Table of Contents

Sr. No. Particulars

1 Introduction
2 Scope
3 Methodology
4 Data Collection Techniques
5 Scenario before Digitalization
6 Digital Transformation Strategy
7 Scenario after Digitalization
8 Bridging the Gap
9 Challenges
10 Recommendations
11 Conclusion
12 References
INTRODUCTION:
The Indian media sector is going through upheaval with the fact that the number of
internet users is growing rapidly, mobile data plans are getting cheap and people are
becoming increasingly used to watching videos on demand. Traditional broadcasting
giants like Viacom18, who have been traditionally known for scheduled broadcasting and
other appointment-based television programs, found their time tested business models and
distribution strategies to be severely disrupted by digital revolution.
With online video consumption rising fast and huge number of OTT platforms together with
YouTube and mobile apps popping up everywhere, Viacom18’s television channels
including Colors, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon experienced a constant drop in
viewership. The traditional linear TV business model which was highly reliant on selling
advertising inventory to broadcasters suffered as viewers no longer sat glued to their TV sets
as they split their attention across various digital platforms. The only tragedy of the company
is it's lack of a direct-to-consumer relationship and negligible presence in the Indian market
which has a huge digital entertainment potential.
In order to stay alive and to keep up with the new environment, Viacom18 has taken strong
and holistic digital transformation in 2016. This project is a comprehensive 360 degree
evaluation of Viacom18's strategic response in all the major areas - drivers and context,
vision and roadmap, execution initiatives, target achievement and impact assessment,
problems encountered and future outlook.

SCOPE:
The project is scoped to critically evaluate Viacom18's digital transformation journey in the
Indian market starting 2016 up to the present day. Key facets covered include:
 Content strategy realignment for digital audience tastes
 Development of owned and partnered over-the-top (OTT) streaming distribution
platforms
 Revamped monetization approaches beyond traditional TV advertising
 Data, analytics and technology modernization initiatives
 Organizational restructuring and change management programs

METHODOLOGY
The digital transformation evaluation employs a mixed-methods approach:
A) Qualitative analysis through semi-structured senior leadership interview examining vision,
priorities, challenges
B) Quantitative analysis of business metrics – revenue growth, platform adoption, content
consumption patterns
C) Secondary data compiled from industry reports studying India’s digital
entertainment explosion and associated disruptions
D)Triangulating insights from primary interview, financial performance indicators and
external market trends facilitates a 360-degree analytical scrutiny into Viacom18’s digital
roadmap.

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES

Primary data sources and collection methods:
Semi-Structured Executive Interview:
Covered topics like transformation vision, strategic priorities, initiative roadmaps, execution
model, change management, results assessment and future plans. Interview was scheduled
virtually with consent using Google Meet.
Secondary data sources and collection methods:
Viacom18 annual reports, quarterly earnings materials, investor presentations extracted
Required financials isolated, cleaned and structured from unstructured sources
Industry Reports, Market Trends and News Media, Google news alerts
Through this exhaustive primary and secondary data collection approach across internal and
external sources, a rich corpus of evidence has been compiled to facilitate the 360-degree
examination of Viacom18's pioneering digital transformation program.

SCENARIO BEFORE DIGITIZATION

The media industry in India witnessed a massive disruption starting the late 2000s, catalyzed
by the expansion of affordable mobile internet and data services. This led to a rapid
proliferation of digital content consumption on OTT platforms, streaming apps and user-
generated channels. As a primarily broadcast-focused television network operator, Viacom18
faced an unprecedented existential threat from these tectonic market shifts:

Business Headwinds:
 Steady erosion of viewership for Viacom18's flagship channels like Colors,
MTV, Nickelodeon as audiences gravitated towards personalized digital
entertainment
 Secular decline in advertising revenues from traditional TV distribution due to
fragmented viewer attention across niche digital streaming platforms
 Inability to establish any meaningful direct-to-consumer relationship or data assets
 Content production engine remain geared towards high-budget, family-oriented
appointment viewing shows made for broadcast distribution
Market Context:
 India's mobile internet user base grew exponentially from 70M in 2011 to 650M in
2018.
 Low data tariffs post Jio's entry in 2016; 4G proliferation enabled high-bandwidth
video streaming
 89% of mobile internet consumption was video based as per an EY-VINX report
 YouTube emerged as the biggest OTT platform in India with 225M+ active users
 Global subscription streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime established early
presence

Viacom18's Analog Legacy:

As one of the largest television network operators in the country, Viacom18's content
creation and monetization strategies were built around:
 Aggregating mass audiences through broad appeal, family-friendly programming
 A dual revenue model leveraging advertisement sales and carriage fee syndication
 Deep distribution partnerships with cable/DTH operators for new channel launches
 Vertical integration into film production, live events and brand franchising spin-offs
However, with consumer demand shifting from linear, one-size-fits-all broadcasting
towards on-demand, personalized content experiences - Viacom18's traditional TV-centric
approach was no longer sustainable. This triggered an urgent need to reinvent its technology
infrastructure, data capabilities, monetization strategies and organizational mindset in line
with the digital future of entertainment.

Internal Triggers:
As the external market forces disrupted the core business, internal alarm bells also started
ringing at Viacom18 with multiple issues surfacing:
 15% decline in viewership for Colors from 2015-2017 as per BARC data
 20% erosion in advertising revenues from flagship channels over 2016-2018
 Fragmented audience development efforts across disparate YouTube channels,
social pages
 Content production workflows geared for long-cycle, high-budget series with lack of
digital agility
 Leadership team's mindset anchored to traditional distribution and monetization
guardrails
By 2018, it became abundantly clear that incremental measures would not suffice and a
holistic enterprise wide transformation was urgently required for Viacom18 to navigate
the digital disruption successfully.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY
Recognizing the existential threat from changing consumer behaviors, aggressive competition
from global streaming giants and the limitations of its analog business model, Viacom18
developed a comprehensive transformation roadmap.

Vision and Guiding Principles:

"Transition from a broadcasting company to a next-generation, digital-age content company
delivering ubiquitous entertainment experiences across platforms"
The transformation strategy was guided by the following key principles:
 Audience Primacy: Adopt an audience-first, platform-agnostic approach
by developing compelling content tailored for diverse digital viewer
segments
 Multi-Platform Distribution: Go beyond traditional linear programming to establish a
direct-to-consumer relationship through owned and partnered OTT streaming
services
 Data-Driven Decision-Making: Leverage user data and comprehensive viewership
insights to drive personalization, content creation and monetization strategies
 Innovation and Agility: Embrace agile ways of working, cloud technologies
and partnerships to shorten innovation cycles and lead the digital content
disruption
 Future-Proof Business Model: Establish a sustainable ad+subscription revenue model
insulated from linear TV distribution risks

With a bold digital-first vision in place, here are the core areas priortized in
Viacom18's digital transformation blueprint:
Content Strategy Realignment:
 Focus on developing original digital-native content across genres, formats and
languages
 Partner with leading digital content creators for differentiated, youth-focused
programming
 Establish dedicated teams, workflows and budgets for a diverse digital content
portfolio

Owned OTT Platforms and Partnerships:

 Launch and scale a destination ad-supported streaming platform for owned content
 Introduce hybrid ad+subscription models unlocking new monetization streams
 Establish content syndication partnerships with telcos, tech platforms, connected
devices
Data Architecture and Enablers:
 Modernize data infrastructure, storage and processing capabilities on cloud
 Implement AI/ML-powered content discovery, recommendations and personalization
 Integrate viewership intelligence into content planning, audience development
strategies

Tech Modernization and Operations:

 Migrating production workflows, CMS, MAM systems to the cloud
 Adopting SaaS/PaaS solutions for agile content development and distribution
 Automating operations and processes through DevOps models

Organizational Realignment:
 Breaking down internal business unit barriers between broadcast and digital teams
 Upskilling creative and functional talent on digital-first workflows and tools
 Incentivizing agile collaboration and integrated execution across teams
With the blueprinted initiatives, the very start of a grand, bottom-up overhaul that
encompassed every aspect of Viacom18's business operation model and culture was unveiled.
This opening move aimed at positioning the company as a digital age leader.

Execution Initiatives Spotlight

Below is a detailed description of the main initiatives and projects implemented by the
Viacom18 Company in order to complete the digital transformation:
 Launching VOOT - The Anchor OTT Platform: Voot made its debut in 2016, and it
acted as the backbone of Viacom18's direct-to-consumer streaming strategy, offering
original content along with the full library of TV content.
 Built on modern cloud architecture leveraging AWS services for scalability,
cost flexibility
 Introduced industry-first interactive content features like AR/VR experiences, co-
viewing
 Monetized through premium SVOD (VOOT Select), advertising (AVOD) and
telco bundling
 Scaled rapidly to 100M+ MAUs by 2019, 1B+ streaming minutes per quarter
Accelerating Original Content Production:
With content being the prime mover, Viacom18 ramped up investments in original digital IP
development involving:
 Strategic content partnerships with leading digital studios like TVF, Pog Studios
 Created digital content studios of drama, comedy, reality dedicated teams in our verticals.
 Regional language originals like Music Mania, Music Mania Punjabi and Nishedh Alone

Enhancing Monetization Capabilities:

 VOOT Select also rolled out as a packaged offering, where it was integrated with
V18's TV channels as a hybrid offering.
 Having partnerships with ad tech companies on the server side allowed the
programmatic monetization streams.
 The adoption of shoppable videos and innovative interactive ad formats will be promoted.
 Telecom bundling solutions along with connected devices for wider distribution.
 Implemented cloud-native DevOps processes which are CI/CD pipelines for the
quicker launch.
 Powered the AI/ML apps for content categorization and image thumbnail generation
with the help of AWS AI/ML ecosystem.
Analytics and Decision Intelligence:
 Ramped up data engineering, AI/ML and analytics capabilities for granular
audience and content insights:
 Utilize the platform intelligence to make content planning and acquisition decisions
that are embedded.
 Establish marketing data platforms that are central and can view campaigns on
omnichannels.
Organizational Transformation:
 Shifted organizational structure, working practices and culture towards Digital
and advanced cross-functional collaboration.
 Silos within news and digital business units have been demolished and a new
and strong leadership has been established.
 Digital Centers of Excellence setup; attracted new age digital native talent pipeline
 Catalyzed shift towards product thinking via agile, lean and design thinking practices
 Strategic focus on digital upskilling and capability building within existing workforce
By implementing a strategy that covers content, technology/products and data stream-levels,
Viacom18, a traditional broadcasting company, has earned the reputation of a leading
digital entertainment brand in India's OTT market in a span of 5 years.
SCENARIO AFTER DIGITALIZATION

Viacom18's digital transforamation agenda has both a holistic and multidimensional

significance, leaving no doubt as to the correctness of bets made on this initiative. Here are
the key measurable outcomes:
 Rapid Revenue Growth and Diversification Viacom18's audacious digital investments
have started paying off with digital emerging as the fastest growing revenue stream
 Digital business crossed ₹300 crore in revenue in FY22, ~15% of total revenue
 Registered 44% YoY growth in FY22, becoming a high-growth top-line accelerant
 VOOT Select, the premium subscription offering, emerged as a strategic high-margin
revenue stream
 Ad sales monetization ramped up with 40% of digital advertising now powered
by programmatic platforms
 Content licensing and syndication partnerships added a third complementary revenue
engine
 Emergence as a Scaled Digital Content Platform Spearheaded by the success of
the VOOT OTT platform, Viacom18 has established itself as a digital content
powerhouse:
 Content consumption metrics showcasing impressive growth - 4 billion streaming
minutes, 35% YoY

Product and Experience Innovation

 Beyond just audience scale, Viacom18 has pushed the envelope with cutting-edge
product capabilities:Beyond just audience scale, Viacom18 has pushed the envelope
with cutting-edge product capabilities:
 For example, we have been a leader in the area of creating innovative AR filters
in addition to interactive content for co-viewing live events.
 Applied AI/ML for content tagging, smart thumbnail creation, personalized
recommendations.
 New categories of exclusive premium tiers such as VOOT Select were introduced
and interactive ad innovations were also pioneered.
 Successfully created a unified UX/UI design system with branding architecture that
synchronizes across VOOT apps.
Operational Efficiencies and Scalability
The cloud-first technology modernization undertaken has unlocked sustainable operational
gains:
 OTT content is associated with a 45% reduction in distribution costs compared to
those of the traditional broadcast infrastructure.
 Capability of covering audience quickly and large while still being able to
handle heavy traffic during demand spikes.
  Programmatic solutions enabled the generation of 20% higher ad yield from premium
digital ad sales.
 Accelerated production workflow that makes possible 30% quicker content publishing
cycles.
During the digital transformation journey of Viacom18, the concrete effects of the strategy
stand out as an example. However, the road was not easy, and it demanded creative
solutions in order to smooth the way.

CHALLENGES AND BRIDGING THE GAPS

Despite the definitive successes, a few gaps and areas for improvement remain as
Viacom18 fortifies its digital entertainment leadership:
Organizational Culture Transition
 Pockets of resistance from incumbent workers who still think in the old-style TV
mode are the pattern.
 Lack of information about digital-first culture and ways of working should be
addressed formally in the institution.
 Building up new level of interdisciplinary cooperation between editorial, product
and technical team members.

Modernization of Legacy Systems

 Integration problems with already-existing digital platforms and conventional
transmission systems are the major challenge.
 Technical debt is the consequence of the previous investments in information
technology (IT) and restricting growth and innovation.
 Prioritizing migration to cloud-native, API-first, microservices-based architecture

Continuous Monetization Innovation

 Although the size of VOOT helped monetization of the advertisements, the
company has to come up with new innovative strategies.
 By incorporating e-commerce integrations and creator economies based on
blockchain, we can further strengthen our position in the market.
 Using AI that will make ads more dynamic, and also create conversational
experiences.

Escalating Competitive Intensity

 Global streamers like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ Hotstar and the likes with well-
capitalized backgrounds are making a steady progress in India which is seeing a big
rise in their subscriber base.
  Running the risk of not being unique in a crowded market, we will focus on localizing
the tailored content portfolio across different languages/genres.
 Looking into the possibility of applying the technology in different domains such as
gaming, podcasts, and esports.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Here are some key recommendations for Viacom18 to further strengthen and sustain its
digital transformation journey:

Establish a Unified Data and AI/ML Platform

 Collect all audience data ranging from traditional TV, OTT apps, and digital
platforms in a modern data lake in the cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP).
 Rely on AI advanced exponents like computer vision, NLP etc. for content
tagging purposes and for personalized recommendations.
 Implement the learnings from the data ecosystem into all core processes - content
development, platform and ad monetization.

Pioneering Advertising and Monetization Innovation

 Work jointly with the top adtech and digital marketing players maintaining creative
AR, VR, Metaverse ad formats.
 Dive into the world of creator economies that are powered by
decentralized blockchains where the means of monetization are varied.
 Push ahead e-commerce integration processes further by developing shoppable
content capacities.

Catalyze an Organization-Wide Culture Transformation

 Institutionalize the inherent digital-first mindsets and methods by a 360-degree
change management programme.
 Rework internal recruitment thru skills revamp, validating digital competencies over
outdated skillsets.
 Establish integrated, single execution backbone with the objective to unify
content, product and technology functions.
 Modernize Technology Architecture and Operations
 If you want to migrate to the cloud, you should consider to use cloud-native, API-
first, microservices based architecture such as AWS/Azure.
 Resskill/upskilling workers on cloud engineering, containerization, serverless
computing, etc.
 Create SRE, automation and AIOps functions for the purpose of the system
operations which can handle both efficiently and intelligently.

Forge Ecosystem Partnerships and Industry Evangelism

 The company should consider the role of Viacom18 as an industry evangelist of novel
content and imaginative technologies.
 Engage with the telco companies, connected device OEMs for adding distribution
network.
 Suggest partnership with university for creating a research consortium which
is dedicated to digital media and AI/ML.
 Build up common standards for tech stacks, data and ad formats through joint
initiatives for maximum development.

Through the Data/AI, product innovation, content engines and organizational transformation
and ecosystem development strategy that runs across these strategic functions - Viacom18
can put together the digital-first entertainment powerhouse credentials for years to come.

CONCLUSION
The digital transformation of Viacom18 by a legacy media mogul demonstrates that
traditional broadcasting giants can metamorphose into cutting-edge, audience-driven, and
innovative media companies with the right vision, innovation capacities, and a modern
ecosystem.
With the fast-growing digital content consumption in India, an abundant platform for players
who can offer up their game for user personalization, original IPs across diverse interest
areas and sustained continuous development is available. As a result of the bedrock of the
transformation set, Viacom 18 seems to be ready to sail through the entertainment revolution
over the digital platforms of India.

Overall, a decent report. The content was compelling with some attention needed on the formatting.

The conclusions section should have been more elaborate.

References Citations:
[1] https://www.dialpad.com/guides/enterprise-digital-transformation/
[2] https://enterprisersproject.com/what-is-digital-transformation/
[3] https://www.techaheadcorp.com/blog/guide-to-enterprise-digital-transformation/
[4] https://www.coursehero.com/file/p3hptl04/Conclusion-Digital-transformation-helps-
bothsmall-and-big-businesses-to-stay/
[5] https://pixelplex.io/blog/digital-transformation-in-enterprise/
6. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/viacom-18-wins-bcci-bilateral-
media-rights-for-the-next-five-years-jay-shah/articleshow/103249278.cms
7. https://analyticsindiamag.com/viacom18s-move-into-analytics-revealed-how-data-science-
is-turbocharging-operations/
8. https://www.databricks.com/customers/viacom18
9. https://mixpanel.com/blog/ask-an-expert-anubhav-shrivastava-of-viacom18-media/
10. https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/strategy-and-management/how-
viacom18s-digitization-journey-tackled-disruption-in-media-sector/72932225
11. https://finshiksha.com/whats-next-for-viacom18/