MTV Global Strategy

Contents

• Company Overview
• MTV's Initial Strategy
• What led MTV to change its strategy
• MTV's New Strategy
• Recent Strategic Shift
• Future Direction
• Conclusion
• Discussion

MTV Global Strategy

Discussion Questions

1. What would have happened if MTV did not change its initial strategy?

2. Do you think there are other strategies that MTV could have/can employ? Why?

MTV's

Global Strategy

Reference List

Ben Elaine Nicole Perry

Company Overview

http://mcdepk.com/mtvpartnership/downloads/mtv_global_fact_sheet.pdf

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/en/newsdetails/news/national/How-Isle-of-MTV-reinvented-Viacom-s-global-influence-20120808http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/02/entertainment/la-ca-mtv-research-20111002

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jan/24/mtv-jersey-shore-geordie-shorehttp://www.mtv.es/noticias/mtv-gandia-shore/http://www.nbcnewyork.com/entertainment/television/NATL-Jersey-Shore-French-France-Spin-Off-145751095.html

http://citation.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/0/9/1/8/7/pages91877/p91877-1.php [Accessed: 17 Sep 2012]

http://www.joshhernandez.net/downloads/Kaura/MyDocuments/School/MGT%20448/international_business_ch12_view.pdf

http://www.emeraldinsight.com.wwwproxy0.library.unsw.edu.au/journals.htm?articleid=865189&show=abstract

ftp://ftp.repec.org/opt/ReDIF/RePEc/blg/journl/538dumitrescu%26vinerean.pdf

Conclusion

MTV changed its strategy accordingly to the changes in tastes and preferences of its target audience.

• The world's largest television network and the leading multimedia brand for youth
• MTV channels are seen in 412 million households in 164 countries and 18 languages
• Company was incorporated in 1990 and operates as a subsidiary of Viacom International Inc.

Timeline

• 1 August 1981

Music Television launched as the first 24-hour video music network in the united States

• 1985

MTV launched a second US network called Video Hits 1

• 1986

MTV's first reality TV series 'The Real World' aired

Future Direction

• 1 August 1987

MTV Europe was launched as a pan-European 24-hour entertainment cable and digital television network. Over the subsequent 15 years, numerous individual country stations would be founded

• 20 October 1990

MTV Brasil was launched, the first channel in South America

• 1994

MTV.com was launched on the internet

• 1995-1996

MTV began its push into Asia with two 24-hour channels launching in both Mandarin and other language service was launched in 1996 whilst further individual MTV stations were launched in 2001 and 2002

• 20 March 1997

MTV Australia was launched and can currently be seen in over 1.5 million households

• 26 April 2003

MTV becomes the first and only 24-hour brand to launch in China

• Shifted its global target market from the older Generation X to the Millennials
• MTV President: the Millennials represented the chance for MTV to again reinvent its strategy
• Globally, MTV will continue its transition from a solely music-based network to a collection of different stations catering to multiple consumer interests

• In 2011, a British version, entitled Geordie Shore, was launched
• Filming has recently begun on a Spanish version, Gandia Shore, and there are plans to launch a French version in 2013
• As well as Jersey Shore, various MTV shows which originated in the United States (e.g. Punk'd and The Real World) have equivalents in different countries on their respective MTV stations

• Rather than representing a refinement of MTV's post-1995 'glocalisation'strategy, this new shift towards globally leveraging ideas developed on MTV's US network represents a retreat from the strategy
• In essence, MTV has chosen to fit local tastes into an Americanised template
• Rather than developing programming inspired by local preferences and demands, MTV has elected to take an idea conceived in the United States market and rebadge

Jersey Shore Franchise

Global Expansion

• Main US MTV channel began broadcasting Jersey Shore in 2009
• Due to vast success, MTV commissioned a number of versions in foreign countries

• In 1987, MTV decided to distribute their channel overseas, starting first in Europe

"...going for the most shallow layer of what had united viewers and brought them together."

• -Tom Freston

Recent Strategic Shift

Initial Strategy

• MTV has veered away from its post-1995 strategy
• Begun to take ideas developed in national subsidiaries in order to see if it can find ways of leveraging them globally
• Most significant example of this new strategy is the Jersey Shore franchise

• Unchanged business model applying core competences created in US and transferring to Europe
• Global strategy - standardised product
• Treated the globe as one large market with one source of supply with little variation in MTV's product

Strengths

of Global Strategy

Post-1995 Strategy

• Conservation of time, money and executive talent
• Gains on economies of scale and scope
• Expansion into uncertain market allowed for the benefits of the experience curve effects and 'delay principle'
• Large degree of flexibility

MTV's New Strategy:

Benefits and Drawbacks

Global Strategy

MTV's Initial Strategy

• MTV continued to increase the amount of local programming in its global networks
• MTV India had up to 21 'home-grown' shows in the early part of the 2000s
• Europe and South America also saw the development of locally conceived shows

Drawbacks

Benefits

• Strengths
• Limitations

• Reduced its music coverage air time and started covering other programs related to lifestyle, entertainment and films

• Huge increases in advertising revenue
• Large increases in local viewership
• Increased its global presence to 72 channels, 321 million household viewers in 14 different countries

Limitations

of Global Strategy

• Employ a single feed across Europe
• Globally standardized products
• Convergence of tastes
• European audience vs American programs

• Highly centralised and tightly coordinated limiting transfer of knowledge from distribution to MTV HQ
• Limited local responsiveness with standardised product
• MTV unaware of local tastes and interests
• Unable to broadcast music of shows to individual countries

Outcome

• Less than expected growth
• No connection between customers and products
• Local companies outmaneuvered MTV
• Standardized strategy ran its course by 1995

MTV Asia

For MTV Asia,

1. MTV is given access to a channel by a cable operator on the condition that it programs local music and hires local staff

2. Use of the local language

3. MTV targets younger ages (16-34 year olds) by using the cable network

Globalization

MTV's New Strategy:

MTV Asia

MTV's New Strategy

• Began to launch separate channels for its different regions, for example, MTV India, MTV Korean and MTV China
• Produce programs to suit local tastes and preferences

MTV's New Strategy

• First, MTV catered to needs by broadcasting in their local language and then later moved onto locally produced shows.
• Reorganised programs to match local viewing preferences, purchased materials from local studios and producing shows locally.
• Locally produced shows are their highest form of localisation.

Other Global Companies

MTV's New Strategy

• MTV’s strategy for Asia is to support content with thought for local customer taste.
• Concentrated efforts on cable TV, targeting a younger age group to cut marketing expenses.
• For example, MTV Japan planned to feature original Japanese programming and base future programming decisions on the customer feedback received and market research.

1. Coca-Cola

2. Disney

• Concept of globalization
• Examples: MTV, Coca-cola and Disney

• Since 1995, MTV has adopted a 'glocalisation' strategy
• Glocalisation is the process of globalisation involving mutual influences between the global and local (Appadurai, 1990)

Disney

Coca-Cola

• Strategy: Flexibility and adjustment to local preferences
• Problem: Employ a true global Strategy
• Hong Kong Disneyland
• US culture as cultural invasion?

• Strategy: Allows different packaging, distribution and media in each country/area
• Understands weaknesses of a global strategy
• Emphasis on local consumer adaptations

"Think Globally, Act Locally"