theibcdaily executive summary 21 The future of TV glocal Going
“We supplement the core
offering with market-specific material”
Robert M. Bakish
President/CEO, Viacom International Media Networks Region:Worldwide
Interview by Chris Forrester B
ob Bakish delivered a major IBC keynote, the essence of which was that despite the challenges of
OTT, and a zillion and one other rivals, MTV and its sister channels are as relevant as ever. Speaking to this year’s ‘From
Broadcast to Multicast’ big theme, the CEO of Viacom International Media Network said: “I wanted to highlight how we are
working to tap into each of our markets and ensure that our strategy is right for that market.” Viacom, especially with MTV and Nickelodeon, was very much a multichannel TV pioneer and supporter of the ‘think global, act local’ mantra. “We think of it as our ‘glocal’
strategy, part global but part local, and which balances day- to-day but brings the power of being part of a global entertainment company with our MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Paramount channels,” says Bakish. “But we supplement the core offering with market-specific material.” He explains that the model can vary from country to country depending on the ability for the market to support local material. “We are now varying
the model again, where we are leveraging our TV formats. For example, we have had huge success on MTV in the US with Jersey Shore which spawned Geordie Shore in Britain and became our highest rated show, and Gandia Shore in Spain, and the highest-rated show on Spanish digital terrestrial TV.” This fresh thinking is working, and the multimedia spin-offs are huge. And it isn’t just eyeballs. The spill-over into social media can be quite spectacular. The show set new records for Spanish web-page hits, Tweets and Facebook followers. At one point Gandia Shore was responsible for six of the top ten trending topics on Twitter. That’s the sort of fame that money cannot buy.
Viacom is also ahead of the curve in developing new markets. Take India, he suggests, where Viacom’s overall presence – in a joint venture with Network 18 – has been an astounding success, and besides almost all of the MTV core brands, has Colors, a Hindi general entertainment channel which is now being ‘exported’ in its own right to around 40 markets. “We know where we stand today but India’s demographics can only go one way, and that’s up,” he says. “In the US, we have around 120 million TV homes. Europe cannot manage that on an individual country basis, but in India you more than match it. Yes, the incomes are low today but we are looking to tomorrow.”
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