Emphasis will be on experimenting with newer things, newer content: Anshul Ailawadi

Viacom18 has strengthened its Youth, Music, Entertainment (YME) cluster and launches after foraying into the Non-fungible tokens (NFT) space. The YME unit recently launched the Fully Faltoo NFT platform which saw over 3000 digital collectibles sell out in no time. The marketplace is now preparing to launch a new line of diverse digital collectibles from its iconic brands such as MTV, Vh1, and Comedy Central. Fully Faltoo, the brand's first short-form video offering, will also be launched, with over a dozen new web shows and fully entertaining snackable content. 'KaanPhod,' a brand-new business division, will allow emerging musical artists to showcase their talent.

The network also revealed the season's new launches, including MTV Roadies, will embark on its first-ever international journey in South Africa with a new host and show elements. Furthermore, MTV Hustle 2.0 will continue the search for India's next big rap sensation in the country's first-ever rap reality show's second high-decibel season. Colors Infinity expands its content library with the unique proposition of 'The Inventor's Challenge,' bringing to light the journey of an idea from paper to a working prototype of the product created by amateur inventors.

In an interview with exchange4media, Anshul Ailawadi, Viacom18’s Youth, Music and English Entertainment Head, spoke about the YME cluster growth, launches of new properties, plan for the future and more

Excerpts: 

How has been the growth of Viacom18's youth cluster in the last two years? 

Our cluster has five channels (MTV, MTV Beat, VH1, Comedy Central, Colors Infinity), and if we look at the total viewership across digital, TV, and all platforms, it’s back in every way, and so are the revenues.

A lot has changed in terms of the consumer perspective. 2020-21 have been difficult years for everyone, but especially for young people, who have the longest future ahead of them. So we're seeing a lot of exciting changes in that sense, which is that people want to return to the world of escapism. They want to be a part of the creator economy, which is becoming increasingly powerful.

And how it has been for the individual channels- MTV and MTVBeats? 

For MTV, the viewership has been strong across TV and digital. We also experimented with sports offering on MTV, which attracted a different kind of audience to us, especially in non-primetime hours (early morning and late-night timeband). Our Music channel, MTV beats, is again number one in its space, and it's strong and steady. Our social following has also grown substantially in our followers and subscribers across platforms. 

Has sports content helped MTV reach new audiences, brands, and categories? 

I wouldn't say there are new categories, but we have seen people who were not advertising return in a limited way. Furthermore, premium sports is not as mainstream as the TV shows we produce, so from an absolute number, it's not like it will add to my channels’ viewership, and this is true for every sports channel. However, in terms of quality of reach, it is advantageous to attract a younger audience, particularly from urban markets. We saw an increase in viewership from southern markets such as Kerala.

Under revenue pressure, some broadcasters have shut down their English Entertainment channels. Is this putting more pressure on the category? What is the future of this category? 

We acquired new content for our English GECs after conducting extensive research into what works and what do people desire. We looked at what is the need that an English entertainment television channel fills. Two things emerged- First, there is a need for curation. At the end of the day, OTT platforms can lead you down a rabbit hole, and consumers can get lost. So, for us, the curation proposition is compelling, which is why we've acquired content that we believe is relevant.

The second piece is that we have the world's largest English-speaking population, and limiting that consumer requirement to only one platform makes no sense. Of course, there have been headwinds that the business is in a tight spot, which is very obvious, and therefore, the business model must be corrected. The consumer's need does not change.

Is the rise of video and audio streaming platforms having an impact on the youth and music category? What are the prospects for this category?

This is not a new phenomenon. When Roadies first aired in 2003, it was a highly relevant show for the average viewer. It was relevant five years ago when OTT was launched. It is still a relevant show today, in an age of OTT, short-form videos, social media, and TV. So, I don't think it matters when you approach it from the consumer's perspective. We don't take a TV or a digital approach; our focus is solely on the consumer. From a holistic standpoint, we will notice that the properties are designed in this manner. The way to look at things is to aggregate, so we will see significant growth across TV, social, and OTT. We can already see that partnerships have changed, as has the way content is used.

From a strategic viewpoint, we've realised that when we started original content in 2003, we were the first to give creators a voice, and we've seen that space managed by a lot of digital platforms now. So, in the context of that Fully Faltoo, KaanPhod, these are the two launches that we are doing separately, which is again a creator-first offering in which we give talented people a chance to be visible across all platforms. This is something unique for us as we haven't done this before. 

What is the advertiser's point of view? Do they examine the TV and the digital together?

Today's advertisers understand that the value of the property is critical, and that value must be distributed across platforms. Today, we have very deep partnerships with which we deliver on social, TV, and OTT deliverables. Advertisers understand this as well, and you will notice that our brands are present across the board.

How are MTV shows doing on VOOT? 

We don't look at things through a television or digital lens. For us, we know that there are numerous touch points, including TV, OTT, and social media platforms. We're taking a property-first approach to this, so we launched a new show called Anything For Love, which has gained a lot of traction, a new format, new face, new concept, which was launched last year. The show was envisioned not for TV, not for social, not for digital, but for the consumer, wherever the consumer wants to consume it. All of our current shows are doing well.

As a media house, what was the purpose of foraying into the marketplace? 

It's more about establishing a connection with our audience. We must be present in all touchpoints where our audiences are present in a feasible manner. So, as we saw the crypto space grow rapidly, we saw an opportunity and a brand connect. And who wouldn't want to own a piece of our history? that was the deal. So, with that in mind, we entered the NFT space and will continue to do more innovations.

We're also working on innovations over there, covering a wide range of aspects of NFT that haven't been studied in depth in India. I believe we will complete all of this in the next six to nine months. Our initial response was very promising; within 36 hours, we sold 3013 pieces. 

After NFT, the network announced its multiplatform content strategy for its Youth, Music and English Entertainment cluster. What led to these decisions? 

We realised that our target audiences were all over the place. Actually, there has been a lot of fragmentation of touchpoints with the audience, which everyone talks about. What no one talks about is that each touchpoint is a different canvas with a different grammar. 

When we create content for TV or OTT, we have a very different perspective, but a lot of young people are consuming different content that is available on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram. We are very familiar with this market because we have been producing short-form content for brands for many years. So the question was, can we launch something like this and expand our market? That's when FullyFaltoo debuted. KaanPhod, on the other hand, was a less obvious but equally important choice. We felt there was a lot of asymmetry of opportunity in the music space, so our platforms are big on TV and OTT on social media. So we decided to give talent a chance and collaborate with them to create sounds that we believe should exist. So that was the driving force.

What is going to be the focus area for the cluster this year? 

The first is to multiply all of our properties by ten. It's in line with our new consumer insights, so every property will be pivoted, and we're working on it. Roadies will be the first one that consumers see, and it will be a unique concept that goes back to its roots. Existing properties are being amplified, even to the digital realm, by launching creator-friendly propositions such as Fully Faltoo, KaanPhod, and Fullyfaltoonft.com.

Apart from all this, the emphasis will be on experimenting with newer things, newer content, as seen in English GEC. In addition, we plan to launch a new IP on MTV in the coming months.