Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 71 Gao Qunshu: Why is the gap between people so big?
Since selling the copyright of "Conquest" to Yan Li, Gao Qunshu has been under much less pressure now that he has someone to back him up.

But he was not completely at ease. After all, Yan Li had only given him 50 yuan. Gao Qunshu was afraid that Yan Li would not be able to sell the drama, leaving him with nothing and not being able to pay the subsequent payments.

If I can't get the money, it won't help even if I can jointly hold the copyright of "Conquer" with Yan Li two years later.

A copyright that can be exchanged for money is a good copyright, and one that cannot be exchanged for money is just a pile of waste paper...

So Lao Gao's peaceful life didn't last long before he started to feel anxious again.

Liu Weiwei looked distressed and said, "Why don't you just call Xiaoyan and ask her directly?"

"There's no point in asking."

Gao Qunshu counted the days and shook his chubby head. "It's been less than two weeks, and the road isn't even familiar yet. I wonder how anxious this kid must be. I'd better not make things worse."

Liu Weiwei thought about it, but soon came up with an idea: "Why don't you ask Jiang Shan to see if she can help."

Gao Qunshu was puzzled: "Didn't I ask her a long time ago? She has no choice."

"There's no way you can ask."

Liu Weiwei smiled mysteriously: "But if you said you were asking on Xiaoyan's behalf, she might have a solution."

Gao Qunshu said helplessly: "Don't believe everything you hear. Jiang Shan and Yan Li are so far apart in age, how could this be possible?"

"You're ten years older than me, aren't you?"

Liu Weiwei rolled her eyes at him, then looked a bit playful. "I didn't say anything. Aren't these two happy to call each other brother and sister on the set? If the brother is in trouble, what's wrong with the older sister helping out?"

Gao Qunshu was persuaded, but still a little hesitant: "Will she help?"

The crew had a great time, but there were many cases where they never contacted each other again after filming was wrapped. He was not sure whether Jiang Shan should accept this.

"You'll know if you try it."

Liu Weiwei still had some confidence. When filming "Conquer", she had a good relationship with Jiang Shan, so she knew a little about her marital status and also sensed her unusual concern for Yan Li.

It's easy to imagine that Jiang Shan, who has an unhappy marriage, can just forget about a handsome, strong and sensible young brother like Yan Li?

Liu Weiwei took out her phone and dialed the number: "Hello, Sister Shan..."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news."

After chatting for about 5 minutes, Liu Weiwei hung up the phone. Gao Qunshu got a general idea of what happened, but was still a little uncertain.

"She agreed to help?"

"She didn't say she was dead, but as soon as she heard about Yan Li, she asked a lot of questions about Conquest. Anyway, she was much more proactive than when you asked her for help."

"Tsk."

Gao Qunshu felt a little uncomfortable. He touched his stomach and said sourly, "Little pretty boys are good."

Liu Weiwei was laughing secretly. Gao Qunshu and Jiang Shan did have some friendship, otherwise the low-cost "Conquer" would not have been able to invite each other to lead the production.

The result compared with Yan Li is so different that it is heartbreaking.

However, it was not just Jiang Shan who broke Lao Gao's heart. Just over half an hour later, Yan Li called him.

"Sister Wei, have you contacted Sister Shan?"

"Yeah, she came to you?"

Liu Weiwei asked, and then learned that Jiang Shan had just contacted Yan Li, saying that she was helping him arrange dinner with some friends from CCTV in the evening. After asking, Yan Li realized that it was Liu Weiwei who asked him for help.

This is so efficient!

Gao Qunshu, who was standing next to him, was so angry that his fingers were shaking. He had previously tried to invite Jiang Shan to dinner but failed because she rejected the idea after just two phone calls.

If it was Yan Li, in less than half an hour, he would have taken the initiative to arrange a dinner for Yan Li's friends from CCTV?!

Liu Weiwei was too lazy to pay attention to Gao Qunshu, who looked like he had lost all hope in life, and just talked to Yan Li on her own.

"Sister Shan is famous and has many friends. Her help is much better than you running around on your own. Remember, you must know how to play to your strengths. Be sweet-talking and work hard..."

What advantages are you talking about?
Yan Li on the other end of the phone had a dark look on his face and stopped Liu Weiwei from saying anything more aggressive.

"Sister Wei, this is my fault. I forgot to inform you that the play has been sold."

“Sold?!”

Liu Weiwei's voice became sharp, and Gao Qunshu, who was originally depressed beside her, suddenly became energetic.

"So fast, where did you sell it?"

"The arts channel of Tianjin TV, the two municipal TV stations in Langshi and Cangshi, Hebei Province. I'm currently in Jinling, Jiangsu Province, and I'm in talks with Jinling TV. I think it's almost done. Later, I'll go to Hunan Province, Zhejiang Province, and Qin Province."

Gao Qunshu and Liu Weiwei looked at each other and fell into a strange silence.

They'd been scrambling for months without accomplishing anything, while Yan Li had sold nearly four TV stations in just two weeks. Could this guy have some influential relative in the publicity department?!

But the two quickly put the idea aside.

If Yan Li really had such an awesome relative, why would he bother to act in "Conquer" and make such a drama like "Conquer"? He could get any good project.

Liu Weiwei thought of another possibility: "Don't tell me you're selling it at a low price."

If a TV series is priced very low, a TV station might buy it, which means that the producer or distributor is gambling that the show will become a hit.

Only if the drama becomes popular, there will be a chance to recoup the investment from other sources. Otherwise, if the drama is not well-performed, it will be a waste and a complete failure.

Gao Qunshu had had this opportunity before, but he didn't dare to take the risk, so he always wanted to make a profit by selling the copyright.

"The profit is small, I don't have the courage to do that."

Yan Li's voice was cheerful. Although he was betting that "Conquer" would be a hit, he had the system and didn't intend to sell it at a loss.

Of course, after all, the initiative is now in the hands of the TV station, so there will be some concessions, but overall it will definitely be a profit.

Liu Weiwei was still a little skeptical, but Gao Qun wrote the letter.

After all, he is a director and he still has some understanding of the situation of some TV stations.

Ordinary city-level TV stations like Langshi and Cangshi are fine, as they have low thresholds and ample room for operation.

The Tianjin Art Channel is a sub-channel of Tianjin TV. Its audience range covers the whole of Tianjin, including Beijing and parts of Hebei Province. It is a formal provincial TV station.

Jinling TV, a provincial capital-level city TV station, has a wide influence, equivalent to half a provincial TV station.

TV stations at the latter two levels have sufficient budgets for purchasing dramas and their own film libraries. If they don't have suitable new dramas, they would rather broadcast old dramas. This cannot be solved by a low-price strategy.

He took the phone from Liu Weiwei: "How much did you sell it for?"

Yan Li didn't hide it: "Tianjin pays the highest, 3.2 per episode. Jinling is still negotiating and is expected to get it down to 2. The other two city stations are relatively low, with the combined total of 1 per episode."

Gao Qunshu nodded in his heart. Although the price was not very high, it was definitely not a low price.

In the past two years, the price of a single episode of provincial sub-channels or local stations in big cities such as Jinling TV has basically been between 1 and 10 yuan.

However, non-popular TV series rarely exceed 5 per episode.

For ordinary city-level stations or even lower-level county-level stations, the price of a single episode ranges from several thousand to tens of thousands, and it is also a hurdle for a single episode to exceed ten thousand.

"Conquer" is a new drama that has not been broadcast yet. It is already very outstanding that Yan Li was able to negotiate this price.

At least some of the few TV stations that Gao Qunshu had met before that were willing to pay did not even offer half of the price Yan Li negotiated.

Gao Qunshu helped Yan Li settle the accounts.

"Conquest" has a total of twenty episodes, 3.2+2+1, multiplied by twenty, is about 124 million.

It seems to be quite far from the 500 million contract they signed.

But in fact, Yan Li sold four TV stations in one go, and there may be more in the future. The joint broadcast of so many local stations will inevitably create some momentum.

With the momentum, Yan Li can then arrange for "Conquer" to be broadcast on TV, and that will be the time to really make money.

In the current TV drama market, the price for satellite TV stations to purchase dramas is generally between 10 and 30 yuan. Some popular blockbusters will be higher, and small-budget dramas will be slightly lower.

Taking the middle value, say 15 per episode, Yan Li can earn 600 million as long as he can get episodes of "Conquest" broadcast on two satellite TV stations.

Once a TV series is broadcast on satellite TV, if it performs well, it will be reaped the rewards in the second and third rounds as well as by major local stations.

"Boss Yan, the young are really formidable."

The more Gao Qunshu calculated, the more emotional he became, and his name changed from Xiao Yan to Mr. Yan.

"Director Gao, you are scolding me."

Yan Li was not the type of person who would become arrogant when he was successful. Instead, he kept praising Gao Qunshu.

"I'm also grateful to Director Gao. Your drama is so good that my sales are so good."

In the past, Gao Qunshu might have just accepted this happily, but this time he chose to return the favor.

"Even good wine needs a bush. It's because you, Mr. Yan, are really capable. Otherwise, I, Old Gao, would be in trouble."

The two of them praised each other's business for a long time, and their way of addressing each other changed from the hierarchical Gao Dao Xiao Yan to the equal but unfamiliar Gao Dao Yan Zong, and finally to the cordial and enthusiastic Gao Ge and Lao Di/Yan Er.

Liu Weiwei was watching the two people chatting animatedly from the side, and suddenly thought of Jiang Shan, her eyes moving slightly.

Such a handsome and capable brother, there are many young and beautiful sisters who are trying to snatch him away, I am afraid that the older sister will not be able to win him over...

(End of this chapter)