The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 225 Shameless, utterly shameless!

Although the beauty pageant has ended, its aftereffects continue to reverberate.

ATV's reputation soared as a result.

An influential and excellent program can significantly boost a television station's reputation.

With the addition of "Unrestricted Fighting Tournament," ATV's strength and influence, at least in variety shows, have even surpassed its old rival TVB.

Although both shows have entry requirements, they are undeniably a good way for many people from ordinary families to quickly gain popularity or make money.

The beauty pageant has ended, but the follow-up reports are endless and quite attention-grabbing.

ATV exposed the income of many contestants during the beauty pageant.

Also revealed were the official contestants of the "Unrestricted Fighting Tournament".

The people of Hong Kong Island then realized that those popular contestants had made a fortune in a short period of time by monetizing their popularity and traffic during the competition.

The minimum is tens of thousands, and the maximum is even over a million!
In Hong Kong in 1988, tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars was not a small amount for an ordinary family.

As for millions of Hong Kong dollars, that's at least a moderately wealthy level of assets.

In any case, the news shocked many citizens who follow ATV programs.

They never expected that the contestants on the show would be able to earn so much money!
Suddenly, the two programs, which had previously lost their momentum, became hot topics of discussion again, and it seems that maintaining their popularity for a while will not be a problem.

For no other reason than that all Hong Kong Island residents who paid attention to this matter were quite shocked.

If a contestant can earn millions in a short period of time, they might just rise to a higher social class.

The biggest beneficiaries are naturally the television stations that serve as the program platforms.

Not to mention that ATV made an astonishing profit of over 50 to 60 million by taking advantage of the beauty pageant, the influence of the program alone was enough to make ATV very happy for a while.

With its self-produced dramas also performing well, ATV gradually narrowed the gap with TVB.

It is estimated that if this trend continues for one or two years, catching up with or even surpassing TVB would not be difficult to understand, and it would definitely be something for everyone at the TV station to celebrate.

It's important to understand that during Qiu Degen's tenure, ATV only managed to turn a profit, and the gap between it and TVB was still significant—that's the harsh reality.

During Qiu Degen's tenure, ATV's main focus was on cutting costs and controlling expenses.

The results were quite obvious; ATV turned a profit for the first time under his management.

This can only be described as the traditional business mindset of an old-fashioned businessman.

Wu Feng, however, was different. He saw television stations simply as platforms for propaganda and public opinion.

What we want is influence and the power to set the agenda; whether we can make a profit is not important.

For him, losing tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars every year for sufficient influence and voice is a worthwhile deal.

To this end, he created two wildly popular variety shows in one go!
At the same time, a lot of money was invested in producing high-quality TV dramas!

I have no other requests, I just hope that ATV's influence can quickly close the gap with TVB, and even surpass TVB's viewership.

In fact, television stations are similar to online platforms in later times; they all rely on large investments for large returns.

The two variety shows have already demonstrated an amazing influence and impressive earning power.

High-quality TV dramas, which cost a lot of money to produce, also achieved high viewership ratings after airing.

Unfortunately, Wu Feng's Mong Kok News and Novel Monthly provided a constant stream of exciting story material, giving ATV just too many great stories to film.

Because it has a novel and comic book base, it already has a certain level of popularity even before it has been adapted into a TV series.

As long as the subsequent filming and production of TV series are not subpar, it is no exaggeration to say that they can continuously produce high-quality TV series.

Following the broadcast of the TV series "The Legend of Zhengde" and "The Fist Within Four Walls", ATV has begun producing more TV series adapted from novels, and many mainland writers have been invited to come to Hong Kong to become members of the screenwriting team.

Wu Feng was very strict and wouldn't allow the TV station's screenwriters to make random changes.

The money has already been paid. If any guy doesn't take his money seriously, he naturally has a way to easily deal with such trash.

At this point, his identity as a Hung Hing boss became exceptionally useful.

With its wildly popular variety shows and high-quality dramas going hand in hand, it's no wonder that ATV's influence has risen rapidly.

Now, it's the wireless network's turn to get nervous.

TVB is no pushover either; their own drama production quality is very high.

ATV has many excellent novels available for adaptation, while TVB also has classic Jin Yong novels available for adaptation.

In the chairman's office, Uncle Shao was listening to a report from senior executives of the television station.

In the battle for prime-time drama ratings, TVB still outperformed ATV.

However, according to statistics, ATV's viewership share has increased rapidly, and the gap with TVB is no longer as far as it used to be. This is something that deserves serious attention.

In fact, ATV during Qiu Degen's era was quite good.

It's a pity that they couldn't consistently produce high-quality or even classic TV dramas. Their prime-time TV drama ratings were quite average, even dismal.

Occasionally, a phenomenal drama series will emerge, but unfortunately, the quality of subsequent episodes cannot keep up, and the ratings that were finally raised will quickly fall back to their original level.

Wu Feng has only been in charge of ATV for a little over a year.

He was primarily in charge of the "Unrestricted Fighting Tournament" and beauty pageants, while television drama production was left to the higher-ups at the television station.

Due to historical reasons, even though ATV has been producing high-quality dramas in recent months, which has significantly improved its prime-time ratings, it still lags behind TVB.

There's nothing we can do about it; we can only keep trying to catch up.

Fortunately, ATV has seen hope in catching up and surpassing, and the drama production team is full of fighting spirit and working very hard.

Of course, this is also related to the generous treatment Wu Feng gave him!
If a TV series is of good quality and achieves a certain viewership rating, there will be a reward afterwards.

Wu Feng was not stingy at all in this regard!

Although Uncle Shaw was very successful in running TVB, he can be used as a reference for learning.

Perhaps the key to a TV station's profitability lies in its extreme cost-cutting model, which is similar to that of wireless networks.

However, Wu Feng simply cannot do that!
It's still a difference in business philosophy; Wu Feng doesn't require the TV station to necessarily be profitable!

As long as his influence and voice are sufficient, he will certainly not be stingy with various reward measures, and of course, he will not be stingy with salary and benefits either.

In fact, ATV is already doing very well.

Wu Feng had plans to accomplish something through the hastily assembled football commentary program.

On the other side, Uncle Siu was not in a good mood after listening to the report from TVB executives.

Upon entering, Fang Yihua immediately asked, "Are you still struggling with those two variety shows from ATV? Couldn't we just imitate them and launch similar programs?" "The cost is too high!"

Uncle Shao sighed, "I've studied this carefully. If there aren't enough incentives to attract people, who would participate in a program like this?"

"Then let's give them a generous reward!"

Fang Yihua replied without hesitation, "If ATV can make money through its programs, we can too!"

"Things aren't that simple!"

Uncle Shao sighed, "ATV's martial arts actors have a very sophisticated way of monetizing their traffic and popularity, but TVB doesn't have that!"

"If you don't have one, can you learn it?"

Fang Yihua disagreed, saying, "With TVB's size, whether they do it themselves or collaborate with other newspapers and publishing channels, it's a very easy thing!"

"They can create a 'Ong-Bak' series of novels, comics, and TV series through fighting matches. I heard that the movie has already started filming and production. Let's make a 'King of Fighters' series!"

"Putting everything else aside, if it were made into an arcade game, it could make a fortune!"

"As for beauty pageants, that's even simpler. Besides signing with a TV station, we also have a powerful record company, which gives us a significant advantage!"

"Oh, now that you mention it, it really does have potential!"

Uncle Shao was intrigued and pondered for a moment before saying, "Wireless is worth a try, but the cost can't be too high!"

Fang Yihua nodded in agreement; she thought so too.

If we really follow ATV's rules, the contestants will have too much of an advantage.

Soon, TVB launched its promotional campaign, and the entire Hong Kong Island was abuzz with excitement.

"Shameless! Utterly shameless!"

Li Zhuanglie was so angry he almost cursed out loud; he never expected his opponent to do something like this.

With its size and resources, TVB could easily emulate ATV's fighting tournaments and beauty pageants, and in some aspects, it even has a significant advantage.

"What's there for Director Li to be angry about?"

Wu Feng happened to be in his office and overheard Li Zhuanglie's complaints. He couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Isn't this normal practice between TV stations?"

"Even if you're going to imitate, you can't do it so blatantly, can you?"

Li Zhuanglie said unhappily, "Looking at their promotional materials, their competition rules are basically exactly the same as ours!"

"So, do you think we have any way to stop what they're doing?"

Wu Feng chuckled and countered, "Or rather, is there any way to prevent them from imitating so perfectly?"

"I don't have that kind of ability!"

Li Zhuanglie deflated like a punctured balloon, saying dejectedly, "They have the nerve to do such a thing. Am I not even allowed to utter a few words of rebuke? That would be too frustrating!"

At this point, he looked at Wu Feng curiously and asked, "Doesn't Wu Sheng get angry?"

What's the point of getting angry?

Wu Feng said calmly, "In fact, looking at this matter from another perspective is not necessarily a bad thing!"

Seeing the disbelief on Li Zhuanglie's face, he chuckled and said, "As the saying goes, there's no harm without comparison!"

"I believe we've done a pretty good job in terms of commercial development for our fighting tournaments and beauty pageants. At least many contestants have benefited, and the TV station has also made a fortune!"

"Wu Sheng has indeed done an outstanding job in the commercial development of the show!"

Li Zhuanglie said admiringly, "If it weren't for the martial arts actor's arrangement, I really wouldn't have thought that the program could be operated in this way. The key is that everyone can benefit from it, which is quite amazing!"

"It's not that exaggerated!"

Wu Feng laughed and said, "I'm just willing to give the players some benefits, but I don't know if TVB, which is always stingy, is willing to let the players share in the profits!"

He chuckled softly and instructed, "Director Li, have the TV station give more publicity about the income of the popular contestants in the fighting tournament and beauty pageant. The more detailed the information, the better!"

"I really don't believe that the other side's wireless network can completely learn and imitate it!"

"If the players' income is not good, wouldn't that be the best publicity for us?"

"Don't be afraid of competition. Sometimes competition is a rare good thing for us!"

"Given the reputation and influence of TVB, if they take the initiative to get involved, they might actually help us with some publicity and promotion, at least in Southeast Asia!"

In fact, throughout Southeast Asia, TVB's reputation far surpasses that of ATV; this is an indisputable fact, and there's nothing more to say about it.

ATV has to actively invite top fighters from Southeast Asia to participate in order to spread its influence over the region, and it remains to be seen how effective that will be.

However, if the same competition is held wirelessly, its momentum and impact will automatically affect the Southeast Asian region.

At this time, ATV could really capitalize on the surge in viewership.

There's nothing we can do about it; the time is too short. ATV needs more time to build up its reputation.

Wu Feng wanted to go directly to satellite TV and turn ATV into a satellite television station.

Back then, as long as there was a satellite receiver, the entire Southeast Asia was within ATV's signal coverage area, and its influence and viewership were astonishing.

Unfortunately, even with such financial resources, the Hong Kong British government would not easily give in.

Don't assume that because both Hong Kong Island television stations are privately controlled, they have enough autonomy in program production and can broadcast whatever they want; that's wishful thinking.

The Hong Kong British government maintained quite strict control over television programs.

This is closely related to the actual situation in the UK.

While the UK is home to the BBC, a television media outlet with global influence, it is not one of those countries.
Anyone who knows about the BBC's disgusting tactics against mainland China will understand just how adept the British are at using television media and how well they understand the intricacies of the system.

As such, managing the situation is naturally a breeze, leaving no room for the two privately owned television stations on Hong Kong Island to exploit any loopholes.

Similarly, newspapers and media are the same.

On the surface, it seems to be loosely managed, but in reality, it is quite strict.

In the film industry, the UK is performing poorly, so it has little experience in how to manage it and basically has no management measures at all.

The emergence of the golden age of Hong Kong cinema was due not only to talent but also to the lack of intervention from the British Hong Kong government, which is almost laughable.

Similarly, Wu Feng was not angry about TVB's imitation and learning; on the contrary, he hoped that TVB would make a bigger splash so that ATV could gain more benefits.

Li Zhuanglie was dumbfounded: Could things be understood like this?

However, it must be said that after Wu Feng's explanation, his resentment was not so great.

(End of this chapter)