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MUMBAI:
MTV Networks International (MTVNI) is looking to grow its
reach in the emerging markets of Africa and Central and Eastern
Europe.
Nickelodeon
will launch in Russia, MTV in the Czech Republic and Comedy Central in Africa.
"The
Russia and Czech Republic launch will be within four months. We are also looking
at the possibility of launching Comedy Central in Africa," MTVNI MD, EVP
emerging markets Bhavneet Singh tells Indiantelevision.com. MTVNI's
focus will rest on growing Nickelodeon and Comedy Central's presence.
"In
the emerging markets we have gone from 12 services to over 30 services over the
last couple of years. Our first aim was to strengthen our youth proposition through
MTV. We are in a good place here. Now we want to build up our other two legs of
targetting kids through Nickelodeon and offering entertainment through Comedy
Central," says Singh.
Last year, MTVNI launched Nickelodeon in Poland, the Middle East and Africa. "What
has helped is that franchises like Spongebob and Dora The Explorer are popular
globally," Singh adds. For
MTVNI, the top emerging markets are Russia, Poland and Holland. The priorities
are different depending on the product lifecycle that the market is in.
"In some markets like Russia, Nickelodeon is being given a push. In others
you focus on growing the organisation. In other markets like India you do general
entertainment. You have to spend a disproportinate amount of time understanding
the audience and trying to find out what is missing. Then you play to your strengths,"
says Singh. Singh
points to Poland as being an advanced market for MTVNI, with strong local content
coming from it. The company also has a good set up in Hungary with three channels.
Viacom
is now also focussing on using new technologies to give consumers a richer experience.
Last year, it launched a music and lifestyle HD service MTV and HD in Poland.
"It has been growing across Europe. We are looking to bring this to Asia
soon. Our aim is to find ways to make our proposition richer for the consumer
who I would call a user," says Singh.
Nickelodeon
has a dubbed feed in the different markets. "We spend
a lot of time to find the right tone and dialect. You have
to find the right voice for Dora, Spongebob. In some markets
there are subtitles. Poland is unqiue in that there are voiceovers
as that is what viewers are used to."
Also
Read:
MTVNI
to launch Nickelodeon in Poland
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