The entertainment empire began with Liu Yifei's premarital pregnancy.

"Boss, the ratings for 'The Ming Dynasty: Hongwu Emperor' are out from last night!"

"How many?"

The next day, as soon as Lin Bufan arrived at the company, Bai Bing came to report to him.

"The premiere ratings peaked at 2.5%..." Bai Bing couldn't hide her joy.

This result is quite remarkable.

Beijing TV is not CCTV, but it is considered a local TV station. It has never been able to rank among the top three TV stations in the country.

The first episode of "The Legendary Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang," which premiered on CCTV in the middle of this year, achieved a viewership rating of 1.8%. The cast of this drama is quite strong, with Chen Baoguo in the lead role, along with Tang Guoqiang, Xu Fan, and Zeng Li.

In comparison, the cast of Kyoto Entertainment's version of "The Ming Dynasty: Hongwu Emperor" is far inferior, with only Hu Jun being relatively well-known.

The high ratings for the premiere could be partly due to Lin Bufan's decision to change the name of the TV series.

The phrases "Ming Dynasty" and "Hongwu Emperor" are both very eye-catching; the names are intriguing enough to pique the audience's curiosity.

At the same time, the plot is also captivating, and the costumes, props, and sets are all very well done, which is why the premiere had a 2.6% viewership rating.

"good!"

Lin Bufan smiled and said, "Notify the finance department to give Hu Jun a red envelope of 50 yuan, He Shengming a red envelope of 10 yuan, and the rest of the actors a red envelope of 5 yuan each."

Given the high ratings of the premiere, it's reasonable to assume that major entertainment companies would give the actors a red envelope (cash gift), the amount of which depends on the company's financial strength.

"Yes, boss!"

After Bai Bing left, Lin Bufan received a call from Director Wu of the Beijing-Taiwan Broadcasting Station.

Director Wu is the deputy director of Beijing TV. He was the one who made the decision to buy the TV series "Hongwu Emperor". Now that the premiere is doing so well, he naturally wants to get closer to Lin Bufan.

It can be said that the series "The Ming Dynasty: Hongwu Emperor" instantly made Kyoto Entertainment famous in the TV drama field. For a company that can produce high-quality TV dramas, major TV stations would do their best to win it over.

This is especially true for the deputy directors of various television stations, particularly those who are capable of competing for the directorship.

"Director Lin, I heard that Kyoto Entertainment also has a series called 'My Own Swordsman' that I don't know about..." After exchanging pleasantries and compliments, Deputy Director Wu directly stated his purpose.

Deputy Director Wu believes that Kyoto Entertainment, which produced the excellent "Hongwu Emperor," will also produce a high-quality sitcom called "My Own Swordsman."

Even if it's not a top-quality item, as long as the quality isn't too bad, he would decide to buy it in order to maintain a good relationship with Kyoto Entertainment.

"Master Wu's 'My Own Swordsman' has been bought by Shanghai TV!"

Lin Bufan politely declined, his tone tinged with regret.

"That's such bad luck!"

As Deputy Director Wu was speaking, he suddenly changed the subject: "I heard that Kyoto Animation is producing another TV series called 'The Starry Night'? It hasn't been released yet, has it?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Bufan immediately understood.

The whole "for the sake of 'My Own Swordsman'" thing is just a smokescreen. They think, "You've already rejected me once, you can't reject me a second time, can you?"

That makes sense. With Deputy Director Wu's connections, how could he not know that "My Own Swordsman" had been bought by Shanghai TV?

"Director Wu's 'The Starry Night' hasn't finished filming yet, and it's an idol drama..."

"Whatever it is, we want both Beijing and Taiwan!"

Before Lin Bufan could finish speaking, Director Wu made the decision: "Director Lin, you absolutely have to give me this face..."

Since the other party has already said that, and moreover, the other party is very likely to be the next leader of the Beijing-Taiwan region, he should give the other party some face.

Perhaps, after "The Starry Night" is finished filming, if other TV stations compete with it, the price might be even higher.

But sometimes, money can't buy connections.

"Since Master Wu has said that, what else can I say!"

Lin Bufan replied helplessly.

"Ha ha!"

"Then I thank you very much, Brother Lin. Don't worry, Brother Lin, I will definitely not let you suffer a loss in terms of price. On behalf of Beijing TV, I will buy it at a price of 150 million per episode."

On the other end of the phone, Deputy Director Wu was laughing heartily with a broad smile.

The well-produced historical epic "Hongwu Emperor" only cost NT$150 million per episode to Beijing TV, while "My Lucky Star," which is just an idol drama, was offered the same price, showing that the other party's sincerity was quite great.

In 06, the price per episode of an idol drama was generally around 50 yuan. Of course, if there was competition, local TV stations would also offer very high prices.

For example, Hunan TV usually uses price to pressure viewers. Since Hunan TV has plenty of money, it often spends millions per episode to buy TV dramas.

"Thank you very much, Deputy Director Wu!"

Lin Bufan would also respond with a smile.

The production cost of "The Starry Night" was only 8 million yuan. It has a total of 20 episodes. Although it has not been filmed yet, the premiere episode has been sold to Beijing TV for a total of 30 million yuan.

Before filming was even finished, they had already earned 2200 million.

……

With the popularity of "The Ming Dynasty: Hongwu Emperor", purchasing managers from other local TV stations have been sending people to Kyoto Entertainment with only one goal: to buy the second and third round broadcast rights of the TV series.

After fierce bidding, the second-run broadcasting rights were acquired by Jiangsu TV and Shandong TV for 80 yuan per episode, generating a revenue of 3080 million yuan.

The rights to broadcast the third round of episodes were acquired by four local television stations: Liaoning TV, Sichuan TV, Shaanxi TV, and Fujian TV, for 30 yuan per episode, generating a revenue of 4560 million yuan.

However, according to the agreement signed between Kyoto and Beijing TV, Beijing TV acquired the exclusive first broadcast rights for 150 million yuan. Therefore, Suzhou TV and Shandong TV will only be able to broadcast the entire series after Beijing TV has finished broadcasting it.

Similarly, Liaoning TV, Sichuan TV, Shaanxi TV, and Fujian TV will have to wait until the second round of broadcasting is completed before the third round of broadcasting can begin.

The TV series "The Ming Dynasty: Hongwu Emperor" has a total of 38 episodes. At a broadcast frequency of 2 episodes per day, it would take 19 days to complete one round of broadcasting.

The production cost of "The Ming Dynasty: Hongwu Emperor" was 5000 million yuan. All three rounds of broadcasting rights were sold, generating revenue of 13340 million yuan. After deducting expenses, the company made a net profit of 8340 million yuan.

While it may not be as profitable as the movies Lin Bufan made, its profits have already surpassed the box office of most movies on the market, and even those of many other TV series produced by other companies.

Moreover, after three rounds of broadcasting, it can continue to sell four, five, and so on, and even every year. However, the price will definitely not be as good as it is now, and the difference will be significant.

For example, the TV series "Empresses in the Palace" has been sold for many years, to the point that the broadcasting rights of a single TV series directly supported the employees of a company.

Although this TV series, "The Hongwu Emperor," may not reach the level of "Empresses in the Palace," it can still earn several million yuan a year.