MTV chiefs axed in Singapore

MTV Networks opts for another big operational revamp with MTV India and MTV Japan, reports Gurbir Singh.

Barely four months after a major pan-Asia restructuring, MTV Networks has opted for another big operational revamp with MTV India and MTV Japan now reporting to its international headquarters in London. The restructuring comes with another major staff cutback, soon after the broadcasting network shed 84 persons at its Singapore office in October last.

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An MTV spokesperson confirmed that the Singapore-based Stephen Tan, COO and officiating head of MTV's Asia operations, had quit but was continuing till alternative arrangements were made. The network's chief financial officer (CFO) Mark Glazier has also put in his papers, the spokesperson confirmed. After MTV's former president Nigel Robbins abruptly quit last October, Stephen Tan has been heading the company's Asia operations.

Justifying the new changes, a spokesperson said India was a prominent market in MTV's operations, and it was found necessary to bring it directly under the company's international headquarters in London. Operations in other Asian markets, with the exception of Japan, would be guided from Singapore, he added.

There is no clarity on numbers in the current round of staff cutbacks. The replacements for the COO Stephen Tan and CFO Mark Glazier are yet to be found.

After the last round of retrenchment, Singapore was left with a corporate core of just 18 personnel. Contracts that ended were also not renewed.