ABSTRACT
When MTV first went international, it aired the same videos it used in the United States. In Europe, this strategy worked well in attracting the top 200 largest pan-European advertisers. But to reach other advertisers, MTV had to adopt a more national approach, tailoring music and programming to local tastes and languages. However, over time the rising costs of production ($200,000-$350,000 per half-hour episode) caused MTV to reevaluate its original strategy. Now local subsidiaries are encouraged to create products that will play across regions or even globally. 1 Thus global firms must constantly balance the unique needs of national markets with global imperatives.
