"I am completely against vertical layers in an organisation": MK Anand, CEO and MD, Times Network

Times Television Network - which comprises five channels, Zoom, Times Now, ET Now, Movies Now and Romedy Now - underwent a brand identity change, unveiled a new logo and knocked off the word 'television' to rechristen itself as Times Network.

The broadcast division of the Times Group witnessed other changes too, ever since MK Anand, former managing director of Disney UTV Media Networks, joined the company in January 2014. Anand, who replaced Sunil Lulla (currently, chairman and MD, Grey Group India), has made structural changes and corrections in the way the network was functioning. The purpose was to command a strong position in the television space as a network and maintain the leadership spot of the network channels in their respective genres.

In this interview, he talks about the changes, and the growth and expansion plans of the network channels. Excerpts:

Edited Excerpts

We are re-branding the network and sharpening the corporate identity. It signifies that we deliver the top of the pyramid in terms of audience.

While all the channels in the network were born at different times, one common underlying factor is that we have decided to be in - and have always stayed within - the higher end of the market. We have the ability to break away much faster and get to No.1 with this audience set, fundamentally because we understand our audiences better than our competitors do.

In today's day and age, the market is moving to a place where the audience wants change and wants it now. We believe that because we have been successful with that audience set, marketers or advertisers have a better possibility to succeed if they are with us. We are unboxing Times Network and removing the word 'television' because we believe that video may not necessarily be on the TV platform.

I came here 14 months ago and new brooms always feel that they sweep better. I have been under the hood of the car, continuously tinkering with stuff, and there is a lot of great work the earlier teams have put in. The content, the real product inside the packaging was fantastic, but I felt that tightening of the screws was needed.

I wanted to bring my network at par with what is fundamentally required before implementing this new brand identity. There have been significant corrections in distribution of the network channels, in prices at which we sell. While there is a 50 per cent average ER (effective rate) change for our major channels (Times Now and Movies Now), there is almost a 100 per cent ER change for ET Now.

I think I go by being honest and transparent enough to tell them what they are and telling them my strategy. I have been in top management since 2007, and I have never had a single situation where anybody has compromised my trust.

I'm completely against vertical layers in an organisation. I am against 'silo-ing' of organisations. Why? The top guy will be sitting at a certain level and the sales guy will obviously be below him. So, he is at a minus 2 level.

In a horizontal structure, the top sales guys can also be at the level of CEOs. So, ultimately, there are functions that are driving the company, and you need to have the best guys. However, you cannot ask the best guys to come and work under these verticals. In horizontal structures, you get functionally best people. Vertical is more for start-ups. Eventually, if you want to take everything and scale it up, you cannot do it with vertical levels.

The natural gaps are to go the regional and Hindi GEC way, but is it the right strategy to expand the portfolio? Or we should have a mix of other types of channels that can give us scale and profitability? We are currently looking at various options. We are studying Hindi GECs and regional markets, but can also extend our existing products.

It is to retain talent and attract the right talent. We need to be able to set a pace and growth that people look at and say, 'what is happening at Times Network?'

If I am able to get a three-year CAGR of 35-40 per cent, it will be almost double of the current figures. We also want to be known as an organisation that is fun and caring.

Zoom was launched in 2005 with the positioning - 'we will fill you in with the Dream World of Bollywood'. That will continue. We fill our channel with music, but it is about bringing people closer to Bollywood.

What has happened in the last 10 years is that social media has increasingly become Zoom's competition. It needs to reinvent its format to become as relevant. Zoom is an aspirational brand, as people want to migrate to Bollywood lifestyle - it's the Indian "cool".

I don't think we are still getting the right price at which we should be bought. There is a substantial price correction that is required. And it is already underway.

Also, whether it is pricing in distribution, ad sales or subscription, the struggle is going to be a continuous one. It will take at least a year more when we can believe that we are being paid for actually our worth.

While I can't share numbers, I can tell you that Movies Now and Times Now are doing very well. ET Now proved to be the joker in the pack last year.

As we go forward, I see that ET Now and English entertainment channels will increase their contribution. Movies Now has grown and acquired good titles. I am sure that, with BARC, we'll be able to nail the fact that we are No.1 everywhere, at all the top end categories.

It will deliver transparency, data security, new-age and better technology. Having said that, with reference to numbers, I am an orthodox statistician. Be it BARC or TAM, the pecking order may not change because the means will not change.

That said, the penetration that the other panel has not gone through might throw surprises, so will the whole change from SEC (socio economic classification) to NCCS (new consumer classification system). But, I believe that the numbers may not be very different. Considering certain variables, because we are at No.1, there is always a fear that something can go wrong.