Using KPIs for betterment of a TV Stations" Performance

Using KPIs for betterment of a TV Stations" Performance

TV stations are the broadcast centers that bring audio and visual transmission before their viewers. However, the scope of their functions is not limited to this aspect. Many of these develop their own content or carry out their own newscast with the teams of journalists and reporters working 24x7 in keeping the receivers updated of the latest happenings. The timeliness of tasks is one of the "valuable" intangible assets in this industry. The other prominent one being the quality of audio and video signals provided to the receivers.

One must note that with technology (more precisely, the internet) having already crept into almost all areas, face of the way the TV stations work too has undergone a sea change. There can be several relay stations for a given TV station; which adds to the already complex nature of the process. One is required to not only manage all the aspects in a seamless manner but also take them ahead, that too in a simultaneous and concurrent way.

A possible solution to address all these problems that may be prevalent in such organizations is "BSC" i.e. Balanced Scorecard. The most visible advantage of this performance management device is to strike a balance between long-term and short-term goals of the group. However, there are deep-seated benefits too, which emerge once the technique in brought into operations. One of these is the better communication among the employees and with the employees from the top-level management so as to what will take the team ahead. This is due to the "quantitative" and "balanced" nature of this tool. Any number of perspectives can be put down, with appropriate number of indicators under them. For instance, one can use categories like Financial Perspective, Process perspective, Growth perspective and Transmission and broadcasting Perspective. Financial health can be had from operating revenues, Broad cast Cash Flow Rise, Fraction of reporting units that show profit and Operating expenses . Process can be evaluated via KP

Is like % increase in number of receivers, number of LPTV stations, VHF to UHF ratio. Growth can be obtained using indicators such as Spectrum Expansion Index, Analog: Digital Conversion rate and Top TRP channels Ratio. Transmission and Broad casting Perspective can be obtained with parameters number of workers, Power of Transmitters, Viewers" and Listeners" Ratings.

It is observed that both Financial and non- financial dimensions have been employed. This approach, therefore overcomes the difficulty one encounters when efforts are made to pull "lagging indicators" (Financial parameters) without paying equal attention to the "lagging" (non-financial parameters) counterpart.

Stating in a nut shell, KPIs make the teams "performance oriented"; thereby increasing the chances of their attempts being counted in the organizational success. For instance, Listeners" and Viewers" ratings act as direct reflectors of the way organization is perceived by the receivers.