By PRIYANKA MEHRA & ABHINAV TRIVEDI
He calls himself a “hands on leader” and at a new career high point, has his work cut out for him. NP Singh, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Multi Screen Media (MSM), faces the tough task of turning around the flagging fortunes of the network’s flagship channel, Sony, and has declared it his top priority. “My first priority is the turnaround of the flagship channel Sony. For the last one year, the channel has not been performing well and I am very focussed and will ensure that it turns around,” says Singh, who plans to work directly with his management team, without appointing a COO. “Other channels in the network are doing very well. They are either leaders or a close No. 2. Be it SAB, MAX, MIX or Sony Pix, AXN, Sony Six... they are robust in their genres. So the Sony turnaround is my immediate priority,” he adds.
WHAT AILS SONY?
Sony has seen quite a downfall from what it was a year ago. From being among the top three GECs, the channel has consistently been at No. 5 or No.6 for the last few months. Though distribution issues may have been plaguing the network, it is also a fact that content has not been working for Sony. One of its prime non-fiction properties, Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) did not do well this season, due to what observers term ‘viewer fatigue’. Some other properties too are not striking a chord with viewers. The channel, known to be experimental, is now seen to be relying too much on old tested formats like KBC and Boogie Woogie.
On the distribution front, Hathway and DEN, two major MSOs of the country, had got into commercial disputes with MSM, which resulted in blockage of Sony signals in major markets. Although the channel got a stay order from the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) court in its favour, MSOs are vocal about the fact that they are not happy with the way commercial negotiations are handled by the network currently.
However, with change in leadership and Singh at the helm, industry insiders believe that things are about to take a turn for the better, and distribution issues may now be amicably resolved.
Q&A: ‘I will be very closely engaged with the team to turn the ship around’
STRATEGY: BEING ‘INCLUSIVE’
How does one turn around a channel which has seen a ‘not so good run’ for a year, and has slipped to fifth or sixth spot among GECs for a variety of reasons? No mean task, by any standard, and Singh does not shy away from acknowledging this. He is looking at the channel’s fiction strategy very closely, which includes revamping some of the existing shows and also bringing in new shows. His plan includes going to smaller towns to understand the market much better. “One big change on programming for us on Sony would be to try and make it more inclusive without moving away from core positioning of the channel. It is a delicate balance that one has to maintain. Having learnt from experience in the last couple of years, we are all set to achieve that and we know what needs to be done to include smaller towns without alienating our core audiences,” says Singh.
To achieve this goal, Singh has no second thought about bringing back popular shows like Boogie Woogie on viewers’ demand, but makes it clear that the channel will aim to strike a balance with new concepts and ideas. “The challenge would be to get the right mix of content, which will appeal to larger audiences as well as the core audience of Sony, because we cannot move away from the core approach of the channel. We have to be inclusive and ensure that more viewers come to the channel. Another challenge would be finding creative talent. There is a dearth of creative talent in this market. That is something I see as a hurdle,” admits Singh.
SOME ‘BLUE SKY THINKING’
Singh remains distinctly different from others in the broadcast domain with his calm and mild demeanour, under which lies a solidity and quiet assurance which have held him in good stead in his 15-year innings at MSM. He began his journey at MSM (then known as SET India Private Limited) in 1999 as Chief Financial Officer, and was elevated to COO in January 2005, before his recent elevation to CEO. With no COO to aid him, Singh continues to work with his management team as and when required, leaving the daily operations for them to handle. Meanwhile, he plans to use his time to do some ‘blue sky thinking’.
A 15-year journey in a field as dynamic as the Indian broadcast industry is sure to be filled with some memorable moments, risks that paid off or back-fired and some clear game-changers that Singh would have seen. “The acquisition of ICC cricket rights for the first time - that changed the game of distribution for us,” responds Singh. “On the back of it, we began a joint venture with Discovery and created One Alliance, the most successful distribution company in this industry. That was the second game-changer. Then we acquired SAB. For some time, it did not perform, but in 2008, we went back to its comedy positioning and that changed the game.
People talk about second GECs, and we have the first successful second GEC on our network. In 2008, when we acquired IPL rights, that was a huge game-changer for the network again. We have expanded our network from just one channel when I joined to eight channels today, and we are also looking at growth through other channels in regional and Hindi space.”
TALENT FROM SMALLER CITIES
Singh has recently brought about a shift in the group’s approach to attracting fresh talent, that was earlier limited to only premier business schools. The recruitment base has now been expanded to premier colleges in Hindi-speaking markets, from where talent will be hired, nurtured and trained. He believes that there is immense talent in smaller cities, and recruits from these areas will have a better understanding of the viewer-base of the respective markets and provide precious insights, as they belong to the same region. However, this talent pool is rarely tapped and does not get channelized into mainstream media because of lack of opportunities, Singh feels.
KEEN ON THE SECOND SCREEN
MSM‘s foray into the digital domain with Sony Liv – a video-on-demand service launched early last year – aims to help the network build a greater level of engagement with viewers. “People are consuming a lot of content on the go and my aim is that we should make our content available across all platforms and let the viewer make a choice on how he/she wants to consume it. Sony Liv has been a very successful initiative. We have seen page views grow dramatically on it, so we will continue to make content available on Sony Liv and ensure that it is available across digital platforms,” he says.
Singh admits that with digitization, there has been a growth in viewership on English GECs and English movies. “We are acutely aware that a lot of viewers are consuming their content on the second screen and we are working on strategies to address that,” adds Singh.
The second screen is here to stay, but fortunately for Indian broadcasters, it is still at a nascent stage in our country due to broadband limitations. But an emerging trend among television viewers is simultaneous consumption of both television and second screen content. “We would want to use the second screen to build engagement with our TV content.
We will try to bring in interactivity. In the last season of KBC, we had a KBC game on the second screen where some subscribers could play the game. Next season, we will open it up for all subscribers to play the same game. When the host is asking a question, you can answer it sitting at home. So the viewer can also play the game and win prizes. That will bring some engagement with the broadcaster. It will also open up new revenue avenues for us. We have taken some initiatives, but a lot more needs to be done,” feels Singh.
GEARED FOR ‘AN UNSTABLE 2014’
Given the dynamics and turbulence of 2013 for the Indian broadcast industry ridden with issues ranging from the 10+2 ad cap and ratings to digitization, Singh admits there will be a spillover of unresolved issues, and is completely geared for an ‘Unstable 2014’ as he puts it. He is also quite vocal about his support for the nascent Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC): “The way BARC has been designed, we are confident and supportive of the fact that it will meet the requirements of all stakeholders. Inputs have been taken from all stakeholders and those are being factored in. Its entire design will actually answer all our concerns including sample size.”
The path ahead of NP - as he is fondly called - is not a bed of roses, but he is prepared to meet all challenges head on. Will Sony be able to climb up the ratings ladder with more advertisers under its belt this year? Let’s wait and watch.
Feedback: priyanka.mehra@exchange4media.com
