I really don't want to be the top streamer anymore

In reality, the most common situation for platforms is that there are significant differences between them.

After all, different platforms now have their own evaluation mechanisms for new dramas.

However, while the evaluation criteria differ, each platform's judgment of each drama is still primarily based on the attitude and opinion of its leaders.

Even if a drama is rated A and has the potential to become a hit, if a person in charge like Zeng Xi doesn't approve it, the final copyright fee budget will still not be very high.

Even if the deal is finalized, subsequent platform promotion resources will still require the leader's signature.

In short, sometimes a show that one platform doesn't want might be bought by another platform for exclusive broadcasting rights and end up becoming a huge hit.

Similar examples have occurred in the industry before.

……

"What? Tencent contacted us first?"

Tu Qiao'er had just returned to the hotel when she heard her subordinate's report.

She herself was also taken aback for a moment.

I had already decided to give up the copyright; I just wanted to stir things up.

It's quite intriguing that Penguin suddenly contacted them at this particular time.

Clearly, she sensed it too.

Perhaps Mr. Zeng himself wasn't very confident about Feng Ge's new drama.

Otherwise, if they were aiming for exclusive broadcasting rights, they wouldn't be likely to proactively contact rival platforms at this time.

If we speculate in this way, the other party's purpose is not too difficult to guess.

This plan is to unite them and transform the exclusive broadcasting rights of a single platform into a joint broadcast by everyone.

……

The heads of the three major video platforms, each with their own agendas, gathered together.

"President Tu, and President Qin, I've called you both over this time..."

Zeng Xi took the initiative to speak.

He had assumed the conversation would go very smoothly.

After all, Zeng Xi was assuming that the two people in front of him should have the same opinion as him regarding Feng Ge's new drama.

That means that although there is a certain market, the chances of it becoming a huge hit are not high.

Instead of taking the risk of negotiating exclusive broadcasting rights, it would be better for everyone to unite and secure joint broadcasting rights, achieving a so-called win-win situation.

With the three major platforms working together, they are clearly qualified to pressure Feng Ge for a lower price.

……

But he was being too naive.

Whether it was Tu Qiao'er or Qin Xian, they were mostly there to test each other.

There was absolutely no intention to facilitate the so-called cooperation among the three parties.

After all, if they do end up broadcasting together, the biggest winner will still be Tencent, which has the most users and the highest daily active users.

Upon hearing Zeng Xi's suggestion, Tu Qiao'er immediately rejected the decision.

Although they still smiled on the surface, they already knew in their hearts that Tudou Video would definitely not participate in this collaboration.

That sounds nice, but the three parties reached an agreement to jointly negotiate terms and exert pressure on Feng Ge.

It wouldn't matter if it were any other company, but this is Feng Ge.

Why would Tu Qiao'er offend Feng Ge for a drama she thought had little potential?

The subsequent collaboration on the entire "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series is the project that Tudou Video values ​​most.

At this point in time, it's impossible to offend either company but Feng Ge and Xu Kong.

Besides, it's with their two long-time rivals, which is just too stupid!
……

As for Qin Xian, he remained outwardly calm, seemingly considering Zeng Xi's suggestion.

But in reality, he was overjoyed.

He could already sense that Zeng Xi and Tu Qiao'er didn't seem to have much faith in the show.

For Kiwifruit, without its two biggest competitors, there are no obstacles ahead.

Acquiring the exclusive broadcasting rights for "Hanzawa Naoki" turned out to be much simpler than he had imagined.

It seems that the bottom line price that was originally prepared can be negotiated slowly with Feng Ge.

Their kiwifruit has a huge advantage.

Of course, the most important thing now is to keep the two of them from seeing what he's thinking.

Otherwise, even if you really don't care.

But as competitors, they might actually try to sabotage things on purpose.

……

Zeng Xi spoke very enthusiastically throughout, and the other two seemed to be very interested and chimed in.

But in reality, he was completely unmoved.

The final result, of course, was that they parted on bad terms.

"It's too late, how about we talk again tomorrow?"

Qin Xian was the first to take his leave, and Tu Qiao'er followed suit.

"Then I'll go back first."

Zeng Xi was stunned for a moment.

He had originally thought that the deal to have the three companies jointly acquire the broadcasting rights would be finalized today.

But now it seems that the smooth sailing just now was only superficial.

……

"Happy cooperation!"

The next day, at Fengge's headquarters, Yan Rui shook hands with Qin Xian in front of him.

He didn't expect that the discussion about "Hanzawa Naoki" would go so smoothly this time.

Of course, the final agreed-upon condition was also considered to have met expectations.

A 60/40 split.

Actually, it's already quite good.

After all, Yan Rui was well aware that workplace dramas were indeed not very successful in the country.

In addition, the main market is still Japan.

Domestically, Xu Kong doesn't actually have high expectations for his commercial performance.

As for Qin Xian, he was also very satisfied with these cooperation terms.

In his view, securing the exclusive broadcasting rights made him the biggest winner.

Moreover, the copyright deal, which he had originally expected to require a 70% revenue share, went much more smoothly than he had imagined, thanks to the voluntary withdrawal of the other two competitors.

……

As for the other two, Tu Qiao'er didn't feel much about them.

After all, she wasn't particularly interested in the show to begin with.

As for what Zeng Xi mentioned earlier about discussing the joint broadcasting rights, she didn't really want to participate.

After all, doing so would offend Feng Ge's side.

Zeng Xi, however, was truly slow to realize the truth.

Qin Xian's side actually bought the exclusive broadcasting rights so quickly.

Do they really not consider any risks at all when making a workplace drama like this?

They could have shared the risks, but they still negotiated exclusive broadcasting rights in private.

It's clear that Qin Xian probably had this plan from the very beginning.

Isn't this a bit too much trust in Xu Kong and Feng Ge?

……

Regardless, this new drama ultimately ended with iQiyi securing the exclusive online broadcasting rights. As for the television broadcasting rights, unsurprisingly, Mango TV won the bid.

Wu Youxue's timely investment in Feng Ge and Xu Kong is still becoming increasingly valuable.

Of course, there isn't much time left for either of them.

Because it needs to be broadcast simultaneously with Japan, there is less than a week left for promotion.

Fortunately, both kiwifruit and mango are experienced and have collaborated more than once or twice.

After employing a full suite of traditional promotional tactics, including posters, trailers, and trending topics, "Hanzawa Naoki" quickly began to appear frequently in the audience's field of vision.

……

"A workplace drama? It has such a strong Japanese feel to it. If I didn't know that it was invested by Fengge and written by Xu Kong, I would have really thought it was a local Japanese drama..."

"It's alright, but I don't quite understand what's so exciting about this workplace drama."

"Judging from the trailer, it should be a workplace drama, but since the screenwriter is Xu Kong, it is still worth looking forward to."

"It's clear that Feng Ge and Xu Kong are planning to quickly expand into overseas markets. This drama is obviously prepared specifically for the Japanese market."

"Actually, I don't think Japan is a good choice. Their film and television industry has declined to such an extent that it's a bit too late to enter the market now."

Online discussions about this drama have remained consistently high.

Aside from various promotional campaigns, the most important reason is that it involved Xu Kong's name.

It has to be said that for domestic audiences today, the fact that the screenwriter is Xu Kong is enough to attract a huge amount of attention.

This is related to Xu Kong's unique popularity and fame.

More importantly, it's the result of the positive reputation built up from so many previous works and dramas.

If it were other workplace dramas, even with a famous director and a cast of A-list actors, they probably still wouldn't be able to attract a lot of viewers.

But if you knew that this was written and produced by Xu Kong, then it would be a completely different story.

Regardless of the subject matter or content, you have to try it out and see how it tastes.

This is the true feeling of the vast majority of viewers.

There's no other way, mainly because the battle record is verifiable.

Even if Xu Kong wasn't the director, just as a screenwriter and producer, he had already contributed so many works that were both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

It was an invincible body that could have been destroyed with just one mishap.

After all, not only in China, but in the global film and television industry, no director, screenwriter, or actor can guarantee that every film they make will have high critical acclaim and commercial success.

Xu Kong is indeed a special case that seems somewhat unbelievable if you analyze it carefully.

……

What were the biggest feelings for Kiwi and Qin Xian at this moment?

That's why it's so comfortable to work with Feng Ge; it's such a wonderful start.

Even if Xu Kong doesn't act in or direct any of his dramas, he has no worries about pre-release publicity and promotion just because he's a screenwriter and producer.

This time is no different, even though it's just a workplace drama.

Moreover, it was set in Japan, but even before it started airing, it was already generating a lot of buzz.

Of course, compared to the previous "Ghost Blows Out the Light", it is definitely not as good.

After all, judging from the trailer alone, the visual stimulation of "Ghost Blows Out the Light" is on a completely different level.

However, Qin Xian was already quite satisfied with this start.

In other film and television productions, that kind of effect would require spending real money to achieve.

If Feng Ge were to direct the drama, a significant amount of publicity and distribution costs could be saved.

……

The anime "Hanzawa Naoki" is about to officially air.

However, Xu Kong wasn't that concerned.

The main reason is that, apart from filming Chinese Paladin 2, Xu Kong has more and more projects now, and it's impossible for him to be involved in every single one of them.

Generally, aside from the pre-production stage, Xu Kong will participate in casting, location scouting, and other aspects, offering his opinions.

Even in subsequent filming and editing, he tried his best to avoid interfering too much.

The main problem is that he has limited energy, and he can't possibly help out with every single project to the fullest extent.

That would definitely be too much to handle.

So after laying a solid foundation during the pre-production stage, the subsequent work mainly revolves around fulfilling my responsibilities as a producer.

I help resolve issues the director is unsure about.

At the same time, the footage shot and the final edited and post-production video are reviewed.

Strictly speaking, Feng Ge's current group of people definitely have abilities.

Xu Kong also believes that he needs to gradually build trust in their abilities.

Otherwise, Feng Ge can't just stop working when she retires in the future, can she?
That's not what he wanted to see either.

……

While the upcoming broadcast of "Hanzawa Naoki" is one thing, good news has also come from Guo Jiayu: the post-production of "The Warlords" has been officially completed.

Because there were no restrictions on the filming period for Chinese Paladin 2.

Xu Kong simply gave the entire crew two days off, while he himself communicated with Guo Jiayu's crew and a post-production team via video conference.

Let's discuss the parts of this film that need to be revised.

There were no major disputes during the film review process.

Of course, Xu Kong actually provided a lot of storyboards when the script was being written, so this process was mostly about supplementing and making minor revisions.

The general editing approach remains largely the same.

As for Guo Jiayu, he certainly had a great time filming this time.

When the finished product came out, I couldn't resist watching it several times myself.

The more I look, the more I like it.

This applies to both the script of the entire film and the details of the actors' performances.

Many details that went unnoticed during filming are now surprisingly impressive when viewed again.

It has to be said that just the fact that three award-winning actors are performing on the same stage is already quite stunning.

Moreover, Xu Kong himself also starred in it.

Such treatment made Guo Jiayu truly feel an impulse to die for Xu Kong.

From "Operation Red Sea" to this "The Warlords," this TV director, who is already over fifty years old, clearly feels like he has entered a second spring in his career.

……

"Although the quality is very high, as everyone has seen."

"But I can't say for sure about the specific market performance."

Xu Kong spoke first.

Consider it a preventative measure.

After all, this movie lost a lot of money in the previous life.

"There will absolutely be no problem!"

On the contrary, Guo Jiayu seemed very confident.

"When this movie is being promoted, even though Mr. Xia Yuze is involved, we shouldn't make a big deal out of it as a martial arts film."

"This is crucial."

Xu Kong spoke up to remind him.

Guo Jiayu nodded as well.

Although he felt that Xia Yuze's status as a kung fu superstar should be used effectively, he still intended to listen to Xu Kong's advice.

After all, although there are action scenes in the movie, the most exciting parts are still concentrated on the plot.

Strictly speaking, it's not an action film; it's more of a traditional period drama.

...(End of chapter)