MTV Network - Case Study Example

Case Study – MTV Network When venturing into an unfamiliar market, the venturing business must undertake thorough market research concerning the target market. This helps the business in evaluating the chances of success in that market and in determining market entry methods that would ensure optimal business impact when launched in the alien market. If obstacles are found, then the business finds solutions or counter measures to these issues so that it can succeed in the market. Failure to adapt such measures would cause the business to fail in its ventures. An alien environment usually poses unique challenges to an entrant that could endanger the overall performance of the business in that environment if appropriate counter strategies are not developed. In the case of MTV, entering the Middle East market was one of the most challenging steps mostly due to the reputation of the company, the country of origin, and the conservative nature of the Middle East citizens. The Arab culture is highly religious and conservative. It does not entertain any issue that may seem to undermine their religion. Islam, which is the main religion in Middle East, has direct influence in most aspects of the Arabs such as business and governmental way of ruling. The Qur’an prohibits alcohol consumption and has direct influence on most laws such as appearance of women and mode of dressing of women when in the public. This mode of dressing is very different from that exhibited in the western countries (Sabry, 2010). In the previous decades, the Middle East has despised the U.S over its support of Middle East’s enemies and its attacks in Afghanistan. These characteristics are the opposite of what would favor MTV and its working in the market. Being conservative implies that any attempts to bring westernization behaviors would be condemned by the Arabic world. In addition, the videos that MTV shows have a reputation of being explicit or possibility of significant percentage of nudity mostly for women. This cannot be condoned in the Arab world, which is conservative and requires a woman to cover their bodies completely when in public. Moreover, since the culture prohibits the usage of alcohol, showing videos of people taking alcohol, which is a western issue, would also experience overwhelming resistance and condemnation. Generally, the Arabic culture does not advocate for westernization implying that, being a U.S company, MTV would experience a big challenge before being accepted. This acceptance would call for massive changes on the company’s programming to coincide with the Arabic conservative culture. MTV’s strategy in the Middle East is mostly based on the population, which comprises of a large portion of teens whom it was targeting. The company saw the large population as an opportunity despite acknowledging that the challenges would be immense. Specifically, MTV saw that the Middle East was an opportunity for expansion with respect to an audience of 190 million people that was unexploited. In addition, the company had undertaken adequate market research on the Middle East market and found out that there were no other channels providing similar content as MTV does with regard to international content. In the quest to fit in, MTV decided that it would produce 45% of the Arabia’s content locally to ensure that it met the standards of the conservative society. This would include a variety of programming ranging from music videos and reality shows to documentaries. Broadcasting 45% of local content would be a strategy that would help in unifying the area, which is known for constant political tensions (Purkayastha, 2008). To beat the competition, MTV strategized a way of enabling the youths to voice their concerns and advertise their talents. In addition, usage of the Internet to allow people to access the channel any time and anyhow they wish was also a good strategy that MTV devised to help in dealing with the competition of approximately 50 other local channels. The entire strategy is good and could work in this environment but with caution. This implies that the company should be very cautious on the content that it broadcasts bearing in mind that it only plans to incorporate 45% local content and the rest international (Purkayastha, 2008). Although the changes in technology have shown that most cultures can change, the strategy of mixed content might not work for them if they do not exercise extreme caution on the content being broadcasted. There is a substantial possibility that MTV would succeed in this market. This is because it has undertaken adequate research that gives it prior information on how the population may respond when programming begins. The counter strategies that have been identified mostly to deal with the nature of the culture would also be effective. If the western culture would be avoided and the idea of ‘made by Arabs for Arabs’ kept alive, the channel would succeed in this environment as there are vast opportunities (Purkayastha, 2008). Since the launch of MTV into the Middle East market, it has not been as successful as anticipated. In spite of the market remaining significantly extensive, the share for MTV Arabia has remained low as the company continues to make more losses even in the U.S (McGinley, 2013). MTV should have approached competition from a different perspective. This is because one of the challenges that it has faced involves competition where most channels in the region had similar focus as MTV. The existing channels had already established themselves in the market and were accepted. The possibility of an American company acquiring the majority was considerably difficult to achieve. In addition, MTV should have redefined its brand when entering the market. This is because the other challenge that it faces in the Arab world is the international brand being diluted by the local brand. This affects the overall performance since MTV’s initial entry strategy is to introduce the mixed content, which was not received as expected. Moreover, the acceptance of an American brand would not be easy. This was mostly because of the cross-cultural differences between the U.S and the Middle East. This should also have been approached differently as it was inevitable. The company should have devised many approaches to deal with it before venturing in to the market. The company should begin with supporting the Arabic music industry in its entirety. This can be done by hosting awards for the Arabic world to support them. Instead of focusing on teens, it should shift its attention to broader social classes for optimal returns. In addition, if it continues respecting the local tastes and culture and undertakes the mentioned recommendations, the company would experience significant improvements. This is because it would be covering a broader market and doing what the market expects. References McGinley, S. (2013). MTV "has a shelf life", says Viacom boss. Retrieved from http://www.arabianbusiness.com/mtv-has-shelf-life-says-viacom-boss-486476.html Purkayastha, D. (2008). MTV Networks: The Arabian Challenge. Andhra Pradesh: IBS Center for Management Research. Sabry, T. (2010). Cultural encounters in the Arab world: On media, the modern and the everyday. London: I.B. Tauris. Read More