The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 567 Agreement
"Click."

In the conference room, the current director Ouyang Changlin closed the teacup in his hand, making a slight sound.

Everyone immediately shifted their attention from the script in front of them to him.

Ouyang Changlin said: "What do you think about this matter? Tell us."

As he spoke, he looked to both sides, and his gaze paused on the man with glasses who was at the first position on the left.

Mu Yong and Lu Yuan finished their lunch and immediately reported the matter to him.

Ouyang Changlin is a legendary figure with unique vision.

He took over the baton from the old station director Wei Wenbing and personally built a Hunan television army that was "hardworking, patient, and domineering."

This enabled Hunan TV to emerge as a dark horse in the satellite TV melee at the turn of the century, taking the lead and creating a 12-year-long satellite TV legend.

It promoted the variety show "Super Girl" to become popular across the country and won the mainland broadcasting rights for dramas such as "Dae Jang Geum" and "My Fair Princess".

In fact, he had big plans for film and television dramas at the beginning.

In 2007, a trilogy was released, including "The Young Comrades", "Bloody Xiangxi" and the highly anticipated "The Ming Dynasty 1566".

However, the highly acclaimed drama "Da Ming" suffered a Waterloo when it was broadcast, with terrible ratings and falling into the embarrassing situation of being too highbrow for the general public.

Then he became disheartened and realized that, screw the good production, all that matters from now on is the ratings.

Since then, Hunan Satellite TV has never looked back on the path of producing bad dramas.

Ouyang Changlin even personally organized such melodramatic dramas as "Ugly Betty" and "Let's Watch Meteor Shower Together". These dramas had a bad reputation, but had excellent ratings.

So Ouyang Changlin has a very sharp vision.

After reading the script outline of "My Love from the Star" handed to me by Mu Yong, I concluded that the quality and approach of this drama are quite good and it will be a hit.

Therefore, he convened an emergency meeting.

Heads of various department channels were present.

Among them are Hunan Satellite TV’s channel director Zhang Huali and the next candidate for director, Lv Huanbing.

Zhang Huali founded "Super Boy" in 03 and it became a huge hit in Hunan Province.

On this basis, Hunan Satellite TV launched a new IP "Super Girl" the following year, which became popular all over the country.

It was also he who planned and established Tianyu Media, creating the "platform + artist" joint star-making model, bundling artists, variety shows, film and television together to form a closed loop.

As for the man with glasses on the first left, he is the next director, Lu Huanbing.

The scene fell silent, most people lowered their heads silently, only a few frowned and thought.

Zhang Huali looked at everyone and spoke first, saying, "I admit that the script is novel, but I don't think it's necessary to agree to the so-called strategic cooperation because of this.

It sounds good, but it is nothing more than taking a fancy to the variety shows on satellite TV. At present, the content resources we have are actually the best and most core resources. Joining PPS will inevitably divert the TV station's ratings, which is not worth the loss. This is raising a tiger to cause trouble."

Mu Yong frowned: "The TV station market is shrinking, and everyone can see it. Look at how our ratings have dropped this year. If we don't do new media, we will be in dire straits sooner or later.

Our TV station was born in a difficult time, not in a wealthy family. We fought hard and grew up in the cracks. We gave up the immediate interests and did more long-term things. We were not afraid of making mistakes and dared to try and fail. This is the purpose that Hunan TV has believed in since its inception. "

He hopes to promote cooperation with PPS instead of just staying at the TV station and living off copyright revenue sharing.

Lu Huanbing naturally heard the hidden meaning of Mu Yong. Ouyang Changlin would retire at the end of the year, so he was the only one who could push forward this plan.

Ouyang Changlin did such an outstanding job during his reign that he felt so much pressure that he even became timid.

For example, he couldn't make up his mind whether to cooperate with PPS for a while, for fear of making mistakes.

Like most of his colleagues in TV stations, he has seen changes in the media ecology and communication landscape.

We have also seen the limitations of single media and the downward trend of the industry, and the defects of traditional media in the Internet era. Media gene transformation is imminent.

But what is the relationship between traditional media and new media? How to break through the cognitive bottleneck and transform traditional genes?
Should we build our own digital platform or acquire one from the market? Should the digital platform adopt a corporate system or a market mechanism?

Do they have the experience to build their own platform? Can they compete with those video companies that have been in the market for many years?

Not to mention Youku Tudou, iQiyi, Tencent and the like, PPS has hundreds of employees. It was founded in 2005 and has rich experience in the industry. It broadcast the 2010 CCTV Spring Festival Gala live, with more than 1800 million viewers on the night of the live broadcast, and the cumulative number of viewers has exceeded 8000 million.

PPS is a company that has fought hard battles, but it lacks follow-up funds and cannot afford top content.

If Hunan Satellite TV built its own platform, the restrictions of state-owned enterprises mean that they would not be able to spend money lavishly on top content.

Long-form TV dramas have always been Hunan TV’s weakness, and most of them are purchased on the market.

Is it possible to build your own platform relying solely on variety shows?

Moreover, Hunan Satellite TV’s dominant position in variety shows has been shaky under the impact of other satellite TV stations.

Or you can simply cooperate with other companies and become a shareholder.

These things cannot be decided in a short period of time. Neither he nor Ouyang Changlin can do it.

Zhang Huali argued: "Why don't we build our own, independent and self-controlled Internet media platform instead of cooperating with PPS?"

"Besides variety shows, what else do we have?" Mu Yong's view is similar to Lv Huanbing's. He refuted: "Nowadays, video websites have both variety shows and TV series, and rely on live broadcasts of various events to attract viewers. Can they rely on variety shows alone to conquer the world? Video websites must be comprehensive platforms."

Zhang Huali choked and continued, "PPS can provide high-quality TV series? Spend money to buy copyrights? Can the funds be compared with iQiyi or Tencent Video? If you really want to cooperate, why not find the other two?"

Mu Yong was speechless and looked very arrogant, but what he said made sense.

Zhang Huali pointed at the script on the table and continued, "And you just said that Lu Yuan didn't make it clear whether he would be the lead actor. If he doesn't star, whether the show will be a big hit or whether it can make a profit is another matter. What's the point of talking about this now?"

Mu Yong picked up the cup and took a sip. It wasn't that he couldn't argue, it was just that his mouth was dry.

Well, the main reason was that he wasn’t sure whether Lu Yuan would play the leading role. After all, what was the point of him acting in an idol drama with his status?
Zhang Huali is only the channel director, but he has an outstanding record and is also Ouyang Changlin's favorite.

Although he is the deputy director and also belongs to the Ouyang faction, when it comes to the ability to produce hits, no one can necessarily surpass him.

The two were close confidants and had quarreled many times during meetings, so no one was surprised.

The meeting room fell silent again.

Ouyang Changlin looked at the script in front of him, his mind racing. Mu Yong was not sure whether Lu Yuan would star in "My Love from the Star".

But he is 90% sure that the other party will.

The reason for throwing a smoke screen and not saying it clearly is to raise the price.

Lu Yuan is very clear about what starring in an idol drama means to the market, and he is also very clear about what Hunan Satellite TV is currently facing.

First of all, why does he star in idol dramas?
Ouyang Changlin believes that the answer is obvious, because PPS needs a grand opening, a ratings feast, to raise its banner.

For the young audience group based on video networks, no genre is more suitable than urban idol dramas.

He even reasonably suspected that one of the 1-2 dramas Lu Yuan mentioned at the Magnolia Awards ceremony was most likely a spy war drama.

By then, with a series of titles, such as 20 billion+ box office on the big screen, small screen Grand Slam, etc., such an actor at the top of the pyramid will come down to earth to star in the idol drama that is most despised by the industry.

There is no need for hype, this will be a natural topic that will surely make the entire Internet boil.

Netizens are curious about what kind of drama can make Lu Yuan "debase" himself like this, and their expectations are high.

At this time, bring out a signature spy drama.

The horrific ratings of "Insidious" and "Before Dawn" are still fresh in our memory.

Lu Yuan became the king of spy war dramas thanks to these two dramas.

Apart from TV stations, PPS is the only video website that broadcasts these two dramas exclusively on the Internet.

Compared with traditional satellite TV, the biggest advantage of video networks is that you can watch replays.

What will the scene be like by then?

How terrifying will the number of clicks be?
Ouyang Changlin's eyes were wandering, he was very curious, not knowing whether his guess was correct.

He looked at Lu Huanbing, believing that he could figure it out.

Lu Huanbing looked at him and understood.

He cleared his throat and said slowly, "How about this, we compromise. We must get My Love from the Star. There is no need to say more about this. We are the most suitable platform for broadcasting, but there is no need to invest in PPS. If we decide to build our own digital platform in the future, wouldn't that be aiding the enemy? But we can try another way."

Everyone was puzzled and looked at him.

Lu Huanbing continued, “Since it has been confirmed that the station will take back the online live broadcasts of variety shows such as Happy Camp and Day Day Up, why not make a deal with Lu Yuan?

Hunan TV will obtain the first round broadcasting rights of My Love from the Star. Based on the market share after the broadcast, when the market share reaches a certain stage, we will allow them to choose a variety show to be broadcasted exclusively on PPS at a lower price. How many variety shows they can get depends on their ability. The authorization period is, how about two years? "

Mu Yong glanced at Ouyang Changlin, and seeing that he had no objection, he stopped talking.

Three days later, in Mu Yong’s office.

Lu Yuan sat on the sofa and drank tea.

This was his third day in Hunan, during which he had many conversations.

Finally, an agreement was reached. First, "My Love from the Star" will be premiered on Hunan Satellite TV next year, and he must star in person.

In fact, after much deliberation, he has decided to act in this drama to get a good start for next year's PPS and also to ensure that his brother-in-law's game gets adequate publicity.

Since this is his first time acting in an urban idol drama, he must sell it at a good price.

The reason why he deliberately did not mention that he would be the leading actor was because through the conversation with Mu Yong in the cafeteria that day, he realized that the advertising bidding for Hunan Satellite TV in the second half of the year would be relatively difficult.

This is his chance.

Hunan Satellite TV’s ratings in the first half of 2012 were not good, and its position as the leader in variety shows is in jeopardy. Advertisers will be hesitant about the conversion effect next year and will be reluctant to pay the sponsorship fees.

If the new drama starring him is aired on Hunan Satellite TV, it will greatly ease the bidding pressure.

The market has proven time and again that every drama he stars in is a hit and advertisers are willing to spend money.

When "The Hidden Corner" was broadcast, the four major satellite TV stations rushed to broadcast it. Hunan Satellite TV only had two rounds of bidding, and its advertising revenue reached 5 million yuan. The total revenue of the four satellite TV stations was 15 billion yuan.

Later, "Before the Dawn", "Snow Leopard" and "The Unforgettable Number" broke the industry's perception time and time again, and the advertising revenue of each drama was astonishing.

As a result, he has become a popular god of wealth in the eyes of major satellite TV stations.

"Before the Dawn", a drama just for advertising, easily brought in 7-8 million yuan in revenue for the TV station.

If he stars in "My Love from the Star", it will be his first modern idol drama, and it will be exclusively broadcast on Hunan Satellite TV, which has a large young audience.

Exclusive broadcast!

Even a fool knows what to choose.

It’s hard to imagine how crazy the advertising bidding will be.

This is the reason why Lu Yuan raised the price.

Based on this, after many discussions, the two parties finally reached an agreement.

The first round broadcasting rights of "My Love from the Star" were purchased by Hunan Satellite TV.

In return, Hunan Satellite TV will grant PPS the rebroadcast rights of the variety show free of charge for a period of two years.

In addition, PPS can choose one variety show from Hunan Satellite TV next year for simultaneous live broadcast.

After "My Love from the Star" is officially broadcast.

Based on the market audience share, starting from 15%, for every percentage point increase, PPS can obtain the exclusive broadcasting rights for another variety show and broadcast it simultaneously with the TV stations.

In today's world where the Internet is popular and ratings are declining year by year, a 17% market share means a huge explosion, a phenomenal level!

Mu Yong walked to the desk, clicked the mouse twice, and pointed at the computer screen: "Hey, this is the variety show project of the station next year. Think about it and choose the first one."

Lu Yuan stood up, walked to the computer, and looked at the summary of Hunan Satellite TV's variety shows in 2013.

"Happy Boys", "I Am a Singer", "Where Are We Going, Dad", "Variety Show", "We All Love to Laugh", "Happy Camp", "Day Day Up", "Weirdo", "The Voice of China", "Wonderful Dance".
Hunan Satellite TV is worthy of being the leader in the variety show industry, with dozens of variety shows a year.

Mu Yong began to introduce.

"I don't need to say much about Happy Boys. It has been held since 2007. Next year will be the third year. The ratings will not be bad."

"I Am a Singer is a music competition program introduced from MBC in South Korea. It has been recorded and will be broadcast next year. The first season will be hosted by the Yuquan band. It is comparable to Zhejiang Satellite TV's The Voice of China. You can judge for yourself."

"Where Are We Going, Dad?" is also a parent-child outdoor reality show introduced from South Korea's MBC TV station. It has not started filming yet, but is expected to be broadcast at the end of next year."

He paused for a moment, thought about it, and reminded quietly: "Pay special attention to this parent-child program, Director, forget it, I didn't say anything, just watch it slowly."

The director had high hopes for the event and personally invited the guests. Mu Yong muttered to himself that he had done his best.

Lu Yuan understood what was going on. They spent millions every year to maintain the relationship. Wasn't they just waiting for moments like this?

He understood what Mu Yong meant and focused his attention on "Where Are We Going, Dad?". After confirming, he made the first choice.

(End of this chapter)