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Three years after Viacom18 launched the live events business, which looks at building unique content in the form of live performances, the venture is not only helping leverage synergies between its multiple properties (broadcast and music), but is also helping the network shore up its intellectual property (IP) pipeline. While the network is unwilling to reveal the business's total impact on revenues yet, it is emphatic that the IP route offers a singular opportunity to build its brand among newer and younger audiences. Of course, it also is a way to create new sources of revenue in an industry grappling with fragmented markets and free downloads.
Viacom18 launched live events in 2012 as part of its Integrated Network Services (INS). With around 11 events a year amounting to aggregate footfalls of close to 27, 000 and an overall reach of 25 million, the business has helped the brand gain visibility on the ground and in broadcast and digital media. For the company this was a way of combating the increasing fragmentation within the broadcast medium. With digitisation broadcasters could target specific audiences with niche channels with the ultimate aim being to move to a pay market where the consumer pays only for the content she intends to watch, unlike the analogue regime where the consumer paid a fixed amount for a host of channels. In fact this is what has forced many media networks to create pillars of entertainment that can be integrated into television and digital platforms.
Live Viacom 18, headed by Jaideep Singh, focuses on creating IPs, which can then be used for short and long format content. It also collaborates with brands for events and allied activities. "It was a logical innovation that we create properties that seamlessly integrate with the content fabric of our channels, and give us the (business) opportunity of roping in brands as partners," says Singh.
The company tied up with handset brand Vivo for Emerge, an alternative music and arts festival recently. Micromax was a brand partner for the MTV Video Music Awards and Horlicks for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. Once the event IPs are established, the team at the network slices and reuses the content further, ensuring new shows for the network and greater engagement for the partner brands.
The events present an attractive opportunity, especially for brands that wish to connect with young audiences. This was the logic that drove Vivo to partner with Emerge, which targets the 18-35 age groups. Singh reveals that even bulk advertisers like FMCG companies are keen to collaborate with the brand. Currently, the company operates events in three segments - concerts, festivals (theme based) and award shows. In 2013, the first year of on-ground launches, INS launched 8 to 10 IPs across these categories. 2014 was what Singh calls the 'jump up' year. "In 2014, having established the business, we felt it was time to take the eco-system approach since the broadcast arm of Viacom18 is so strong. Thus, we scaled up the properties in terms of reach and magnitude and gave the IPs extensions. So festivals went deeper into school and college campuses for instance. The next step was to create content around the IPs so that even before and after the event, the property is in the audience's recall," he says. The company's Bollywood themed event Bollyland for example, has a website which attracts a large number of visitors all year round. It also conducts city concerts and campus nights (for colleges under the same brand.
As a result, the company has scaled up to nearly 210 events across 30 IPs in 2014. The challenge now is to take this further in 2015. Singh says that technology will play a big part. Live Viacom18 has partnered with Mixify to bring ClubCast to India for the first time--a technology that enables artists to engage and perform across venues across the globe. In other words, an artist can be at different places at the same time.
Apart from technology, experience, scale of artists and differentiation in content creation will continue to be focus areas. "For example, we plan to have a 16-part movie before and after Super Sonic. This will extend the life span of the event, create content for the consumer to engage with, and give brands associating with multiple touch points to engage with the TG," says Singh. Super Sonic is an annual music event that competes with Percept's Sunburn. Both are held at Goa in the end of December. Sunburn which used to be jointly owned by Nikhil Chinappa (former MTV VJ) and Percept was started in 2007. It was at the centre of a messy dispute between the two and has posted revenues worth Rs 1220 million for 2013-14.
Merchandising will create another revenue stream as the team develops products and services that can be co-branded along with the IP's. The strategy will be similar to what the network has done with its iconic shows such as the adventure reality show Roadies on MTV. As Singh puts it, 2015 will be all about scale and he expects to see the business gain more traction as more events happen. The goal is to hit 300 plus events this year across 32-33 IPs. This will not only help achieve the targeted growth in terms of reach and deeper visibility, but also rationalise costs, giving better margins. Companies and networks will be watching this space closely.
