NBCU’s Jeff Shell Emphasizes Need for International Growth

HONG KONG: Quality content, access to capital and its parent company’s distribution prowess will be the keys to increasing NBCUniversal’s revenues from outside the U.S., which currently stand at just 8 percent, Jeff Shell said at CASBAA in Hong Kong today.

Shell, the president of NBCUniversal International, said, "We have to get bigger globally" in his session that opened the second day of CASBAA. "Internationally we are undersized. We know we need to get bigger internationally or we’ll be competitively disadvantaged. The challenge we’ve been given is to be methodical about it, patient about it, but use the resources we have as a company…to find a smart path to get bigger internationally."

Working in the company’s favor, said Shell, are three factors. One is capital, thanks to new owners Comcast. "Our U.S. distribution business churns out a lot of cash, and that gives us the capital to do things. We’re a disciplined company, so we can spend that cash smartly." The second factor, he said, is good content, both from the U.S. and increasingly from around the world. "And then the real important thing we have is we are a platform company. We don’t just make content, our heritage is distribution. In the U.S., Comcast has taken on the telcos and been very successful in that battle. The tools of that battle, the technology, the platform, the ability to access content on different devices, is a capability we can marry with our content and be successful globally."

Shell stressed the company’s belief in the health of the pay-television subscription model. "What’s great about pay television is it gives you this economic proposition that makes everybody money." DVRs and HD, Shell said, will drive pay-TV penetration in emerging markets. In an era of connected TVs, Shell continued, "EPGs are going to become more important."

Asked about why NBCUniversal is the only major media company that is not invested in India, Shell said, "Every market in the world is like algebra and India is like calculus," adding that India is "more interesting and exciting" than any other market he’s encountered, with an "incredible heritage of entertainment" and a booming middle class. "We need to find a way to get bigger in India. We’re talking to a lot of people, trying to understand the market. We know we need to have a significant business in India. The flip side is we want to be patient. The ground there is scattered with the wreckages of lots of other Indian media strategies." The key, he said, is to have "the right partner, the right strategy and the right timing."