Talking Heads with B. K. Modi

Pallavi Srivastava - Televisionpoint.com | Mumbai

B. K. Modi

B. K. Modi, global chairman, Spice Corp., is all game for the entertainment business. In an interview with Pallavi Srivastava he reveals his $ 1 billion plans. He is sporting a new look these days, and in his new creative attire you may easily mistake him as a director or producer of tinsel town.

Though he laughingly offers, "this new look hides my age and makes me look younger," but there is much more to it. His new look matches perfectly with his ultra zeal for the entertainment business. And his entertainment dreams start right from the 70mm screen; spans across the smaller screen of television, mobile and Internet; and tunes in to the music industry.

What is the reason behind selling off the telecom business to Idea Cellular?
We wanted to get out of our businesses on the infrastructure side, as infrastructure has become stagnant over the years. So it's time we move forward and look for new pastures. Currently, we are focusing on the softer side of the business, the content business of entertainment.

What are the new business areas that you are targeting?
I am strongly interested in the entertainment business. We have plans to put up $ 1 billion in this business across segments like music, games, movies, et al. Also making these content available on various new platforms, like mobile and Internet, along with traditional platforms like television. And we are not restricting ourselves to India only; we are looking at the region around India and also in the United States.

What is the strategy behind getting into the entertainment arena?
It's simple, the Indian media and entertainment industry is on an upswing. And I strongly feel that India could be the world leader in the entertainment business. Moreover, it derives synergies from our mobile and Internet business. To start off with, we are in talks with several Hollywood production houses for co-production deals. I am setting up a media fund of $ 300 million with other investors for this purpose.

Are you looking at acquisitions to expand yourself in this sphere?
As I told you that we are looking at an investment of $ 1 billion in the entertainment business, this money will be used for expanding ourselves both through acquisitions and through new ventures. We are considering a lot of options on the acquisition front in television, gaming, etc. Actually, we are a cash rich company and this industry is going through change, it requires consolidation and new players.

What are your plans for the movie business?
We are very keen on movie content production. In fact, we have already started our production company in Hollywood. We have signed a Hollywood producer to work with us and we are looking at producing around 5-10 movies in Hollywood in the next couple of years. One film is already on the floor with a $ 100 million budget and it is on the life of Lord Buddha.

What's your strategy for the television business?
Right now we are working with some of the existing channels. We have some tie-ups and there are many more in the horizon with whom we are in talks with. There is a general entertainment channel, which has not being doing well of late, I would not name it. But it is struggling and requires a revamping.

We are looking to acquire it very soon. And we are not interested in the channel just for the stake, rather we are looking for an active participation to revamp the channel and bring the Spice brand.

You were also in talks to buy a 32 per cent stake in Multi Screen Media. How are you looking at spicing it up?
We are keen on investing in the broadcasting space. But due to the current economic conditions, most television channels are restructuring their operations. Several new players have entered the space and the industry will see consolidation next year.

We will invest at the right time, and the negotiations with the management are going on. We are trying to focus on the age group of 13-35. These young women and men are the future and they are looking for programmes, which move forward. I believe that we will bring this angle of youth, specially to their flagship channel Sony Entertainment Television.

What kind of leadership model do you follow?
I strongly believe in promoting young talent. You can train them, delegate and get best results out of them.

What is the best advice that you have received so far?
Re-invent yourself everyday, always look for new opportunities. Everyday you can do something new and something better. A lot of companies have got a strong foothold in their business through this and Google is one of them. So, keep reinventing yourself.