Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 94 tt video
In mid-July, the sun blazed fiercely, heat waves rolled in, and the weather was muggy and dry, making the heat even more unbearable.

After successfully signing a contract with Tengda Culture and officially landing the lead role in "Nightclub," Liu Shishi worked tirelessly day and night learning to drive. Fortunately, Jiang Tiantian had reminded her to take proper sun protection measures, so she didn't get too tanned.

Song Ci, on the other hand, used his skills from his previous life to personally lead the team to develop Weibo version 1.0, keeping him extremely busy every day.

The young couple only had time to meet at dusk, taking a walk together in the neighborhood as they enjoyed the beautiful sunset and sharing their feelings.

On July 21st and 22nd, Tengda Group held its 2005 first-half work conference.

The group's senior management, leaders of various administrative departments, presidents and general managers of business departments and subsidiaries, as well as deputy senior executives all attended the meeting.

Excluding the revenue of the three major subsidiaries, the financial report shows that the group's net operating revenue in the first half of the year was RMB 15.07 billion, of which RMB 6.88 million came from the game business and RMB 8.19 million from advertising and SP businesses.

However, Tenda Group's profits were low and its financial statements looked bad due to huge expenditures in May, including purchasing NBA broadcasting rights, distributing Korean online games, and acquiring Qianqian Jingting.

However, based solely on its revenue of 15.07 billion yuan in the first half of the year, Tenda Group has already surpassed Tencent and the three major established portal websites in size, making it the largest internet company in China.

The two-day meeting was drawing to a close, with only one department, TT Video Network, yet to give its report.

Zhang Yong raised his hand to look at the hands of his watch. The previous speaker, Huang Sheng, president of the TD gaming platform, had given a report that went on for a full two hours.

He leaned close to Song Ci's ear and whispered, "President Song, Lao Huang has been talking for too long. Everyone is a bit tired. Should we take a break so that everyone can catch their breath, rest, and go to the restroom?"

The two-day meeting was extremely long. During each department's report, Song Ci had to carefully compare the industry's development with that of her previous life. This long period of concentration was exhausting and left her mentally and physically drained.

Hearing Zhang Yong's suggestion, he nodded in agreement: "Then let's rest for fifteen minutes."

With the chairman's permission, Zhang Yong, who was in charge of presiding over the meeting, stood up from his seat in the first row, turned around and announced loudly: "The meeting is adjourned for now, everyone please take a break."

Fifteen minutes later, at 4:50, the meeting resumed. I know everyone is tired; only one department left to report, so hang in there a little longer.

Upon hearing this, the attendees were naturally relieved and filed out of the meeting to rest for a while. Some went to the restroom, while others, feeling the urge to smoke, quickly took a break to light up a cigarette.

Song Ci returned to the meeting room from the restroom, stretching her limbs as she asked Wang Jing, who had also just returned, "What are the plans for the company's mid-to-senior level dinner tonight?"

It was rare for the boss to show interest in the company's social activities, so Wang Jing quickly smiled and said, "Director Liu from the office has booked a few tables at the Junyue Hotel. The address and the private room have already been sent to everyone. Let's all get together after the meeting."

Wang Jing always trusts Song Ci to do things. "Everyone has worked very hard in the past six months. Having a meal together after the meeting to exchange ideas is also a part of the company culture. Just make sure everything is arranged properly."

After speaking, he sat back in the main seat, cleared his mind, closed his eyes to rest, and waited for the meeting to resume.

Fifteen minutes passed in the blink of an eye, and everyone perked up and returned to the venue one after another.

Zhang Yong glanced around and, seeing that all the attendees had returned to the meeting room, said loudly, "Everyone, please be quiet and maintain order. Mr. Tang, you may begin."

As soon as Zhang Yong finished speaking, a composed middle-aged man stood up and walked to the podium from the far right of the second row of the meeting room. He was Tang Jun, the president of TT Video Network.

Tang Jun stood on the podium, opened his work report PowerPoint presentation, and his report materials were immediately displayed on the projection screen at the front of the meeting room.

Tang Jun looked around the room and, seeing that everyone was watching him, picked up the microphone and calmly said, "Respected Chairman, leaders, and colleagues, I will now give a business report on behalf of TT Video Network."

Tang Jun clicked on the PowerPoint presentation and displayed and announced various data from the video website one by one.

"TT Video officially launched on May 15 this year. As of July 15, in just two months, the number of registered users has exceeded 8 million. Based on the current growth trend, the number of users is expected to exceed 20 million by the end of the year."

Give the group leaders some time to review and process the data, and after a few seconds of pause, Tang Jun continued his report.

"There are two main reasons why the data is so impressive."

Firstly, it benefited from the continuous traffic generated by Toutiao.com, and secondly, the group acquired the online broadcasting rights for "Super Girl".

The talent show currently airing on Hunan TV is a nationwide sensation, attracting viewers from all walks of life, from the elderly to preschoolers.

Upon hearing this, Song Ci, who was in the audience, nodded slightly. The 2005 "Super Girl" was the pinnacle of singing talent shows, with explosive popularity. This was also the reason why he repeatedly urged Tengda to secure the online broadcasting rights for the show.

Tang Jun glanced at the Song Ci in the center of the front row. He knew that "Super Girl" was a project that the chairman, Qian Gang, had unilaterally ordered the group to take on.

At the time, some people didn't understand, wondering what was the point of spending millions to buy the copyright of a variety show. Now it seems that the chairman was indeed a man of great vision and foresight.

Pulling himself back to reality, Tang Jun slowly explained: "Compared to television, users can freely watch the reruns and behind-the-scenes footage of 'Super Girl' on TT Video."

Users can also send comments and engage in discussions. This novel viewing mode has attracted a large number of young netizens, resulting in a surge in registered users over the past two months.

Click on the next page of the PPT to summarize the meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to identify and address any shortcomings. Tang Jun naturally wouldn't just report the good news and hide the bad news. He also explained the current operational difficulties.

"To take into account the user's viewing experience, TT Video Network has not yet launched advertisements. With nearly 10 million users, the bandwidth and server costs of the video network are huge."

At this point on stage, Zhang Yong interjected from below the stage, reassuring Tang Jun.

"You don't need to worry about costs. The group can allow TT Video Network to not be profitable for three years. Your main task now is to seize the market."

A phenomenal variety show like "Super Girl" is a rare find, and the show's popularity will eventually fade.

How will you maintain the rapid growth of your video website's users and outperform competitors like 56.com, PPTV, and PPS? Mr. Tang, could you tell me about your development plans for the second half of the year?

Upon hearing Zhang Yong's promise not to assess TT Video's profitability for the time being, Tang Jun breathed a sigh of relief, gathered his thoughts, and continued his report by moving on to the next part of the PowerPoint presentation.

"There are three main plans for the second half of the year. The first is to support users in uploading original videos to enrich the content of the website."

Secondly, it requires Blueprint Copyright to continuously purchase online film and television copyrights in order to attract users with a rich film library.

Thirdly, we will collaborate with television stations to broadcast some variety shows. We don't need to achieve the same level of popularity as "Super Girl"; even half or a third of that would be enough to maintain rapid user growth.

Song Ci chuckled lightly. Tang Jun had tasted success, though she couldn't recall any major hit variety shows in recent years. However, his overall strategy was sound. With traffic from Toutiao and a guaranteed minimum from Lantou's copyrighted content library, Song Ci wasn't worried about TT Video's user growth.

As long as it operates steadily and uses conventional methods to succeed, TT Video will naturally become the leader in long-form video websites when the mobile internet era arrives.

What worries him more is that Tang Jun's content review process is inadequate, with the previous Kuaibo incident serving as a cautionary tale.

Song Ci asked on the spot: "If you are prepared, you will succeed; if you are not prepared, you will fail. Now that TT Video Network has launched an original content support program, how will you handle content security?"

Tang Jun was speechless for a moment. He had indeed not considered this point properly. He was just about to make up a few lines based on his experience to deal with his leader when Song Ci saw that he looked troubled and spoke up again.

"Submit a content moderation plan after the meeting."

Tang Jun breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the chairman didn't press him for answers or make things difficult for him. Otherwise, it would have been too embarrassing to embarrass himself in front of so many senior executives in the group.

"President Song, that concludes my report."

With all the departments having finished their reports, Zhang Yong turned to Song Ci and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

Song Ci shook his head slightly. He had already commented on each department's report, and there was no point in giving a summary speech or giving motivational speeches to these old hands in the group.

"We've been in meetings for two days already, so I won't waste any more time. Let's adjourn! Everyone, let's get together tonight and have some fun."

On the last day of July, the summer month of 2023, the theatrical film "Nightclub," exclusively produced by Tengda Culture and starring Xu Zheng and Qiao Zhengyu, held a press conference and opening ceremony at the Chang'an Hotel in Beiping.

As the film's leading actress, Liu Shishi naturally sat on the stage, accepting interviews with reporters along with the director and others.

More than thirty invited media reporters were taking pictures of the people on stage.

The constant flashes of light were somewhat dazzling, making Liu Shishi, who always wore a mechanical smile, feel a little uneasy.

Since it was her first time participating in such an event and she had no interviewing experience, Liu Shishi's palms were sweating with nervousness.

Fortunately, she was still a nobody in the entertainment industry, and at this time the reporters' main attention was focused on Xu Zheng and Qiao Zhengyu.

During the Q&A session, the reporters who had been waiting eagerly raised their hands. Xu Zheng, sitting in the main seat, randomly selected a reporter he found agreeable and let him speak first.

The middle-aged man who was chosen stood up happily, took the microphone and asked, "Director Xu, thank you for letting me ask the first question. I am a reporter from Southern Metropolis Daily. Why did you transition from acting to directing?"

Xu Zheng, wearing a baseball cap, appeared mature and composed, a faint smile on his face, as he calmly and confidently responded:

"Actually, I've always had a dream of becoming a director. Over the years, while filming on set, I've been studying filming techniques and often consulted with senior directors."

I learned about Tengda Culture's director support program by chance and wanted to test my learning over the years, so I applied. Luckily, I passed the assessment and was selected to direct the film "Nightclub."

Xu Zheng had already prepared his answers to these anticipated questions beforehand, and he spoke fluently and confidently in response, trying his best to portray himself as an ambitious and hardworking new director.

Another reporter asked: "I am a reporter from Film News. Director Xu, when will this movie be released? What are your box office expectations for your directorial debut?"

As expected, this was another question. Xu Zheng had just transitioned to a new role and didn't dare to make any grand promises. After a moment's hesitation, he cautiously replied:

"Nightclub" is scheduled to be released during the Spring Festival next year. As for the box office, I expect it to be no less than 1500 million, and of course, the more the better!

Xu Zheng's answer was standard and reasonable. As a new director, he was steady and sought success. The film "Nightclub" had an announced production cost of 300 million yuan. If it could gross 1500 million yuan at the box office, the investors could make a profit of about 200 million yuan. An 80% return would be enough to make this new director famous overnight.

The first few reporters interviewed Xu Zheng or asked Qiao Zhengyu questions, which were all quite standard and straightforward, without any difficult or probing questions.

A press conference is never without its challenges; there are always one or two troublemakers.

"Director Xu, I'm a reporter contracted with Sina Entertainment. Rumor has it that you rejected Gao Yuanyuan and boldly chose newcomer Liu Shishi as the female lead in the film. Do you think Liu Shishi has already surpassed Gao Yuanyuan in terms of acting skills? Otherwise, why not use an established actress?"

Since it involved her, Liu Shishi was extremely nervous. She secretly glanced at Xu Zheng, wondering how the director was going to answer.

This question was clearly meant to be difficult and provocative, but it was no challenge for Xu Zheng. He had been mentally prepared ever since he took the blame for Zhang Zhao, and his answer was flawless.

"As a newcomer, Liu Shishi naturally still needs to learn from the industry veterans in terms of acting skills. The main reason I didn't choose Gao Yuanyuan was because she is too beautiful and elegant."

The female lead in "Nightclub" is a supermarket cashier, and Gao Yuanyuan's temperament and image don't quite fit the role, so it's a pity. We can only hope for another opportunity to work together in the future.

Xu Zheng, a seasoned veteran in the entertainment industry, answered Gao Yuanyuan's questions in just a few words, while also praising her beauty.

Before the Sina reporter could press for more questions, Xu Zheng, quick-witted and nimble, pointed to the side and said, "Please let this reporter ask their question."

The Sina Entertainment reporter could only give up in frustration, secretly annoyed that the question hadn't been tricky enough. He could only think about how to use subtle language to exaggerate and grab attention after the meeting.

The reporter Xu Zheng hastily selected was a female reporter. Staring at Liu Shishi on the stage, she smiled and said, "Hello, Liu Shishi, I am a reporter from Toutiao.com."

This was the first time Liu Shishi on stage had been asked a question, and she immediately felt like she was facing a formidable enemy, concentrating intently. Upon hearing that it was a reporter from Toutiao.com, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Toutiao.com and Tengda Culture are related companies. My boyfriend's subordinates probably wouldn't ask me any embarrassing questions, so I listened attentively to the reporter's remarks.

"As far as I know, you are a dance student. How do you feel about having the opportunity to act in a movie?"

Liu Shishi recalled Cai Yinong's advice and rehearsal last night, suppressing her nervousness and other negative emotions.

"First of all, I would like to thank Director Xu for giving me this opportunity. Participating in 'Nightclub' is not only an opportunity, but also a brand new growth experience for me."

As a newcomer, I will continuously hone my acting skills, learn from directors and experienced crew members, and pursue my passion for acting.

(End of this chapter)