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Belch: Advertising and
Promotion, Sixth Edition
VII. Special Topics and
Perspectives
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE 20-4
688
20. International
Advertising and Promotion
MTV Goes Global—but with a Local Touch
MTV (Music Television) Network was launched in the
United States in 1981 as a joint venture between American
Express and Warner Communications. Almost
from the outset, the pioneering 24-hour music video
cable channel put young viewers in a trance, influencing
how they looked, talked, and shopped. The outfit
that all but invented the rock video has become perhaps
the biggest force in the music world. It is also the
premiere platform for marketers trying to woo young
consumers in 136 countries and 340 million households
around the world. Every week nearly 188 million
people watch their MTV—and 80 percent of them tune
in outside the U.S.
In 1986, Viacom International purchased MTV and a
year later launched its first overseas channel in
Europe. MTV’s first international venture got off to a
wobbly start, piping a single feed across Europe, with
English-speaking veejays. MTV learned the hard way
that, while Europe’s youth agreed with the slogan “I
want my MTV!” they didn’t want a homogeneous version,
as their tastes vary by country. Local copycats
cropped up and stole MTV’s viewers and sponsors, and
the network suffered as a result. In 1995 MTV changed
its strategy and broke Europe into regional feeds. It
now has five feeds on the Continent: one for the United
Kingdom and Ireland; another for Germany, Austria,
and Switzerland; one for Scandinavia; a broader broadcast
for Belgium, Greece, France, and Israel; and one
just for Italy alone.
Following its European debut, MTV moved into
Latin America in 1990 and launched a pan-regional service
in Asia in 1995. Viacom has been pushing MTV
ever deeper into markets in Asia, where it now reaches
125 million households and has seven separate channels:
Southeast Asia, which is English-language programming
for Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand, and the Philippines; separate Mandarin
feeds for China and Taiwan; an English-Hindi channel
for India; South Korea; and its most recent launch,
Japan. MTV Japan originally debuted in 1992 but only
lasted until 1998, as its mainly international content
did not fare well in a market where Japanese artists
dominate the music scene. When MTV relaunched its
Japanese channel in 2001, it did so with a local staff
from its Tokyo production base that determines all
music playlists and features a mixture of Japanese and
international content. MTV’s coverage is unmatched in
reaching Asia’s vast ranks of young consumers. Nearly
two-thirds of Asia’s 3 billion people are under the age
of 35. The middle class is expanding and splashy
Western-brands products, from Procter & Gamble per-
© The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2003
sonal products to Nokia cell phones, are symbols of
making it among consumers.
In Europe and Asia, digital and satellite technology
have made localization of programming easier and less
expensive, as six feeds can be beamed off one satellite
transponder. While some of the programming shown in
various countries can originate from the United States,
MTV channels worldwide air more locally produced and
programmed content. However, in most markets, 70
percent of the video fare is local music, as more and
more countries have their own popular music and local
stars who sing in their own language. For example, in
Brazil, MTV first began by playing an equal amount of
Brazilian and international music. However, MTV has
become more of a Brazilian channel and features more
music from local artists as well as programming with
stronger cultural, social, and political relevance. Over
the past three years, MTV Brazil’s audience size has
doubled and advertising income has increased by 30
percent. The president of MTV’s international networks
says: “People root for the home team, culturally and
musically. Local repertoire is a worldwide trend. There
are fewer global megastars.”
Going local offers political benefits as well. MTV
must constantly fight the perception that it is trying
to take an American version of what is popular and trying
to implant it globally. MTV executives note that the
company is always trying to fight the stereotype that
MTV channels in various countries are importing
American culture. Viacom’s chairman, Sumner Redstone,
denies the charge and says to do so would be a