America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 255, Section 254: A stark contrast – American Idol's reputation collapses.

Beverly Hills, the Cooper family home.

The nanny, Lisa, brought Eric a glass of warm milk. She had been following the news and knew that something big had happened at MGM, and Eric hadn't been home for the past few days.

Although he often didn't come home at night or came home very late before, this is the first time he's done it so frequently recently.

"He must work overtime until late every night and then can only rest at the company. He's such a pitiful person. I really want to hug him and comfort him."

Watching Eric eat quickly, Lisa understood that it was because he was preoccupied with worries, making even the most delicious food taste bland.

call.

After finishing breakfast, Eric stretched his back and let out a long sigh of relief.

He's been under a lot of pressure these past few days, and to relax, he's resorting to sleeping with several women every day.

There's no other way; I'm a simple and pure person, and my life is dull and monotonous, so I can only choose these few hobbies.

It's really sad to think that someone is so rich!

However, even with the nourishment from the supplements, my body couldn't take it anymore after several days, and I had to go home to rest last night.

Being young is great; after a good night's sleep, all the fatigue disappears, and you feel ready to fight another three hundred rounds.

When I arrived at the company, although it was Sunday, some people still insisted on coming to work during this special period.

From the moment he entered, he sensed the change in atmosphere. Everyone's faces were beaming with smiles as before, and the tension that had lasted for half a month vanished.

Just as Eric said, what the company needs most right now is a victory.

The popularity of Lionheart.com acted like a shot in the arm, injecting new vitality and confidence into MGM.

For over a year, Eric has led them to a resurgence, and now everyone is even more convinced that following in his footsteps will not be a mistake.

When I arrived at the office, Carol had already made coffee.

She wasn't wearing business attire today; instead, she had changed into a tight-fitting bodysuit. Her hair wasn't styled in a bun as usual; instead, it was loosely draped over her shoulders, and she was wearing a pair of black glasses.

I don't know how this outfit was designed; it's form-fitting at the bottom but slit at the top, making her large breasts stand out.

Eric paused for a moment when he saw Carole's outfit. Although there weren't many people around on the weekend, this was the company. Was she sure her attire was appropriate?

Even though he thought that, he still couldn't help but linger on the other person for several seconds.

"They're so rich and generous, it's almost too conspicuous!"

With a sigh, Eric said, "Carol, you seem to be smiling broadly. Did something good happen?"

"Yes, boss, great news, absolutely fantastic news! Check the news, American Idol is getting a lot of flak."

Carol took two steps forward and leaned closer to answer, her mature aura instantly wafting over her.

"Oh no, she's trying to dribble past me, should I try to steal the ball?"

"You bastard! Wake up!"

Banishing his lewd thoughts, Eric turned on his computer: "What's going on?"

"Boss, do you remember the promotional video for American Idol?"

"Hmm, I vaguely remember."

"Justin Blake wasn't in the promotional video, so viewers thought Fox had cut him out, but after the show aired last night, everyone realized it was all fake."

"Justin Timberlake not only sat on the judging panel, but he also had the most screen time. He spoke a lot and interacted a lot."

"The audience is furious. They feel cheated and are now criticizing Fox and the show."

As she spoke, Carol burst into laughter, and Big Boobs jumped around and became very restless, needing a pair of strong hands to teach them to behave.

Eric was about to open Yahoo when his computer went to the homepage.

Carol shook her head, reached out and took Eric's hand, and moved the mouse to another location.

"Boss, that's not it. The main battlefield is Fox's official website."

Eric frowned slightly. This action clearly exceeded the duties of a secretary, and the woman's motives were impure.

Before he could say anything, Carol casually removed her hand and smiled apologetically.

"My hands are a bit rough. Since Ron passed away, I've had to do everything by myself, from mowing the lawn to fixing the pipes. That's definitely not a woman's job."

Eric's attention returned to Fox's official website, where he found the comments section, scrolled through it, and immediately burst out laughing.

Negative reviews, cursing, complaints

The text was almost entirely filled with insults and abuse; looking down, it was hundreds of pages long.

He clicked directly to the last page, which contained old comments, not insults.

I flipped back to page 50-something and finally saw the first negative review.

"American Idol still has that scumbag Justin Timberlake, thumbs down, goodbye!"

I checked the time; it was left at 8:10 PM last night, which means the吐槽 (tu cao, meaning to criticize or complain) had already started only ten minutes into the show.

"Trashy program with trashy people, Fox is losing favor!"

"Everyone should definitely not watch 'American Idol,' it's a complete scam. They didn't cut any of Justin Blake's scenes at all."

"I declare that the biggest television scam since the millennium has been born since 'Sharknado,' except that 'Sharknado' brings us joy, while 'American Idol' only brings us disgust!"

"What the show's producers are up to! Why are they still keeping Justin? Is he Murdoch's ancestor?"

"To be fair and objective, American Idol generally maintained the style and standard of the first season. Simon was still funny, and Randy Jackson and Emi Amy were decent, but Justin Timberlake was definitely the biggest failure. Let's just end it here."

"Warning: Scumbag on the loose!"

"This idiot show wasted my time, I'm going to give it a bad review on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb!"

"I'm not only going to give American Idol a bad review, but I'm also going to give The Voice a good review. I watched half a season of The Voice during the day, and the contrast was just too stark."

"I agree with the comment above. After watching 'The Voice' and then 'American Idol,' I dare say that even if the latter performs perfectly, it is definitely no match for the former. The variety show format of 'The Voice' has far surpassed 'American Idol.'"

"The Voice is so damn good! I love Bruno Mars so much! He may not be handsome, but his singing is so captivating."

"Katy Perry is a true goddess. It's hard to imagine that a young girl who has just come of age could have such a strong singing ability. Her explosive power is stronger than many famous singers, at least much stronger than Randy Jackson and Eminem."

"Silin's performance was just as amazing. A white guy doing rap, I feel like I'm seeing another Eminem. Art Records should just sign him and let him knock Amy Eminem out of the picture."

"Am I the only one who likes Taylor Swift? This young girl's singing skills may not be as good as Katy Perry's, but I just like her."

"I also like Taylor Swift. Just wanted to give her some publicity. Taylor Swift has opened a Facebook account, so go follow her!"

"Hahaha, the Big Six think they can take down MGM? Is this all they've got? It's laughable."

"Eric Cooper is awesome!"

Starting from page 55, it appears that at least 10,000 people left comments on Fox's official website.

People either give it a bad review or praise it.

Listening to everyone praising your opponent on your own turf—there is probably nothing more painful in the world.

Carol's eyes almost curved into crescents: "Boss, look, the last comment shows a time of 9:12 PM, which means that in just one hour, 'American Idol' was criticized by at least tens of thousands of people."

"Fox was initially deleting posts, but then there were just too many people criticizing them, and they couldn't keep up. In the end, they had to disable comments, which is absolutely laughable."

"Now it's not just Fox's official website that's criticizing it; many forums and chat rooms are also expressing their anger. The fraudulent behavior of 'American Idol' has provoked public outrage."

Eric then opened Rotten Tomatoes, where the freshness rating was only 46%. It should be noted that this represents the general public's taste; only a freshness rating of 75% can prove that a work has been recognized by the public.

The first season of "American Idol" had a freshness rating of 96%, a difference of 50%, and this was only the first day. As the number of ratings increases, it is conceivable that there is still a lot of room for it to drop.

Looking at the ratings for "The Voice of China," it's a staggering 99%. Some people definitely gave it high scores to deliberately annoy "American Idol," but it also proves how excellent "The Voice of China" is.

Then there's IMDb, another score that will make you laugh out loud. American Idol only got 3.1, and it still has a lot of room to drop.

In contrast, "The Voice of China" received an exceptionally high score of 9.7. Even though variety shows are generally more forgiving in their ratings than movies, this score still surprised many people.

Eric let out a long sigh and sneered, "I thought American Idol would at least put up a fight, but it seems I overestimated Fox."

Pick up your phone and dial Michael's number.

"Michael, what are you doing? Have you been watching the news?"

Eric heard children's laughter coming from across the street, and he knew immediately that it was from Paris.

Since winning the lawsuit, although he still lives in Dream Manor, after being betrayed twice, Mike has finally decided not to open it to the public casually.

Now, most of the people who go to Dream Manor are his friends. He has to investigate the children before letting them in, so as not to cause any more trouble.

Although it's a bit of a shame, the premise of doing charity is to protect your own safety, and no one will have a problem with that.

"Uncle Cooper, when are you coming to my house to play?" a child's voice asked.

"Paris? Darling, did you miss me?"

"Yes, it's the weekend, I don't have to go to school. Come visit me, and bring your sister Elizabeth along."

"It might not be convenient today; Elizabeth is busy with work."

"But you haven't been here for a long time," Paris said, her tone tinged with disappointment.

"How about I bring a few more friends to visit you next week?"

"Okay, it's a deal then, no changes allowed!"

"It's a promise, no changes allowed! Where's your dad?"

"He's in the kitchen, Dad (voice cracks), it's Uncle Cooper on the phone."

Soon, Mike's voice came through the phone.

"Eric, sorry, I was studying the recipes I brought back from China last time. What's up?"

"American Idol is over, did you know?"

"Hahaha. Of course! I was checking the news all night. Fox made an absolutely terrible decision. Instead of forcing themselves to continue airing it, they should have shelved the season. At least their reputation wouldn't have collapsed to this extent!"

"Fox would like to, but unfortunately it can't! If it really does that, what will happen to GG Entertainment? How will the players explain it? It will cost a lot of money."

"Moreover, these six companies joined forces to target MGM, and they backed down in the very first battle. What will their teammates think? What will outsiders think?"

"Fox is caught in a dilemma, stuck in the middle, feeling uncomfortable from both sides. They have no choice but to do it, but this scam they pulled off was really low-level."

"So what do you think Fox will do next? Admit his mistake? That might win back some people's hearts."

"Admit your mistake? Absolutely not!" Eric said sarcastically.

"Michael, do you think Murdoch, that old bastard, would admit his mistake? He's a media mogul who can turn the world upside down and manipulate the public at will. Getting him to admit his mistake is like getting Clinton to stop cheating or getting Hawking to stand up again. Besides, a variety show isn't worth it."

"You're right, it seems that American Idol is most likely to be coming to an end."

"I think it died suddenly halfway through!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

"Eric, you probably can't imagine how popular 'The Voice' is. In just one night, Bruno Mars' Facebook account has gained hundreds of thousands of followers. He's almost fainting from happiness."

"Many people are also asking for the full version to be released like a TV series or movie; everyone wants to see what happens next."

"And what you mentioned has indeed come to pass."

"GG ​​Business Contact Company?" Eric's eyes lit up. He had called specifically for this.

"Yes, there's only the final round of 'The Voice of China' left, and it's going to be broadcast live. This morning, someone contacted me through a friend, hoping to get GG (Goblin) uploaded to the final round."

"What did you say? You didn't agree, did you?"

"Of course not. We're riding high right now, and once the semi-finals air, the price will definitely skyrocket."

"Yeah, let's keep those businessmen hanging. We need to rip them off badly in the finals and make back all the money we missed out on earlier!"

In the United States, the price of GG (Gloves) is highest during the Super Bowl. This year, the average price of a single GG stick during the 30-second Super Bowl was $230 million, and it is common to sell around 50 sticks of this type.

In other words, a single Super Bowl can generate a staggering $1 million in revenue solely from GG (Google's Game) income.

Regarding television series, this year is the final season of NBC's "Friends," and the network has already announced the price for the final episode's title vote: don't bid below $180 million, with the average price expected to reach $200 million.

The final episode of Friends is expected to have around 3500 million viewers, while the Super Bowl is even more impressive, with nearly 8000 million viewers. There's a reason why it's priced so high.

There's still a month and a half until the finale of "The Voice of China," so let's see how many viewers it can attract.

There's no need to surpass Friends, because cable TV's quality is naturally higher than public TV's.

Public television is essentially free, so while there are many viewers, not many are actually willing to pay for it. Cable television, on the other hand, requires payment to watch, which is something businesses value more.

(End of this chapter)