Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 381 Live Broadcast
On New Year's Eve, as the couple chatted, Liu Shishi's phone vibrated slightly. Looking down, she saw it was a New Year's greeting message from Hu Ge.

While replying to the New Year's greetings, Liu Shishi laughed and said, "Old Hu is so happy. He's been checking the box office almost every minute these past few days, asking about the progress in the group chat every few hours."

Song Ci sat down next to his wife, put his arm around her shoulder, and smelled the faint fragrance emanating from her hair: "The first domestic film to break 1 billion yuan at the box office is a milestone in the entire film history."

All of your careers will benefit from this, but it seems that Shen Teng will be the biggest beneficiary, after all, he's the lead actor. Yang Mi will be next; the benefits you and Hu Ge will receive are far less than what they'll gain.”

"Yang Mi is shameless, saying she's being a little sexy!" Liu Shishi blushed as she recalled Yang Mi showing off her hot swimsuit photos on Weibo.

"It's gotten to the point where netizens are all making fun of her, saying things like 'sweet honey,' 'you're so slutty,' and using vulgar and offensive language!"
Moreover, with fame comes trouble. Now, many haters are relentlessly attacking her, spreading rumors about her having "plastic surgery" and "breast augmentation," with a deluge of "dirt" accusations. It makes me worry for her.

Hearing his wife say this, Song Ci understood that Yang Mi was planning to take a controversial approach to gain popularity, and couldn't help but sigh:
"Although being infamous is still fame, taking this path is a real test of mental fortitude. Facing a barrage of insults and endless cyberbullying every day is something most people can't handle."

"Sigh!" Liu Shishi sighed, feeling a pang of pity for Yang Mi.

At 8 p.m. sharp, the CCTV Spring Festival Gala for the Year of the Dragon officially began.

Seeing the new face appear on CCTV's hosting team on TV, Liu Shishi's eyes widened, and she pointed at the screen in shock: "How come she's hosting the Spring Festival Gala?"

"Who?" Song Ci looked blank, seemingly not having realized what was happening.

Liu Shishi glared at her husband and pinched him in annoyance: "Song Yiyi, what are you pretending for? Don't you know your old friend Shen Sisi?"

Song Ci glanced at the screen intently for a few moments, then exclaimed in surprise, "It really is her! I haven't seen her in so long, I almost didn't recognize her!"

On the screen, Shen Sisi was radiant, bright, and poised, hosting the Spring Festival Gala with great emotion and eloquence. Although it was her first time on stage, she held her own against her seniors in terms of presence.

Shen Sisi's appearance in front of her in this way caught Liu Shishi off guard, and the joy in her heart for the box office success of "Goodbye Mr. Loser" was greatly diminished.

Suddenly losing interest, she pouted and hummed, "Boring! I don't want to watch the Spring Festival Gala!"

His wife was jealous, so Song Ci coaxed her gently, "Let's go upstairs, I'll play League of Legends with you."

"That's more like it!" Liu Shishi nodded in satisfaction, then asked suspiciously, "Honey, you know how to play League of Legends?"

"I know a little bit, but you can teach me if I don't!"

Liu Shishi smiled faintly: "I'll call Si Cong and Geng Xin, and find another expert, so the five of us can play together."

In the e-sports room on the second floor of Jingyuan Villa, Liu Shishi put on her headset, opened TT Voice, and said excitedly: "Si Cong, Asin, log in quickly and call another expert."

Song Ci sat to the side, logged into the alternate account his wife had given him, put on his headset, and prepared to experience the long-lost joy of gaming.

"I found an awesome top laner!" came Wang Dashao's excited voice through the headset. "PDD, the top laner for Ehome, is very strong."

Immediately afterwards, a somewhat ingratiating voice rang out: "Happy New Year to all the bosses, I'm PDD."

During the lull in the matchmaking process, everyone started chatting.

"Ah Xin, how was it working with Li Ying?"

Lin Gengxin responded in a simple and honest way: "That's great, Teacher Zhao works very hard on set! Sister, you're amazing. I just saw Sister K say in the group that the box office has successfully surpassed 400 million. It looks like it's definitely going to reach 1 billion. When are we going to have a celebration party?"

"That depends on Director Ma's arrangements."

Young Master Wang was filled with envy: "I've calculated it. Senior Sister, your movie will earn at least 1 million yuan. It's really making money. I'm even thinking about whether I should start an entertainment company and get involved in some film and television projects."

"You already have Wanda Pictures, why bother with this?"

PDD listened from the sidelines, secretly marveling. The big shots talked about hundreds of millions of yuan with ease, which was unimaginable for a nobody like him who made a living by playing games.

"Bosses, you choose your seats first, I'll fill in for you." He knew in his heart that playing games with wealthy people like Liu Shishi and Wang Sicong was all about companionship, and he had to keep the big shots happy.

"No, you should play your best top lane. I don't want to lose today," Wang Sicong quickly instructed. It was the New Year holiday, and he didn't want to suffer a series of losses and get frustrated.

"Alright, everyone, hold your ground in the early game. I guarantee I'll crush the enemy top laner and carry the whole team."

"Wait a minute." Liu Shishi interrupted PDD's character selection process, turning to him and softly asking, "Honey, which position do you want to play?"

"Let's provide support." Song Ci's gentle voice instantly petrified Wang Sicong and Lin Gengxin on the other end of the earpiece.

Young Master Wang stammered, "Brother! This 'poetic and picturesque' is you!"

Lin Gengxin also quickly and respectfully greeted him: "Chairman Song, Happy New Year!"

"The richest man!" PDD exclaimed in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief, his hand gripping the mouse trembling slightly. "Mr. Song... Mr. Song, hello!"

"Yes, Happy New Year everyone," Song Ci replied calmly. "Which hero should I choose?"

Liu Shishi thought for a moment and said, "Let's choose Sona. She's strong in lane, her ultimate has excellent crowd control, she's easy to play, and she doesn't rely on items. She's a versatile support."

Following her instructions, Song Ci locked onto the Qin player and casually asked, "Si Cong, I heard from Shi Shi that you started an IG e-sports club."

"Yes, brother. I also recommended a team to my senior sister, Royal Never Give Up!"

"Last year, Riot Games' League of Legends S1 tournament was just a small-scale affair," Song Ci said calmly. "Now, Tenda has fully acquired Riot Games and gained control of the S1 tournament."

According to the Group's Interactive Entertainment Business Group's plan, in order to vigorously promote LOL globally, the S-series aims to become the world's top e-sports event.

Therefore, this year's S2 tournament will see a significant increase in both scale and prize money. Your IG team needs to prepare well and not let the foreign teams outperform them.

"Brother, don't worry! I'll get IG training right after the New Year." A glint flashed in Wang Sicong's eyes as he cautiously probed, "Brother, is Tengda Group planning to enter the esports industry?"

Song Ci readily admitted, "Yes."

It's no trade secret that Tenda Group has decided to fully promote the development of esports; anyone with eyes can see that.

Tenda is upgrading its role from a "game developer and operator" to a "global esports ecosystem builder" through a series of strategic moves. "Is this also an extension of the Greater Entertainment Strategy?" Wang Sicong took the opportunity to ask, seizing the chance to learn from Song Ci, a business leader, and to study his business thinking and strategic planning.

Liu Shishi and Lin Gengxin also held their breath. Tengda Group's "Big Entertainment Strategy" was renowned throughout the entertainment industry, and its closed-loop ecosystem under the Internet model was reshaping the entire film and television industry landscape.

Surprisingly, Song Ci gently shook his head: "This is not a 'grand entertainment strategy,' but a 'digital economy content system.'"

Taking the League of Legends World Championship as an example, after Tenda takes control of the event, it can build a complete closed-loop business model of "events-advertising-merchandise-content".

"The digital economy's comprehensive content system!" This was yet another new term, which Wang Sicong seemed to understand but didn't quite grasp, repeating it to himself.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck me, and my previously muddled entrepreneurial ideas became clear. I couldn't wait to ask for advice:

"Bro, I heard you mention esports earlier, and it gave me some entrepreneurial inspiration. I'm thinking of starting a game livestream. Do you think it's a good business opportunity?"

Song Ci remained noncommittal: "How much do you know about the live streaming industry?"

At this point, Wang Sicong had no time to play the game and quit immediately. The others also tacitly remained silent, not daring to disturb him.

After thinking for a long time, Wang Dashao began to analyze the situation clearly: "I have done my research. Initially, TT Voice, launched by Tenda, was just a voice communication tool to facilitate communication among gamers."

However, as user needs have evolved, TT Voice has gradually expanded from a simple voice tool into the field of entertainment live streaming. In particular, in the last two years, TT Voice users have spontaneously created entertainment performances such as singing and dancing.

Therefore, Tenda upgraded TT Voice to the TT Live platform, focusing on entertainment live streaming such as shows, live chat, and virtual gifts. "This industry is still in its infancy, and I think it has great potential."

What was originally an ordinary game session has now turned into a startup seminar for Wang Dashao.

However, everyone listened with great interest. Compared to the outcome of virtual games, the entrepreneurial ideas personally guided by the richest man were obviously more attractive.

Wang Sicong was speaking animatedly when Song Ci immediately poured cold water on his enthusiasm: "I might as well tell you some news, TT Voice is about to spin off into an independent game live streaming platform. It will focus on a vertical field and pursue user scale and professionalism."

Meanwhile, TT Live continues to focus on entertainment live streaming, emphasizing traffic and monetization capabilities.

These words plunged Wang Dashao into despair. With Tengda's downfall, how could they possibly compete? For the first time, he truly felt the terror of internet giants.

No matter which track you choose, it seems you can't escape Tenda's shadow.

Game streaming? Sorry, 70% of the popular games on the market come from Tengda; traffic resources? That's Tengda's forte too, a single move can have several times the effect of other companies' investments.

"Brother, does that mean my project is hopeless?" Wang Sicong's voice was a little weak.

Song Ci said calmly, "You still haven't grasped the key point."

Wang Sicong's previously dormant heart rekindled with hope: "Brother, please, guide me!"

Seeing Wang Dashao pleading so earnestly, Liu Shishi couldn't help but chime in, "Husband, please teach Si Cong."

Song Ci paused briefly and said: "Tengda's establishment of a live streaming platform is essentially to improve the game ecosystem and consolidate its leading position in the game industry."

Strengthening the esports strategy is an extension of the content ecosystem. In other words, as long as the games being streamed are my games, the more platforms, the better.

"I understand!" After a little guidance from the richest man, Young Master Wang seemed to have a sudden enlightenment. "No matter how many game live streaming platforms there are in the future, most of the content they broadcast will be Tengda's games."

Therefore, strategically speaking, Tengda will not hinder the development of any game platform. As long as the live streaming operation is good and there are enough users, Tengda will actually support me!
Since Tenda isn't trying to monopolize distribution channels, theoretically, game live streaming should be based on individual ability.

Song Ci nodded approvingly: "That's roughly how it is. Let me tell you something else: TT Voice's game live streaming will not receive any special resources from the group."

Previously, Yu Xin, the head of the live streaming business, had reported to Zhang Yong, hoping to obtain the group's support to vigorously develop game live streaming, but he rejected it.

Firstly, as Wang Sicong said, as long as you stream games, you can't avoid Tengda, so there's no need for special support.

Beyond ecological considerations, the most crucial factor is that Song Ci clearly understands the future trend of short video explosion.

With the emergence of Douyin, who can compete? All live streaming platforms are no match for Douyin! Instead of burning through money on live streaming now, it's better to save your resources for other things.

With the endorsement of the richest man, Wang Sicong's fighting spirit was rekindled: "Come on, let's start another game! Let's fight until dawn!"

After playing two games, Song Ci stopped after a brief stint and began to attend to serious matters, sending New Year's greetings to important figures from all walks of life.

When the New Year's bell rang, Liu Shishi returned to the bedroom and found her husband holding an iPad, leaning against the headboard browsing trending topics.

Liu Shishi stretched lazily, her silk pajamas outlining her graceful curves: "Honey, everyone on Weibo is complaining that this year's Spring Festival Gala was so boring, Zhao Benshan didn't even appear."

The Spring Festival Gala's chief director, Ha Wen, demanded that "meaning come first, then entertainment," and directly rejected Zhao Benshan's program. Netizens nearly crashed CCTV's official website with their outrage.

Song Ci placed an iPad by his bedside: "Programs that cater to the emperor's wishes lose their original flavor."

Remembering a trending topic she'd seen on Weibo, Liu Shishi winked mischievously and leaned closer to her husband: "Honey, can I ask you something?"

"Ok?"

"There are rumors online that Shen Sisi is so young to be able to host the Spring Festival Gala because she has someone backing her!" Liu Shishi deliberately dragged out the last syllable, "That person wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

Song Ci frowned slightly: "Nonsense! I haven't been in contact with her for a long time. The Spring Festival Gala is the cultural feast for the whole nation, and countless eyes are watching. If there's even the slightest problem, someone will be held accountable."

The selection process for the host involves more than a dozen procedures, including political vetting and professional assessments. Shen Sisi was able to stand on that stage because of her professional abilities.

Hearing her husband's resolute answer, Liu Shishi felt a weight lifted from her heart. She had initially suspected that her husband had used his connections with Director Jiang to get Shen Sisi on the Spring Festival Gala, but now it seemed she had been overthinking it.

"Get some rest, honey. I have to go to the company early tomorrow morning to give out red envelopes to the employees on duty. Do you want to come with me?"

Since the founding of Tengda Group, the three founders have taken turns visiting and extending greetings to employees on duty during the Spring Festival on the first day of each year. This year, Zhang Yong returned to his hometown to visit relatives, and Wang Jing was nearing her due date, so this task naturally fell to Song Ci.

"Of course I'll go!" Liu Shishi replied without hesitation, her eyes sparkling. Being able to accompany her husband to the company event was exactly what she wanted.

(End of this chapter)