Generation Z Artists

Chapter 346 Everything's in chaos, everyone's gone mad, everyone's gone insane.

With eight days left until Chinese New Year's Eve, Galaxy Pictures urgently started filming the series.

Not many domestic TV stations came, but those that were supposed to come all did.

Capital, Oriental, Mango, Huihui, Kaogong, Da Guang, Sanzhuang, Azhe... these are all major provincial TV stations with high viewership ratings.

A husky named Gigi also snuck in.

The current station director sits arrogantly in the center, looking around with ease, and dares to say a few words to anyone he makes eye contact with.

"Hey, Mango's old buddy is here too?"

"Brother Su, what price are you prepared? We won't do it if you offer too low."

"Dongzi, come here, come here! It's been so long since I've had a drink, don't leave today!"

"Xiao Zhe, what are you looking at?"

The directors of various TV stations rolled their eyes, but none of them dared to lose their temper. They could only hold their breath and treat Gigi like a king.

Do you know what kind of relationship he has with Fang Xinghe?
What if they have a very good personal relationship?
This guy might not be good at anything serious, but he's definitely got a knack for causing trouble. It's best not to offend him; let him show off...

"Oh, Brother Ji, Brother Ji, it's been so long! I've missed you so much!"

A group of people surrounded Brother Ji, chatting animatedly.

The three men—Dongfang, Shoudu, and Daguang—exchanged glances and wiped away cold sweat.

Thankfully, Yunyun and Guigui's cronies didn't show up, otherwise, the scene would have been a complete mess...

Actually, they wanted to come, but even though they didn't have the money to ask for a price, I could cause trouble!
Just adding fuel to the fire and putting some pressure on him to earn a few more bucks for our boss, that's a kind gesture, isn't it?

But General Manager Guang dismissed them outright: "This has nothing to do with you, don't bother me!"

The approach itself wasn't problematic; the first round of formal pricing was a pain that the marginalized underlings couldn't afford.

"We at Mango TV are offering 60 yuan per episode!"

“Eastern and.”

"Brother Su and..."

"General Manager Zhe followed."

"65!"

……

Today's bidding rules are quite unique.

First, CCTV-1 will not participate in the bidding; it will only wait for the results to be announced. Then, the price for each episode will be reduced by 20 yuan, which is the purchase price for CCTV-1.

"The Return of the Condor Heroes" is a huge advertiser, with countless advertisers waving their money and waiting for it to air.

However, CCTV cannot benefit from this. Their prime-time advertising slots were sold out before the Lunar New Year, and they can only squeeze out a maximum of 30 seconds of advertising space to load new merchants.

Therefore, as anchor stations, they actually bid less than syndicate stations.

Secondly, according to the 4+x principle, "The Return of the Condor Heroes" can also be broadcast jointly by 3 satellite TV stations and X local TV stations.

The premiere of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is not planned to be broadcast on local TV stations, so today we are only preparing to bid for 3 satellite TV stations.

Then, because Galaxy Pictures announced in advance that it would only auction two first broadcast rights, it was actually a competition among multiple satellite TV stations for the two slots.

As for who will get the final spot... just look at who's showing off the most in the room, isn't that easy to guess?
Brother Ji's booming voice reverberated throughout the conference room: "Guys, don't get excited, keep your bids steady! Although I enjoy the same discounts as the central bank, I'm broke! If you bid too high, even a 20 yuan reduction will kill me. Stop it, stop it, that's enough!"

Mr. Hu was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He yelled and added another 5.

"115 million! Let's lose together and make the loss even greater!"

Dong Youde glanced at it lazily, his voice weak as he announced the numbers: "115 million from the East. Anyone else following?"

"116 million!"

"Zhe Ge has 116 million, next up."

The event was hosted by Lao Dong, but Fang Xinghe was not present... Not only did President Fang look down on domestic auctions, but even Wang Chali was absent.

Compared to the glory days of selling Japanese and Korean copyrights, it's no wonder that the company is losing enthusiasm.

TV stations will naturally be very cautious when purchasing dramas using their own funds.

Furthermore, with data from multiple broadcasts being scattered, advertisers have little incentive to spend money.

Therefore, when the price approached 120 million, the scene fell into an extremely tense state.

The station directors are all having frantic discussions with their teams, seeking support.

……

Dongzi: "What's our station's typical return on viewership this year? Can we reach 120 million?"

“5%收视率的单位时间广告收益差不多有30万，10%收视率应该能到100万，15%收视率的收益最起码200万起，但这不现实。”

Dongzi: "Are we sure we'll lose money if we raise the price again?"

"We're definitely going to lose money; our advertising prices have never been in the top tier."

Dongzi: "Sigh, I'm so unwilling..."

……

Mango: "Have you calculated the viewership distribution yet?"

"The figures are only approximate, not precise enough..."

Mango: "No need to be too precise, just give me a shout-out, damn it, it's too expensive!"

"Yes, Director!"
Assuming that the total viewership rating of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" can be kept stable at around 40%, and four channels broadcast it at the same time, CCTV-1 will have a 18.5% share, CCTV-2 will have a maximum of 4.5%, and our channel and another channel will share the remaining 17%.

Based on our station's viewership share, the highest we can expect is 12%, and the lowest is 8.5%, which is roughly equal to our competitors.

In the worst-case scenario, an 8.5% viewership rating could generate approximately 120 million in advertising revenue per unit time. Reaching 120 million per episode would most likely prevent a loss…

Mango: "Okay! We have to secure one of these spots!"

Mango: "125 million!"

……

Zhejiang Brother: "Can our Taiwan team beat those Japanese Shanghai gangsters?"

"The advertising prices are about the same, but our viewership share is 0.2 percentage points higher than theirs, and our coverage in the Yangtze River Delta is wider, so our unit profit rate is about 5.33% higher, which is perfectly fine."

Zhejiang Brother: "Then let's keep an eye on him and beat him up! The other spot will go to a central province!"

"But our profit margin is lower than Mango Jingye's and Huihui's..."

Zhe Ge: "Why bother with them? We'll get the money back from that little bastard!"

……

In fact, many TV stations were already losing money to gain publicity when the price reached 80. When the price reached 120 million, it was purely a gamble.

The key point is that CCTV-1 is a huge obstacle above them.

No matter how high the ratings are for "The Return of the Condor Heroes", CCTV-1 will definitely take the biggest slice of the pie, and the remaining three satellite TV stations will share the other half.

How much benefit would be left? Was it worth it?
However, lured by the prospect of increased viewership share, they finally went mad.

The domestic release of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has become a major event of national concern, far more sensational than the broadcast of "Emperor Wu of Han" or "The Grand Mansion Gate".

Whether or not they can win is no longer a question of profit or loss, but a matter of stabilizing their existing viewership share and seizing the viewership share of their competitors.

Therefore, Hunan TV, with its leading position among provincial TV stations, secured the first spot.

The price per episode is 150 million RMB. The domestic version has a total of 40 episodes, with a total price of 6000 million RMB.

Hunan TV director Ouyang craned his neck and looked around: Who else!

Despite the inevitable heavy loss, Ah Zhe relentlessly attacked Su Huihu, who was surrounded by people, at a price of 150 million, which was a huge financial burden for him.

Afterwards, the director of Zhejiang Radio and Television Station was trembling all over, still feeling like he was in a dream: We won? We won... Was it worth it? Was it worth it...?

Ji Ge stopped showing off. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he looked at his colleagues, a faint sense of joy mixed with deep despair.

Hey dads! What are you doing?!

130 million per episode... 130 million per episode!

Don't laugh at me, but in my entire life, I've never had a TV series that cost 60 yuan per episode air.

But there's really no way around it. With multiple channels broadcasting simultaneously, if we don't broadcast it ourselves, everyone in the province, young and old, will definitely shake our egg yolk loose... It's terrifying!

CCTV-1 is actually the most indifferent. It's just a task assigned by the leadership; as long as it's completed, what does it matter if it makes a profit or a loss? Wait, when has CCTV ever lost money?

There's also a 30-second animated ad!
As for the other station directors who participated in the fierce competition but ultimately suffered defeat, their feelings were even more complicated.

There was a hint of schadenfreude, a touch of anticipation, a dash of bitterness, and mostly a sense of bewilderment.

A blockbuster drama series with a budget of over 5 million yuan, which caused a sensation throughout Asia, has just slipped through our fingers?

What kind of impact will it have, and what results will it lead to?
No one knows for now; they can only silently savor that empty feeling in their hearts.

On the stage, Dong Youde slowly and deliberately announced the final results and the final rules.

Two companies sold the rights for 5200 million yuan and two companies for 6000 million yuan, bringing the total first-run broadcast rights sold for 2.24 million yuan, setting a new record for domestic TV dramas to date.

But he wasn't particularly excited.

The second round of broadcasting rights sold for a maximum of 60 to 70 million, and the subsequent dozen or so rounds totaled 30 to 40 million. Disc sales were practically zero, and piracy would take over the entire market.

If the company relies solely on the domestic market, it's safe to say that The Condor Heroes is doomed to lose money, and lose a fortune at that.

However, the crux of the matter lies here—The Condor Heroes has already sold for 18 billion overseas, and there are still various other sources of revenue accumulating.

Neither the company nor Fang Xinghe really needs this little bit of pocket money in China.

If the strategy of bundling ads were followed, Dong Youde originally envisioned reaping another 10 billion yuan from those advertisers in China. Now that the losses have been inflicted, he is even more heartbroken than Fang Xinghe.

"Regarding advertising, the winning broadcaster can arrange the pre- and post-broadcast time slots as they see fit..."

He became increasingly listless when the topic of advertising came up.

"However, please note that the broadcast time of the main program must strictly follow CCTV's schedule, starting at 8:00 PM sharp. It can only be interrupted once for a 30-second commercial break. No editing of the master tape submitted by us is allowed for any reason; otherwise, we reserve the right to terminate the cooperation..."

Blah blah blah, mainly binding clauses.

Domestic TV stations have very low credibility in this regard. If there are no contracts to bind them, some stations like Hunan TV would dare to cut out the opening and closing credits and use the whole thing to broadcast commercials.

Let me make this clear from the start: anyone who messes things up again will be in for a rude awakening by Brother Fang.

Sigh, it's really hard to say. Neither Mango nor Ah Zhe are good people. Whether they'll resort to underhanded tactics or not, only heaven knows...

……

After the chaotic and frenzied filming session ended, the prize-winning team began their intensive promotional campaign.

Actually, promotion is not difficult; 24-hour scrolling text is enough.

Here's what Zhejiang TV wrote: "Our station will premiere the top Asian drama 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' (directed and starring Fang Xinghe, with Liu Yifei as the female lead, and featuring a host of top Asian beauties including Gong Li, He Qing, Jun Ji-hyun, Son Ye-jin, and Yui Aragaki) nationwide at 8 PM on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Stay tuned!"
He really knows what old perverts like to watch, and he specifically targets male viewers.

Why not target female viewers?
With Fang Xinghe around, there's no need to target the young girls, even more so the older women; and since the aunties and grandmas are just killing time anyway, they don't need to target them either...

Mango TV's subtitles are even more outrageous—At 8 AM on the first day of the Lunar New Year, Fang Xinghe will be bringing "The Return of the Condor Heroes" to Funan! Don't miss this opportunity, viewers be sure to tune in to Funan TV!

It's a complete scam.

This is even worse than Zhejiang Brother's "national premiere".

However, neither of them combined is as shameless as Gigi.

"The first episode of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' will premiere nationwide at 8 PM on the first day of the Lunar New Year, followed by behind-the-scenes footage at 9 PM, and interviews with Fang Xinghe himself over the years at 9:30 PM! Watch Jilin TV and support the pride of Jilin Province!"

Mango Bro and Zhejiang Bro got impatient: "Where the hell did you get this 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' behind-the-scenes footage?"

Gigi: "Huh? You bought them? You didn't buy any?"

These two unfortunate friends, clinging to a 1 in 10000 chance, went to ask Dong Youde. Old Dong replied, "Don't be ridiculous. When have we ever sold a Chinese version of the bonus features? To ensure fairness, we haven't given any of the relevant information to anyone!"

"???"

The two brothers were completely baffled. Where did that Ji Bo clip come from?

Forget about the upcoming New Year, the two of them frantically inquired and actually found out the truth, which made them so angry they almost vomited blood...

Gigi, relying on the fact that her hometown is the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Region, is able to receive programs from South Korean KBS TV, transcribed the Korean behind-the-scenes content early on, re-translated it back into Chinese, and added a bunch of Korean interviews, reactions, and effusive compliments!

Transcription! That's transcription! It cost nothing!

The two brothers were so angry that their vision blurred, but with only three days left until the New Year, they had no other options.

It's too late, there's absolutely no time. There's no time to do anything you want!
"You cheat!"

The two brothers angrily cursed Gigi while complaining to their superiors: "Sir, Gigi cheated! You have to do something about it!"

The leader of the Guangdong Provincial Federation of Trade Unions raised his eyelids and glanced at it—oh, it's Fang Xinghe's hometown—and immediately closed his eyelids again.

"We can't control that; it's each station's right to operate independently."

The two brothers' eyes widened: "What autonomy? That's prime time! Don't they have to get approval from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television for whatever they want to broadcast?"

"Yes, it's been submitted." Director Liu sipped his tea. "It's not anything sensitive, the bureau approved it, so what?"

"..."

Grass!
The two brothers, no longer able to argue, immediately went home with mouths full of blood blisters to hold a meeting, brainstorming ideas to find a way to salvage the situation.

But what can be done? There is none.

They are different from poor and arrogant third-tier TV stations like Jilin Broadcasting. Their prime time slots are very precious, and the programs are already fully booked. No matter how hard they try, they can only squeeze out three to five minutes of airtime.

But Mango and Zhejiang President are inherently skeptical of fate, and having already paid such a huge price, they certainly won't surrender or admit defeat.

So, they actually came up with two crooked tricks.

With a blank check in hand, General Manager Zhe flew to the capital and found Dong Youde. His eyes were red as he said, "Brother, I want to promote Director Fang's status as a top singer-songwriter. I'll bring my own food and even give you prime time!"

Dong Youde was very interested, so he called Wang Chali over.

How do you plan to promote it?

"Didn't Director Fang sing 'Lemon' live once in Japan? Sell me the official video, and I'll play it after 'The Condor Heroes' starting from the first day of the Lunar New Year, showing it once a day. The audience will definitely love watching it!"

Wow, that's quite an idea!

Wang Chali was somewhat tempted, but still held back: "How much are you planning to offer? 30 or 50, forget it..."

"500 million!" the Zhejiang CEO roared, "I only want the permanent exclusive broadcasting rights for this live broadcast in China!"

"hiss……"

Even though Wang Chali had seen a lot of money before, he was still stunned by the extravagance of the Zhejiang General Manager.

This live performance could fetch hundreds of millions of dollars if it were recorded as Blu-ray in Japan, but it's worthless in China. He really dared to offer such a high price.

"make a deal!"

Wang Charlie happily counted the 500 million yuan in meal allowance, and found the best platform to showcase the BOSS's on-site style.

Meanwhile, Hunan TV begged and pleaded, exhausting all its connections in the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the Publicity Department, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Beijing Film Academy, to "request" Brother Fang to bring Gong Li and Yi Fei onto the next episode of Happy Camp.

“We can also offer money! Director Fang, 300 million; Yifei and Gong Li, 100 million each…”

Don't think they're paying too little. These days, you have to wait in line to get on Happy Camp. When have they ever paid celebrities appearance fees?

But Brother Fang felt that this amount of money was meaningless and not worth it.

As for the pleas for leniency from all sides... I'm sorry, I'm deaf.

Xiao Mang's initial attempt to communicate failed, so she decided to go all out.

"We'll not only give you money, but we'll also sponsor you on StarNet for free. Every time 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' airs, we'll add a cutscene—StarNet Theater, a paradise for star-chasing!"

Big Brother Dong, who was working on StarNet's IPO in the US, suddenly got excited, rushed into Fang Xinghe's office, and held a knife to his own neck: "Boss, are you going or not?!"

"Go! Go! Go!"

Fang Xinghe had no choice but to agree, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Thus, the three major local TV stations each used their unique methods to hype up "The Return of the Condor Heroes" into a highly anticipated phenomenon.

CCTV-1 sits comfortably, watching them fight it out with amusement.

Let them fight, let them fight! So what if the ratings are high? So what if they're low? All the cultural influence is mine anyway…

Who is this "Master"?
When we hold the summary meeting later, whoever sits in the very center of the stage will be the leader.

As for the production company, Galaxy Pictures... they too are joyfully preparing for the Chinese New Year.

A bunch of working-class guys, the more motivated you are, the bigger our bonuses will be next year.

Following Brother Fang is simply awesome!
************
Teacher He Qing, I'm so glad I wrote her into The Return of the Condor Heroes.

(End of this chapter)