Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 664 Preparing for a Rainy Day: Digging a Tunnel

As the deadline drew closer, Li Qiutang kept thinking of ways to save herself.

Unfortunately, given Li Qiutang's abilities, he couldn't think of a way to save the movie.

Two years from now, the global film market will be plunged into what is probably the biggest industry recession since the birth of cinema, and no one can save it.

However, TV dramas can.

Therefore, Li Qiutang started planning two years in advance. Two years is enough time. As the chairman, Li Qiutang needs some time to promote this matter and raise funds.

Li Qiutang clearly stated her requirements: "It's October now, and by the end of 2019 or the beginning of 2020, I hope the company will have at least 20 dramas with 800 episodes waiting to be broadcast, whether they are produced by the company itself or co-produced. We must have an inventory."

Anyone who doesn't know the industry would think Li Qiutang is an amateur when they hear this. Whether it's making TV series or movies, the worst thing is having unreleased stock.

This is extremely damaging to the company's cash flow. Looking back, the TV series "Resisting America and Aiding Korea" has been shelved for 16 years and still cannot be broadcast; more recently, "The Great Tang Calligrapher Yan Zhenqing" obtained a distribution license in 09 but still cannot be broadcast; and even more recently, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard" finished filming in 15, and two years later, its broadcast remains hopeless.

Behind these dramas that cannot be broadcast are real losses that the production companies have incurred.

There are, of course, various political reasons for this, but Li Qiutang believes that Century Autumn will not risk crossing the political red line.

Li Qiutang knew his colleagues would question his decisions. If Li Qiutang were in that position, he would also think the boss had lost his mind.

But he couldn't say the root cause. However, he had already prepared his explanation: "Don't be fooled by the current prosperity of the TV drama market; there is a huge industry crisis hidden within it."

Whether it's TV dramas or movies, Autumn is not competing with Huayi Brothers and Guangxian for viewers, nor is Century Autumn competing with Huanrui and Huace for ratings. We are competing with other forms of entertainment for viewers' free time.

Live streaming and gaming have become popular, and now many offline board games are also gaining popularity, with many young people starting to play games like Werewolf and murder mystery games.

Who knows what other forms of entertainment will emerge later? These forms of entertainment are all competing with movies and TV shows for viewers. After all, people only have so much free time. If I play games, I won't have time to watch movies or TV.

As a manager, one must be able to see the latent crises during the industry's upward phase, and Li Qiutang predicted that the crisis would erupt in 2-3 years.

What crisis? Li Qiutang said that television stations are doomed, and web dramas will explode in popularity.

Viewers' viewing habits will definitely change, which is why he invested an additional 20 billion yuan in the company to produce films and embrace web series.

Why stockpile so much inventory? Li Qiutang painted a rosy picture for the executives of Century Autumn.

He wanted to acquire LeTV and get the last ticket to the video platform market.

In the end, the biggest beneficiary will not be Autumn Pictures, but Century Autumn.

That's why we need to stockpile so much inventory to fight this battle with Boss Li.

So here's another question: why give 20 billion yuan to TV series but not to movies?
Li Qiutang explained that the film will continue to be invested in, and the 20 billion yuan is an extra fund for the TV series. There is no conflict between Century Autumn and Autumn Pictures.

That's a passable reason.

Whether in the business world or on set, Mr. Li has made many promises, most of which have come true. However, acquiring LeEco and entering the video platform market is the promise he is least confident of fulfilling.

As it stands, Jia Yueting has no intention of selling LeEco. He knows how important LeEco is, and even though its stock price has fallen below 100 billion, he still won't sell.

Li Qiutang arrived at Century Autumn at 2:30 pm and the meeting didn't end until 6 pm. When the senior executives of Century Autumn came out of the meeting room, some were worried and felt that things were not so simple, while others looked smug and felt that the company would usher in further development and had great potential in the next two or three years.

Cao Ping stayed, feeling that things weren't so simple. She believed Li Qiutang was acquainted with some leaders and that Li Qiutang must have heard something, otherwise she wouldn't have made such an unusual decision.

Online streaming is an inevitable trend, and many people understand this, so Li Qiutang doesn't need to emphasize it.

“There’s really no wind,” Li Qiutang said with a smile. “Here’s the money, you can spend it.”

"What about acquiring LeEco?"

“It’s true,” Li Qiutang said. “If he sells it, I will definitely buy it.”

LeEco's total liabilities reached 1700 billion yuan, with Jia Yueting's personal liabilities amounting to 122 billion yuan. However, LeEco has already filed for bankruptcy reorganization. As long as the liabilities of LeEco.com (LeEco's video platform) are reduced to a more reasonable range, Mr. Li will definitely find a way to take it over.

Sunac mainly focuses on real estate and investment, so having a video platform in hand wouldn't be of much use to them.

But Li Qiutang wasn't daydreaming; he knew he wasn't the only one eyeing LeEco, this lucrative opportunity.

LeEco still has a lot of high-quality assets.

Was LeTV's most valuable asset its video platform? Wrong! Its most valuable asset was its vast copyright library!
Among mainland film and television companies, the ones with the most film and television copyrights are Autumn, Huace and LeTV, and the difference in the number of copyrights among the three is very small, so it is really hard to rank them first, second and third.

Since the rare occurrence of this visit had occurred, Li Qiutang was pressed down by Cao Ping to listen to the work report for a while longer: "Don't just give us money, you should also see how well we've done, whether our films are any worse than yours."

“I know you guys make money, but there’s no need to be so smug,” Li Qiutang said with a smile.

This summer, Century Autumn released its first self-produced web series, "Day and Night," which became an instant hit!
Pan Yueming made a comeback. This film was arranged for him by Chen Zhixi, who used to be his agent. When Pan Yueming got into trouble, Chen Zhixi publicly criticized Dong Lianhua. The two had such a good personal relationship that netizens suspected they were having an affair.

The first idol drama of autumn, "Because of You," was also broadcast. Cao Ping, who came from a serious drama background, inevitably picked up the founder's personality in the autumn of the century. She made her own idol drama very late, but the ratings were good, with an average rating of 1.9. Shu Chang continued to consolidate her status as a top star in the drama circle. However, the drama lacked topicality. Modern idol dramas are still not comparable to ancient idol dramas.

"Goodbye My Princess" is still filming and is planned to be released online first, then on TV.

"Next year, we also plan to create our own super web series called 'The Longest Day in Chang'an'." iQiyi proposed the concept of super web series in 15, and it is not too late to follow up this fall.

Cao Dun had worked as a cinematographer for Li Qiutang on several films. After transitioning to directing, the two maintained a friendly relationship, and he had spoken to Li Qiutang about this film.

"Period dramas are too expensive! This drama's budget has reached 6 million yuan, making it the most expensive domestic drama."

“It’s more expensive than my ‘The Wandering Earth’.” Li Qiutang was also taken aback. It wasn’t that she was unwilling to spend the money, but the amount was indeed high. “If I give you 20 billion, and you do it this way, it will be spent on four movies.”

The other plays were all mediocre and not worth mentioning to Li Qiutang.

"There's something else. Last month, when I went on a business trip to Shaanxi, a leader from Qujiang Culture and Tourism approached me and asked me to take good care of Jing Tian."

"If someone asks you to take care of them, then take care of them. It's nothing. She's famous now, and her commercial value has increased. Taking care of her won't hurt you." As long as Jing Tian doesn't get involved in the movie, everything is negotiable.

Jing Tian cannot leave Starlight Brilliant, but Qiu Tian can take care of her by providing resources, which is also a form of stock purchase, in line with the strategy Li Qiutang just mentioned.

Shu Chang was also in this form.

After finishing her business, Li Qiutang left.

"20 billion, I need to find a way to get you that money. Being a boss isn't easy."

(End of this chapter)