China Entertainment: Indulge in Vanity Fair

Chapter 362: How much does a TV series cost?

On August 8, a document was suddenly issued. Because there is a serious phenomenon of buying ratings in the TV industry, in order to get rid of this bad habit and regulate the TV industry, a ratings office will be established from September 28 to regulate the national TV ratings. The ratings will be published uniformly by the Ratings Office.

The data collector is no longer provided by a company called Sofuri. It combines data from other third-party private institutions in the country and each TV station itself to the ratings office for comparison and verification before releasing the ratings data uniformly.

The Ratings Office will also set up a ratings data monitoring team. If the data provider has inaccurate data three times within a month, a warning will be given. If the data is inaccurate six times within a month, a serious warning will be given. If the data is inaccurate ten times within a month, the data will be eliminated. List of data providers.

Faced with the sudden move, public opinion and netizens praised and applauded him.

"This is the department that does the real work. It should have been like this a long time ago. How can a country's ratings be monopolized by a joint venture company and then be traded?"

"He Fang is really awesome. He really changed when he said he wanted to change. I guess a lot of people are eager to eat his flesh and drink his blood, right? Especially Sofurui Company."

"According to internal information, before this document was issued, it encountered unprecedented opposition, and many big figures put pressure on it. Some figures have also boasted that Western free markets are good against monopolies. This interview They have a monopoly on Sofurui, but they in turn prevent them from taking action against Sofre. Gee, no one else has such a face."

"I have also heard that some people are now saying that this does not comply with the procedures. The basis is that there has not been sufficient research and discussion, let alone experts to discuss and formulate policies, and there are no meetings to discuss. It is just an internal sudden announcement. This is It’s not in compliance with the procedure.”

"Haha, you did the right thing this time, and I support it. When are there so many links like research, discussion, expert policy advice, meetings and competitions, and decision-making? How long will it take to postpone it? It's also left to some people. Space, for example, Sofuri was divided into three or one into N. In the end, it was discovered that the data still belonged to them. But the current operation is to solve the problem directly without giving anyone time to react. This is very decisive and resolute."

"But this is really not in accordance with the procedure..."

"Why do we need such complicated procedures for established facts? Just like someone was robbed with a knife in a public place. Does it still need to spend one or two years of research, then another one or two years of discussion, and finally another one or two years? Time expert meeting... This is a typical procrastination. Buying ratings is an established fact. Everyone in the industry knows it, so how much more research is needed?"

"I think this plan is okay. It only serves to collect statistics, release data and supervise data. The data collection is submitted through multiple TV stations and third parties. This is relatively fair. At least it is not about being an athlete and being an athlete at the same time." Referee. Many departments can learn this method to separate responsibilities and powers, and relevant departments only need to serve as a platform for supervision and release."

"Who came up with this method? At least I think everyone is satisfied with this method. I believe the TV stations, producers and advertisers will also be satisfied. The first is that the data has been verified by multiple sources to ensure its authenticity. The second is that the data The endorsement is authoritative and thirdly prevents the growth of corruption.”

"The person who came up with this idea should become a high official and be able to solve many practical problems for the people."

……

Leader Cai was very happy when he saw the praise on the Internet. What leader doesn't want political achievements?This is a real political achievement. Solving the stubborn problems of the industry and making the industry healthier is his biggest political achievement since taking office.

Of course, he was also under tremendous pressure, and there are still people who are aggrieved by his quick action.

Especially... (We are in deep water, let’s take a guess)
Yesterday, there was a lot of turmoil. Everyone went to the top, and finally agreed to He Fang's plan, which made all the opponents lose their temper. At this time, the interests of many people disappeared overnight.

……

"Director He, look at it, I don't know how many people will hate you now. In the past, when you engaged in industrialization, it would not touch the interests of many people, it would only increase their interests, so they are happy to see the results, at most Say some cool words. But if you touch the lid of the TV industry... do you know how much profit there is?"

He Fang was having dinner with He Jiu and the others that day, and He Jiu brought this matter up as a topic.

He Fang also knew what they meant by inviting him to dinner. As an old friend, he couldn't refuse someone's invitation to dinner regardless of whether they cooperated or not.

He Fang picked up a tea cup and took a sip, and said nonchalantly: "It's none of my business. I'm not in the TV industry anyway."

"Hey, you are so bad. You went to the TV industry and threw a firecracker and ran away, looking like you were watching a show." Wang Han shook his finger and laughed.

"I'm not bad, I'm a good person. Do bad people do good things? You can tell your conscience, is it a good thing to expose and reform the buying of ratings? Is it a good thing that is conducive to the development of the television industry?" He Fang retorted.

Several hosts smiled and nodded, and He Fang even gave a thumbs up.

"I think what Wang Han means is that you are a bad person to those with vested interests."

"Yes, yes, yes, Teacher He understands me." Wang Han agreed.

"Haha... you two... eat and eat. Only when you are full can you be able to deal with you, Xiao Jiujiu. Don't think that I don't know what you two are here for." He Fang said, tapping the chopsticks on the table.

It means urging the food to be served.

"Since Director He has already said everything, what else can I say? Waiter, hurry up and serve the food." Wang Han walked to the door and shouted to the waiter outside.

"Director He, would you like something to drink?" Wang Han asked.

"Don't drink, don't drink. You just want to make me let go while I'm drunk. I won't be fooled." He Fang waved his hand.

"Ah, Director He, have you seen through all our tricks? Then we have to show our cards right." He Jiu said with a smile.

"It's obvious that I already know the type of your cards anyway. You want to deceive me? I advise you to give up as soon as possible. You, Mr. Zhang, have agreed to my conditions. It's still too late to buy a share. If you don't agree to my conditions, then There is nothing we can do." He Fang shook his head and said.

"Ah, Director He, you said that there is no problem in not interfering in the production of TV series, but you don't even give them exclusive rights to broadcast. So...doesn't this...as an investor, you have no power at all?" Wang Han handed He Fang a cigarette, and then returned it. Give it some heat.

"I didn't say I wouldn't give it. I'll give it to you if you win it during the national bidding process. Also, do you still dare to broadcast my TV series now? Aren't you afraid of being squeezed out by your peers?" He Fang said with a smile.

"What do we have to be afraid of? The whole of China knows that our Mango Channel dares to be the first. "Fights Break the Sphere" is not a banned film. Everything is legal and compliant. Is it wrong for us to purchase a legal and compliant TV series? Besides, as a As a member of the film and television Hunan Army, if we don’t support Tuanhuo Culture at the critical moment, who will?” He Jiu said.

"No, that's not what you said." He Fang shook his head.

"Huh? So obvious?" He Jiu also scratched his head, "These are Director Zhang's exact words. He asked me to tell you this."

"Tsk, tsk, Director Zhang, this is... okay, if you pay 1000 million for an episode to be exclusively broadcast on TV, then I won't say anything, and we can't let our own people take advantage of it?" He Fang waved his hand.

"What? 1000 million per episode and you still let your own people take advantage? Director He... you..." Wang Han was so shocked that he didn't know what to say further.

"What, you think 1000 million for an episode is a loss? Do you know how much "Far Cry" cost to film? How much was the final box office and the total revenue? 500 million, "Far Cry" was filmed for 500 million, and the final box office was 1.25 million , the gross profit at the box office was 5000 million, and we earned 4500 million from the domestic box office alone, not counting others.

Now the production cost of each episode of our "Fights" is the same as that of a "Far Cry". Do you think it is expensive to sell an episode of 1000 million for an exclusive premiere? "He Fang asked rhetorically.

"Then this is different. That's a movie and this is a TV series." Wang Han shook his head.

"What's different? I've said it before, this is not an ordinary TV series, this is an American drama-style TV series. Each episode is 60 minutes long. Each episode has the quality of a movie. Those domestic TV series are inferior to ours. There are dozens of streets, you can't compare "Fights Break the Sphere" with domestic prices and quality." He Fangzheng said, and the waiter came in with the dishes.

Wang Han wanted to say something else, but He Fang waved his hand.

"Eat, eat, eat! Don't fight so hard that you won't even treat me to this meal."

"Pfft, that won't happen. You can't even order the food and not invite the meal, right?" He Jiu said with a smile.

"Who knows then?"

"Director He, come, come, come, drink some wine, drink some wine, just drink a little." Wang Han said and took out a bottle of wine from under the table.

He Fang looked up and down the wine bottle in Wang Han's hand warily, "Isn't your wine laced with sweat medicine?"

"Ah? Hehe, it was drunk. Do you dare to drink it?" Wang Han also reacted quickly.

"Tsk," He Fang poured out the water in the tea cup next to him, "Just drink this cup, not a drop more."

"Director He, how do you drink from this teacup? Use a small cup and share one cup with each other, okay?" Wang Han took the teacup.

"No, no, just a cup of tea. I don't believe your nonsense." He Fang refused.

"Okay, okay, okay, just a cup of tea." Wang Han also said cheerfully.

"Come, come, come. Director He, don't talk about things after drinking. Anyway, it has nothing to do with me and Mr. He. We are just messengers. Director He, it's done." Wang Han raised his glass and said.

"What did you do? I'm just a cup of wine, how could I do it with you? Just do whatever you want." He Fang said.

"Ah? Okay, I just said, how can you use different containers for drinking? Then I'll do it, you can do whatever you want." Wang Han did it without saying a word.

He Fang also took the cup and wet his lips, without actually drinking.

"That's not right, Director He, you are so casual without even having a drink. Isn't this too casual?" Wang Han quit.

"Nothing went down, it's just that you didn't see it." He Fang quibbled.

"Waiter, bring me a water-based pen." Wang Han called to the waiter.

"Let me go, Lao Wang, what are you doing? After drinking, do you still want to break up with me after drinking? Do you have to make a mark?"

"That won't work. You can't just wet your lips casually. Then I'll drink you to death and nothing will happen to you."

"Oh, okay, okay, change cups, change cups, to be honest, I only pour wine from my tea cup, and stop when I finish drinking."

"Okay, no problem, that's what you're talking about."

...15 minutes later...

"No, why is there still so much wine in my teacup? Who poured it for me?" He Fang looked at the teacup that was still more than half full and was surprised.

"Who poured it for you? Whoever poured it for you, no one touched your glass. Look at this bottle of wine, it's transparent, look at it, I'll pour the wine for myself, and then draw a line. Wait for you Let's see if I've poured wine for you." Wang Han deliberately drew a line on the cup to prove that he hadn't poured wine for him.

"Oh, Director He, okay, believe Wang Han, he is not that kind of person."

"..."

"Director He, Director He, you just drank so much and you can't do it? Okay, let's not drink anymore. That's it for today. Director He, the 1000 million an episode you said is impossible, it's too expensive Otherwise, for 500 million an episode, I will make the decision for our station director." Wang Han said.

He Fang was already drunk, and there was only one cup of wine... He was staring at Wang Han's wine bottle, and he definitely didn't give him any wine.

"Why, how is that possible? Don't talk about it. Don't talk about it if it's less than 1000 million." He Fang waved his hand.

"Director He... go and ask which TV station in the country can spend 1000 million an episode to buy your TV series. If no one buys it, will you die in your hands?" Wang Han said.

"I have no intention of selling it to a TV station."

"How will you repay your TV series if you don't sell it to a TV station?" Wang Han and He Jiu looked at each other in shock.

"Hey, don't worry, it's still possible. Besides TV stations, are there any other channels where you can watch TV series? And there are many people watching it?" He Fang asked in a daze.

"Apart from TV stations... video websites?" He Jiu asked in shock.

He Fang gave us a thumbs up, "We have already received an offer from a video website, 1500 million for an episode, and they bought the exclusive. 1500 million for an exclusive episode did not meet my expectations, and 1500 million for an episode can only buy the premiere. So. , when I said that giving Mango Channel 1000 million for an episode, did I let my own people take advantage? Do you think we are cheating you?
You two, open up the situation.I have already said that this is not an ordinary TV series, this is an American TV series. You may still not understand what it means.This means that each episode is of the quality of a movie, which is a subversion of traditional TV series... Oh, forget it, you think this is still a TV series.

You two, you have to use Internet thinking to watch TV series. The future is the era of the Internet. I believe that many Internet platforms will pay high prices to buy TV series. You can't compete. "He Fang waved his hand.

"..." At this time, Wang Han and He Jiu were confused. He Fang still refused to sell an episode for 1500 million yuan. This...

In 2104, a TV series with a maximum sales of 400 million would be considered a top-notch existence. An episode worth over [-] million is simply a fantasy.

But who knew that in a few years, tens of millions of episodes would be rare and common, and now some people still can't accept it.

When video platforms rise and start stealing dramas, it will be exciting, and TV stations will be beaten to the point of losing their temper.

The key is that at that time, they were not just competing for TV series, but also for the audience.As more and more people watch TV series on video platforms, fewer and fewer people watch TV.

(End of this chapter)