Top Chinese entertainment stars start with lucky koi fish

The biggest event that has happened at Blue TV in the past six months.

Director Xia Cheng'an defied public opinion and decisively spent 1.8 million yuan to purchase the Chinese rights to the Korean show "Running Man," aiming to create a Chinese version of the show.

However, because the amount was enormous, totaling 1.8 million.

Even with full authorization from the station director.

Xia Cheng'an, the director who has created hit variety shows such as "China's Got Talent", "The Voice of China" and "I Love Lyrics".

This also drew controversy and opposition from other people in the station.

However, Xia Cheng'an did not take these objections seriously.

But now, this TV station director, who has the final say at Zhejiang TV, is sweating profusely as he stands in the station director's office.

"Xia Cheng'an, what are you talking about? You made the station spend 1.8 million to buy the rights to that Korean variety show."

"The money's all been spent, and we were just waiting for approval to import it, but now someone at the station is telling me, 'You haven't managed to get things sorted out with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's Television Drama Department?'"

Wang Tongyuan, the then director of Lantai TV, looked at his confidant Xia Cheng'an and almost laughed in anger.

Since taking over as the head of Zhejiang Radio and Television Group.

Wang Tongyuan, who also serves as the director of the Blue Channel, proposed that "guidance is invaluable and viewership ratings are the ultimate truth."

We believe that professional matters should be handled by professionals.

Xia Chengan was promoted to director of Zhejiang TV and given full authority to make decisions on program production at Zhejiang TV.

Xia Cheng'an did not disappoint Wang Tongyuan.

In just a few years after taking office, he transformed Zhejiang TV from ninth to second among satellite TV stations.

Wang Tongyuan trusted his subordinate's abilities more and more, and openly stated this to outsiders:

"Xia Cheng'an has the final say on things at Zhejiang TV. I only care about two things: the direction of the program and GG revenue."

And now, this subordinate whom he trusted implicitly and who was given immense power.

But he made such a basic mistake.

Xia Cheng'an broke out in a cold sweat, cursing inwardly which bastard had snitched on him.

"Director, I'm handling the approval process, don't worry."

However, Xia Cheng'an, who was repeatedly victorious and full of confidence, couldn't help but think of the station director's trust in him and said...

"If the station director could intervene, Director Li of the TV Drama Department of the State Administration of Radio and Television would definitely approve it on the spot."

"So you're planning to make me swallow my pride and go to headquarters to put in a good word for you?"

Wang Tongyuan's calm, authoritative gaze fell upon Xia Cheng'an.

This suddenly jolted Xia Cheng'an awake to the fact that he had become complacent and lost his mind.

They actually tried to get the station director to intercede on their behalf.

This is understandable, since the station director, although a leader of the local broadcasting bureau, is subordinate to the State Administration of Radio and Television.

But before the station director was transferred here, he had served as that old man's secretary.

Those who know the situation all have to give the station director some face.

Xia Cheng'an and the entire Zhejiang TV station also relied on this relationship.

Only then can they dare to be pioneers and do things that other TV stations wouldn't dare to do.

But the problem is, how could such a small matter possibly trouble the station director?

"Director, I will definitely handle the approval from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television myself."

Xia Chengan immediately pledged his commitment, saying, "And I am extremely confident that I can make this variety show a phenomenon that will help satellite TV reach the pinnacle and surpass Hunan TV."

"Get out of here. I don't want to hear anyone tell me again that the station's 1.8 million budget has gone down the drain."

Wang Tongyuan pondered for a moment and said, "I also don't want this program to have any issues with its direction."

Xia Chengan left the house as Wang Tongyuan waved to him.

He then took a deep breath and strode quickly to his office.

"How could this happen? Why didn't the TV drama department approve it?"

Xia Chengan took the documents he had submitted.

The State Administration of Radio and Television did not explicitly reject the application, but rather used a vague statement requesting further improvement of the program content.

However, this vague description makes it difficult to pinpoint the problem.

Xia Chengan picked up the phone and called a friend he knew at the General Administration.

After making repeated inquiries, the problem was finally discovered.

"Does the bureau chief feel there's a lack of proper guidance?"

Xia Cheng'an was stunned. The problem didn't actually lie with the TV drama department, but with the higher-ranking bureau chief.

In the past, such matters didn't require the director's involvement; the staff of the TV Drama Department would review the materials, and the director would approve them.

But this time, the strange thing is that the director suddenly decided to watch the recent review and approval program.

They directly rejected it from Zhejiang TV.

Xia Cheng'an couldn't even get things done with Director Li of the TV Drama Department, whom he had dealt with before.

He had never interacted with the bureau chief.

How can this problem be solved?

In 2013, an entertainment restriction order was issued, which clearly required:

Entertainment programs on satellite TV channels must "adhere to the correct direction, reflect the core socialist values, and prevent excessive entertainment and vulgarity."

But this was the first time Xia Cheng'an had encountered such a situation.

"What should we do?"

Xia Chengan paced anxiously in his office.

Helpless, he could only call his friend Wang Zhongjun, the president of Huayi Brothers.

Xia Cheng'an certainly wasn't foolish enough to dump all 1.8 million yuan of the production costs on his own TV station for Running Man.

Instead, they found a partner, and that partner was Huayi Brothers.

Huayi Brothers covered part of the cost and promised to provide sponsorship support and offer low-cost packages with artists.

And most importantly, the guarantee of minimum return.

If Running Man doesn't meet expectations, Huayi Brothers will have to pay Xia Cheng'an to subsidize Zhejiang TV.

This confidence is what allowed Xia Cheng'an to stand against the majority of the audience on the satellite TV.

So what if we fail? Someone will cover the losses!

After all, Xia Cheng'an didn't dare to gamble that he would definitely succeed.

Last year, Dragon TV also introduced South Korea's ratings hit, "2 Days & 1 Night," which was even more popular than "Running Man."

They spent 1.2 million, but the response was lukewarm...

It was a complete waste of money.

Xia Cheng'an had heard that the person in charge of bringing in the program had a terrible ending!

Therefore, collaborating with Huayi Brothers is necessary.

It's simply a matter of sacrificing the Running Man cast and the price Huayi Brothers can pay for large-scale interference.

After all, this is a major project by Xia Cheng'an, the creator of shows like "China's Got Talent," "The Voice of China," and "I Love Lyrics" on Zhejiang TV.

And there's also the precedent set by Han Paozhuyu.

There are quite a few celebrities eyeing this opportunity, scrambling to get in.

Do you really think this is some trivial announcement that you can just change the cast at will?

The personnel had already been decided internally!

Like the last time Xia Cheng'an and Wang Zhongjun drank together, they had already finalized the lineup at the dinner table.

Aside from Xia Cheng'an and Deng Chao, who the Korean coaching team considered a suitable captain and soul.

Wang Zhongjun also packed up Chen He, Angelababy, Li Cheng, and Zheng Kai from Huayi Brothers.

However, Chen He and Yang Ying are still considered good enough to match the Korean running lineup.

Li Cheng and Wang Zhongjun also promised to train him to match the level of Kim Jong-guk, a Korean runner.

As for Zheng Kai, he was really forced into it.

We also need to squeeze someone in from the Hong Kong Island market, like Wong Cho-lam, who has a TVB background.

We should also add Wang Baoqiang, a true grassroots figure with immense popularity and a huge following.

With this lineup already formed, there's no room for other companies to insert their own people.

Behind the production of S-level programs lies a complex web of relationships and logics!

Imagine you can just change characters in a novel? Do you have any connections to do that?

Keep dreaming.

Either you have connections, or you can exchange benefits with the production company.

Either some unparalleled figure in the entertainment industry, someone no one dares to mess with, suddenly appears out of nowhere...

If it weren't for Xia Cheng'an prioritizing the program.

In addition, Huayi Brothers doesn't have any other suitable artists to match the Korean running style.

Huayi Brothers doesn't want any outsiders to join.

And Deng Chao was also an artist under Huayi Brothers a couple of years ago, but he went solo later.

He had a very good relationship with both Wang Zhongjun and Xia Chengan...

The call was connected.

"Zhongjun, our program didn't pass the approval process."