MTV - the silent revolution
“For all the fretting about outsourcing and trade deficits in the United States, MTV offers a high-end case study in how to export what seems, at first glance, to be a uniquely American brand. For 24 years, it’s tapped into, and shaped, the genes of the irreverent, trendsetting, exuberant “MTV Generation.'' But it turns out to be an attitude without borders. MTV reaches more than 1 billion people worldwide, making it the most ubiquitous television network on the planet.
It’s easy to understand the business case for MTV Networks' world tour. It reaches 87.6 million homes in America, but outside the United States, it’s in more than 331 million homes, in 164 countries and territories, broadcast in 18 languages. Despite MTV Networks' huge global presence already, the U.S. arm accounts for fully 80 percent of overall revenue of $5.2 billion. So the real upside is clearly abroad. MTV Networks International is growing 20 percent a year, outpacing MTV’s overall brisk pace. Freston would like to see it double to 40 percent.”