CORPORATE STRATEGY

The Five Year Development Plan

THE INITIAL DEVELOPMENT STAGES 2

YEAR ONE (1) AND TWO (2) – 2003 TO 2004 3

CONTENT CREATION 4

METHODOLOGY 4

CI INTERACTIVE: THE ISLAMIC OPEN UNIVERSITY 5

THE CONSOLIDATION PERIOD: 5

SUMMARY 7

YEAR THREE AND FOUR (3&4) 7

Year Five (5) and onwards 8

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The Five Year Development Plan
The initial development stages

During the early stages of operation, the most significant step will be the
establishment of the business and its later growth. The first year is the most critical
period for the business, as it will encounter a number of problems associated with
learning curve. It should also be recognised that during this period there may be
levels of uncertainty, therefore risks. However, these obstacles should be easily
managed to the competitive advantage of the firm, as long as the management
remains level headed and constantly reviews the responses to the market’s
demands.

The core activities achieved:

The Commercialisation of the Channel
As the setup of the business, including the macro planning, is now complete for the
company to commercialise the channel, we have already achieved the following five
steps:

Development Team: Have secured a team of six graduates, who are

a.
dedicated and working full-time as the management and various
departmental functions of the channel.
Production: The team has already in place at least 100hours treatment
b.
of in-house library, some of which already produced at various stages.
Acquisition: acquired the copyright and editing control of outsourced
c.
materials, however for some materials negotiations are required.
Marketing: A cohesive marketing strategy is in practice, which is
d.
equipped with PR article, presentations and a promotional video.
Network partnership: Channel ISLAM has developed recognition and
e.
strong “working partnership” with major Islamic organisations in UK.

With the foundation in place the company now seeks to achieve the following by the
end of 2002, in order to successfully launch the channel in early 2003.

Secure investments: for both initial budget and the long-term

i.
development fund.

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The Five Year Development Plan
Ramadan Broadcasting: Seek to broadcast during Ramadan 2002,
ii.
to create the indispensable publicity and demand for the final launch
of the channel.
Production: Continue production of a comprehensive library for both
iii.
general and children’s programming, this includes both via in-house
and out-sourced production mediums.
Infrastructure: Make preparations and carry out activities necessary
iv.
to plan and implement the early 2003-broadcasting launch of channel
ISLAM.

Year One (1) and Two (2) – 2003 to 2004

There are two things in the television industry that determine level of success of any
channel; content and cash flow. The content is very critical because television is a
very hungry medium, which would require the channel to produce sixteen (16) hours
of programming a day, whilst some of it could be repeated for eight hours to
complete the full twenty-four hour schedule. This is following the BBC2 programming
format. Many recent DTV channels have failed due to this problem, including the
Money Channel and Channel East.

Some Channels overcome this difficulty by simply filling in the airtime with repeated
programmes, for example the Discovery Channel repeats each of its programmes
thrice per day. However, this compromises the audience viewer-ship, as they are
constantly seeking for new, stimulating and fresh content. In light of this challenge,
it is recommended that channel ISLAM expands its broadcasting hours in segments
and stages. Initially to begin with eight (8) hours of broadcasting, following with
sixteen (16) hours and then finally by the end of the year, broadcasting reaches the
full twenty-four (24) hours per day.

This continuous improvement strategy also consists of further benefits, such that it
will allow the channel to also focus on broadcasting in USA. The initial steps of
broadcasting in UK and USA for eight hours per day is much beneficial to channel
ISLAM that just broadcasting in the UK for twenty-four (24) hours, as broadcasting
in both the UK and USA will reap greater economies of scale, as well as increase the
advertising revenue.

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The Five Year Development Plan
The gradual increase in broadcasting hours is vital because the production of
programmes is time consuming, as they have to go through a rigorous process and
procedures in a short period of time before making it to air. This consumes a lot of
time and energy, especially when the emphasis lies on having high quality and
standard. This even applies to out-sourced production. The diagram below illustrates
a simple process involved in content creation.

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The Five Year Development Plan
Process – stages Activity: 1 Activity: 2 Activity: 3 Activity: 4

Content creation Ideas Treatment Scripting Organizing

Production Filming – Studio or Location Logging paper
editing
Assessment Ullema Assessment Board: approvals and recommendations
Aftereffects Digitizing
Post-production Raw editing Core editing Combustions Scheduling for
Animations Broadcast

The distinctive achievements during the first year will be:

1. February 2003 – Eight (8) hours broadcasting in UK & USA

2. July 2003 – Sixteen (16) hours broadcasting in UK & USA
3. November 2003 (Ramadan) – Twenty four (24) hours broadcasting in
UK & USA ongoing

Methodology

This will be achieved through the following:

Content conception: One of the core functionalities of the Creative

a.
dept will be content creation, therefore a creative team will be
recruited to actively and daily research and develop new content
ideas.
In-House Production: channel ISLAM will establish production
b.
houses fully equipped and manned in both UK and USA, to cater for
both communities and produce dedicated and relevant programming,
but also to introduce diversity and range in the style and content of
the programmes. This will be pleasing to both UK and USA audiences.
It will also allow channel ISLAM to produce high volume and low cost
programming, whilst retaining a high standard and quality of the
programmes. Both production houses will also be equipped with post-
production facilities, also inbuilt with location and studio
functionalities. The in-house production will count for sixty percent
(60%) of the total channel ISLAM programming.

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The Five Year Development Plan
Out-Sourced Production: There will be an internal channel ISLAM
c.
acquisition team responsible in allocating projects to out-sourced
production companies and also coordinating that project. They will also
focus on acquiring ranges of on-the-shelf programmes, which can be
edited and used for broadcasting purposes. In order to avoid a backlog
of postproduction work in progress, the company will enable freelance
editors to perform some projects and activities. This will also be made
possible by having auxiliary editing suits where they can come and do
the job in hand. This system achieves three objectives; firstly, it
resolves the potential problems of postproduction backlog, secondly, it
improves the cash flow situation of the company, as money is not
wasted on used human resources. Finally, it allows the channel to
complete the programmes according to the schedule, whilst retaining
quality as well as introducing new and fresh styles of programming
and editing. Therefore, providing a variety in the programming
experiences of the audience.

The out-sourced production counts for thirty percent (30%) of the programming and
on-the-shelf programme acquisition will account for ten percent (10%) of the

programmes broadcasted in channel ISLAM. This is because of the difficulty of

acquiring ready-made programmes that meet the broadcasting standards and the
content and programming criteria set by the Shariah complaint protocol.

The distinctive achievements during the second year will be:

1. January 2004 – Exclusive subscription in UK & USA

2. February 2004 - Begin broadcasting relocation activity to Dubai Media City
3. March – Begin systems architecture and implementation for CI Interactive
4. May 2004 – Regular subscription in UK & USA
5. July 2004 – Broadcasting transition to Dubai Media City
6. November 2003 (Ramadan) – Launch CI Interactive

CI Interactive: The Islamic Open University

CI Interactive is aiming to become a pioneering higher education provider in the

western world, arising from the principle of providing and making Islamic education

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The Five Year Development Plan
available in partnership with an Islamic educational institution. For detailed study on
this project, please refer to the CI Interactive report.

The consolidation period:

The second year of broadcasting of channel ISLAM will be a period of transition and
consolidation; transition of the broadcasting activities from UK to Dubai Media City,
and from free-to-view channel to subscription channel. Therefore, this is a
demanding period, which will require focus and flexibility from the part of
management and the organisation as a whole.

Methodology:

a. Research and development of programmes, with two months in

advance of schedule.
The Product Development of the unique service CI Interactive to
b.
cater for the Muslim communities in both UK and USA.
c. Launch a fully incorporated marketing campaign.
d. Broadcasting relocation: Assign a dedicated team to administer and
manage this project.

By the end of the two-year development programme, the company should

have established the following:

 High level of experience in the television industry.

 A fully incorporated and integrated range of resources, including production,

service and human resources. When resources are subject to expansion, they
should be planned and scheduled for the “Year 3&4 growth programme”.

 Become an established service provider, with high levels of market

recognition.

 Minimise all costs associated with risks (unforeseen costs) and develop
‘effective and efficient’ model of forecasting costs, demands, and market
events.

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The Five Year Development Plan
Summary

By the end of the initial and second year of the development stage the company
should complete the following:

 Business set-up

 Complete Commercialisation of the channel

 Employee Recruitment

 Production, with one month buffer activity.

 Marketing development, provide complete ‘market offerings’.

 Financial Stability and independence

Year Three and four (3&4)

The growth of the company should be pursued as the main objective. It should also
be regarded as the corner stone to the company’s future survival and success, as
failure to grow might result in the loss of competitiveness, decline in the market
domination and further ineffectual profit maximisation. This growth should be
achieved through the expansion in the scale of operation, depth in strategic scope,
and market share. By growing the company should diversify and reduce unforeseen
risks. The firm should also capitalise on the ‘economies of scale’, as the growth will
be substantial. This will enable it to become more efficient and enjoy lower costs.

The core activity during this period will be:

 Expansion of broadcasting bandwidth, to

enable broadcasts in the rest of the
continents especially those concentrated
with the consumer base, thus in the Muslim
populated countries. This expansion could
be a planned through a steady growth. This
strategic growth will require significant
investments.

 Increase internal Research and development

of production.

 Greater resources acquisition, including employee

recruitment and capital assets.

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The Five Year Development Plan
 Launch the strategic global marketing campaign.

The Company should establish the following within this period:

 Superior Sales revenue: sourced by the increased customer base and

advertising interests. Enable and encourage a domestic advertising avenue
within the global channel, to maximise the rate of return. However, offer a
global advertising service to firms wanting to capitalise on the opportunity to
‘globalise their advertising scope and also economise the costs’ advertising
through extra investments.

 Gaining economies of scale: This means unit production and operation

costs will fall efficiently and profits will increase at a greater rate. The degree
of growth and increased market share will provide the company with
invaluable marketing advantage of publicity and recognition. Finally, the
globalisation of the channel will minimise risks that the company might have
been prone to.

Summary
By the end of the third development stage the company should complete the
following:

 Globalisation of the broadcasting bandwidth

 Strategic multi-national marketing and profit maximization

 Increased internal production activities.

 Departmental function of research and development for programmes.

 Financial self-sufficiency, with greater investments.

Year Five (5) and onwards

The company should have fully established a market leadership, and now it has to
maintain its position within the global market. The quality of production and services
has to be all time high, as new competitors might appear on the horizon. Some
vertical and/or horizontal development may have to be assessed to further the
economies of scale. The main extension in the company’s portfolio is the terrestrial
service in the participating Muslim countries.

The core activity during this period will be:

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The Five Year Development Plan
 Extension of the broadcasting services into terrestrial bandwidth, to enable
consumers without Sky to access the channel. The Muslim populated
countries are likely to show willingness to participate. This expansion could be
a complex procedure. This strategic growth will
require significant investments and sensitivity.

 Increase corporation’s management activities.

 Greater resources acquisition, including domestic

employee recruitment and capital assets.

 Maintain the strategic global marketing campaign.

The Company should establish the following within this period:

 Market superiority, as the advantages of both financial and non-financial

benefits are acquired, however, with a greater base of stakeholders, including
employees and customers. Focus and control are key issues of management.

 Gaining economies of scale. These advantages are mostly intangible. A

greater development of the social responsibilities aspect of the company.

Summary
By the end of the forth development stage the company should complete the
following:

 Terrestrial broadcasting bandwidth for participating Muslim countries.

 Strategic multi-national marketing.

 Profit maximisation

 Increased corporate management activities.

 Departmental function of ‘Social Responsibilities’.

 Financial germination, maintain a high level investments.

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