Huayu: Starting from managing the Mahua FunAge Theater Troupe

I waited for a while.

The conference room door was pushed open again.

Shen Feiyang and Yu Kai stood up to greet them.

A middle-aged man in his forties strode in, followed by five people, including Tang Wan.

The middle-aged man who walked in first sized up Shen Feiyang and Yu Kai.

Tang Wan introduced from the side: "President Shen, President Yu, this is Mr. Wei Yonggang, the Chief Operating Officer of our Huanle Media."

Tang Wan then introduced who Shen Feiyang and Yu Kai were.

Wei Yonggang had assumed that the older man was Shen Feiyang, but he was surprised to find that the young man next to him, who was even younger than his intern assistant, was actually Shen Feiyang.

Wei Yonggang, quite surprised, extended his hand to Shen Feiyang: "Shen Feiyang?"

Shen Feiyang reached out and shook hands: "Hello, Mr. Wei, I am Shen Feiyang, the general manager of Happy Twist."

Wei Yonggang was still incredulous. He asked again, "Did the creative outline for the show 'Happy Comedians' really come from General Manager Shen?"

"right."

Shen Feiyang didn't mince words and readily admitted it.

Immediately afterwards, Shen Feiyang turned to Wei Yonggang and introduced Yu Kai: "This is Yu Kai, the deputy general manager of our Happy Twist."

Wei Yonggang extended his hand to Yu Kai, his tone becoming more serious: "Hello, Mr. Yu."

"Hello, Mr. Wei." Yu Kai shook hands with Wei Yonggang and added with a smile, "Mr. Wei, although Mr. Shen is young, he is very capable. The project 'Want to Eat Fried Dough Twists? I'll Twist Them for You Now' was revitalized by Mr. Shen, and the box office has already exceeded one million."

"I've heard a little about it. Please have a seat." Wei Yonggang nodded slightly, his attitude becoming much more polite.

Wei Yonggang sat in the main seat.

Shen Feiyang and Yu Kai sat to his left, while the others sat to his right.

Wei Yonggang looked at Shen Feiyang and continued to probe, "Mr. Shen, how did you come up with the idea for the show 'Happy Comedians'?"

Shen Feiyang calmly replied, "The inspiration mainly came from the CCTV-organized TV crosstalk competition and the first CCTV comedy sketch competition. As we all know, both of these programs have very high viewership ratings."

So I imagined what would happen if we combined these two programs, letting crosstalk performers and sketch comedy actors compete on the same stage? That's how the prototype of the program "Happy Comedians" came about.

The responses were fluent.

Understand the basic market situation.

Very imaginative and creative.

Wei Yonggang pressed his hand against the edge of the table, his opinion of Shen Feiyang rising even higher.

"Mr. Wei, is there anything else you'd like to know?" Shen Feiyang asked.

Wei Yonggang thought for a moment and said, "I have a basic understanding of the competition format for this show. There are ten groups of comedians, and the last-place winner is eliminated every two episodes. Then, a newcomer takes their place. Who gets eliminated is decided by a vote of the 500 audience members. After twelve episodes, it's a competition of who can consistently produce content. Is that right?"

"That's right."

Wei Yonggang continued, "I think this program is definitely entertaining. Audiences love watching both the skits and the crosstalk. But how will the contestants be selected?"

"For the six groups of veteran comedians, I suggest prioritizing those who are regulars on the Spring Festival Gala, as they can provide a basic level of viewership. The four groups of new comedians will be used to add variety and make the show more interesting."

Before Wei Yonggang could ask further, Shen Feiyang changed the subject and said, "If Mr. Wei wants the program to gain considerable attention from the outset, thereby better attracting advertisers, I suggest that we definitely invite Mr. Zhao Benshan to be the host."

Why?

Wei Yonggang asked casually.

He had a pretty good idea of ​​the reason.

Shen Feiyang said calmly, "President Wei, inviting Mr. Zhao Benshan will definitely carry some risks. He just had a falling out with CCTV, which you should have heard about."

As someone in the industry, Wei Yonggang had naturally heard about it.

On the evening of January 4, 2004, at the live broadcast of the awards ceremony of the first CCTV Comedy Sketch Competition, titled "Tonight's Sketches Shine Brightly," Zhao Benshan, as the director of the competition's judging committee, attended as invited guests along with his apprentices Zhang Xiaofei and He Meilin.

When it was his two apprentices' turn to perform a two-person comedy routine, an accident occurred.

When He Meilin unbuttoned Zhang Xiaofei's shirt, revealing half of his back, the host Zou Dejiang stepped forward and jokingly said, "The director said it's too cold here," and pulled the shirt up.

The performance continued, but when He Meilin fanned herself down her belt into her pants, Zou Dejiang immediately made a "stop" gesture from below the stage.

The two actors were rushed off the stage without even taking a bow.

The next program was Zhao Benshan's turn. He walked onto the stage and, in front of hundreds of millions of viewers, said his first words: "I know this is CCTV, but don't do this. Let him finish his performance first."

According to industry rumors, Zhao Benshan was livid after stepping down and had a very unpleasant falling out with CCTV.

After everyone had thought things through, Shen Feiyang spoke again: "President Wei, what I want to say is that this controversy is actually a good thing for the program. By inviting Mr. Zhao Benshan and promoting the program with the slogan of fairness and impartiality, it will definitely become a hit. If you are worried that the program will not be able to be broadcast after it is produced, you can talk to Mr. Zhao Benshan in detail and put it on a satellite TV station in Northeast China."

At this point in time, once you cross the Shanhaiguan Pass, if you need anything, just look for Benshan (Zhu Benshan). It's no exaggeration.

Although the TV stations in Northeast China have a rigid system, they are at least satellite channels. If a program can be broadcast on a satellite channel, it at least has the possibility of reaching a national audience.

Although Joy Media's distribution network covers more than 300 terrestrial channels of television stations across the country, as of now, Joy Media has not yet secured a stable GG time slot on any satellite TV channel to produce programs.

Even Joy Media's flagship program, "Joyful Mobilization," only achieved nationwide coverage through simultaneous broadcasts on hundreds of local channels.

The success of "Happy Together" is inseparable from its broadcast on hundreds of local channels, but its upper limit has also been locked.

Faced with the continued pressure from "Happy Camp" relying on the satellite TV platform, Wei Yonggang is increasingly aware of the limitations of the joint broadcast model.

For Huanle Media, befriending someone like Zhao Benshan, a figure known for his martial arts skills and connections in Northeast China, and gaining access to local TV stations, would indeed be a promising way to break through their current predicament.

After careful consideration, Wei Yonggang had to admit that Mr. Zhao Benshan had ample reason to host the program.

Wei Yonggang adjusted his posture: "President Shen, I agree with your idea, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on the cooperation method."

Shen Feiyang didn't refuse and made a huge demand: "President Wei, my idea is that the program format of 'Happy Comedians' be exclusively licensed to Happy Media, and I will take 20% of the program's subsequent gross revenue as a share."

After listening, Wei Yonggang refused without hesitation: "President Shen, do you know what gross revenue means? It includes GG title sponsorship, special sponsorship, SMS revenue sharing, online copyright, and various distributions. If you take 20%, it's like I owe you one-fifth before the show even airs."

Shen Feiyang showed no intention of changing his mind: "President Wei, this program concept is currently unique in China."

Wei Yonggang glanced at Yu Kai, who remained silent to the side, and began to bargain: "Planning fee of 100,000, to be paid in full after signing the contract, plus 8% of the net profit."

Shen Feiyang shook his head: "President Wei, I believe you in the net profit figure, but I don't trust the person who takes over later. How will the production costs be allocated? How will the marketing expenses be calculated? How will the management costs be distributed? There's too much room for manipulation in the financials. I want gross profit precisely to avoid future disputes."

Wei Yonggang's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he did not refute.

Shen Feiyang's points are indeed common issues in the industry.

Wei Yonggang thought for a moment and changed the calculation method: "We can discuss the gross profit, but 20% is impossible. I can only give you 5% at most."

Shen Feiyang backed down: "15%."

"impossible……"

Yu Kai spoke up at the opportune moment: "President Wei, a 15% gross profit share isn't much. President Shen has come up with such a great program idea and offered so many good suggestions; it's worth the price."

He quickly added, "President Shen is very sincere about this cooperation, but if we really can't reach an agreement, we do have other options."

Yu Kai's words, or rather Yu Kai's identity, made Wei Yonggang hesitant. He made one last counter-offer: "Whether an idea is valuable depends on whether it can be implemented. At most, it's worth 10%."

Yu Kai looked at Shen Feiyang.

Shen Feiyang hadn't expected to earn much money; he just didn't want his value to be underestimated. He quickly decided, "Add two conditions: First, Happy Twist will occupy one competition spot, and we'll accept if they're eliminated. Second, I want a continuous participation right. For every season of 'Happy Comedians,' Happy Twist must have a fixed participation right. These two conditions must be written into the contract."

Wei Yonggang thought for a moment and nodded: "As long as it doesn't involve any underhanded dealings, I can agree."

"certainly."

Shen Feiyang then said, "President Wei, I have another suggestion."

"Please speak."

Shen Feiyang sat up a little straighter: "Change the show's name to 'Chinese Comedians'."

Wei Gang thought for a moment and understood the deeper meaning. He adopted the idea without hesitation: "This name is excellent. I'll add another 100,000 to the planning fee for President Shen."