Age of Legends

Chapter 315 Rectification
Upon entering the conference room, Meng Lihui immediately realized the unusual nature of the situation. Director Ding Shunhua had convened a meeting with all the deputy directors in charge of their respective departments, as well as key personnel from the advertising, programming, news, and technical sections of the publicity department. It was a significant meeting, as representatives from the provincial publicity department would also be attending.

The reason is simple: according to the ratings statistics from CSM Media Research, the average viewership was 1.87%, ranking seventh among variety shows nationwide. This surpassed "True Feelings" in the same time slot and even exceeded the single-episode viewership of a certain TV series on CCTV-8 in the same time slot.

Once the data came out, the situation changed.

In 2001, the overall landscape of television ratings in China was basically dominated by CCTV, with CCTV-1 consistently ranking among the top in the country. CCTV-8, the drama channel, was experiencing a surge in popularity for dramas, with many shows reaching ratings above 10%. CCTV's most popular programs often achieved national ratings of 8-15%.

At that time, only Hunan TV stood out among the first-tier satellite TV stations. With shows like "Happy Camp" and "True Love," Hunan TV gradually gained national recognition. Its prime-time variety shows and dramas achieved a 3%-6% viewership, which was quite impressive, and the show also had a good reputation.

As for later stations like Dragon TV and Zhejiang TV, they had not yet fully risen to prominence.

For local TV stations like those in Sichuan Province, the national viewership ratings are often in the range of 0.3% to 1%, with most programs only reaching 0.1% to 0.2%. Their influence is largely limited to their local area, such as Fuzhou. This aligns with the situation where most local TV stations across the country dominate their local audience.

Of course, the province's top program is "News Live," followed by the popular prime-time dramas that are imported at high prices. These programs have consistently maintained high viewership, which is the province's mainstay for viewership.

Secondly, the rise of "Emotional Mediation Room" as a self-produced program, which once reached a peak viewership rating of 1.7 under favorable conditions, led Meng Lihui and Wu Yue to covet this program, which had a weak background and backing.

Wu Yue's "The Golden Mediator" also had this data, even higher, but it received a flood of negative reviews, so the provincial TV station restrained itself and suppressed the broadcast time, not placing it in prime time.

However, today, the success of a self-produced variety show has caused a stir according to CCTV-Sofres statistics, and has also alarmed the publicity department. This is because it is the highest-ranked variety show on the provincial satellite TV station to date.

The program has already gone viral, and the publicity department will inevitably get involved because the content involves the emotions of young people and the realities of society, which could easily contain sensitive content and risk "vulgarization." Therefore, the provincial publicity department will also send people to today's meeting to focus on guiding the program and ensuring that it does not go too far, which can be considered as protecting the program.

This kind of treatment is not available to local TV stations; only satellite TV stations pay special attention to these controls because they are facing a national audience.

The arrival of people from the propaganda department also indicated that Ding Shunhua intended to prioritize promoting this program, and that the propaganda department would act as a vetting agent to minimize political risks.

Meng Lihui glanced at Ning Wenjing, the director of the Arts and Literature Center of the Publicity Department, who had just arrived. Ning Wenjing was outstanding in appearance and had a calm and composed demeanor, which secretly made Meng Lihui a little jealous. She couldn't help but wonder if there was something else going on with Ning Wenjing sitting in this position. But Ning Wenjing seemed to be just there as an observer, sitting next to the station director with a notebook in hand, as if she were playing a supervisory role for a higher-level organization.

Seeing Ning Wenjing's attitude, Meng Lihui felt reassured. In the end, Ning Wenjing was just going through the motions, serving as a mascot. How could she possibly have any real influence within the provincial TV station?

Ding Shunhua put down the statistical report and said, "Comrades, this is the first time since our Sichuan TV station was established that a self-produced variety show has reached the top ten in national ratings. Has the advertising department seen last night's data?"

Director Zhang of the advertising department immediately responded: "Our advertising hotline was ringing off the hook last night! This morning, four companies from other provinces have already called to say they want to insert their ads. We've already quoted 2 yuan for a regular ad insertion!"

A commotion broke out in the arena.

Director Zhang continued, "However, several companies have expressed concerns, believing that the time slot we filmed for this variety show wasn't prime time, so they've been holding back on advertising fees. That's understandable; who knew the revamped program would have such a strong impact during that time slot? My point is, could the station adjust the broadcast time to a better point? Such a good program should face national competition. I believe that with a better broadcast time, the ratings will be even higher! This will also significantly boost the station's advertising revenue!"

The growth in advertising revenue brings performance and benefits, so Zhang Qingshan is naturally more willing to compete for it. Secondly, he also has a grudge against Meng Lihui for adjusting the program time slot.

Everyone knows that Meng Lihui actually condoned or even instigated Wu Yue to take away Jiang Rong's mediation program. Everyone knows this, and there's a scale to measure things, but it's best to mind your own business. In the workplace, it's a basic survival rule not to meddle in things that aren't your concern.

Meng Lihui keenly sensed that everyone might be paying attention to the fact that Jiang Rong's program had been rescheduled, or even targeted for sideline, and that this situation was affecting her prestige. Therefore, she said without hesitation, "Regarding the move to prime time, I think we should wait a bit longer. I still maintain that Jiang Rong and her team are, after all, outsourced, not part of our station. I think we should keep our production capabilities in our own hands. Moreover, outsourced staff have high turnover rates, and the quality of program production varies greatly. We might get away with it this time, but can we maintain it? Nobody knows. The station's arrangements are interconnected. If we move to prime time, we'll have to adjust the schedules of many programs now. If, after being moved to prime time, the momentum isn't strong enough, then it will still be a hassle, and we'll be accused of messing things up."

The fact that Meng Lihui was able to allow Wu Yue to openly target a popular program shows that her focus was on the fact that Jiang Rong and Wang Bowen's team was outsourced. In internal meetings, there were also instances where the slogan "key programs should be replaced with our own people" was raised.

Therefore, her current stance can be interpreted as acting in the best interests of the station, even if it means taking Jiang Rong's program, it's all within reason and justification. Previously, if Meng Lihui had made such an arrangement, Ding Shunhua would have turned a blind eye, avoiding offending anyone. But now it's different. "Seven-Day Agreement" is poised to become a breakout hit for the provincial station, a significant achievement for him. Thus, Ding Shunhua's usual "good guy" approach—making no mistakes—is now surfacing, revealing his ruthless, wolf-like nature when opportunities arise.

He chuckled and said, "Director Meng, you're wrong to say that. Wang Bowen isn't an outsider. He's a friend to everyone. Besides, I think this program has potential. We can give it a shot."

His meaning was clear: Meng Lihui claimed that she had turned "Emotional Mediation Room" into "Gold Medal Mediator" under the guise of keeping the program under her control, but what she did was outrageous. Wu Yue caused widespread resentment and criticism, and even her sister-in-law was talking badly about Wu Yue behind her back.

Now, Jiang Rong has produced another great program, and you're still using the same tactics to suppress it. If you're so capable, why don't you create one yourself? This talk of "good programs are in our own hands"—doesn't he know that if the provincial TV station could actually produce something like that, it wouldn't have been lacking anything worthwhile for so many years? The only thing it has to offer is the news channel, which reports on even the smallest details!
Meng Lihui was momentarily speechless, but she could only bite the bullet and say, "Anyway, we still can't let our guard down. I'm not saying we can't air in prime time, I mean we should wait another week or two and see if we can keep it going. After all, it's harder than climbing to heaven for a local TV station to stand out in the national ratings wave."

“You know it’s harder than climbing to heaven, which is why we must seize every opportunity,” Ding Shunhua retorted, but then turned to Ning Wenjing: “Director Ning, as your supervisor, what guidance do you have?”

Meng Lihui immediately looked at Ning Wenjing, thinking to herself, "That's right, there's also Ning Wenjing. She's known for her stern face and seems to have a close relationship with Minister Yu. I wonder if Minister Yu has mentioned me to her. If she knows about my relationship with Minister Yu, maybe Ning Wenjing can put in a good word for me."

This made Meng Lihui look forward to it all at once.

Ning Wenjing opened her notebook, her upturned eyes sweeping over the audience. Her voice was steady and gentle, yet powerful: "I think we should not only look at ratings and economic effects, but also pay attention to the social impact. The social response to 'Seven-Day Agreement' deserves our attention. We have already received calls and written feedback from viewers, who generally feel that the program is authentic, down-to-earth, and innovatively edited. It's a new type of program that we've never seen before. The provincial propaganda department's attitude is very clear: we will support any program that has a mass base and positive social energy. Therefore, I suggest that the station consider adjusting the time slot and placing the program in a more core viewership band."

Meng Lihui lowered her head to take notes, but her expression had already changed instantly.

A murmur of discussion immediately broke out in the conference room.

The head of the news department, unusually, chimed in, clearly encouraged by the propaganda department's statement: "If this program can maintain a stable viewership of around 2%, our Sichuan TV will be on the same national charts as Hunan TV! What a feat that would be! To put it bluntly, comrades, this is a historic opportunity!"

Seeing the growing enthusiasm in the room, Ning Wenjing continued, "There's another issue. Recently, some viewers have complained that your program 'Gold Medal Mediator' has been overly sensationalizing conflicts, using excessive language, and experiencing uncontrolled mediation. This doesn't align with the 'healthy and positive' direction advocated by the propaganda department. Since there's negative feedback, immediate rectification is necessary. I suggest even suspending a few episodes and re-examining the planning!"

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent, and many people naturally or unnaturally turned their gazes to Meng Lihui.

Ning Wenjing seemed to ignore this and continued, "As I just said, the provincial TV station is a provincial media outlet, and more importantly, a satellite TV channel facing the whole country. The broadcast of programs is not only about entertainment, ratings, and economic benefits, but also about social impact. The voice of the audience cannot be ignored. With 'Seven Days', we see innovation, and we see that it is close to reality and has positive values. This is worth encouraging, and it also shows that young people can create works with vitality."

"But given the strong negative public reaction to 'The Golden Mediator,' a serious evaluation is needed. Should the content be adjusted or the show taken down? There's no need to be afraid to admit the problems. The media shouldn't just focus on money; it should also consider reputation and influence. Hopefully, the provincial TV station can provide an explanation later."

The intervention of the publicity department demonstrates just how much public resentment Wu Yue's "Gold Medal Mediator" had generated. Many were secretly delighted. Meng Lihui, who had been taking notes with her head down the entire time, didn't look up. Many people wondered if they would see her with red eyes and tears when she finally looked up.

Therefore, Ding Shunhua immediately made the decision and expressed his opinion.

"First, the production team of 'Seven-Day Agreement' should remain stable and should not arbitrarily change personnel."

"Secondly, the broadcast time has been changed from 10:30 pm on Wednesday to 8:30 pm on Saturday, the prime time slot."

"Third, the advertising department should cooperate and make time to connect with clients, but avoid overspending."

"Fourth, the program department and the technical department will do their utmost to ensure equipment and post-production quality, so as to ensure that the quality does not decline."

"Temporarily suspend the broadcast of 'The Golden Mediator' and have Wu Yue and her team submit a rectification plan immediately!"

(End of this chapter)