Cyrus Oshidar, Senior VP, Creative & Content, MTV Networks

TV is competing with every other medium – we are competing for a lifestyle and that means many things for our programming. It means our programming has to be more interactive and involving, maybe even more than just programming. Who knows, in the next five years it may not even be a standard television show any more. I don’t want to predict the future here – Ridley Scott has done a good job of that few years ago – but I think that the whole dream of the Internet that started and died is back, and if the government of India can give us broadband a little quicker, it might even keep on living.

In the music genre, when it comes to new age programming, digital takeover or merely being a representative of the youth, MTV has an image to live up to. MTV Networks India has time and again proved that being silly can be smart when it comes to attracting the youth. And ensuring that irrespective of the means, the end is achieved in this regard is Cyrus Oshidar, Senior VP, Creative and Content of the Network.

In this interview with exchange4media’s Noor Fathima Warsia, Oshidar talks about the growth that the music genre has seen in the last year, the changes that have taken place in the segment as well as the role of technology.

Q. On the overall contribution of these shows to the MTV programming mix…

It is very difficult to assign a percentage. The morning block is music, the evening block is music and then these are just interspersed with these shows, but they will definitely grow, going forward.

Q. On the reasons for the growth of music as a genre in 2005…

I’m not the king of facts, but I would say that perception wise, music has been top of the mind. There have good music in the movies backed by some great marketing done by banners like Yashraj. In addition to Bollywood, there has been growth of various kinds of music – rap, on television itself. There have been too many music based shows happening on non-music channels like ‘Indian Idol’. This apart, the influence of technology and growth in digitisation has given music the advantage of being portable.

On the larger picture, there are several reasons that have led to the growth in music as a medium, but perhaps the most prominent reason is the whole culture of music developing in the digital space leading to personalisation and more acceptance.

Q. On the growth of music genre on television in particular…

There haven’t been any new channels in the space in the last year and the ones that have been here, have found their footing and are growing. The fact that music itself is looking good is helping this. The scenario where one channel ate into the other’s pie has stabilised now, so there is more growth than fragmentation. Here, too, digital technology is playing a key role in growing the genre. For instance, short form, which is one of the killer applications for mobiles, is gaining momentum and that is good news for everyone. You are going to see a lot more from us, too, in this space.

Q. On MTV’s initiatives in the digital space…

The whole digital culture is working well for television. Our concentration in the space will be significant. The digital space is being launched with many new initiatives. The new promo series that we are in the process of doing involves shortening all our content into interesting bits that can fit easily on the mobile screen. We will also push our short code 6882. Also, this is clearly a massive international focus area. There are huge international tie-ups and these are going to spill over especially to the Asian markets. Of course, markets like Korea are very advanced in the whole 3G space. Although India is not ready, content wise we would be ready.

Q. On the role of interactivity in a music channel…

Interactivity plays an important role on giving you the viewer connect and developing a relation, but the key about interactivity is that it has to relevant, otherwise it becomes a fad that comes and goes. It is important that it makes you believe that you are able to change something – why else would anyone respond to any message on the channel?

Q. On the importance of technology in the content of any music channel…

Technology is a clear association with the youth and because we are always associated with the youth, we have to be associated with technology – both in practice and perception. Children today programme their machinery and gadgets in half the time it would take an adult. At MTV we have been high on this for a long time – beginning with the likes of Inbox that we did at MTV four years ago. In content, the programming format and the kind or the degree of interactivity that you want, depends a lot on technology.

Q. On the impact of competition on the content of any music channel…

I think that competition is drifting towards the trend of the need, both clients and ours, to reach more young people. It may not necessarily be about high ratings. TV is competing with every other medium – we are competing for a lifestyle and that means many things for our programming. It means our programming has to be more interactive and involving, maybe even more than just programming. Who knows, in the next five years it may not even be a standard television show any more. I don’t want to predict the future here – Ridley Scott has done a good job of that few years ago – but I think that the whole dream of the Internet that started and died is back, and if the government of India can give us broadband a little quicker, it might even keep on living.

Q. On whether the soap experiments will continue in MTV content mix…

Pretty much. As I said, there is space for fiction on MTV. The next one we try better be the right one. We are waiting for the right idea that can be executed well too. For instance, ‘Buffy, the Vampire Slayer’ is a great idea, but you can’t do it in India until you plan it as a joke. We aren’t getting hit with the right kind of ideas – we are still thinking on the lines of ‘He’s a young poor guy from the small town who wants to be a remix musician’. It depends on how we look at it. For a lot us, we look at these ideas and we think ‘Oh God here we go again’.

Q. On some of the recent changes in MTV content…

Well, we have got a whole bunch of interactive stuff –the strips running on the channel, Love Line, then in terms of content – the long form had much more focus, appointment viewing is a clear objective. ‘Roadies’ this last year is four to five times what it was in its first year. Of course, it was still in decimal ratings, but in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, the ratings for us were touching a 2 plus, which is unheard of for a music channel. It also combines a nice on-ground, on-air interactive gratification, and then of course all our properties – Style Awards, Music Summit – were literally taken to the next level.

Q. On why attempts at soaps aren’t working out for MTV…

I think we are choosing the wrong kinds of soaps. The problem with soaps is that they are handed out, we don’t produce them ourselves. We did it because research told us that a lot of young people watch shows, otherwise there is a four-hour block in the evening you can sort of kiss goodbye. I think there is space for fiction on MTV, but I think we need to define that much more sharply. Frankly, I don’t get the ideas that are the MTV ideas – the coming-of-age soaps aren’t for us. The very silly soaps, on the other hand, can be us and we need to figure that out. That said, historically, global fiction has not played a huge role at MTV. I think it can play a part here, but it’s never going to be a huge one. We don’t want to be a GEC.

Q. On the fact that MTV is fighting with GEC at some level…

Well, I am just waiting for two TV households…

Q. On the plans for 2006…

Everything is dependant on the budgets. There’s a new launch we would be announcing soon, then there is a youth icon. ‘Roadies’ will be coming back in a new avatar, but we have to think that avatar. Style Awards will be reinvented to meet our target audience. We are embarking on a massive research campaign to ensure that we are on track. These are all the things that we are doing – we are trying to be smarter, armed with research and in all more planned. The bottomline is that we need to grow our business and make the scale of our programming more appointment driven.

Q. On the difference between working on MTV and VH1…

VH1 caters to people who want their fix of western music. VH1 is music, pop culture, celebrity lifestyle and that is all. Keertan and the boys run the VH1 show – I have little to do with it. My role is much more as a creative director at VH1 – necessarily boiling down to ‘Is this VH1 or MTV?’ vis-à-vis that of a content developer, which is the case of MTV.

Q. On why promos are such a big deal for a music channel…

Because they are image builders. Promos are perhaps the simplest and most defining moment in the history of music channels. If I had to isolate 30 seconds of MTV, I would isolate promos. Today, when you think of MTV, you think of lift man, chai wala, that is the soul of the music channels, it always has been and the same thing will be carried to mobile as well. For me, it is the complete DNA of the channel and it is what defines one channel against the other, it is what gives the channel its identity. It is a T-shirt message, a message you wear close to your heart and it can be anything.

Q. On whether TVRs can measure a genre like music…

When was the last time, you saw us make noise on that count? Don’t get me wrong, irrespective of how little I know about them, TRPs are important. But the game has to change a bit now, as the whole media industry is changing. We are competing for an audience that doesn’t sit in front of the TV much, aren’t at home on weekends. When really are the times one has had a captive audience. The game is going to be more and more about reaching them in ways that they want to be reached, about being relevant to them. You have to talk to them one-on-one now.

Media is at a crossroads – on the one hand, infrastructure holds us back, you ain’t going to download a movie, you are going to see a very democratic medium, a lot more personalisation. Mobile will be another form of medium. People like mobile2win will end up being competition to media. A computer communicates and a communication device computes, it’s all converging and you should be able to leverage that. As to the measurement of how well a channel is doing, which is the channel you think of when you are thinking of music, VJ or just to define a generation?