If Marcopoto’s reputation is anything to go by, the wait should prove worthwhile. After more than two decades in the region’s broadcasting and media industry, Marcopoto is commonly viewed — depending on who you talk to — as one of the last true characters around or, rather more affectionately, as “a clown”.
“He’s a showman, and he’s always game for a laugh. He’s got a warped sense of humour, but in a good way, and he’s never shy about dressing up,” said one source. Perhaps his most famous stunt — which many still regard as his finest moment, was inspired by Sinead O’Connor’s 1992 performance of Bob Dylan’s War on Saturday Night Live, which sparked global outrage when midway through the song she produced a photograph of Pope John Paul II, tearing it up and tossing the pieces at the camera.
In response, Marcopoto emerged on stage one evening at an event he was hosting dressed as Pope John Paul II, producing a picture of O’Connor and returning the favour amid thunderous laughter.
Unsurprisingly, politicians have been fair game too, with Marcopoto re-enacting on stage the unfortunate incident in which George Bush threw up into the lap of the Japanese Prime Minister.
But the jocularity which seems to follow the former journalist should not detract from a razor-sharp business acumen, which has seen him rise to the top at Turner as president of Turner Broadcasting System Asia-Pacific and president and managing director of Turner International Asia-Pacific, leading the conglomerate’s business growth through the turbulence of the Asian financial crisis and Sars, among others.
Marcopoto heads up programming, network development, advertising and distribution sales, as well as marketing and promotions for a portfolio of properties, which include flagship brand CNN International, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Pogo, TCM and CETV in China, in which TBS holds close to 32 per cent interest in partnership with Tom Group, a deal which represented the first international channel to be granted official landing rights on the mainland.
“We’re probably the most penetrated foreign company in China, but it’s just a sliver of what we’d like to do in terms of business,” he says. “It really is a foothold. We’d like to have the opportunity to conduct business there like everywhere else.”
Naturally, even with all these areas of responsibility under his watch, it doesn’t take long for the conversation to turn to rival and newcomer, news network Al Jazeera International, the English-language version of Al Jazeera. The channel launched last year amid much fanfare, heavy resourcing and an editorial department that reads like the who’s who of journalism globally, promising an alternate view to the more established incumbents like CNNI and BBC World.
“It’s very interesting. We’ve been looking at new guys on the block for 10 years now, but the interesting thing about CNN International is that we’ve taken on all comers, and if you look at our performance, we have only gotten stronger,” he says.
“Our year-on-year advertising results have never been stronger. We continue to over-deliver on our share and we need to be creative in our deals. You’re not just talking airtime, but cross-platform deals.”
That notion of creativity seems to go hand in hand with Marcopoto. A corner of his office is adorned with old video editing machines, a throwback from his earlier days as a video producer and editor — in fact he produced the Media Masters golf tournament 25th anniversary reel last year – and after a little prying, opens up about his role in a rather aptly-named industry rock band, Set Top Box.
“I do try to make time for hobbies, although it can be difficult with all the travel I do,” he says. “As a band, it’s great fun. We tend to play functions more than gigs around town, but that’s difficult as well with the travel factor.”
But the name of the band though does point to a certain affinity for all things digital, and he’s quick to point to his son as example of the new generation.
“You saw my son in here earlier. He’s really an insight into how (youth) can consume media. My children really validate a lot of what we think and know, so it’s an opportunity for an ‘ah-ha’ moment, my own media lab,” he observes. “That mobile phone is connected; it’s an additional append- age. They really are digital natives and we are the immigrants to the island of digital.”
Steve Marcopoto's CV
1998 President and managing director, TBS Asia-Pacific
1995 President, Time Inc Asia
1993 Publisher, Time Asia
1992 Managing director, Fortune Asia
1986 Managing director, Seavex
