John Martin, Turner’s global chairman and CEO, set out an ambitious growth mandate during his keynote interview at APOS 2015, seeking to transform the broadcaster’s top and bottom line in Asia by taking on more risk while exploring new ways to work with local players.

“With proper execution in every single country here, we should be doubling our profit in the next five years,” Martin announced.

“But we have to be aggressive, we have to work and understand better with what our partners know, we have to understand what our own competencies are, and we have to be willing to put capital at risk,” he added.

“That can be through organic investment, it could be through investing as partners with local players, or it could be through selective M&A.”

After paring down costs as part of a big global reorganization last year, Martin feels that future earnings momentum needs to come largely from revenue growth.

This will come through continued development of core channel brands such as Cartoon Network and CNN, while introducing more localized, regional offerings into the portfolio.

“We have big growth ambitions all over the world, but our international growth has to be very significant for Turner to be successful over the next five to ten years,” Martin said.

A Greater Range

Turner’s business outside North and Latin America remains heavily focused on news and kids, but Martin also wants to cultivate an emerging suite of entertainment brands in the rest of the world.

In Asia, Turner now includes two regional entertainment offerings in its portfolio: a recently revamped WarnerTV, after inheriting the channel from sister company HBO last year; and Oh!K, a bespoke offering created on the back of a long-term output deal with Korean broadcaster, MBC.

“Entertainment is one area where we have to be selective,” Martin said. “But we have a new-found ambition, along with the willingness to make investments, to look at localizing content that we think can resonate with local audiences.”

A notable example is Turner’s entry into the documentary space in Asia, launching the World Heritage Channel last month in response to operator demands for more factual content, after incumbent providers incorporated more entertainment elements into their programming.

Initially, World Heritage Channel will rely on acquired content for its programming, adding local productions in the medium term should it gain market traction.

It’s not an entirely greenfield venture for Turner, Martin noted, comparing its approach with Turner’s own repositioning of iconic news brand, CNN.

“I think it’s something we know how to do, and we have the internal experience through storytelling at CNN,” he said.

“We hope it will meet a need that’s currently not being served. In the US, CNN has moved into scripted series during primetime with a big focus on dramas and films and a different kind of storytelling. It’s resonating with audiences very well.”

New life for franchises

Martin also singled out Turner’s licensing and merchandizing (L&M) business as an underexploited revenue line that should be three or four times bigger than it is today.

The company has overhauled its consumer products strategy, focusing efforts on fewer properties, including some that have been revived to capitalize on their merchandizing potential.

“L&M is an enormous opportunity that is in virtually every country in Asia, including China, where I think we have the ability to leverage our franchises,” Martin said.

“We’ve actively identified a finite number of franchises that we think really have L&M opportunities,” he added. “I think in the past we have been very fragmented and haven’t been organized well.”

Turner is ready to spend and move on relevant opportunities, Martin declared, whether it’s in consumer products, co-developing new brands with international partners, or exploring new revenue streams around OTT.

While Turner has amassed plenty of scale and leverage at home in the US, the company will continue to scout for M&A options overseas, while maintaining investment in programming and brands across the board.

“Right now, consumers have zero tolerance for mediocre experiences, whether it’s in the user interface or a connection or a program,” Martin said.

“From a platform distribution standpoint, the overall experience has to get better; there has to be innovation, there has to be improvement in the overall user experiences,” he added.

“For programmers like Turner, it means we have to build our formidable brands and make significant investments, to make sure we can rise above the clutter and stay relevant.”