KOGULAN PILLAY

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategy planning to initiate a completely local production (country focused) content that caters on delivering coming of age content for millennial to Gen Alpha.
• Collaborate with the Tech & Platform Building team on developing the interface of the CNEEMAA App from the Initial stage to the rollout of the App
• Initiate & negotiate with the content rights holder in India to purchase some of the sought-after new titles as well as the classic gems.
• Lead the marketing team in planning and dissemination of the CNEEMAA application to ensure branding & subscriber penetration of the target market.

KEY RESULTS

• CNEEMAA has gained a steady stream of subscription which now stands at 50,000.
• Keris Media Networks locally developed content such as Enekke Vaa, Pettikulle Enna, Pei Vettai, Azhaghin Azhaghi, Kalvanai Kandupidi, Manmadha Bullet for Astro has gained an average viewership of more that 500K and has also been nominated & won the Anugerah Seri Angkasa & Ulagam Awards.
• Working on collaborating with some of the most prominent Film Makers & Studios from India by incorporating local talents for upcoming new web series and Original Content for CNEEMAA.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Facilitated the development and finalisation of annual business plans and budgets for Premium Content to achieve strategic business objectives.
• Initiated and finalised local content production tailored to meet the expectations of various audience segments.
• Led the process for acquisition of third-party premium content including negotiation and procurement with production houses/content providers.
• Set up focus groups covering market research, acquisition, marketing, promotion, content management and led successful launches of new channels, packages and programmes.
• Worked closely with internal and external stakeholders i.e channel and content suppliers to upgrade premium content offerings as well as to initiate new collaborations.

KEY RESULTS

• Managed all aspects of acquisition, grand launch, social media/content marketing, promotion & content management for launch of unique channels – Colors HD (Hindi), Colors Tamil HD & Thangathirai HD – on Astro platforms.
• Led the successful launch of Astro Vinmeen HD – the first ever true Tamil HD channel in the world – and increased subscriptions among Malaysian Indian Subscribers to 80% within 3 months of the launch.
• Successfully negotiated distribution of Vinmeen HD to countries with high density of Indian diaspora, especially Sri Lanka, South Africa, Europe, UK, USA, Canada, Australia & New Zealand.
• Led the successful launch of the Mustika package comprising of Zee TV, B4U and Mustika channels and achieved nearly 90% subscription among Malay audiences within 3 months of launch.
• Securing notable brands as advertisers for locally produced content that generated revenues of more than MYR 100 million.
• South Indian International Movie Awards (SIIMA Awards) – reputed to be the biggest award show for South Indian cinema.
• Partnered with the organisers and managed live coverage event held in Kuala Lumpur on the Astro First SVOD platform and garnered nearly 800K subscriptions.
• Grand Finale of International Superstar: initiated, negotiated & sealed the deal to telecast the grand finale of the most popular local Malaysian singing competition in 27 countries including USA, Canada, Europe, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia & New Zealand and became the first Astro show to transcend Astro platforms and reached millions around the globe.
• Lobbied & secured 2 awards – the Best Musical Entertainer & the Best TV Promo – at the Anugerah Seri Angkasa, the prestigious national media awards from the Information Ministry as well as international recognition as the Best International Dance Show at the Edison Awards.
• Pioneered the production of Tamil movies through the company’s production house – Tayangan Unggul including:
• Appalam (the first locally produced Tamil movie, which collected MYR +600K, which was the highest collection for a locally produced Tamil movie in 2011) and Maindhan which was the locally produced Tamil movie with the highest collection generating over MYR 1 million in 2014.
• Vedigundu Passange – a Tamil movie produced in Malaysia: initiated, negotiated & sealed a deal to partner with the producers of the movie which became the local Tamil movie with the highest box office collection to date.
• The movie produced with a budget of MYR 150K earned the highest theatre collections of MYR 1.3 million and won several national and international awards including the Special Jury Award at the 30th Malaysia Film Festival.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinated the planning of specific content for local & international channels, including brainstorming sessions with the production team to finalize the production slate.
• Worked with the production team on both the pre-production i.e content, script, casting of artistes, set building, location, equipment – as well as post-production deliverables such as editing & dubbing.
• Conceptualized, produced & directed several successful shows in various genres, delivering content meeting audience expectations
• Liaised with the marketing & promotional team to facilitate 360 degree promotions of all major content offerings of the channel

KEY RESULTS

• Negotiated & acquired several popular new Indian movies fresh out of theatres (less than 3 months) to premiere on Astro First – the newly launched SVOD platform.
• The first batch of movies delivered on the platform received cumulative subscriptions of over 100K, setting an all-time record and provided a sustainable substantial revenue stream to Astro.
• Set up & managed a focus group dealing with market research, acquisition, marketing, promotion & content management for the grand launch of the Maharaja package comprising of Sun TV, Sun Music, Adithya TV & Chutti TV and achieved nearly 98% subscriptions among Malaysian Indians within 3 months of launch.
• Vizhuthugal – the first ever daily talk show which became an instant hit with the audience, achieving consistent ratings for a continuous long running show; also the first Astro show recognized by the Malaysia Book of Records with the ranking as the Longest Running Talk Show.
• Aatam 100 Vagai – the first ever free style group dance competition which was packaged as a highly creative & innovative new age dance competition.
• The show achieved highest ratings from its premiere and won Malaysia's national award like Anugerah Seri Angkasa and international recognitions including Edison Awards.
• Vaanavil Paadal Thiran Potti – first ever singing competition which became highly successful over multiple seasons and won awards including Anugerah Seri Angkasa & Edison Awards.