Mariam Nihal Saudi Gazette Hamad Malik, Chief Marketing Officer, OSN, discussed the TV network's vision, current plans and upcoming ventures. “OSN's vision is to continue to be the leading pay-TV network in the Middle East and North Africa providing the ultimate TV entertainment experience for viewers across the region. We have seen 20 percent overall growth in 2012 and 250 percent brand awareness growth in Saudi Arabia alone.” Malik expects higher growth by the end of the year as the brand continues to evolve bringing new technological innovations and a host of value-added services to customers. September saw the launch of OSN Plus HD – a new set top box which offers a whole new world of entertainment at the touch of a button. OSN Plus HD is the region's first 3D, HD, Internet enabled satellite receiver and recorder providing instant access to thousands of hours of On Demand content. OSN offers a line-up of nearly 100 channels across several genres - movies, top rated series, sports, documentaries, news, kid's entertainment and live talk shows. OSN offers the highest number of HD channels across the region. “Last month we saw the addition of two more channels bringing our total HD bouquet to 30 channels,” said Malik. Saudi Gazette: What does OSN plan to achieve through its new initiative ‘OSN Privileges'? Malik: OSN Privileges was launched with the objective of rewarding subscribers for their loyalty to the brand. All our strategies and initiatives follow a customer-centric approach and through OSN Privileges, we are able to provide our viewers with even more value, benefit and enjoyment from their subscription. The program ties-in with one of our key objectives to build the brand across the region and with more customer engagement and more value for the customer, we are confident that we will see an increase in subscriptions and a reduction in churn. Saudi Gazette: How has the response been for OSN Privileges in the Kingdom? Malik: OSN Privileges was launch on Sept. 9 and in the first few hours of its launch, thousands of OSN subscribers logged on to the OSN Privileges website to enter prize draws and redeem partner benefits. We received an overwhelming response to the program and customers from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ranked the highest numbers of vouchers printed and draws entered. Saudi Gazette: How does OSN make the viewing experience richer and even more enjoyable for its existing customers and new viewers? Why should any household in the country choose OSN? Malik: The customer is at the core of everything we do and we ensure right from the time you purchase an OSN subscription to installation to service, we provide our viewers the ultimate TV viewing experience. Earlier this year we launched OSN Play, the regions first online TV platform which allows subscribers to watch OSN on a computer, laptop or tablet PC. This service is absolutely free for OSN subscribers and gives viewers the convenience of watching what they want anytime, anywhere. The coming months will see an even further expansion of OSN Play on more devices. At present, Saudi Arabia ranks highest in terms of OSN Play subscriptions and viewership indicating Saudi customers' preference to consume TV on multiple devices. Being a pay-TV platform our model differs from free-to-air channels that earn their revenues through advertisements. OSN viewers enjoy latest movies uncut and uninterrupted with the choice to choose from over 100 movie premieres each month. Last but definitely not the least, delivering great service across the region to bring our viewers the entertainment and technology they love is our main priority and in-line with our mission to be the number one customer service team that provides the best customer care. OSN recently bagged two prestigious awards at the 2012 Middle East Call Centre awards for its pioneering service standards and also won the Best Media and Marketing Company Award at the annual Gulf Industry Business Awards held last week. Saudi Gazette: What did you add exclusively for Saudi viewers? Malik: Saudi Arabia is one of OSN's most important markets that has witnessed continued growth in subscriber numbers. Like most customers, our Saudi viewers want more value from their subscription and through services such as OSN Play and our On Demand service we are able to deliver on these. OSN Privileges provides something extra providing money-can't-buy experiences and exclusive local retail and partner benefits in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Gazette: When you mentioned it is absolutely free to be a member of OSN Privileges, is there no price of subscription to this scheme? Malik: There is no subscription fee to be an OSN Privileges member. If you are an OSN subscriber, you're automatically eligible – there are no costs or hidden fees at all. All the subscriber needs to do is register at www.osn.com/privileges. Saudi Gazette: Why did you launch this favorable scheme in September? What is the relevance of this time of the year to OSN? Malik: OSN Privileges is the culmination of 10 month of research, analysis and development of the programme. We wanted to make sure we had ticked all the boxes before the launch so the experience for the customer is seamless. September just happened to be the month when we were ready for the launch and it made sense to go live after the Eid holidays. Saudi Gazette: What is next for OSN? Malik: We have several plans in the pipeline for the coming months including the expansion of the OSN Play platform as well as exciting news in terms of our channel line-up which will be announced in due course.
