Smitthi: MTV will be the No 1 brand trusted by teenagers.

Smitthi Bhiraleus, GM of Music Television Networks Co Ltd (MTV Thailand), has set a five-year plan to expand MTV beyond a cable-TV channel into new outlets, including 3G (third-generation) mobile telephones and digital and broadband TV.

His plans for the channel include creating and producing new music-based variety shows and lifestyle programmes, which will be broadcast through MTV channels around the world in the near future.

Smitthi, 27, is the son of Itthiwat Bhiraleus, a former shareholder of BNT Entertainment Plc. His promotion to the new GM position at MTV coincided with a structural change within the channel's Thai operations three months ago.

After leaving BNT Entertainment, Itthiwat recently set up his own company, Media Communication Network Co Ltd, which later acquired a 60-per-cent stake in MTV Thailand. The remaining stake is still owned by its foreign partner, MTV Asia.

"We now have no business relationship with BNT Entertainment and the arrival of a Thai shareholder goes along with MTV Asia's policy to develop more local content," said Smitthi.

MTV, he said, would in future become a 'category killer' for music and teenagers.

"We will be the No 1 brand trusted by teenagers," he said.

Smitthi used the example of the company's latest mobile-phone venture in cooperation with Motorola to illustrate his expansion plans. The scheme allows individual clients to download digital music and entertainment content, wallpaper and VJ interaction to their telephones through www.mtvmobbed.com.

The project will be available to the country's 30 million digital mobile users and hopes to meet the future transition of local mobile telephone networks to the 3G format.

"There are currently 3 million viewers who watch MTV through their cable-TV channel at home. And we would like to increase our viewer base here," said Smitthi.

He said the company wanted to be a leading content

producer for people aged 12 to 35, not only in Thailand but through MTV networks around the world.

"We will bring MTV's creative directors from the United States and the UK to train our local producers. We have set up a new division entitled Creative & Content to concentrate on creating new programmes, not just to be broadcast in Thailand but also internationally," he said. He said MTV Thailand had started broadcasting its "MTV Chart" graphical spot to Russia.

Smitthi said five new locally made non-music programmes would be launched on the MTV Channel this year. One of them will be a movie guide and the others lifestyle and reality shows. The company is in negotiations with NiteSpot to jointly produce a retro music programme to be released in the near future.

Steven Tan, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MTV Networks Asia, said there were currently 300 million households throughout Asia that watch MTV.

"We are in 10 major markets throughout Asia, and we will expand to Vietnam in the next 12 to 18 months," said Tan, adding that Vietnam is a potential market for MTV due to its strong economic growth, large youth population and growing middle class.

MTV operates in 46 countries and on more than 100 channels around the world.

"We want to be the No 1 entertainment channel in every market we operate in. We will also exchange products, including content and artists, within our MTV network regionally and globally," Tan said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

 The Nation