Meet the chief operating officer
26/09/2022
By Contributor
Published: September 26, 2022 Updated: September 27, 2022
Venugopal Iyengar, COO Digital at Planetcast International, explains why he loves working for a company that sits at the heart of an industry constantly in flux, and why it's important to have a healthy curiosity about the content-consumer connection
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Venugopal Iyengar, COO Digital, Planetcast International Talk us through an average day in your role My day usually revolves around three things: people, products, and international business.
Most of the top half of my day is about quick reviews with my product and business/sales teams to check if I'm in the way of anyone trying to get things done. I set aside an hour each day for hiring. We're constantly hiring given our expansion of products and markets. And about half the week is spent with our international teams as the US and Europe are major priorities for the coming three years.
Second, from a product perspective, a huge part of my job each day is about listening - absorbing customer and market input from our eyes and ears on the ground to help us design product strategies and future roadmaps that help our customers flourish while driving our business forward.
Our technology building blocks are already in place - so my third pillar is about tailoring our proven media services for international needs. That means regularly bringing together voices from regional sales leaders, customers and our global technology partners to create flexible solutions across markets and enable new customers to test our theories.
But it's not all about work. I enjoy going out for lunch with colleagues and friends, catching up on our families and personal lives. Striking a balance has always been important for me, and it's critical to establishing a sustainable and healthy team culture.
How did you get started in the media industry? I'm a production engineer by training and hold a marketing MBA, but I started on the content side of the media industry after trying my hand across a few other sectors - manufacturing, research and retail. I got into media because it sounded like an exciting opportunity, and my first break was working with Disney in India - I haven't looked back since.
I've spent the last two decades working in media - the first decade was all about content, working with exciting brands like Disney and Viacom, as well as domestic majors like Zee and Sun. The last decade has all been about distribution, starting out with satellite (DTH) as it exploded around 2010, and then in the OTT space working with a start-up developing our proprietary platform and deploying it for some of the biggest media and telecom brands. This is right where the biggest shift in the industry is taking place with rapid digitisation and the explosion of OTT consumption.
What training did you have before entering the industry? My engineering degree and MBA weren't exactly built for media, to be honest. After a few jobs in research and retail, I tried out a position in media because the industry fascinated me. A four-year stint with MTV Networks made me a lifelong fan of this industry and I've never turned back! In hindsight, I'd say the engineering and MBA gave me an analytical and problem-solving mindset which is hugely useful when you are trying to understand the content-consumer connection.
In the broadcasting world, this helped me understand content performance metrics, television ratings, and how audiences engage with content. Analytics is a big passion of mine, and it allows customers to have a deeper sense of what's going on within their business - and, indeed their entire market.
Why do you enjoy working in the industry? What's not to like! Television has always been a mirror to society, giving great insight into how people think, and which issues resonate best with audiences - that's fascinating. I used to work at a leading movie channel in India, and we were constantly surprised by the type of content that pulled in the highest ratings.
The impact of technology over the last decade has been game-changing, empowering new and innovative ways of storytelling. The status quo of television has evolved rapidly, with more personalisation than ever and consumption across an explosion of devices and formats. FAST channels are a great example of that, as the media industry comes back full circle to combat subscription fatigue and provide highly tailored, lean-back' digital viewing experiences. Sitting at the heart of an industry in constant flux is hugely exciting, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!
What piece of advice would you offer someone looking to explore a role similar to yours? Be fascinated by your domain, and everything else will follow. If you're truly inspired by media and the trends and technologies around you, the passion to innovate and solve problems to do things better will come naturally. Of course, key technology skill sets such as coding or data science can act as a fantastic foundation. But to be effective in media and entertainment, you need to develop a healthy curiosity about the content-consumer connection, and the interplay of technology and user experience. If either - or both of these - fascinate you, then you've come to the right place!
LINK: | https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/people/meet-the-chief-operating-off... |
See more stories from tvb |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
01/06/2024
TV Tech Weekly Product News Wrap-Up
Busy this week catching up from the Memorial Day holiday? Our TV Tech weekly wrap-up of all our coverage of new products, services and deployments will get you ...
01/06/2024
Guy Ritchie Behind Young Sherlock' Series on Prime Video
Young Sherlock, with Guy Ritchie directing and executive producing, is a go at Prime Video. Hero Fiennes Tiffin plays Sherlock. Prime Video calls it the origin...
01/06/2024
Caitlin Clark-Cameron Brink WNBA Matchup Draws 724,000 Viewers
The Los Angeles Sparks-Indiana Fever game on Friday featuring the top two WNBA draft picks, Caitlin Clark and Cameron Brink, was the most watched WNBA game on I...
01/06/2024
Lionsgate Names Brian Weinstein Co-CEO of 3 Arts Entertainment
Lionsgate, which increased its majority stake in 3 Arts Entertainment in January, said it named Brian Weinstein co-CEO of 3 Arts....
01/06/2024
Netflix to Launch Video Games For Perfect Match', Too Hot to Handle', Other Unscripted Hits
Netflix is launching four video games based on unscripted series this year. They...
01/06/2024
Broadcast Networks Go Live for Donald Trump Verdict
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox affiliates switched from their regular programming to carry live coverage of the verdicts in the porn star hush-money trial of former Pres...
31/05/2024
Orange County Expansion Helps Aerojet Rocketdyne Boost Solid Rocket Motor Production
A U.S. Marine fires an FIM-92 Stinger missile during a training exercise in Yuma...
31/05/2024
IAB Tech Lab Expands Open Measurement SDK Capabilities to Support Samsung and LG TVs
NEW YORK The global body that sets technical standards for digital advertising h...
31/05/2024
Study: Max, Apple TV+ Have Fewest 'Committed Customers'
In a new analysis of what services might make up a good bundle and what services might benefit the most from bundling, Antenna has released new data that highli...
31/05/2024
Report: Older SVOD Subscribers Unfazed by Price Hikes Will Drive Revenue Growth
Global SVOD revenues will increase by $116.6 billion by 2031, a growth rate of 13.3% per year over the next eight years, according to a new report from MIDiA Re...
31/05/2024
FCC Media Bureau Incorporates 2020 Census Data into TVStudy Software
WASHINGTON, D.C. The FCC Media Bureau has announced that effective August 1, 2024 the Commission's TVStudy software will incorporate the most recent U.S. Ce...
31/05/2024
NBCU's FAST Channel TNBC to Rebrand as NBC Comedy Vault
NBCUniversal has announced that its FAST channel TNBC will be rebranding to NBC Comedy Vault on June 1 and that the free streaming service will officially launc...
31/05/2024
TVRI Taps Ateme for Transition to 4K UHD OTT Streaming
PARIS Ateme has announced that the Indonesian public broadcaster TVRI is making the transition to 4K UHD OTT streaming using Ateme technologies....
31/05/2024
Marlow Film Studios considering next steps' as council blocks plans
The proposal had received support from James Cameron, Andy Serkis, Paul Greengrass, Richard Curtis, and Jeremy Irons By Matthew Corrigan Published: May 31, 2...
31/05/2024
Skydance submits new Paramount Global bid, Sony talks still progressing'
According to multiple reports, the new bid from Skydance offers a better deal to Paramounts Class B shareholders, who were said to be unhappy with the companys ...
31/05/2024
2024 Rise Awards open for entries
The awards recognise women and companies who are stand-out performers, innovators and leaders in the broadcast media technology industry By Matthew Corrigan ...
31/05/2024
Samsung, LG Adopt IAB Software Kit for CTV Ad Measurement
NEW YORK The global body that sets technical standards for digital advertising has expanded the reach of its measurement software development kit to include Sam...
31/05/2024
The Old Investment Cycles of Broadcast Technology are Being Run Over'
The rise of digital platforms is fundamentally changing the broadcast newsroom and its investment in technology according to Jon Roberts, director of technology...
31/05/2024
Study: Max, Apple TV Have Fewest 'Committed Customers'
In a new analysis of what services might make up a good bundle and what services might benefit the most from bundling, Antenna has released new data that highli...
31/05/2024
State Broadcasters Urge Passage of Broadcast VOICES Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. Fifty state broadcasters associations, including the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, have sent a letter to Congressio...
31/05/2024
EVS Names Richard Katz SVP Operations for NALA region
EVS has announced the appointment of Richard Katz as senior vice president of operations for the North and Latin American (NALA) region. This appointment is par...
31/05/2024
CommScope to Buy Cable Business Assets of Casa Systems for $45.1M
CommScope has announced that it was selected by Casa Systems, Inc. as the highest to acquire Casa's cable business assets and that the two companies have en...
31/05/2024
NAB Withdraws De Niro's Service Award
Robert De Niro won't be receiving the Service to America Leadership Award from the NAB Leadership Foundation after all....
31/05/2024
Viant Integrates With Google Cloud's BigQuery Clean Rooms
Viant Technology said it formed an integration with Google Cloud's BigQuery data clean rooms...
31/05/2024
The CW To Broadcast Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
The CW said it will broadcast the 2024 Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop Last year, The CW aired the game when it was called Bar...
31/05/2024
Allen Media Makes Carriage Deal With Amazon Fire Channels
Allen Media Group said it made a deal with Amazon's Fire TV Channel that will make content from several of Allen's outlet available via Fire TV and Echo...
31/05/2024
Robert De Niro Will Not Receive Service to America Award
Robert De Niro, announced as the winner of the NAB's Leadership Foundation's Service to America Leadership Award on May 28, will not get the award. The ...
31/05/2024
Comcast Technology Solutions To Manage Channels for AccuWeather
Comcast Technology Solutions was selected by AccuWeather to create, manage and distribute linear and over-the-top video channels....
31/05/2024
Attention to Connected TV Ads Grew in Q1, TVision Study Finds
Connected TV is becoming a bigger deal for consumers and advertisers, according to a new report from TVision....
31/05/2024
A Guitar Solo Trick You've Never Heard Before
By Craig Anderton Let's get right to what this sounds like. It's not quite feedback or tape reverse, it's well, listen to what it does in this blue...
31/05/2024
VEON discloses April YTD trading update at its AGM
31 May 2024 VEON discloses April YTD trading update at its AGM Amsterdam, 31 May 2024 07:00 CEST - VEON April YTD 2024 Highlights Total revenue of USD 1,278 ...
31/05/2024
VEON Announces Its New Board, Names Founder Augie Fabela as Chairman
31 May 2024 VEON Announces Its New Board, Names Founder Augie Fabela as Chairman Amsterdam, 31 May 2024, 16.00 CET: VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON, Euronext Amsterdam...
31/05/2024
Tribeca Festival and Open AI Announce Sora Shorts
May 31st, 2024 TRIBECA FESTIVAL AND OPEN AI ANNOUNCE SORA SHORTS' Five Commissioned Short Films Created Using Sora Debut at 2024 Tribeca Festival New ...
31/05/2024
In-Venue Technology Wrap-Up: How 4K, IP, and More are Changing the Game Pres Game
In-Venue Technology Wrap-Up: How 4K, IP, and More are Changing the Game Pres Gam...
31/05/2024
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: The Facts and Figures Behind This Weekend's Knockout Between Real Madrid CF and Borussia Dortmund
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: The host broadcast facts and figures for Real ...
31/05/2024
UEFA Europa Conference League Final 2024: Bringing the Broadcast to Global TV Screens With the Production Facts
UEFA Europa Conference League Final 2024: Bringing the broadcast to global TV sc...
31/05/2024
Willow Offers Free 2024 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Preview via DirecTV, Verizon, Optimum
Willow Offers Free 2024 ICC T20 Cricket World Cup Preview via DirecTV, Verizon, ...
31/05/2024
Women's College World Series: ESPN Brings Live Drone, Two-Point Cabled, and Cinematic On-Field Cameras to Oklahoma City
Women's College World Series: ESPN Brings Live Drone, Two-Point Cabled, and ...
31/05/2024
SVG College Summit Brings Video-Production Industry Together in Atlanta in the Midst of Unprecedented Change
SVG College Summit Brings Video-Production Industry Together in Atlanta in the M...
31/05/2024
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: CBS Sports' UCL Today Studio Show Is Pitchside at Wembley Stadium
UEFA Champions League Final 2024: CBS Sports' UCL Today Studio Show Is Pitch...
31/05/2024
Master of the House' Unveils a Scandalous Tale of Power and Greed on July 18
Back to All News Master of the House' Unveils a Scandalous Tale of Power and Greed on July 18 Entertainment 31 May 2024 GlobalThailand Link copied to ...
31/05/2024
JEEtu Bhaiya is Back: Kota Factory' Season 3 Arrives on Netflix June 20
Back to All News JEEtu Bhaiya is Back: Kota Factory' Season 3 Arrives on Netflix June 20 Entertainment 31 May 2024 GlobalIndia Link copied to clipboar...
31/05/2024
Thales has completed the sale of its Ground Transportation Systems business
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn With around 9,000 employees, Ground Transportation Systems is a global leader in Rail Signaling and Train Control Systems, Telec...
31/05/2024
RT 2FM is the home of music this summer
RT 2FM is the home of music this summer, entertaining listeners across the day and night, with the best music, chat and interviews providing the soundtrack to ...
31/05/2024
NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchip Accelerates Murex MX.3 Analytics Performance, Reduces Power Consumption
After the 2008 financial crisis and increased risk-management regulations that f...
31/05/2024
RT Supporting the Arts: What's On this June
RT Supporting the Arts: What's On this June Watch our promo: RT Supporting the Arts | What's on YouTube This June, RT is delighted to support Lim...
30/05/2024
When to Upgrade Software or Firmware
When to Upgrade Software or Firmware This post is from our blog and news archive. The information may be out of date. Please contact us for further information ...