Top of the big era

Zhou Buqi is an Internet person.

Almost all the businesses he is personally involved in are related to the Internet.

Does it matter whether "The Hobbit" will be made into a movie or a TV series, whether it will be a good movie or a bad movie after it is made, and whether it will make more or less money...?

For Boss Zhou, this is just a little thing to play house with.

What he cares about is the core strategy of Ziweixing Global - streaming media!

With the fame and appeal of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", if it is connected with the capital market, it is very likely to set off a wave of stock market surges!

Netflix’s current market value is only about $2.4 billion.

There are 15 million member users, most of whom are users of the DVD mailing business.

At the beginning of the year, only 40% of members used Netflix's streaming service, and now only 70% of members try to watch streaming videos on Netflix.

The reason is that there is too little content.

There is a lot of content when renting DVDs. You can rent a disc for any movie you want to watch. There is so little streaming content, it’s almost impossible to find what you want to watch.

The self-produced drama model is the future of Netflix.

But not now.

Netflix’s market value is too low.

A low market value means that Netflix is ​​very poor and cannot spend much money to make movies. We have to find a good way to push up Netflix’s market value!

When Netflix's market value increases, for example, if it reaches a market value of US$10 billion, it can issue corporate bonds of US$1 billion or US$2 billion.

After raising the money and making a film and television series, Netflix's market value will further increase. As market capitalization increases, more bonds can be issued.

Accumulate step by step.

Continuously issue bonds, make movies, attract users, and increase market value. Issue more debt, make more movies, attract more users, and create higher market value.

Basically, when Netflix's debt reaches 10 billion to 12 billion US dollars, the entire Netflix ecosystem will be stable, and it will be able to have hundreds of millions of users and collect tens of billions of dollars in membership fees every year.

The key point now is to find ways to increase Netflix's market value!

How to push it higher?

The answer given by Zhou Buqi is the TV series version of "The Hobbit".

This is grand strategy!

Whether "The Hobbit" will be made into a movie or a TV series, whether it will earn $500 million or $1 billion, are all trivial matters, not worth mentioning.

Zhou Buqi would personally participate in such a trivial matter. There must be a more long-term strategic design related to the Internet behind this.

Ann Sarnoff was an assistant, and Zhou Buqi did not hesitate to reveal the truth to her.

Zhou Buqi took a sip of the honey-flavored black tea, feeling that it tasted strange, and said, "The Internet is changing the world in every aspect. Movie rating websites have banned the traditional Hollywood offline research model. In the future, there will be There are more and more changes.”

An Sanoff understood and took a deep breath, "The direction of Ziweixing Global is the Internet!"

"right."

“It’s streaming media!”

Ann Sarnoff exclaimed.

Zhou Buqi smiled and admitted, "Yes, this is an important reason why I choose you as my assistant."

The sports industry in the United States is highly technological and has many elites.

As early as seven or eight years ago, the baseball league tried to launch live streaming events. Ann Sarnoff, who previously served as chief operating officer of the WNBA (Women's NBA League), also examined the direction of live streaming.

So she knows it well.

It is also more accepting of the strategic direction of streaming media.

Ann Sarnoff said: "Indeed, more and more young people like to watch things on the Internet. Whenever there is an important game, ESPN's online live broadcast website will crash because there are too many viewers."

Zhou Buqi said: "ESPN belongs to Disney, so it's not surprising that it has low technical content. The last thing Ziweixing Global needs to worry about is technical problems."

Ann Sarnoff smiled and said: "Yes, you are an Internet entrepreneur, and no one is more professional than you."

Zhou Buqi said modestly: "I don't know anything about technology. I just have a very strong team. Ziweixing International will also be a shareholder of Ziweixing Global."

Ann Sarnoff asked tentatively: "So... Ziweixing Global will launch our own streaming media platform? And then use the appeal of the "Hobbit" TV series to attract users?"

"Don't be impatient for now, you can bite off more than you can chew." Zhou Buqi stretched out his right palm and said half-jokingly, "Just like these five fingers, if they are separated, they will be limp and powerless. Only when you clench your fists and hold them together can you Punch hard.”

"Greed for too much?"

Ann Sarnoff's thoughts were racing and she didn't quite understand. Are there other streaming media platforms under Ziweixing Global? Hulu? NBC Universal holds 40% of Hulu. But in this case, Hulu's equity will belong to Comcast along with the NBC television network.

This has nothing to do with Ziweixing Global!

You can't take huge risks and lower your expected income to make "The Hobbit" into a TV series, and then turn around and use it as a wedding dress for others, right?

Zhou Buqi gave the answer, "It's Netflix."

"Naflix?" An Sarnoff was very cautious, "Isn't Netflix related to Ziweixing Global?"

Zhou Buqi smiled and said: "So after completing the acquisition and integration of Universal Pictures, the next step is to conduct strategic financing for Netflix. Streaming media platforms are now collectively suppressed by Hollywood, not to mention Netflix, even Hulu It’s very difficult at all times. After the reorganization of Ziweixing Global is completed, there will be a massive library of more than 8,000 movies and 40,000 TV series episodes.”

Ann Sarnoff took a deep breath.

This is quite courageous.

This is going against the trend!

Zhou Buqi said impassionedly: "We have strength, but we must also be confident. Ziweixing Global can lead the new era of Hollywood! The industrial Internet is the next era, and Hollywood is no exception!"

Ann Sarnoff silently settled the score in his heart.

If "The Hobbit" is made into a trilogy of movies, and the profits are shared equally with Warner...all channels are used, the profit will probably reach US$700 million to US$800 million.

But if it is made into a TV series and released to Netflix... the result is inevitable, Netflix's market value will skyrocket!

If Ziweixing Global gives up the distribution of DVDs, TV stations, on-demand stations and other channels, it will be exclusively broadcast by Netflix. All viewers around the world who want to watch the drama version of "The Hobbit" must register and subscribe to Netflix. At that time, Netflix's market value of 10 billion US dollars was unstoppable!

Netflix's current market value is about $2.5 billion.

Ziweixing Global used "The Hobbit" to exchange shares of Netflix and entered into strategic cooperation, and could get at least 25% of the shares. By the time the "Hobbit" series is officially launched on Netflix, Netflix's market value is likely to have soared to US$10 billion, and the value of this share will reach US$2.5 billion!

hiss!

Sure enough!

Capital operations can make money much faster than making movies!

However, An Sarnoff immediately thought of another major event that might cause internal conflicts within Ziweixing Global!

There are business differences between the streaming media business and the home entertainment business.

The home entertainment business mainly relies on DVD sales and rentals, as well as royalties from TV stations, cable TV stations, and on-demand channels.

If the copyright of "The Hobbit" is exclusively licensed to Netflix, it means that the home entertainment business will not be able to benefit from this mega project!

This will inevitably arouse dissatisfaction from the traditional forces in Hollywood, and Kevin Tsujihara will be very unhappy!

Originally he wanted to promote "The Hobbit" as a movie.

This suggestion was rejected.

It's okay to be rejected. Even if "The Hobbit" is made into a TV series, he still can't get the light. This may cause internal turmoil! Especially in the early days of the establishment of Ziweixing Global, stability is more important than anything else, and there is no room for chaos!

Ann Sarnoff felt that this matter was very serious, so he described the possible management risks involved with a serious look.

Zhou Buqi was calm and calm, and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, he is of Japanese descent."

"ah?"

An Sarnoff was stunned for a moment, what does this bloodline have to do with it?

Zhou Buqi said: "Kevin Tsujihara is so conservative. If I had to choose, I would not let him come over to be a senior executive. Fortunately, he is of Japanese descent, and he was found by Sun Zhengyi. They are compatriots, and they have If they don’t understand anything, they can figure it out themselves.”

He had already thought of it, but he was confident.

The initial management of Ziweixing Global is the most difficult, and the ability to withstand pressure is the worst. If at this critical stage, Sun Zhengyi’s close relatives recruited to cause trouble internally and cause trouble...

That would be interesting.

At that time, Zhou Buqi will have a reason to talk to Sun Zhengyi, and he can bleed from him again to get more benefits. At least another 1% or 2% of the shares must be extorted.

It is inconvenient for Xiao Jiujiu to say more. Zhou Buqi said: "The key area of ​​SoftBank's investment is the Internet. SoftBank's investment of one to two billion US dollars this time is not for the entertainment industry."

Ann Sarnoff had a sudden realization, "No wonder!"

Zhou Buqi waved his hand and said with a smile: "But these are all plans, and all plans must be prepared for changes. If the conditions given by Warner are very good, it is not impossible to make "The Hobbit" into a movie. .You have to do three things now.”

"good."

"The first is to contact Warner and find out their background."

"Um."

"Second, work with Kevin Tsujihara to centralize the home entertainment business. This is a major adjustment in the organizational structure. Only success is allowed, failure is not allowed. This business must be used as a template, and then the finance department, legal affairs department, etc. Department, public relations department and many other functional departments have been centralized and integrated to improve efficiency and reduce costs.”

Ann Sarnoff nodded, "I understand."

Zhou Buqi continued: "The third thing is to find opportunities to have more contact with Hulu's management team."

"Hulu?"

Ann Sarnoff was slightly startled.

Zhou Buqi said calmly: "Hulu's management team comes from Silicon Valley, and their ideas are incompatible with Hollywood. Even if Comcast completes the acquisition of NBC, it will not change this status quo. Hollywood is blind, but I am. I admire their team very much!”

An Sarnoff said in surprise: "Pig this team here?"

"That's right!"