Generation Z Artists

Chapter 348 The Art of Condor

February 10, 2005, the second day of the lunar calendar.

The "rumors" spread like a shockwave, igniting the entire industry.

"What the hell is this? What a load of rubbish! Is the information even accurate?"

"Damn it, they actually won..."

"Damn! Just hang in there a little longer!"

"This is insane! Is it really that good?"

Regret, jealousy, annoyance, unease... a variety of emotions permeated the bidding process among the representatives from Beijing, Shanghai, Anhui, Guangdong, Jiangsu, and other major cities.

As the top tier team that narrowly missed out on a spot, they were the most sensitive to this news.

Meanwhile, those smaller stations that had no chance to begin with started gloating and watching the drama unfold.

Xiaxia: "You guys are getting what you deserve?"

Yunyun: "Serves you right! Look at your cowardice! The opportunity was right in front of you, and you couldn't even seize it?"

Gui Gui: "Only the first episode? Tsk tsk, there are still 39 episodes to go, you guys can wait and see~~~"

Longlong: "Second brother is awesome! Keep up the good work and crush them!"

Liao Liao: "Second brother has finally made it! Big brother is very pleased!"

Mr. Hu was so angry that he snapped, "Are you guys crazy? Haven't your market share been squeezed out?"

Yunnan, Guizhou, Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and other poor countries proudly raised their heads: "What are you talking about? As if we used to have some share... Sorry, the loss is not big, just a drop in the bucket!"

The top-tier platforms are collectively spitting blood.

Azang, who usually doesn't get involved in these kinds of things, added in a gruff voice as the final blow: "Brothers, don't get so worked up, the ratings haven't come out yet~~~"

"..."

Damn it! Look around, where's the good guy?!

The difference between ratings and viewership share is generally unclear to the average person.

Simply put, the denominators for ratings and viewership share are different.

The denominator of the viewership rating is "all households that are eligible to watch the show".

The denominator for viewership share is "the number of households that turn on their televisions at the current time".

In 2005, approximately 1.5 million households in China had access to television, including 1.257 million paid cable subscribers and 0.25 million rural wireless subscribers.

However, the current viewership statistics only cover those "1.257 million users".

Therefore, CCTV-Sofres (CSM) immediately focused on viewership share, and this figure is closer to the true situation.

62.3% means that out of 1000 households that turn on their televisions, 623 households tune in to the four major channels: CCTV-1, CCTV-6, CCTV-7, and CCTV-8.

It doesn't sound that impressive, considering there are 377 other households looking at other things.

But the problem is this: a considerable number of people in China do not understand Mandarin or are not used to it.

The Cantonese-speaking people who love watching Cantonese programs, the small Cantonese-speaking people who live in ethnic minority areas, the rather isolated people from Xinjiang and Tibet, and the elderly people from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian who speak their local dialects...

China is so big that even the once-popular TV series "Aspiration" was met with lukewarm reception in many regions.

By the time the 21st century arrived, the number of television sets in China had exceeded 3.5 million, and even economically underdeveloped areas had begun to have access to television and local programs. However, no drama series has since been able to achieve a viewership share of more than 50%.

The peak viewership share of "My Fair Princess" was just over 40%, while that of "Soldiers Sortie" exceeded 30%, and that of "Crossing the Guandong" and "Parents Love" was between 20% and 25%.

Note that this refers to peak viewership, not average viewership share.

Average viewership share is rarely accurately quantified nationwide, making it meaningless. It's only because "The Return of the Condor Heroes" had such a huge impact that CSM specifically compiled various data for it.

So what exactly does a 62.3% viewership share mean?
It transcends the long river of time, surpassing "Princess Pearl," "The Legend of the White Snake," and "Dream of the Red Chamber," and sits at the same table as "Water Margin" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms."

Only four dramas can truly surpass Fang's version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes"—

The first domestic TV series, "Eighteen Years in the Enemy Camp," was released in 1981.
The TV series "Shanghai Bund" was broadcast in mainland China in 1985.
The 83 version of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was broadcast in mainland China in 1985;
The 1986 TV series *Journey to the West*;
"Desire" (1990).

If we exclude the special circumstances of the 8s and 90s, Fang's version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" can be roughly described as "ushering in a new century".

This isn't Fang Xinghe boasting; it's a comment from Xinhua News Agency.

Beijing Youth Daily: "In this new era of severe channel fragmentation, it's unlikely that any other drama will ever be able to replicate such a miracle..."

China Youth Daily: "Fang Xinghe fully proves a principle—if you make dramas for the people with sincerity, the people will repay you with sincerity..."

Xinmin: "The quality of 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' is on par with Hollywood. It's not that it's good in any one aspect, but that it's good in every way, without any flaws."

Jilin Daily: "A native of Jilin, this young man no longer cares about the title of 'world-class director'; he is on the path to becoming a 'people's artist'!"
The groundbreaking Chinese-style music, the magnificent costumes unearthed from ancient books, the real-life scenery traversed across mountains and rivers, the sophisticated and exquisite composition, the grand and bright colors, the unique performances with distinct styles, and the sincere original intention to meet the needs of the people, all combine to construct such a dreamlike martial arts world!

It is the courage deeply rooted in the genes of our Chinese nation, and the righteousness that will never fade through the ages. Only Fang Xinghe, with his chivalrous spirit, could create such a magnificent epic of swordsmanship…

The front page headline of the Jilin Daily has long been attributed to Fang. His full name is Fang Ge the Best, his nickname is Fang Paipai, and his other name is Fang Xinghe Daily Jilin Branch...

Xiao Su, Xiao Jing, and Xiao Hu were so angry their heads were buzzing. They cursed loudly, "Are you crazy? Where are we? It's only the first episode! Li Mochou is so cool, she wipes out an entire family, what a load of rubbish!"

So what?
Ji Bao shook his head and said, "So what? Just tell me, isn't 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' a chivalrous story?"

What a fart!
Who doesn't know that "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is a romance drama disguised as a martial arts story?
So what?
Ji Bao continued, shaking his head, "So what? Just tell me, isn't Yang Guo nicknamed the Condor Hero!"

Everyone's gone, completely silent.

Don't underestimate the Jibao newspaper just because its circulation isn't large. Nobody can beat it now. It's all about how the father is like the son, rebellious and arrogant.

But there's nothing we can do about it; whoever's tied to Fang Xinghe has the right to gloat.

If you can't beat them, you can call for backup!
Summoning the Gods – Respectfully inviting the Purple Star Lord to descend!
Arguing with Fang Xinghe in the newspaper—only a handful of people in the whole country are qualified to do that, and even they might not last long.

Moreover, they are currently riding high, with CCTV-1, Hunan TV, Zhejiang TV, and Jilin TV being known as the "Four Great Fathers" of the Year of the Rooster. To mess with them is like trying to grind an egg yolk with a stone.

……

In the third year of junior high school, the relatively accurate first-day ratings were finally released.

Those big-name platforms that didn't fight to the very end are now filled with deep regret.

Total viewership rating... 45.2%!

CCTV-1 alone accounted for 20.3%, the first time it has exceeded 20% since the beginning of the new century, far surpassing the 15% of "The Grand Mansion Gate" and also surpassing the 13% of the children's channel's rebroadcast of "Journey to the West".

The cunning King Gigi led the local TV ratings with a 9.08% viewership.

On the one hand, viewers in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia instinctively chose their sister channels first, leading to a surge in viewership.

On the other hand, Gigi did indeed capture the domestic market for starfish.

Behind-the-scenes footage is truly unique to their company.

The original version is in Japan and South Korea. It's too late to buy it in Japan, and the cost is too high, so we can only watch the Korean version, right?

And who else but us has the "unofficial, exclusive distributorship" for the Korean version's behind-the-scenes footage in China?
Hey, little Yanbian!

The provincial radio station yelled at you, are you kidding me? Apparently, the city radio and propaganda teams in Yanbian are working themselves to the bone, stealing other people's signals, transcribing them, and then re-translating and re-dubbing them. Women are on their periods every day, irritable; men are on their refractory periods every day, listless…

This incident later sparked a strong protest from South Korea's KBS, but we'll leave that aside for now.

With such unique and huge advantages, although some fans chose to watch the full episodes on CCTV, Hunan TV, and Zhejiang TV first, and then switch channels to watch the behind-the-scenes footage, many others found it troublesome and immediately locked in Gigi.

So, the salted fish turned over and sang: "Taking out the trash, taking out the trash, taking out the trash..."

As for the once arrogant local TV station's top host, Mango TV, he can only suppress his anger and beat up Zhejiang TV's host.

8.88% is the result they achieved.

To be honest, it's already incredibly impressive. Hunan TV hasn't aired a drama with such high ratings in all these years.

However, to truly assess the results, we must not only look at longitudinal comparisons but also at horizontal comparisons.

Mango's market share is nearly 40 times that of Gigi's. Now, they're airing the same show, but Mango is being overshadowed by Gigi. It's no wonder they're in a good mood.

That scoundrel of a station director in Jilin Province even called Ouyang: "Oh my, the difference is that small? That really gave me a fright..."

The mango was completely furious.

"Gigi, don't bully people like this..."

"Hmm?" Big Brother Ji raised his eyelids. "What did you call me? Our family's behind-the-scenes footage can be released earlier... Think about it carefully!"

Ouyang Yangzhang instantly lost his temper.

"Brother Zhe, don't be like this, we're all brothers..."

"Quack quack!"

Bad news: Damn it, that scoundrel got his way and is smug about it every day!
Good news: We have a rich guy at the bottom, so we can still vent our anger on him.

The worst-performing show, "Zhege," only had a 6.94% viewership rating.

Even so, it was because they were willing to spend money to buy the live broadcast rights to "Lemon".

Otherwise, they would have been destroyed long ago by the unreasonable CCTV-1, the shameless Gigi, and the mango that sits on the ground sucking up the soil.

So despite being at the bottom, they're actually quite content internally.

In the words of their station director: "At least we've sucked the blood of those poor Shanghai devils and those scrambled Soviets, haven't we? Haven't we?"

exactly!
If we just lower our heads and ignore the bastards' faces above, and focus on playing with the little scumbags around us, wouldn't we be so happy?

General Manager Zhe has no idea what kind of happiness General Manager Zhe is experiencing.

Although his viewership ratings were the lowest, his advertising rates still far surpassed Gigi's.

The fundamental indicator of "regional economic vitality" cannot be changed by a single TV series.

Gigi worked incredibly hard to achieve the highest viewership ratings north of Shanhaiguan, but the advertising revenue was less than half of that of Zhejiang TV.

The advertisement itself is also...full of wild flavor.

"Huiyuan Kidney Tonic, it's good for him and good for you."

"Ant Power God, you'll know once you use it!"

"Good news! Good news! Your man is saved!"

All we can say is that Gigi's road to success is long and arduous. It's just that amidst her continuous decline, she has encountered a stroke of luck. Whether she can truly defy fate and change her destiny remains to be seen...

However, the fate of the other major domestic TV stations is indeed about to be destroyed by these four major TV stations.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the viewership share of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" rose by another point, reaching 63.4%.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Fang Xinghe appeared on screen, achieving a viewership share of 66.5%.

On the fourth day, slightly lower, it was 65.2%.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, Yang Guo returned to the Ancient Tomb after putting down the Dragon-Slaying Stone, where he and Xiaolongnu lived and died together, and the viewership share soared to 67% for the first time.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the adaptation route of Fang's version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" finally became clear. Xiaolongnu was not humiliated, but a mysterious person appeared and plotted against her, causing her to be poisoned by the Love Flower without her knowing it. Fans of the original novel of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" cheered and celebrated, and the viewership share soared to 70%!

At this point, the situation can be described as "Chinese television sets have been completely dominated by 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'".

Actually, the ratings have been declining because the first day of the Lunar New Year is a time when everyone is at home celebrating the New Year, and from the second day onwards, everyone is busy with their own things.

For example, in some parts of the south, people worship their ancestors; in some parts of the north, people visit their maternal home; and in other places, it is common to have gatherings for meals, drinks, and New Year's greetings...

In short, not every household has time to watch TV.

However, the decline in viewership was due to unforeseen circumstances, while the increase in viewership share proved the dominance of "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

Of the 10 television sets that were on, 7 were playing "The Return of the Condor Heroes," leaving the industry in a state of utter silence and a chilling stillness.

Four channels monopolized 70% of the viewership during the hour from 8 to 9 pm.

The remaining 30% is divided among more than 30 satellite TV stations and hundreds of local stations. How pitiful!
"Damn it! Luckily, they only air one episode a day..."

The station director wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

"It's over! 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' will be airing for another 30 days..."

The station director covered his head, his eyes filled with utter despair.

From different perspectives, there will naturally be different levels of pessimism and optimism, but the eagle will continue to rumble along the tracks of time without ever stopping.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, most workplaces had resumed operations, and a massive wave of public opinion erupted.

Media reports from various angles, casual conversations in every corner of reality, and online discussions covering all spaces together form a sufficiently three-dimensional network.

This net originally had no name; it existed simply because of its lively atmosphere.

But gradually, as they delved deeper into the subject, became more immersed in the discussions, and grew more expectant and eager, the initial enthusiasm for joining in the fun began to evolve into a substantial amount of genuine passion.

Until that day, when the episode of "Happy Camp" featuring Fang Xinghe, Gong Li, and Liu Yifei aired, the quantitative change finally led to a qualitative change.

The record-breaking viewership of this episode of "Happy Camp" is not the key to its qualitative change.

The key point is Teacher He's unintentional remark.

This is what he said—

"Wow, now I realize how much effort you put into this film; you poured your heart and soul into it."

It's full of details, and there's a lot of knowledge to be gained from each one.

I feel that this is no longer just a TV series, but a field of study that deserves our serious attention…

He does not mean that.

This single remark quickly sparked a storm online.

The question from Mantianxing was deafening: "If there can be Redology, then why can't there be Fangology? If it's too complicated and chaotic, perhaps we can start from the simple and gradually move to the complex—let's start now and establish Fang's Condor Heroes Studies!"

(End of this chapter)