Improving Competitiveness of KION Streaming Service through Functional Strategies Development

This paper examines functional strategies for increasing the competitiveness of the KION VOD (OTT) streaming service in a complex context: various aspects of the business model, the highly competitive market for VOD (OTT) streaming services and ecosystems are analyzed, the system of stakeholders is studied, including the strategic goals and resources of the parent company MTS, the MTS ecosystem and its goals, as well as the structure of MTS Media, which includes KION. Main growth driver of VOD streaming services – production of “Originals” (shows developed, produced and originally released by the network) has been statistically analyzed with use of an independently compiled database, based on public sources. A number of interviews were conducted with KION producers. Reliance on the MTS user base, strategic partnerships with Channel One Russia and NTV, and the simultaneous launch of the first KION Original projects, which were in development since 2019, helped KION quickly become one of the top 7 companies on the market. However, the goal of becoming one of top-3 streaming services in terms of the number of subscribers set by the MTS shareholders, as well as the goal of attracting a larger share of young people, is complicated by the fact that users of MTS and partner TV channels are an older audience. A management problem that hinders the growth of KION’s competitiveness is the low differentiation of its value proposition in comparison to its competitors. When building a competitive strategy according to Michael Porter, it was revealed that KION needs a transition from a state of “in the middle” to differentiation. The key success factors of KION have been identified - inclusion in the MTS ecosystem and the “event” format of Originals. Increasing KION's competitiveness lies in the platform's transition to creating transmedia franchises - KION Originals projects, which are continued in the form of stories told in the form of music, novelizations, events and shows, and other collaborations between ecosystem products. Functional strategies for HR and operations provide a step-by-step plan for implementing specific initiatives, as well as approaches to measuring their results. The proposed recommendations will allow KION to create a unique selling proposition that combines access to telecom services, high ecosystem synergies and a strong direction of franchised Originals. In this way, the company will be able to quickly achieve growth in the share of subscribers in the market, provide the MTS ecosystem with a strong brand, attract young audiences and become the most important source of content events for other parts of the MTS ecosystem.