Jim Hytner's appointment as the marketing and communications
director of Channel 5 caused a few exclamations and furrowed brows. Not because he isn’t up to the job. As Sky’s marketing director, he’s got bags of experience so there’s actually some concern that he is, perhaps, too big for the job.
Why leave Sky, a channel whose budgets dwarf that of Channel 5, when the sexiest part - the launch - has already been done, and the tough bit -
sustaining and building audiences - is still to come? After all, Channel
5, which launched in March, is no longer such a new kid on the block nor
is it the darling of ITV’s knockers. One media head describes the move
as ’a bit like moving from the Premier League to the Beazer Homes
League’.
Hytner, however, sees his new job as a ’fantastic opportunity’ and
almost licks his lips with relish as he talks about it. Explaining why
it is potentially better than his present post, he says: ’The job here
is fantastic, but is focused on advertising and distribution, and will
continue to be.
The job at Channel 5 is broader - publicity, PR, creative services,
strategic planning - it’s a team of 50. I have a team of six at
Sky.’
Hytner, a diminutive dynamo, is also is getting closer to his ambition
of heading his own TV channel. ’I’m 33 and it’s time to move up a
gear.
I am now taking on responsibilities of a board member and seeing things
in a different light. I would love to run a TV station, but that’s years
off. Without wishing to sound like a media luvvie, I’ve got the bug for
working in TV. I don’t want to leave the broadcasting arena. There will
be endless opportunities in the future, and this job is another step
towards that.’
Ambition is perhaps not the only thing that lured Hytner away from Sky
to Channel 5. There’s talk in the media industry that, after the
departure of his mentor, Sam Chisholm, the former chief executive of
Sky, along with the de-puty managing director, David Chance, Hytner
became increasingly unhappy with Chisholm’s replacement, Mark Booth, and
Elisabeth Murdoch, Sky’s director of programmes and general manager of
broadcasting.
From working in an atmosphere where Chisholm let his golden boy get on
with developing marketing strategy, Booth, unable to interfere with the
workings of Rupert Murdoch’s daughter, wanted to become more involved on
the marketing side - an intrusion which Hytner may not have
appreciated.
Hytner, however, insists he got on well with the new establishment. ’I
signed a new three-year contract six months ago, so there’s no question
of me not suiting the new regime.’
Hytner has enjoyed a rapid ascent up the career ladder, motivated,
perhaps, by the success of his older siblings; his brother Nick directed
the Madness of King George, and Richard, ex-chairman of the Henley
Centre, is chief executive of Publicis. When Hytner discovered that his
initial efforts to get into hotel and catering management interfered
with his attendance of Manchester United matches, he decided to take up
a trainee post at General Foods. Within a year, he was made associate
brand manager and, two years later, was poached by Coca-Cola as group
marketing manager.
Hytner is a pleasant character, but there’s a steely side when it comes
to business. Fiona Smedley, the joint managing director of Universal
McCann, explains: ’He’s extremely demanding and doesn’t suffer fools
gladly. He can be sharp, but not in a vicious way. There’s a mixture of
boyish charm and a deadly results-orientated business side. He can flip
between the two. He’s quite mercurial in the way he does that.’
For David Elstein, the chief executive of Channel 5, Hytner was the
obvious man for the marketing post and essential for building the
station’s audience.
’He’s got very good all-round marketing skills. In many ways, you could
argue that he has greater depth of experience than David Brook (Hytner’s
predecessor at Channel 5), particularly in TV. David’s experience was
firmly in newspapers. The major asset for Channel 5 is that Jim has got
a wide experience of distribution issues and a big chunk of Channel 5’s
business is to build penetration.’
Within the coming year, Channel 5 needs to boost its present reach of 68
per cent of all homes by driving aerial and satellite dish sales. Nick
Milligan, Channel 5’s sales director, says: ’We’ve got to reach another
two million homes by the end of 1998. For a man who’s sold dishes,
Channel 5 is the only terrestrial channel on satellite and we are free.
Every dish sold outside the aerial footprint is another customer.’
One of the few criticisms levelled at Hytner is that he can be too
sensitive, although not so oversensitive that he couldn’t cope with
Chisholm’s infamous fits of fury. He admits: ’It’s very important for me
to work around the right people, especially having worked with David
Chance and Sam Chisholm, who are inspirational. David, Nick and Dawn
(Airey, C5’s director of programming) are so driven, the same way as me,
and that drive is infectious.’
Sky has been known as the client from hell in terms of its demands on
advertising agencies, working its way steadily through a number of
creative shops. When Hytner became marketing director in 1994, he stuck
with the Design Clinic, which accepted his constant involvement, even to
the point of carrying through his campaign ideas, which have proved
successful.
The recent ’ready to watch’ press campaign in women’s glossies,
featuring couture designers interpreting Sky films through their
creations, was Hytner’s idea as he sought to broaden Sky’s appeal to
female audiences.
It is unlikely that Hytner will change this hands-on approach to
advertising, although he’s at pains to point out it will be ’in a
motivating way, not an interfering way’. This raises certain questions.
Will Hytner continue with the ’virtual team 5’ agency Brook created for
the TV channel’s advertising?
Will the new-wave team at Mother and the fast-talking boys at
Michaelides & Bednash be able to co-exist with someone who has very
strong ideas of his own? Will Hytner call a review?
These questions are answered by Hytner diplomatically. ’If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it. I won’t do anything for a while, but I already have
ideas about how we should meet our goals. I won’t make changes for my
ego’s sake. Obviously, David Elstein has employed me because I have
ideas and a way of doing things, especially in broadcast marketing. I
won’t go over there and inform them that I will do things the Sky way;
at the same time, I won’t adhere to the status quo by agreeing with all
and sundry.’
Hytner is typically cautious about revealing his plans for Channel 5
before joining but, after much coaxing, reveals: ’I would like to think
the marketing department will have input into programming strategy and
be there to improve Nick Milligan’s sell to the market. This job will
not be just about advertising - it’s about direct marketing and
presentation on-air. Event-led marketing seems to be an effective
approach with limited budgets.’
After keeping a relatively low profile at Sky, Hytner seems keen to
court the public eye at Channel 5. ’I like working with companies that
are seen as public property. It’s far more exciting to work for a
company which invites criticism and praise than one that doesn’t invite
attention at all. There’s no question that people aren’t indifferent to
Channel 5.’
Hytner’s a strong public speaker and not averse to entertaining the
troops - this week, he’s donning top hat and tails to perform a
self-composed song and dance routine at Chisholm’s farewell bash. The
best way to lure him onto the dance floor, according to Smedley, is to
put on some 70s music, then it’s move over John Travolta.
So what won’t Hytner miss about Sky? ’I’ll least miss trying to
understand what Peter Shea (Sky’s director of sales) is saying at 1am in
Langan’s.’
