Channel V Thailand may now be gone, but MTV Thailand is back after going off the air in 2011. Amarit "Mark" Sukhavaniji, the managing director of MTV Thailand, tells us what the channel has to offer this second time around. Officially launched yesterday (Sep 12), you can watch MTV Thailand on True Vision 59 and PSI Channel 164. Go to facebook.com/mtvthailand for more information.
WHY WAS IT DECIDED TO BRING MTV THAILAND BACK
It started out with Mr Kulpong "Byrd" Bunnag, who, as a musician, is very passionate about music and the MTV brand. He had a discussion with Viacom [the parent company of MTV, as well as Nickelodeon, Paramount, Comedy Central and other key channels] at the end of [2012] on the possibility of bringing back this global brand to Thailand. I came in during the first half of this year to structure the deal and run the operations. We started in June 2013 and were able to put it on air within three months, starting on September 2. As for MTV, they believe that Thailand is an important market in Asia. They decided to withdraw the last time due to various reasons. But now they are back stronger than ever and with a big emphasis on program localisation.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES AS MANAGING DIRECTOR?
I'm pretty much responsible for all areas. I believe the most important thing is to make sure we live up to the MTV brand values in all aspects of our work. We focus on the youth or Millennials. We want to be smart, fun and warm. We celebrate heroes, big and small. I want to make sure that we bring these values to the way we work and the way we serve all viewers and clients.
WHAT DOES MTV THAILAND HAVE TO OFFER TO THAI AUDIENCES?
We offer a variety of programs in addition to music. For international programs, there are award-winning shows such as Catfish and Awkward. There are emotional reality programs like Teen Mom and I Used To Be Fat. And there are funny ones such as Ridiculousness and Disaster Date. We also have all global award shows such as Video Music Awards, Europe Music Awards, MTV Movie Awards, and World Stage. We are developing local shows for the Thai audience as well.
TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR ORIGINAL SHOWS.
We are starting out with some original variety programs, most notably MTV Fash and MTV Journey. MTV Fash is hosted by Bobbie [owner of VAC streetwear store] and Pearypie [celebrity make-up artist]. This show is a semi-reality program where we follow them in their daily lives to see how they dress and the places they visit. MTV Journey is a travel program that introduces interesting places to go in Thailand. There are 13 episodes and the theme of each episode is related to the episode number.
PEOPLE HAVE SO MUCH ACCESS TO MUSIC THESE DAYS VIA YOUTUBE AND SUCH. HOW DO YOU PLAN TO GET PEOPLE TO TUNE IN TO MTV THAILAND?
MTV Thailand is not just about music, but also a variety of interesting local and international shows. In the "pull" mode, people are now very good at getting stuff from the internet, but they also want to be able to sit back and sample what is "pushed" to them so they can see a wide range of entertainment options on our channel. For the youths, when they turn on the TV, we would like them to think of MTV first. We are about being young and amazing.G
