HuaYu97: Starting as a Singer

Chapter 238 [238] What? It broke records on the day of its premiere!
[One good thing about CCTV-produced dramas is that the action scenes are great, and they are filmed on location, making them high-quality productions.]

Qi Yuan's portrayal of Linghu Chong truly captured his carefree and heroic spirit; this is the Linghu Chong I envisioned.

[Wow! I had no idea Qi Yuan was such a good fighter. Wasn't there a news report that Qi Yuan only participated in martial arts training for about twenty days? He's actually the best fighter!]

[Live-action filming really brings out the feeling; the duet of the qin and xiao, the flowing water and towering mountains—this is the martial arts world I've been longing for. PS: Linghu Chong is fucking handsome!]

[I'm a die-hard fan of the Lü version, but oh no, after watching this version, I'm actually thinking of switching sides. Are there any Lü fans who can scold me and wake me up?]

[To the person upstairs: Trust your own judgment, this version is better than the TVB version. The scenery, props, supporting actors, and costumes are all superior to TVB's. Qi Yuan's dramatic acting is no worse than Lu Songxian's, and the action scenes are a surprisingly delightful surprise!]

……

On forums like Tianya and Mop, the majority of the comments were positive.

Some people also felt it was bad, saying that this version was not as good as the Hong Kong version. Some people have a Hong Kong filter, so they automatically deduct points for mainland TV dramas and automatically add points for Hong Kong TV dramas.

More than a decade later, the situation remains the same: on rating websites like Douban, domestic films are automatically deducted one point, while foreign films are automatically added one point.

These are all normal phenomena.

Qi Yuan and the CCTV version of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" are not RMB; they cannot please everyone.

Whether you like it or not, no one can deny the fact that this version of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" is very popular; it became a hit as soon as it aired.

Qi Yuan is the most popular pop star in the Chinese music scene, even surpassing Richie Jen.

Ren Xianqi isn't handsome, but his dramas are always hits, and he keeps making one TV series after another.

"The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" was Qi Yuan's first TV series, and it was also a CCTV production, so the effect was predictable.

Everyone now acknowledges that "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" is popular, but no one knows just how popular it is.

Currently, the methods for calculating viewership ratings in China are not advanced enough, and it takes 2 to 3 days to get the results.

CCTV and Zhang Dahuzi are also waiting for news from the statistics agency.

Finally, on March 13th, everything was settled.

Both CCTV and Zhang Dahuzi obtained the first day's viewership ratings.

On its premiere day, it achieved a peak viewership rating of 12.9%, with an average viewership rating of 7.4%.

This is incredibly valuable.

Things are different now than they were a few years ago; shows like "Princess Pearl" and "Water Margin" with average viewership ratings of over 40% will never be seen again.

Domestic television stations and statistical agencies have introduced foreign technology, making the viewership ratings more accurate.

If it's a county or city with a small population, a hit drama might achieve a local viewership rating of several tens of percent.

For a satellite channel like CCTV-8, competing with other national satellite channels in the same time slot for viewers, it's impossible to achieve ratings in the tens.

Take next year's "The Grand Mansion Gate" as an example. Its highest rating is 17.7%, and its average rating is less than 10%, which is already the annual ratings champion.

The fact that the first two episodes of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" achieved a peak rating of 12.9 and an average rating of 7.4 is undoubtedly a huge success.

This is just the beginning; it's far from reaching its peak viewership.

These days, news spreads slowly, and many viewers are unaware that "Swordsman" has premiered.

Aunts and grandmas across the country haven't yet taken the initiative to watch "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" and, if they think it's good, they'll share it with their friends during conversations.

Word-of-mouth was very important in the era of traditional media.

In the United States, across the ocean, Li Lianjie rose to prominence through word-of-mouth in North America. The audience's word-of-mouth recommendations led to huge DVD sales, and Li Lianjie earned a multi-million dollar salary.

It's foreseeable that as long as the later episodes of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" don't falter, the ratings will definitely climb significantly. Zhang Dahuzi was incredibly excited when he told Qi Yuan the ratings data.

He's made a name for himself. With the success of "Swordsman," even if he leaves CCTV and organizes his own production for the next series, investors will still be willing to fund it. He has successfully paved the way to becoming a top producer in the television industry.

"Mr. Qi, shall we keep up the good work? I'll go to Jin Yong and buy the copyrights. You can choose any of the three: 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils,' or 'The Return of the Condor Heroes.' I'll be the producer, and you'll be the lead actor. Together, we'll find investors and get funding."

Zhang the Bearded Man tempted.

He definitely wants to get Qi Yuan involved in making the Jin Yong drama.

The premiere ratings of "Swordsman" proved how high Qi Yuan's popularity conversion rate was; even when Qi Yuan made TV dramas, the audience still bought into it.

The saying "If you sing well, you can act well" has proven true for Qi Yuan.

If Qi Yuan were to join, the viewership ratings would be guaranteed, and investors brimming with cash would practically wear down the threshold of Zhang Dahuzi's house.

He made investors pay a premium for his shares, and the investors didn't complain at all. He was just that arrogant!

We'll see when the time comes.

Qi Yuan spoke calmly, neither agreeing nor explicitly refusing.

He was hesitant; to be precise, he had been thinking about some things lately.

He can bring along artists from Starry Sky Entertainment to compete for resources in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, such as for "Infernal Affairs".

There are only so many resources in mainland China. If he and Starry Sky Artists take all of them, the total amount of the pie won't change, and the Chinese entertainment industry won't become more prosperous.

Qi Yuan was thinking about whether he could broaden his horizons and copy some foreign works to promote Starry Sky artists. This was the right way to expand the domestic entertainment industry and make it bigger.

For example, they copied South Korea. South Koreans are quite annoying; they practically claim the Milky Way as their own.

However, we must also acknowledge their strengths; South Korea is quite adept at developing its entertainment industry.

After the turn of the millennium, the Korean wave swept across Asia, and South Korean artists made a fortune across the continent.

At its peak, a single Korean drama propelled an artist to stardom. This artist could earn 4.4 million yuan in endorsement fees in a single year in China, not even counting various commercial activities and fan meetings…

It's no exaggeration to say that even a peak-era Fan Xiaopang would be moved to tears upon seeing this.

If we can seize the momentum of the Korean wave and strengthen the domestic entertainment industry before it becomes too big, it would undoubtedly be a great and meritorious deed.

Qi Yuan wasn't that selfless; he had this idea ultimately for his own benefit. By achieving it, he earned even more.

Moreover, he has made contributions to the mainland's cultural and entertainment industry, so he can be considered a meritorious person.

If you make more contributions in ordinary times, you can be treated more leniently if you make a mistake someday.

Furthermore, it doesn't mean that Qi Yuan and Xing Kong will give up competing for resources with other mainland artists from now on.

If a suitable opportunity arises, such as when there is a high chance of winning an award, Qi Yuan and the artists from Starry Sky will also compete for it.

……

3 month 14 day.

Zhang Dahuzi publicly disclosed the premiere ratings of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" to the media.

[It is reported that "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer" achieved a peak viewership rating of 12.9%, an average viewership rating of 7.4%, and a market share of approximately 20%. This series broke the record for the highest-rated premiere of a television drama this year!]

This news caused an uproar both inside and outside the entertainment industry.

(End of this chapter)