DIGITAL MEDIA
Content for the Masses
Avail-TVN's RAMU POTARAZU pilots the stealth company that brings you what you want to watch
{SHERMAN OAKS, CA}
By Paul Kleiman
Every time you watch TV, the Internet, or iPad entertainment, it is likely Avail-TVN had something to do with it.
If Avail-TVN were in energy, they'd own tankers and pipelines to deliver oil from producers to distributors. But not just oil. Solar, water, wind, and biodiesel . . . That's how important Avail-TVN is in the digital entertainment chain, despite being practically invisible to the consumer.
And Avail-TVN doesn't just move entertainment, they have a hand in formatting; managing and distributing content to more than 60 million television and broadband households; data reporting; royalties processing; encoding; marketing support; ad insertion and other services. By both delivering content to their customers (for example, most cable companies, large and small) and servicing the needs of that industry, Avail-TVN has found a niche through its relationships with content providers such as film and television studios, to deliver more than 16,000 hours of Video on Demand content and more than 350 linear TV channels to service providers of all types.
Good to Great by Jim Collins (Harper, 2001) identifies characteristics of a great "Level 5" corporate leader as a catalyst of great results, does what is necessary to succeed, and models behaviors and standards he or she expects from colleagues with humility and selflessness. He's quick to credit others for the company's successes while taking the blame for its failures or shortcomings.
Ramu Potarazu, CEO of Avail-TVN, is Level 5. But right now there seems to be few shortcomings. After two decades at satellite behemoth Intelsat, ascending to president and COO, Potarazu's vision of combining four providers into one super-distributor, Avail-TVN, has succeeded in creating the largest digital service provider in North America, a $200 million company generating positive cash flow. The State of California should be so lucky.
The company touts 220 employees, 160 in its offices in Burbank and Sherman Oaks alone, a key factor to Avail-TVN's continued relationships with the largest and most prolific producers and providers of entertainment.
Potarazu stresses teamwork, quick to point out that he's not doing this alone. "Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you," he says, "and empower them." He sees Avail-TVN as a "fast-moving environment . . . a dynamic space." Potarazu wants team members to take care of themselves and their families first in order to be able to give the proper focus and energy to the job at hand.
Potarazu sees room for Avail-TVN's growth in "greater support to content owners and service providers . . . to meet growing consumer demand for more content" as delivery systems continue to evolve, such as "'TV Everywhere' applications that bring content to connected devices other than the TV." Avail-TVN sees itself naturally growing into servicing these new technologies.
I asked Potarazu where he saw himself in 10 years, thinking this must be just a step, albeit a substantial one, for an ambitious, successful executive. Chapter two in his life's work.
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere," he responded. "This is my passion. We're only at second base." Again, an allusion to team, the team Potarazu believes will bring this vision home. And when he talks about it, he makes others believe, too. Ramu is like Joe Torre in a really nice suit.
