Live Issue... Executive upheaval undermines MTV

MTV may have dominated teen TV with its ultra-hip positioning in the 90s, but, in Asia at least, it is now having trouble keeping up with the times after a series of upheavals.

Just two years ago it shed 84 people from its regional team, then in 2007 announced 250 lay-offs globally. The latest upheaval came in September with the departure of Ian Stewart, senior VP of MTV Networks International and its ad sales house Viacom Brand Solutions, who joined the network two years ago and was only promoted to his post in 2007.

While details of Stewart’s exit have been kept under wraps, an MTV spokeswoman confirmed that he will not be replaced, though Vineet Puri, VP of ad sales at MTV Networks Asia, will be responsible for Viacom’s Asia operations, excluding Singapore.

Stewart’s role was to give the network a youthful edge, an essential component of MTV’s success. Many industry observers believe that, following his departure, further work is needed as consumers turn to the web for music. “MTV is still a great brand but it’s living off its halo. It needs someone to grab it by the scruff of the neck,” says Rob Campbell, managing partner of creative planning firm Sunshine. “It needs to innovate and not just chase ratings.”
According to one former MTV Asia-Pacific executive, the pressure on MTV to maintain its standard of cool has led to impetuous managerial decisions. Because MTV needs to meet fiscal expectations, the company has hired executives hoping for a “quick fix” to turn the company around, only to see their quick departure when expectations could not be met.

“MTV hires somebody and expects to see results fast, but the issues that he or she faces are so overwhelming that it can’t be done. Then the next person comes in and he or she has to start from ground zero and build it up from there, but the fast turnover makes this very difficult,” he adds. “It’s a race to come up with revenue, and management neglects the proper planning to build MTV’s stability.”

An MTV spokeswoman said these allegations were “unfair”, adding that MTV often acts as a launching pad for bigger career moves. “MTV is a great brand and provides a good opportunity for anyone who has worked for the company after one or two years to have something better offered to them. We have a very stable management structure in place in Singapore after the 2006 restructure.”

Maintaining MTV’s prominence is also challenging because of local competitors. While MTV has 13 localised channels in the region, it still primarily relies on cookie-cutter content from the West - shows such as Pimp My Ride and The Hills. It also has a small footprint in markets such as China and South Korea. Meanwhile, regional music network Channel V directly rivals MTV and is fully focused on Asia, and providers such as TrueVisions in Thailand and MediaCorp in Singapore offer their own music- and youth-inspired programming.

“MTV doesn’t have the cachet or relevance with Asian youth that it has with youth in other parts of the world,” says Chris Skinner, managing partner of Initiative in Hong Kong. “It’s not necessarily a bad channel but it has been a bit slow to localise its content.”

Several media agency sources question the value of MTV. “MTV talks the talk to advertisers but it’s consistently disappointing in its delivery. Its own perception of the brand is higher than it is in reality,” says one. “It tends to be reliant on pan-regional deals such as Motorola, which can afford to throw its money into MTV, and global business out of the US.”

However, Lawrence Wan, general manager of OMG Digital in China, said that it is not too late for MTV. The best way to regain its foothold, he added, is for MTV to embrace digital avenues.

“The content needs to be more dynamic and it needs to expand its music offerings through downloads, streams and video clips. The brand needs to re-examine its business model to capture audience,” he says. “MTV is a strong brand - it’s well known and has good distribution. It needs to drive its local-language music and content off and online because the way consumers listen to music has changed. This is the biggest factor MTV faces globally.”