Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 275 Huayi Brothers and Huang Xiaoming should host a banquet for Boss Yan.

The two martial arts dramas, "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang" and "The Deer and the Cauldron," remain Yi An's most profitable projects to date.

Other projects are also noteworthy, such as "The Legend of Yang Yuhuan".

Although "The White-Haired Witch" did not perform as well as "The Legend of Xue Rengui" and "The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty", it did give Fan Bingbing a boost in popularity.

More importantly, Fan Xiaopang's fame has soared through movies, advertisements, and exposure, and he is also the only one of the "Four Dan and Two Bing" who is still steadily filming dramas.

Scarcity makes things valuable. If actresses of the same caliber don't act in dramas, then Fan Bingbing is the most popular female star in the television drama field.

For this reason alone, many TV stations are willing to pay.

Not to mention Fan Xiaopang's dramas in the past two years, most of which have achieved good results, and even the few that have been successful have been above average.

Therefore, the price of "The Legend of Yang Yuhuan" is quite good, which is considered Yi An's target of one million per episode.

If it can really sell for that much, the total revenue for the entire series could reach over 6500 million, and could be even higher if it performs well.

While Fan Xiaopang's role in this may not be considered decisive, it was certainly extremely important.

The film and television department and the artist management department have already begun research, with the earliest being Fan Xiaopang's new drama "Rouge Snow" and the latest being the next drama after "Rouge Snow".

The two departments need to discuss and determine the benefits that Fan Xiaopang brings to the project, and then allocate certain benefits accordingly.

The question of whether to establish the company's first studio is also under discussion.

Fan Xiaopang himself is somewhat indifferent to this.

Because of her special relationship with Yan Li, she didn't lack freedom even without a studio, and the company didn't mistreat her in terms of benefits.

However, her subordinates would prefer fewer mothers-in-law to increase their profits and say in the matter.

However, the artist management department does not want its biggest cash cow to become semi-independent, as this would affect the department.

Where there are many people, there is bound to be conflict and intrigue. This applies not only to Yi An's entire company, but even to a single popular celebrity, there are endless lawsuits.

In addition to its own productions, there's also "Golden Wedding," invested in by Yi An, and "New Shanghai Bund" and "Struggle," which were simply distributed.

The lowest bid was for the TV series "Golden Wedding".

Although the lead actors Zhang Guoli and Jiang Wenli are both well-known in the industry, their popularity and exposure are questionable.

Moreover, this kind of family period drama is not very popular with the market.

Well, this kind of subject matter has quite a large audience, and its potential is even quite high.

However, the lower limit is also low, or rather, most of them have mediocre performance and reputation.

As a result, opinions on the prospects of "Golden Wedding" are divided, with some optimistic and others pessimistic, and the TV station's overall attitude is rather conservative.

In addition to having a large number of episodes, "Golden Wedding" also has the lowest price per episode among these dramas, at only around 65 yuan.

"New Shanghai Bund" is quite different, with an excellent cast, including the popular Huang Xiaoming and Sun Li, as well as powerful male stars and veteran actors such as Huang Haibo and Li Xuejian.

Director Gao Xixi has also achieved good results in the past two years. The TV series itself is an adaptation of the hugely influential "Shanghai Bund", which brings a lot of attention.

Even if this project didn't involve Yi An, but instead used a reliable and capable distribution company, it's not impossible to negotiate a million-dollar deal per episode.

However, Yi An's approach is more prudent, and the returns in other aspects will be higher.

Ultimately, after a trial run on terrestrial channels, the series sold for its first run on satellite TV at a price of 105 million per episode, totaling 4410 million (42 episodes).

This price, if not shocking the industry, is certainly a transaction with considerable impact.

To be fair, Yan Li felt that although he had arranged for Deng Chao to stage an accident, Huang Xiaoming should still thank him properly.

Not to mention that the marketing of the four top marketing companies also benefited him, just the fact that Yi An handled the distribution of the three dramas he starred in, namely "The Deer and the Cauldron", "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and "New Shanghai Bund", all of which broke one million per episode, has undoubtedly boosted his value.

After all, with several dramas being such box office hits, Huang Xiaoming, as the lead actor, is bound to be sought after by the market.

Although Yi An only played a supporting role in this, it was still worthwhile for this kid and even the two brothers from Huayi to host a banquet for Yan Li.

Of course, Yan Li also made a small profit from it.

The revenue share for "The Deer and the Cauldron" is the same as that for "The Return of the Condor Heroes," both at 16%.

At the time, other distributors were vying for "New Shanghai Bund". Even though Yi An had many advantages, she made some concessions in order to win the project, and the revenue share was 14%.

Judging from the current trend, these two dramas combined will definitely not be less than 1.5 million.

Especially with "The Deer and the Cauldron," the minimum guaranteed revenue is 8000 million, so based on that figure, Yi An would earn over 1200 million.

"New Shanghai Stall" is also doing well, and there is a good chance that it will reach 8000 million, or at least 7000-7500 million. Yi An will earn about 1000 million more.

Looking at it this way, Huang Xiaoming can be considered Yan Li's lucky cat.

If it weren't for his early collusion with Huayi Brothers and Qin Lan's obstruction, from a realistic point of view, he would be the best candidate for Yi An's number one brother.

As for the last one, "Struggle," it sold quite well.

Although the cast isn't particularly outstanding, Tong Dawei, Li Xiaolu, and Ma Yili are all popular young actors and actresses. While most of the others are newcomers, they have the support of renowned director Zhao Baogang.

As mentioned before, the fame and influence of TV drama directors are far less than those of film directors.

To be considered a renowned director with a certain level of influence, frankly speaking, there are very few television stations willing to pay for their work.

But Zhao Baogang is definitely one of them. His many romantic dramas and representative works have been well received by the industry, the media and the public. In particular, his modern dramas are so popular that TV stations are scrambling to buy them.

If it weren't for Yi An's prominent reputation and Tong Dawei's connections, Zhao Baogang might not have entrusted the distribution of "Struggle" to her.

Fortunately, Yi An did not disappoint him; in fact, you could say she was surprisingly good to him.

It's worth noting that "Struggle" is a modern drama with a relatively thin cast of stars, and its production cost was not high, around 1500 million yuan.

Under normal circumstances, given Zhao Baogang's reputation, the show would definitely command a premium compared to other dramas, and the chances of recouping costs on the first broadcast are very high.

But Zhao Baogang never expected that Yi An would sell "Struggle" to four satellite TV stations, with each episode fetching 80 yuan.

"Struggle" has a total of 32 episodes. At 800,000 per episode, that's over 25 million. Not only did it break even, but it also made a profit of 10 million.

Zhao Baogang had long known that Yi An was incredibly skilled at selling dramas; even Huayi Brothers and Hairun Media sometimes couldn't resist entrusting their key projects to Yi An for sale.

But no one expected Yi An to be so amazing. If she continues to sell the show this way, "Struggle" could very well become the most profitable drama for her company in recent years.

Actually, what Zhao Baogang didn't know was that there was something special about why "Struggle" sold so well.

Firstly, Yi'an TV series distribution has always followed a high-quality route, with most of its annual revenue coming from those few hit dramas.

Therefore, the more commercially successful a drama is, the more elite the actors and resources Yi An provides, often resulting in record-breaking and market-shocking success.

Secondly, Zhao Baogang is a well-known director in the industry, with a high output and stable results.

Meanwhile, his company, Xinbaoyuan, has some capital, but not as strong as Hairun Huayi Brothers. It doesn't have the ambition to become a giant and doesn't care much about handing over distribution channels to others. Therefore, Yi'an needs to let this high-quality, long-term partner, similar to Tangren, taste the benefits before continuing to cooperate with Yi'an.

Therefore, Yi An put in a lot of effort for the release of "Struggle", and Yan Li himself even gave some instructions.

Without these two reasons, especially the latter, "Struggle" would definitely still be profitable, but whether it would be as profitable would depend on luck.

"..."

After listening to the report, Yan Li scribbled in his notebook and eventually calculated that the total revenue from the release of these dramas was expected to be between 4000 and 5000 million yuan.

The price can fluctuate considerably and may not be accurate, since many are still being issued and the exact price is hard to say; we can only give a rough estimate.

Even so, Yan Li was satisfied with this number.

In addition, there are many other dramas, although most of them do not make as much money as these, but they add up to a considerable income.

Vice President Xiao Guan and the director of the distribution department also stated that one of their annual goals this year is to achieve revenue exceeding 100 million yuan.

The other two annual goals are to sell double-digit numbers of episodes that sell over a million copies and to achieve a total sales value of over 8 million yuan for all TV series released throughout the year.

These three goals are quite difficult and the probability of achieving them is not high, but it is not hopeless.

To be honest, Yan Li felt that the film and television department was putting pressure on the distribution department.

Although the film and television department is not as powerful as the distribution department in the industry, it earns significantly more.

Putting aside other things, the distribution of the TV series "Legend of Chu Liuxiang" will most likely only amount to a few million yuan, while the film and television department will earn at least tens of millions.

The revenue from this drama has been enough to power the distribution department for several other hit dramas, not to mention the film and television department's investments in various other dramas and movies.

So, despite Yi'an Publishing's impressive reputation and impressive achievements, within Yi'an Company, the film and television department has remained the top department for the past two years.

Besides the film and television department's usual strong presence, the artist management department has gained increasing influence within the company as several artists have become popular, coupled with the influence of the wives of celebrities.

There's also the newly established advertising department, which is developing extremely rapidly. The key point is that the advertising department can help several departments collaborate and make money.

Who can stop the God of Wealth!

Even considering the business and revenue brought by the advertising department, all other departments have to greet it with smiles. As a result, although the advertising department is the youngest, it's hard to say when it might one day ride on the heads of the "big brothers".

Despite the pressure from other departments, the distribution department, which remains Yi'an's flagship department and is heavily relied upon for various benefits, still felt a sense of crisis.

Low departmental profits are fatal.

No matter how much you've accomplished, no matter how useful you are, if you don't make money for the company, you won't have any authority to speak up.

If one day Yi'an's reliance on distribution decreases, it's not impossible to split up the distribution department and merge it into the film and advertising business.

This isn't just needless worry; Yan Li did say something similar before about splitting and combining the film and television department and the distribution department.

If that day comes, the distribution will be divided into downstream groups of a project, having to be subservient to everyone, which is completely different from now, where you have a top-notch department backing you up and can independently operate project distribution. The power and value of that would be a completely different story.

Therefore, many people in the publishing department do not want to be split up or merged.

But if you want to stop this, you can't cause trouble or strike. Yan Li has too much prestige in the company, especially in the distribution department. Anyone who leads a disturbance will definitely not have a good ending.

There's only one way: increase the distribution department's influence within the company, maintain its dominance in the distribution industry, and earn more money.

Yan Li felt that it was better for the distribution department to exist independently, so there was no need for any splitting or merger.

Yan Li was well aware of the distribution department's ideas, but remained noncommittal.

When a company develops to a certain stage, reform is inevitable, but how to reform depends on the specific circumstances.

If the distribution department can achieve strong performance, high operational efficiency, outstanding profitability, and is easy to manage, it will be more beneficial than harmful to the company. Yan Li would be foolish enough to cut off his own arm.

However, the existence of the distribution department hinders the company's future development or may create a hidden danger of becoming too big to handle. Therefore, no matter how good the performance is, if the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, Yan Li will take drastic measures to eliminate it for the long-term development of the company.

Yan Li cherishes old friendships, but that doesn't mean he'll be soft-hearted and disregard public and private matters.

A kind heart cannot command an army. Yan Li personally drove out more than one or two of his old subordinates from the company, including an early veteran who had helped him build the empire and a brother from his hometown.

Of course, for the sake of the company, he kicked the two out, but considering their personal feelings, Yan Li made arrangements afterwards, provided that they did not make any fundamental mistakes.

The company's founder, Ming, gave him a sum of money to help him start a business back in his hometown.

That fellow villager personally introduced me to a film and television company where I worked as a lighting technician.

Many of the employees in the distribution department were Yan Li's old acquaintances and subordinates, and they had made considerable contributions to the company.

Yan Li sincerely hopes that everyone can stay in the company safely and for a long time.

After all, Yi'an's treatment is quite good. If Yi'an goes public one day, the brothers will also be able to get a share of the profits.

With this in mind, Yan Li saw that the meeting was almost over and it was almost time to leave work, so he immediately organized the people in the distribution department, along with a group of veteran employees, to go out for dinner and a get-together to strengthen their relationships.

This is also part of Yan Li's routine.

In particular, back when the distribution department worked overtime to sell dramas, Yan Li often personally took charge, frequently treating them to dinner after get off work under the guise of rewarding or celebrating.

However, in the past year or so, the number of times has decreased significantly, mainly because Yan Li is involved in fewer and fewer publishing projects, and he also has a lot of social engagements, so he has neither the opportunity nor the time.

Yan Li quite enjoys getting together with his employees; it's much more comfortable than most business social engagements.

After dinner, we went to a nightclub to sing karaoke. Two long-time employees from the distribution department were singing "Two Butterflies" in a lovey-dovey manner.

Yan Li and Xiao Guan were talking in a corner, not about business, but about moving.

As mentioned before, Yi An's current office is small and crowded, so Yan Li is considering finding a larger company location.

At the same time, he put several other suitable companies together to facilitate his office management.

We've almost found a place—an office building along the East Third Ring Road—and a small company has already moved in.

Yi'an has many employees and a large scale, so Yan Li's idea is to move in batches so as not to affect the company's operation and work.

The distribution department, advertising department, and two smaller departments were the first to be relocated. Xiao Guan, as the vice president, was put in charge of managing the move by Yan Li.

Xiao Guan was very interested in the new company. In order to save money, Yi An Company had found a very ordinary office building.

Even Yan Li, the boss, had a rather "shabby" office, let alone the other executives. They had moved to a new place, so it couldn't be cramped.

"Don't worry, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

Yan Li chuckled and said that regardless of whether they were satisfied or not, he himself was quite satisfied with his new office.

In one word, rich!

　(99000)

　　It's not about water; the core of the main character is the distribution business, and changes can't be ignored, otherwise, where does the protagonist's money come from? The company's industry influence and power are hard to explain.
　　Many aspects have been briefly mentioned, and I think that's already quite concise, with just a few key projects highlighted.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)