Who said this top flow is crazy! This top flow is awesome!

Chapter 347 Promotion of "The Martian" in Northwest China

For online streaming, Ikeno Studio chose to collaborate with iQiyi, while for satellite TV, they chose Hunan TV.

Although online streaming can only choose exclusive broadcasting, otherwise iQiyi would definitely not compromise, and Mango TV cannot continue to "grab" online streaming rights like this time, as the saying goes, something is better than nothing.

At least, they have obtained the satellite broadcasting rights that other TV stations have been trying to obtain but have never been able to.

Furthermore, after this collaboration, Mango felt that it could deepen its cooperation with Kiwi. Only they themselves know the specifics of the negotiations, and Ikeno was not involved.

With the addition of Hunan TV, the "iron triangle" combination of Ikeno Company, Kiwi, and Hunan TV was officially formed. Like a carriage, Ikeno's business transformation was finally on the right track after the combination was completed.

However, where this carriage will ultimately go, how far it will go, and what the final outcome of the cooperation will be, can only be answered by time.

The day after New Year's Eve, news of the three-way collaboration had already spread throughout the industry.

Initially, people in the industry were surprised by how quickly Kiwifruit acted this time, and envious of Hunan TV's potential windfall.

But as more information came out, this feeling of envy and jealousy gradually turned into bewilderment and astonishment—disdain.

"This collaboration is not what everyone thinks. Kiwi and Mango bought projects and dramas starring other artists from Ikeno's company. Ikeno himself probably doesn't have any new projects coming to fruition at the moment."

"...Ikeno isn't participating in any other projects?"

"He probably won't be participating."

"Are Kiwi and Mango out of their minds? I heard from a friend who works with Kiwi that the price they offered for this collaboration is not low. It's the best treatment the platform and TV station have ever given. Before 'Goblin,' only Ikeno himself received this treatment."

"Who can argue with that? I just don't understand what they're thinking. It's starting to sound a bit like metaphysics."

"The government prohibits superstitious activities! Let's all report these kiwifruit!"

"..."

—In this three-way collaboration, Ikeno did not directly participate in any of the works. This means that Kiwi and Mango paid a high market price, only to end up buying the rights to collaborate on works by artists from Ikeno's company…

But the question is, does Ikeno's so-called company have any artists?
How many others are there? Apart from Ran Qiao, I can't even remember the names of the others.

Spending an astronomical sum to buy the broadcasting rights to the works of a few obscure newcomers in the Chinese entertainment industry... what is this if not out of one's mind?
The adult world is made up of interests, and it is clear that what kiwifruit and mango did is not in line with everyone's values ​​and interests.

Don't even mention trying to sell Ikeno through this... Just this one decision alone will cost the two major platforms a fortune. They've already lost everything, so tell me how you're going to sell Ikeno? What good would it do even if you did sell it?

This is like someone who's about to die but still dreams of living a life of luxury. Isn't that just plain stupid?

"Tell me, what are they really thinking?"

Penguin Entertainment.

The executive who had worked with Yue Na and Xiao Zhan's team last time sat in his office, cutting a cigar and asking in bewilderment, "What kind of spell did Chi Ye cast on them?"

"Hehe, I don't think it's a matter of hypnosis, but rather a matter of interests."

Mr. Liu, whose name had almost been forgotten, appeared in the office and sat down beside me. Hearing the sound, he suddenly laughed.

"Oh?"

The executive glanced at Xiao Liu, whom he had heard of before. He had heard that after the last Yue Na scandal, Xiao Liu had almost lost his life, but as a close relative of Da Liu, he ultimately managed to avoid imprisonment through various means.

But while the death penalty may be avoided, punishment is inevitable.

The current CEO Liu is no longer the man he once was. His shares have long since become worthless, and now he can only play the role of a minor figure, a mere guest when necessary.

"What insightful opinion does Mr. Liu have?"

"Creative ability".

Xiao Liu is one of the victims who has truly experienced how "ruthless" Ikeno is, so he naturally has a deep understanding of him. Upon hearing this, he said frankly, "Ikeno has a strong creative ability, and his self-written scripts are generally very popular in the market."

"I think kiwifruit and mango must have been attracted by this, which is why they agreed to cooperate."

"That's not right."

Xiao Zhan's agent frowned: "If it's just about creative ability, everyone knows that, but I haven't seen any company dare to bet on it like this."

"really."

The executive nodded in agreement: "The world of capital is profit-driven. Mr. Liu used to work mainly in the drama industry, so you should know that an artist may have limited influence in film, mainly through directing, but in the drama industry, one top star is worth N unknown actors... No, the two are not even from the same world."

"You should understand the difference between a project where Ikeno himself stars and one where he writes the script and has someone else act in it, right?"

"So many good scripts in the industry end up disappearing without a trace. I don't think that alone is enough to convince people."

Mr. Liu paused for a moment before saying, "They don't need to persuade anyone."

Everyone was stunned.

“How is this different from gambling?”

Xiao Zhan's agent stared wide-eyed.

"This relates to what you were just talking about."

Mr. Liu said expressionlessly, "Maybe... they really need to get involved in some metaphysics."

"Ikeno is a strange person... I can't quite put my finger on it, but from my perspective, both of these companies have clearly benefited from this. Any normal person would make the same choice. If we put ourselves in their shoes, perhaps we would be no exception."

"But in the end, whether it's a win or a loss... we don't know."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

After a long pause, the Tencent executive frowned and asked, "What's Ikeno's next project after 'Goblin'? When will it air?"

"We've run out of TV series in stock for now, but we have a sci-fi movie that finished filming a long time ago... I heard that post-production started a long time ago, and we're hoping to catch it during this year's Spring Festival season."

"Science fiction movie?"

The Tencent executive paused, then his eyes lit up: "I've heard of this movie..."

……

With the end of "Goblin," the promotional work for "The Martian" has already begun in an orderly manner.

Filming for "The Martian" has wrapped up for several months. The special effects were done a long time ago, even before the project was officially launched. Guo Feng's team was already busy preparing for it. The whole team is very dedicated to this first science fiction work after returning to China.

According to the arrangements of Ikeno's team, "Goblin" was originally scheduled to be broadcast after the New Year, while "The Martian" was released during the Spring Festival. However, due to the slight overlap in the timing of the two releases, it is inevitable that the audience will feel aesthetically fatigued.

In addition to various other reasons, "Goblin" was broadcast first.

Now that "Goblin" has concluded its run, and with less than a month until the Lunar New Year film season, the promotional campaign for "The Martian" is already in full swing. This timing was promised by Chi Ye and his superiors, and it was achieved after the team had compressed their schedule to the limit. The promotional schedules for both films are very tight, and by leveraging the horror hype surrounding "Goblin," "The Martian" is clearly aiming to capitalize on the initial wave of popularity.

Ikeno met Li Qian at the Shonan program. This time, Li Qian was accompanied by her uncle, which clearly showed that the Northwest circle had also heard about the commotion in the industry and had something to say to Ikeno.

"This movie release seems a bit rushed. Are the special effects ready?"

Li Qian looked a little nervous. She had become more and more plump after not seeing her for several months. During the filming of "The Martian", Li Qian had been dieting on set to maintain her weight and image.

Clearly, she didn't take on any other gigs after filming wrapped, letting loose a bit and following in the footsteps of Sister Shang.

"Fortunately, the date was set before filming started, and the special effects in this movie weren't as numerous as I had imagined."

Chi Ye greeted Li Qian's uncle, and there was a bit of awkwardness between the three of them. This was mainly because Li Qian's uncle had often teased Chi Ye in private before, and now that he saw him in person, in this manner, he was still a little uncomfortable.

"Mr. Chi, congratulations! Goblin is doing very well. My daughter in America is watching it."

The uncle gave an awkward laugh.

"Is she the only one pursuing him? Are there any other relatives pursuing him?"

Ikeno asked with a smile.

The uncle was taken aback.

Li Qian laughed in her classic old-fashioned way: "Haha, Uncle, I told you long ago that Chi Ye is a very interesting person. You don't need to be polite with him."

Chi Ye nodded: "Let's talk about something practical. We should prepare red envelopes when we meet."

uncle:"……"

He hesitated for a long time before finally taking out his phone: "How about... we add each other on WeChat first?"

"That's another price."

"..."

"Alright, stop teasing him."

Li Qian couldn't help but pat Chi Ye's arm and scolded him, "My uncle used to play with crickets in front of you. He's old and doesn't know any better. Are you just like him?"

uncle:"?"

He felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his chest and almost vomited it out.

The more he looked at it, the more something seemed off...

Regarding the way his niece and Chi Ye interacted, especially the way they looked at each other unintentionally... he felt that something was off about his niece.
Putting everything else aside, he understands his niece very well. On the surface, she seems sunny and carefree, but in reality, she is sensitive and insecure, and when it comes to relationships, she is an epic case of being love-struck…

Other female celebrities can perfectly conceal their emotions, but she can't. From the occasional glances she makes at Ikeno, and the overflowing happiness and joy in her eyes, he sensed something was wrong.

This Chi Ye is not someone an ordinary woman can handle... and he already has a girlfriend, what are you trying to do?
Compared to this summer... how can you compare? If things are like this now, it will only get worse and worse in the future, Yu Yu.

"Cough cough."

He coughed twice, glanced around, and then said ambiguously, "President Chi, this is quite a big move... I heard that many companies and platforms in the industry are inquiring about your business."

Ikeno looked at him, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"...Hehe, the kids your company signed are all pretty good, you should take good care of them."

Uncle Li Qian stopped there, saying, "They are all very good actors and artists with a promising future."

Chino understood the unspoken message, but didn't say much, only nodding: "I'll have to rely on your support a lot more, Uncle."

Company development is different from individual development. Uncle Li Qian has a very high status in the Northwest circle. With his "support", the development of the new people in the company will naturally be smoother.

This is like the difference between living in one's own little world and engaging with the world.

The company's development will obviously be slightly different from when Ikeno was working alone.

Uncle Li Qian was taken aback, then smiled and said, "Of course, of course. To be honest, I didn't expect you to invite Qianqian to 'The Martian'. No matter what we thought back then, we still owe you a favor. I can't say about other companies, but in our circle, if there are suitable projects, we will definitely send a copy to your company."

Ikeno nodded, and the three of them immediately exchanged brief pleasantries.

It wasn't until the recording of the show ended that Chi Ye learned the news backstage and understood why Uncle Li Qian had come in person today.

—Selling favors.

“We’ve partnered with kiwifruit and mangoes, and other platforms and companies are also making new moves.”

Coco walked in quickly, her tone grave: "This is not good news."

"Of course they were anxious when they realized they wouldn't have a chance to eat meat."

Ikeno remained calm, as he had considered this matter beforehand.

When he was working alone, he could do whatever he wanted. After all, once "Goblin" came out, not only Cool Movie, but even Tencent, his "arch-enemy," was looking for ways to ease the conflict between them so that they could later get their hands on Ikeno's project.

But once the cooperation between Ikeno Corporation and the other two platforms was finalized, everything was settled, because it was a long-term partnership, ranging from three to five years to more than five years...

In other words, for at least five years, other circles and capital in the Chinese entertainment industry will not be able to reap even a tiny bit of benefits from Chi Ye's success.

Under such circumstances, how could anyone possibly continue to tolerate Ikeno's "messing around"?
A change in attitude is certain. From a business competition perspective, the other two major platforms, Coolplay and Tencent, will also intensify competition in content. This is industry competition and is unavoidable.

On the other hand, the entertainment industry is full of competitors, so it's difficult to target Ikeno when he's working alone. But if he wants to develop his company, then his artists become much easier to target.

—After all, Ran Qiao and the others are not Chi Ye. To be honest, if Chi Ye were to really focus on developing his personal career now, few capital firms or companies could stop him, and some might even be begging him to do so.

The situation is quite different with other companies. According to information obtained by Coco, Ran Qiao, who was the most well-known actress in Chi Ye's company besides Chi Ye himself, had taken on several outside projects, but now they have all been canceled.

Several investors have stated that Ikeno's artists cannot participate in projects they invest in, not even as supporting roles, let alone as male or female leads.

This kind of competition between circles is actually quite common within those circles.

Sheng Ning once faced a boycott from the entire film industry and targeted attacks on her company's artists from the television drama industry.

As a result, for a period of time, the artists in her company could only participate in her own projects.

Eventually, Sister Ning reached the point where she had to bring along four or five new male and female actors, including XXXX, when she took on roles, which was jokingly referred to by people inside and outside the industry as the "Sheng Ning Gift Package".

To this day, Sheng Ning Company's artist development program has long since failed. Of the seven or eight promising actors they signed, none of them have made it big.

Otherwise, Sheng Ning's career would never have stopped there.

(End of this chapter)