MUMBAI: MTV has been the only constant medium, which has understood the nerve of the young audience across many generations and nothing has changed. At the ongoing FICCI Frames 2019, a special panel was curated to understand how to captivate the millennials and one of the panelists was Viacom18 Head Youth, Music & English Entertainment  Ferzad Palia. He shared tricks of the trade that helped MTV stay among the strongest players in the ecosystems irrespective of the era. 

-Almost a decade ago, MTV stopped being just a TV channel and became more of a content creator. 

-MTV has engaged with youth, which is a combination of Gen Z and Millenials and we have seen and observed this age group since 1995

-MTV tasted lot of success with lot of content been consumed across the platforms. The sheer volumes of consumption has made the difference for MTV. 400-450 million people have consumed MTV on TV while additional 100 to 150 million on digital platform, Voot.

- MTV has a staggering eight and a half billion minutes consumption on digital platform solely and many billion hours of consumption on television in the last 12 months

-In a country like India, there is ‘no either’ or, it is always ‘And’.

-In the past two years, since the digital age has seen an upsurge with the data prices getting cheaper, TV has still grown by 80% and MTV itself has doubled its rating in these years

- The previous generation didn’t have the option of consumption of content on commute. Even so, the TV consumption has not slipped. This generation engages on all platforms.

- MTV conducts the country’s largest youth survey, which we present at MTV Youth Forum every year. The findings of the survey, which is yet to be presented this year, sampled over 25,000 people across 400 cities covering Gen Z. The topline findings of survey says that it is no bullshit generation.

- Another point was observed that this generation doesn’t think it is important to live another city. Initially, someone from Mumbai, Delhi wanted to move to London or New York and someone from Muzzafarpur wanted to move to Mumbai or Delhi. This has changed and people are mostly happy to stay in their own cities.

- Around 90% of this generation wants to work for themselves instead of corporates.

- This is also a very happy and optimistic generation.

- This generation is also crossing the - Arm Chair activism and going actually beyond doing something.

- The consumption of original Indian music has exploded with the combination of TV and digital.

- There is a surge of content creators today. MTV Indies had come up for the independent musicians long ago, which perhaps was ahead of its time.