex, we are entering the large Hindi movie genre thereby filing a pivotal whitespace and offering a holistic Hindi entertainment ecosystem from our stable.”adding:  “The movie channel will bolster the networks reach across India and help us dial-up our engagement levels with our viewers. It will also enable us to offer 360-degree value to our advertisers creating more opportunities for on-air promotions enabling optimization of ad inventory across the network”.

     

    Interestingly, the channel will not piggyback on the ‘Colors’ brand as a slew of non-Hindi channels did in the in recent months. It is christened ‘Rishtey Cineplex’ and thereby indicating that Viacom18 could further the ‘Rishtey’ franchise which has until now been occupied by a free-to-air re-runs channel.

     

    Raj Nayak

    Said Raj Nayak, CEO – Colors and Rishtey: “We have scripted a great success story for brand Colors with it being extended into regional languages and English entertainment. Each of these channels has helped us cater to an intrinsic viewer demand. We are now all set to give impetus to brand Rishtey with the launch of our exclusive Hindi movies channel Rishtey Cineplex that will help us fortify our Hindi entertainment portfolio.”

     

    Is there room for another Hindi movie channel? The analyst we spoke with said yes, emphatically, adding a caveat: “It’s a function of the films you win rights for and how you place them – between your flagship GEC and thereby earn ratings for it and the movie channel which is where it should ideally belong.”

     

    As per the latest data of BARC, the pecking order of Hindi movie channels is: Sony Max, Zee Cinema, Star Gold, Movies OK and &Pictures.

     

     

  • A multi-platform initiative, MTV Kickstart will also a reality show the young to pitch ideas to investors and win seed funds

    Viacom18 joins hands with DIPP to launch launch MTV Kickstart

    By A Correspondent

     

    Viacom18 along with #StartUpIndia initiative of the government’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) have announced the launch of India’s largest outreach programme for young entrepreneurs. ‘MTV KICKSTART’ will be an annual programme that will equip the youth to start up. Supporting MTV, the iconic youth brand, in its unique initiative – MTV Kickstart, , #StartUpIndia will bridge the gap between ideas and investors and give young India a helping hand in making their entrepreneurial dreams come true.

     

    Said Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP): “I am excited about our association with Viacom18’s MTV for instituting a platform called MTV Kickstart. The multi-platform programme will help us engage with the dynamic youth of India, help them start-up with ease and inspire a new generation to follow their dreams and become successful entrepreneurs.”

     

    Delivered through engaging and interactive content through television, web, mobile and social media, MTV KICKSTART will work towards educating the youth about the ecosystem of start-ups. The program will aim to educate through personal and informal interactions with start-up kings, investors, advisory and much more.

     

    Sudhanshu Vats

    Speaking about the initiative, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 said, “Viacom18 has always been at the forefront of being the catalyst of change within the media and entertainment space in India. We are in the business of entertainment that enriches the lives of our audiences through meaningful content and by engaging with them across multiple platforms. We now wish to extend the catalyst role to the start-up space as well by being a part of the journey of young entrepreneurs who dream to create a better tomorrow for India. The government of India has done a commendable job at addressing the need of the hour by instituting initiatives such as #StartUpIndia to encourage young Indians to become entrepreneurs.”

     

    Explaining the concept of the initiative further, Ferzad Palia, Head – Youth and English Entertainment, Viacom18 said, “MTV Kickstart is our way of driving India’s growth story by helping its biggest asset – the youth – to write their own narratives for the Make In India initiative laid down by our government.

     

  • The Viacom18 Group CEO, Viacom18 Group & Chairman CII M&E committee spoke at the M&E Seminar at the Make in India Week

    Sudhanshu Vats | Make in India. Show the World

     

    By Sudhanshu Vats

     

    Sudhanshu Vats, Viacom18 Group CEO and Chairman CII National Committee on Media and Entertainment, gave a closing speech at the Media & Entertainment Seminar on Day 3 of Make in India, chaired by I&B Minister of State Colonel Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Sumit Mazumdar and Ramesh Sippy. Here’s the text of the speech:

     

    Sometimes we get carried away with the concept of Make in India and think of it in terms of big machines, big companies, big resources. But Make in India is at the heart of every Indian, every individual. And it was actually interesting to see that Shri Narendra Modi, our honorary Prime Minister, on Saturday, emphasising on a great point: Make in India is a programme that is supposed to do two things. 1) It’s supposed to generate jobs for our youth, and 2) Be a platform for our youth to become job enablers and entrepreneurs. And I think it’s in this context that Media and Entertainment fits beautifully. The ability of an Indian and everybody associated with the M&E industry to do that is fantastic. And I think it is this concept I would want to build up on first.

     

    The size of our industry is close to about 18-20 billion dollars. India boasts of the world’s 3rd largest TV audience, 2nd largest print circulation, largest film output and one of its largest Internet audiences. Yet, at ~17 Bn USD, our entire industry earns less than some of the world’s largest media conglomerates. The latest edition of the Star Wars franchise has already crossed over 1.5 Bn USD in global ticket sales, more than 2x of global collections (including gross domestic collections) of all Bollywood films in CY15.

     

    Some will attribute this dichotomy to our content: is the comparison even valid? ‘Can we even think of matching the production budgets of global tentpole properties?’ ‘Are our stories universal in a way that they appeal to the entire world?’ Others make references to economics to explain the chasm: in terms of purchasing power parity we are significantly greater than based on our ‘nominal revenues’.  There is another lot (including myself) that looks at the regulatory framework for answers: shouldn’t pay TV pricing be completely deregulated if we want to deliver quality content? ‘We need addressability across India to ensure that the entire value chain gets its fair share of revenues.‘

     

    All these voices are acceptable, rational and attention-worthy. It might be prudent to point out that for our sector to attain escape velocity a deeper, more holistic view is required.

     

    But I think the Make-in-India programme has placed the (long overdue) global spotlight on India’s economic potential. And for the Media and Entertainment industry to realise its true potential, I would like to emphasise on what our honourable Prime Minister rightly described in his inaugural speech: The idea of the 4 Ds. Reiterating what he said, India is known for 3 Ds, which is democracy, demographic dividend and demand. But now the time is to lay emphasis on the 4th D, which is deregulation.

     

    For Indian firms to compete successfully, we need a light touch, consistent regulatory approach when it comes to our content, pricing and licensing- one that ensures parity across technology, platforms and jurisdictions. Multi-dimensional capacity building is the need of the hour. This theme has been repeated so often that it’s on the verge of becoming cliché. Yet that doesn’t take away from its relevance even today. If we truly want to transform this country into a global content powerhouse we need to invest in human capital and infrastructure. We employ around 5 Mn people today. We will easily need to double our workforce in the next 5-7 years to realise our goals.  This includes talent from the creative, technical and management spheres.

     

    We need to invest in this talent pipeline today, if we are to reap the benefits in time. The industry needs to collaborate more with educational institutions, the government needs to facilitate these partnerships and parents and teachers need to create awareness and nurture interest in design, technology and creative skills at the level of primary education. On the infrastructure side, while BharatNet is a commendable step, we need to expedite its rollout. Even today India has mobile-dark villages and some would argue that broadband speeds are too dismal to even be classified in the way that they are. Public Internet access is fast becoming a basic necessity in the lives of most Indians.  Finally, infrastructure in the form of convention centres, stadia and venues for experiential entertainment needs to be built to support our industry. If we don’t get this piece right, the puzzle will remain incomplete.

     

    Today, the M&E sector contributes to ~1% of India’s GDP, much lesser than its counterparts in developed economies. With time, as it grows in importance and scale, this contribution is bound to increase exponentially. The sector’s very inclusion in this flagship programme underscores its importance. Several policy measures under the aegis of the ‘Make-in-India’ programme are well intended. We are eagerly awaiting the new IPR policy, which is a much-needed intervention to ensure that our industry prospers. A steam-lined investment approval process and favourable foreign trade policy regime is bound to provide our sector with a fillip. The Make-In-India programme is a right step in the right direction. It has captured the imagination of people around the world, bolstered spirits within corporate and policy corridors and set the ball rolling for much-needed reform measures.

     

    We power several ecosystems, beyond our own. As per press reports, over 18 Bn USD of investment proposals have been received in electronics manufacturing, particularly by mobile handset manufacturers. Have we ever stopped to ask about the utility of that awe–inspiring device with a 5-inch HD screen with 64GB storage and oodles of computing power if we don’t have high-quality, engaging video content? Media rights are the single largest contributor to almost all sporting leagues in this country. FMCG companies spend a significant portion of their top-line (~10-15%) on advertising because it contributes significantly to their growth. French islands and Turkish cities witness an increase in in-bound tourists after they’ve been featured in our films. We’re more than just us.

     

    To conclude: The first thing is to continue the journey on deregulation. Keep it light with policies that are thought through. The second thing is in the area of IPR. And I think if the M& E industry has to grow further, we will need to have a very well-articulated IPR policy and the good thing is that the honarable Prime Minister himself spoke about this at the Make In India inauguration event.

     

    We need to seamlessly blend technology and creativity. For that, we will need more physical infrastructure for us to be able to organise events that do so more regularly, more frequently and more safely. I think that is the third area where the impetus is on us for building better physical infrastructure.

     

    My final point is in the area of building capacity from the point of view of multidisciplinary talents. Because ours in a converged world, I think it’s the combination of talent and management, talent and creative content, and talent and technology which will allow us to progress.

     

    The M&E sector is a key pillar of the Make in India programme and is bound to gain from it, and gain it should. After all, when we ‘Make in India, For the World’, we also ‘Make India and Show the World’.

     

  • For today's time-starved corporate execs, running provides the much-needed 'me time', writes the Viacom18 Group CEO

    Special to MxM: Run, life and work – the near and far of it. By Sudhanshu Vats

     

    By Sudhanshu Vats

     

    Standing at the flag off point, I looked up to survey the sea of humanity surrounding me and what a sight it was. Age, color, nationality, language, background –all ‘labels’ of the human race were rendered meaningless as about half a lakh people prepared to run the 13th edition of the Mumbai Marathon. As I straightened and shared glances with my running mates, we knew the next few hours would both exciting and testing for us.

     

    And then it started. I ran for the next 3 hours 59 minutes and 7 seconds to complete my 10th Mumbai marathon. I was tired yet satisfied with another Sub 4 hrs. performance. While the start of a marathon is filled with excitement and anticipation, the middle requires maintaining the momentum, and the last stretch, tests the limit of perseverance.  As the clock ticked and the miles accumulated, I settled into my rhythm. A rhythm meticulously planned over hourly weekday runs and longer weekend ones. As I looked around at my fellow runners and the milieu standing on the sidelines cheering us on, I felt an immense sense of belonging. All around were an enthusiastic bunch of people running for their varied personal reasons, united in a common act.

     

    Running, to my mind, is a wonderful urban exercise. It is location- and paraphernalia-agnostic – all you need is a pair of sneakers and you are ready for your routine anywhere in the world. A run exercises the human body in its entirety. And it is a fierce critique of its physical condition as well! Try running with an inconspicuous injury and you will immediately know your pain points. While any form of running teaches one the virtue of patience, focus and perseverance; running long distances requires a planned approach. Much of my business success comes from being able to put together a strategic long-term plan divided into focused short-term milestones – a mantra I picked up from my marathon planning.

     

    “Haji Ali –  and the final Peddar road climb,” reminded the voice within, as I crossed the iconic 600 year old dargah. I looked at my running mates and was happy to see we were all going pretty well. Marathons have a way of bringing people together, instilling a sense of the collective over the individual.

     

    No wonder corporate India has taken to marathons like fish to water. For today’s time-starved corporate executives, running provides one with the much needed ‘me time’ in this fast paced world. Running is a great leveler as well; and nowhere is this more evident than in a marathon. People from divergent walks of life run together, as one, while the city descends on the street to cheer them on in an amazing celebration of encouragement and solidarity. Isn’t that what today’s business leaders strive to do? Build organizations that transcend boundaries, strengthened by their employees’ will to collaborate and excel. And at an individual level completing a grueling marathon leads to a strong sense of achievement and fulfilment.

     

    I used to do cross country in my Boarding school but the bug of marathon bit me as I went to cheer my friends in the first Mumbai Marathon. Over the course of time I have completed 8 Marathons and four Half-marathons. And what a run it has been. People talk about the physical benefits of running. Personally, I think it is the impact running has on your character and personality is profound. For me, that has been the most important differentiator.

     

    In our professional environment, we are faced with new challenges every day and the key is to keep the spirit alive within ourselves. If we calm our minds and learn to ‘break’ our audacious goals into focused short-term milestones, not only will we reach our eventual goal but also enjoy the journey.

     

    The beauty of a marathon is that between training for it, participating in it and finally celebrating a successful run you learn valuable lessons that prepare you for most of what life has to offer and learn to live it to the Fullest!

     

    Sudhanshu Vats is Group CEO, Viacom18

     

  • The documentary will air across the entire Viacom18 Network on 27th December to mark the death anniversary of Nirbhaya

    Viacom18 adopts ‘Daughters of Mother India’ documentary

    By A Correspondent

     

    In a first for the network, Viacom18 has adopted Daughters of Mother India, the award winning documentary that explores the aftermath of the Nirbhaya rape incident in 2012.

     

    Produced by Academy Award winner Maryann Deleo and directed by National Award winner Vibha Bakshi, Daughters of Mother India is a 45 minutes documentary that explores the effect of Nirbhaya’s brutal gang rape on the collective psyche of India. The documentary has been adopted as a training film by the Indian police academy and various education institutes in India, to sensitize on treating women with respect.

     

    Sudhanshu Vats

    Recognizing media as a powerful tool for propagating social behavioral change, Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO said, “Viacom 18 takes pride in building an ecosystem of relevant and impactful content creators, platforms and communities. Media firms are best placed to act as force multipliers in India’s endeavour to bring about women empowerment. It is also important for us to be objective and ensure that all sides of a story are shared. ‘Daughters of Mother India’ does this is many ways: it is objective, compelling and thought provoking. Kudos to the team. Hopefully, we’ll see a lot more of this kind of content coming into the mainstream. And hopefully, we as a company and as an industry, will continue propagating this message of change.”

     

    Filmmaker Vibha Bakshi commented, “Viacom 18 is not just a media company. It’s clearly a disrupter. When we approached Viacom 18 with the proposition of screening a documentary they instantly understood. They were sensitive to the immediate need to raise awareness and take responsibility as a carrier of content to bring about social behavioral change. It’s the media that plays an important role in shaping minds and mindsets and can deliver huge on ground impact in bringing mass awareness for the critical issues pertaining to women empowerment, gender violence and actions needed there off. I encourage all of you to join me in saluting Viacom 18 for taking this bold step to adopt a documentary and dedicate air time for such an important issue of awareness. It is truly commendable and indeed a benchmark for the industry to follow.”

     

  • The brand identity for Voot has been created by transnational brand consultancy Brand Gym and Pune-based Elephant Design

    Viacom18 announces plans for OTT platform ‘Voot’. To be only source for all network content

    By A Correspondent

     

    It’s the last of the big GEC-led broadcast networks to announce an OTT platform. But, then, the time is possibly just right to be in the business. Viacom 18 Digital Ventures, the digital arm of Viacom18, the brand name and identity of its OTT platform. The soon-to-be-launched service has been branded Voot,  “an expression used by the digital generation to express happiness, enthusiasm and triumph”. The brand identity for Voot, which is expected to go live in the next quarter, has been created by transnational brand consultancy Brand Gym and Pune-based Elephant Design.

     

    Voot will be the exclusive destination and source for all of Viacom 18 network’s content portfolio, including an independent and aggressive original programming strategy spearheaded by the seasoned broadcasting professional Monica Shergill.

     

    According to a communique, Viacom18 Digital Ventures has been working for the last few months with its set of strategic partners on the brand designand logo with the aim of keeping it distinctive, differentiated andin-sync with the brand mission to create a fun filled world of entertainment.

     

    Specifying the need for an exclusive new platform, Sudhanshu Vats, group CEO, said “As one of the fastest growing media companies in the country, for us at Viacom18, digital content creation, delivery and access are essential focus areas for driving growthThe brand mission of Voot is to create a whole new world of entertainment, filled with happy discoveries and addictive content”

     

    Said Gaurav Gandhi, COO, Viacom 18 Digital Ventures: “The idea of creating this new brand comes from our desire to create a new, alternate and differentiated world of entertainment for audiences in the digital space. The core essence of the brandis ‘infectious fun’ and ‘happiness’, and this is something that not only flows through in our bright and colorful logo, but will also resonate in our content philosophy.

     

    Working with strong technology, content & branding partners in India & across the globe, the new service will deliver high quality content to consumers on a wide variety of connected devices over Wi-Fi, 4G, 3G and 2G networks.

     

    ABOUT VIACOM18 DIGITAL VENTURES

    Viacom18 Digital Ventures is a newly created division within Viacom18 with a mandate to build consumer facing digital businesses for the company. In addition to building direct-to-consumer streaming businesses, Viacom18 digital ventures will also manage all digital licensing and monetization for the company’s content assets. The division will also look at expanding the group’s digital businesses and partnershipsvia both organic and in-organic routes.

     

    The mission of Viacom18 Digital Ventures is to entertain and enrich the lives of every online Indian, by bringing personalized world-class entertainment experiences on their connected screens

     

    For further information

    Siddharth Bijpuria

    Director – Corporate Communications

    Phone: 9920706646

    Email: siddharth.bijpuria@viacom18.com