Restructuring / Turnaround Strategies Case Study

Case Title:

The Changing Face of MTV

Abstract:

In the early 21st century, MTV (Music Television), a popular cable channel, faced threats from new entertainment options like online videos, podcasting and do-it-yourself music mixes. These new forms of entertainment easily lured away young audience of MTV. After witnessing the loss of viewers, MTV realised the need to hold its audience. To make use of the growing popularity of digital entertainment and to increase its audience, MTV decided to transform itself to the needs of the digital age.

As a major step in digitalizing the process, it collaborated with Microsoft in creating MTV Urge, to cater to the on-line music download market. It also launched MTV Flux which allowed viewers to choose the programmes that they wanted to watch. This helped MTV to integrate the traditional TV channel with the internet. For wider distribution of its content, MTV also forged alliances with mobile phone companies like Vodafone, Orange, and DoCoMo. It remained to be seen whether MTV’s attempts to would raise the popularity and acceptance among the new age viewers.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the emerging entertainment options
• To study MTV’s growth over the years and its strategies to capture new markets
• To analyse the competitive threat posed by the new age digital entertainment options to MTV
• To examine the strategies of MTV to adapt to the changing environment.

Keywords : MTV; MTV Urge; MTV Flux; MySpace; MTVN; MTV Overdrive; VH1; Viacom; Restructuring / Turnaround Strategies Case Study; Atom Entertainment; Microsoft; Neopets; Vodafone; Nickelodeon; MTV digitalization process; Judy McGrath