Finally got my MTV - Arabian Business

MTV global vice chairman Bill Roedy tells Tamara Walid why the channel will be a chart-topping success.

It’s not too difficult to imagine what kind of boss Bill Roedy might be. As members of his staff and PR fill the Madinat Theatre area, it seems more of a party than a job. Everyone is on a little adventure. Roedy himself can’t conceal his excitement. For a man in his late fifties, Roedy’s face is brimming with the energy of a 10-year old. In the cut-throat media industry, Roedy seems to be on top of the world. The vice chairman of MTV Networks current location might be one reason why.

“It’s hard not to like Dubai, it’s just so energetic. It’s kind of like the gold rush,” he says grinning, describing the emirate as one of the most booming communities in the entire world.

We’ll have some reality stuff, and we already have Arabic versions of international shows that have been very successful.

“People talk about Shanghai, which is incredible too, but it’s really quite amazing what goes on here. I’m always quite impressed, every time I come down, to see the towers taller and the islands bigger. Everything is bigger and better, like there’s no limit,” he says.

Roedy’s obviously still enjoying the festivities, glitz and glamour, following the biggest launch in the network’s history so far. On November 15, at just around 8:30pm, an overwhelmed and excited crowd held their breath as soul singer Akon and rapper Ludacris took to the stage in their first appearances in the Middle East.

R&B sensation Karl Wolf performed his recent hits, in addition to a number of regional artists. MTV Arabia was also flashed on the TV screens of over 190 million Arabs in the Middle East to enjoy music and cultural content from the region.

“The Arab world is extremely important to us,” says Roedy, adding: “It’s amazing; musically but also culturally. It’s a privilege for us to be here, show our material on the channel and be invited into people’s homes. It’s an opportunity because of the creativity; the music is fantastic and will be showcased outside the region. It will play a big role in our family of channels.”

And Roedy is seldom wrong. The MTV networks comprises over 143 cable, satellite and terrestrial TV channels viewed by a potential global audience of 1.5 billion. The company has developed and launched more channels and networks than any other entertainment counterpart. And Roedy has been the man behind establishing over 100 of these channels.

The network’s rapid expansion across the globe, spanning Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America and now the Middle East, has been widely attributed to Roedy’s innovative strategy of reflecting the ideas, diversity, and the youth cultures of the audience. Roedy’s creative and freedom-in-business approach lifted MTV to new heights, establishing it as one of the top 10 most recognised consumer brands in the world, a pop culture phenomenon and a comprehensive music and entertainment outlet reaching youth around the world on-air and online.

The ex-military man is not about to lower his benchmark when it comes to MTV Arabia. Despite refusing to predict the number of viewers for the newly-launched channel, he is very optimistic.

“Typically we have a very strong audience with young people, and the demographics work very nicely for us here; 65% are under 25. I don’t want to predict but I would expect our viewership to be a little bit higher than our MTVs around the world,” he says.

As MTV audiences around the world have become accustomed to, the channel offers much more than just music videos.

“Music is our middle name obviously, but we cover all the cultural trends, anything that is really important to our audience like youth culture which can be fashion or movies – perhaps shows that are driven towards that,” says Roedy.

In addition to programmes targeting and involving youth, MTV has aspired and successfully created a culture of its own with a wide range of hit shows. MTV Arabia is not about to become an exception.

“We’ll have some reality stuff; we already have Arabic versions of international shows that have been very successful. Made is one, which is a career thing, and Barrio 19, [Al Hara’ for the Arabic version] which is kind of a hip hop culture urban sporting show with a twist,” he says, promising: “We’ll have lots of shows, expand the whole youth culture and we’ll also bring some shows here.”

Roedy expects MTV Arabia’s flagship show Hip HopNa to be a massive hit in the region, seeing as how hip hop has become such a big part of youth culture. “I think that will be very popular,” he says.

Splitting content for MTV between programmes and music videos is a time-consuming task. A ratio can’t be determined just yet as the reaction of the audience is crucial.

“We’re constantly researching. That’s a very important part of our model. We’re pursuing so many different ways to stay completely attached to the consumer. Many of our MTVs, however, are music only. There is quite a range so we’ll see how it goes with MTV Arabia,” he says. Given his long tenure at the company, he probably will be on top of all the developments in the Middle East operation.

Roedy has been around for a while, seeing the channel through its different stages of evolution and witnessing the expansion of its network. Looking back at almost 20 years with MTV, Roedy sees the channel’s tremendous growth as the biggest change.

“It’s the most amazingly diverse collection of channels; something that you don’t really see with other media companies. The product, therefore, changes dramatically as you go around the world. That’s really the number one change and we’re of course now in front of a larger audience.”

MTV, which started as a solely music channel, tends to generate content that targets the younger generation nowadays.

“We work; we connect with the social issues,” says Roedy, whose extensive travels and advocacy on HIV and AIDS earned him the position of Ambassador for UNAIDS (the joint United Nations programme on HIV and AIDS) in 1998. In the Middle East, Roedy says the channel will start with a focus on education.
Another leap the network has made is in catching up with the digital revolution. Dealing with the challenge of this dramatic change lies in being part of it, says Roedy. The network now has even more digital products than it does more conventional TV programming.

“We didn’t have digital early on, but we do now so we’re intertwined. We crossed from low-cost programmes to websites, broadband channels and mobile channels,” he says, adding: “Our audience is totally in it. We cross-promote, we sell together, digital and linear. We cross-programme digital and linear, which is a lot of fun.”

It’s hard not to like Dubai, it’s just so energetic. It’s kind of like the gold rush.

This will also be applicable to MTV Arabia, according to Roedy, who notes the prevalence of young people in the region. “You see the numbers, 120% penetration of mobile phones, so because it’s such a big part of the culture it will be part of our business as well.”

For a business with US$7bn in revenues annually, keeping up with constantly shifting demographics could be a big challenge, but Roedy seems to be handling it very well. “We hire young people, but we are constantly in touch with our audience through a number of different ways such as formal research, informal research, online, and mobile.

“So we are constantly asking and talking to our audience, and because of that we tend to change quite a bit,” he adds.

Roedy believes there’s always a balance between leading the audience and reflecting the audience, and the network is trying to do a little bit of both.

“Musically, we have incredibly talented staff around the world that are really into the music, are constantly researching and going to live music, and promoting the local bands that we think have a chance of success. It’s all part of constantly changing, constantly reinventing ourselves,” he says.

This is perhaps the secret behind the vice chairman’s success. To Roedy, it’s either “evolve or die”. Working under such a philosophy, Roedy looks forward to a bright and promising future.

“We’ll be everywhere, in a much deeper way, much deeper connection. We’ll have more channels, more services, more choice with more genres, even geographical specification, maybe even here we’ll have country specific, or maybe within the country we’ll have regional channels. As the infrastructure increases, linear and especially digital creates much more shelf for inventory. We’ll be coming up with more products,” he promises.

The man behind MTV

Roedy is nowhere close to being your typical executive. Talking about his time in the military reminds Roedy of a different life, a long time ago. After graduating from the military academy, Roedy says he felt he had to fulfil a “commitment”.

“I did my part of the service if you will,” he says, describing his time in the army as a “great experience”, and one that took him all around the world. “It gave me an additional travel bug I suppose. The military is also a good training experience for anybody who’s young and just starting up because it gives you a lot of responsibility,” he says.

Roedy recalls his involvement with nuclear missiles during the dark times of the cold war.

“Armed missiles were used for defence, never offence, not that they were ever used. The funny thing about the age of the cold war – not a funny thing actually but a great thing – was that nothing was ever used. The cold war was never fired in anger,” he says.

Despite facing a culture shock at first, Roedy summons up memories of good times in Russia during the Soviet Union era when he first visited in 1989.

“I bonded with the Russians I must say… we had a lot of stories to tell over a lot of vodka and we launched in Saint Petersburg when it was so cold. We had some great toasts to make. It was good fun back then,” he says.

Many might disagree but Roedy sees a positive change in Russia after the break-up of the Soviet Union.

“Talking about the change in the 90s, Russia really went for capitalism and there was such a dramatic change. It was a bold move, they did it, and look at what’s happened; it’s an amazing story,” Roedy says with admiration.

When asked about lessons learnt from the time spent in the military, Roedy humorously says that his usual reply would’ve been “absolutely nothing”. Time has obviously made him reconsider his answer.

“I use some of that [military training] for organisational skills; small teams around the world that are able to come up with their own culture and establish a relationship locally much better, not dependent on a big HQ – very much from my military background,” he says, adding that this is “pretty much what MTV is about today; very connected locally, run by local teams, not waiting for the HQ to make decisions, they are empowered to make their own, they are also accountable for their own performance”.

Working with nuclear missiles to running a music channel could be perceived as a gigantic leap. For Roedy, however, involvement in music was not just a career move but a life-long dream.

“I’ve always loved music, it was very much part of my life early on, and I also loved television. I consumed mass quantities of my time in music and television even during study time, trying to multi-task. I always had a great passion for music so it’s a great dream for me to be able to come into a job and experience that passion,” he says.
Interaction with celebrities and famous people comes hand in hand with such a job. With the frequency of interaction, Roedy arrived at a conclusion.

“Celebrities are just like anybody else. There’s good, there’s bad and just professional,” he says, adding that celebrities have become much more professional over the years. He describes celebrities as a “real joy to work with”, especially as they have a lot to say on different issues of the day. Roedy believes celebrities have a powerful voice which can be used to turn them into role models, something the channel tries to do.

We’ll be everywhere… We’ll have more channels, more services, and more choice with more genres.

“I think to use them [celebrities] as a vehicle of communication to young people is a really great thing,” he says. Access to glamour and fame is not the only thing that sets aside the music business from other industries. After almost two decades in the business, Roedy pinpoints the differences.

“Music is a creative business so it entails being able to attract creative talent and also manage that talent in a way. Music changes constantly so you have to have a culture that is able to change with it. That’s another important part of it. And it also helps to be into it, to be passionate about the music and to love it.”

The diversity of the world is one thing that keeps Roedy going and injects him with motivation.

“Travel can be a chore sometimes but when you get to your destination it’s absolutely wonderful to sample this amazing diversity. Literally, I have travelled to over a hundred countries I suppose, and to be able to experience that diversity is quite something. It’s amazing,” he says.

Everything seems great, and one is tempted to wonder if there’s anything that annoys Roedy in his line of work. Digging for an answer, however, would most likely get you nowhere. Even the much-talked about egos in the music industry, whom many complain about, seem to seldom bother Roedy. “I think everybody’s got egos, and anyway that’s no different to any other industry,” he says.

Does he ever get bored of the parties, glamour and ceremonies? He grins as he prepares to head to the next glamorous party, and replies: “Never”.

MTV Arabia: The Birth

A huge number of people contributed to bringing MTV Arabia to our screens in the Middle East. In addition to Roedy, two individuals have been instrumental in making the project reality. CEO of Arab Media Group (AMG) Abdul Latif Al Sayegh and Bhavneet Singh, Managing Director at MTV Networks International, Emerging Markets, tell Arabian Business how the project came about and what it promises to bring to the region.

“We are a very ambitious group. We are dreamers. Radios are there, newspapers, outdoor, and events. We always want to challenge ourselves and TV was always one of the most challenging businesses. We did not delay that but the opportunity did not come in the past few years to have the right TV station in place,” says Al Sayegh.

During MTV’s visit to the region, and as Singh arrived to look into setting up an Arabic channel, the two parties stumbled across common interests.

“I started looking for partners, and there was a lot of research going into looking at whether there was a demand for MTV,” says Singh, adding that demand for the entertainment channel was certainly there.

“The marriage happened,” says Al Sayegh on the new-found relationship between the two groups, adding: “We found it very good to start our TV business with MTV Arabia because it’s a great name to start with. Great team, great people; they provided us with a lot of resources. We believe that MTV is the beginning of a new era in television in this part of the world.”

Bringing this know-how into the region, Al Sayegh believes, will be beneficial to everyone and bring about improvements in the media industry. “We are setting a new standard in the Arab world,” he says.

Singh promises the new channel will bring, like its global counterparts, much more than just music. Although music is the channel’s “DNA”, he says, MTV was the first to do reality shows, and long format shows, and that’s what it aims to do in the region.

“I think MTV Arabia will be a platform, a go-to destination for youth. We want to be the place where kids or youth can identify with. Hip hop and a lot of the things that we see on the streets are barely showcased on some of the youth platforms here. You just see music played back-to-back,” says Singh.

Supporting emerging and young talent is also a mission MTV took to in its early days. “Our success has always been about breaking new boundaries,” Singh says, adding that the company is determined to do the same in the region. Interest from Middle Eastern artists has been anything but scarce.

“We have also announced categories like the best Arabic act; we will take them to the Europe Music Awards. We hosted one in Munich this year. We’ve had one of the guys from here presented so we hope to do that too,” he says.

In terms of content, censorship and “appropriateness” of the content in the region, Al Sayegh explains that it’s an issue that has been thought through.

“This is the first question we asked ourselves before signing with Viacom, but then we looked inside the library and they have a huge library. We don’t have to take what offends this part of the world so we went safe,” says Al Sayegh, adding that there is plenty of material for the many years to come. Additionally, the channel will be producing a lot of its own shows. At the moment, a number of shows are in the pipeline and very soon, Al Sayegh promises, many events will come from this part of the world.

“We are going to have a lot of surprises. We’re going to be doing a lot of good things for the youth,” he says.

Singh measures success in a unique way. He sees success as when people in some of the smallest cities in Saudi Arabia, or Jordan, Sharjah or Egypt, come up to him and say they like MTV.

“After all, it’s not about how many eyeballs you reach, it’s about how many people relate to you,” he says.