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

Chapter 437 Oh, That’s Okay
Zhang Shumo believes his spring is coming.

Although the secretary only mentioned on the phone that Yeguo TV had a new drama series going online, the implication of releasing this information was a veiled "bidding" process. However, Jiangsu TV was definitely not their first choice, and it was very likely that it wasn't even within Yeguo TV's selection range.

But that's just how Zhang Shumo is; he's always willing to try something given the opportunity.

Anyone who reaches his position would cherish their reputation, but Zhang Shumo never thinks his reputation is important. Even if he fails, it's just failure, nothing serious.

Just keep trying next time.

But... what if it succeeds?

That would be an extraordinary thing!

With this mindset in mind, Zhang Shumao spent the next few days actively engaging with Coconut Culture, displaying a very enthusiastic attitude.

Meanwhile, during his time with coconut jelly, he gradually learned about his "competitors," and his mood improved.

Well... although it's not very ethical, it seems that Coconut's contact with the outside world this time didn't turn out well.

He had already found out the specifics. Coconut wanted to release two new dramas soon, probably because of Chi Ye's official announcement. It seems that Chi Ye, the person involved, also wanted to capitalize on his popularity, which is a common practice.

As a close friend of Coconut, Hunan TV has already scheduled a drama for release. It is said that Chi Ye personally participated in the writing of the modern romance drama. It is indeed a big project. Modern romance drama and Chi Ye, what does it mean when these two elements are connected?
This is absolutely a perfect example of one plus one equals one hundred!

As for the other drama, which is the focus of attention for all TV stations this time, it is a historical drama with a focus on power struggles. How to put it... Mango TV's prime time slot and Mango TV have decided to promote "My Sunshine".

The remaining drama, "Joy of Life," will have to find other TV stations to cooperate with if it wants to be broadcast on a satellite channel.

The best choice would of course be Blueberry or Tomato, two of the top three TV stations. But then an awkward thing happened. Blueberry TV and Chi Ye have never been very close, and Blueberry TV is backed by Tencent. It is said that they have already scheduled the new drama "Wang Quan Fu Gui" for the four-character actor. This is the first time the four-character actor has entered the world of ancient costume dramas. They are obviously not very interested in "Joy of Life".

While Tomato TV wasn't as decisive as Blueberry TV, they were equally hesitant—mainly due to their unfamiliarity with the subject matter. "Joy of Life" wasn't a major IP, nor was it a big-budget drama they had invested in themselves. They heard that Coconut TV was offering a slightly higher price than "My Sunshine," which was really hard to accept.

Another crucial point is that TV stations are in high demand these days!

Even Jiangsu Satellite TV received several top-tier dramas for scheduling yesterday. The price was negotiable, but they required that the dramas be broadcast during prime time and in the near future. If it took more than a week, they would not consider it.

Clearly, in Zhang Shumo's view, Chi Ye's official announcement has brought the chaotic battle among stars in the Chinese entertainment industry to a "grand finale" ahead of time.

It's sped up, buddy.

Zhang Shumo thought to himself, "Even our station can receive this kind of cooperation, which shows just how fierce the competition in the core battlefield has become."

—Should we choose those top celebrities who were once unattainable?

Do not!
Zhang Shumao has great ambitions.

Three days after Yego released the news, Zhang Shumo himself actually went to the headquarters of Yego Culture.

……

at the same time.

Meanwhile, Shanghai-based Tomato TV is also making a decision about whether to collaborate with Yego.

"My suggestion is to push it over. Chi Ye used to be so arrogant. When he was arrogant, he didn't care about us. Now that he needs us, are we just going to eagerly fawn over him?"

"And to be honest, the conditions and price he offered showed absolutely no sincerity. Not only did he demand that we urgently insert the show into prime time, but the copyright for his work was also so much more expensive than others. Doesn't he know what era we're in now? He brought this all on himself!"

At the meeting, a senior executive from Tomato TV said emphatically: "So, everyone needs to understand a reality now. It's not that we need Chi Ye, but that Chi Ye needs us. And all of this is caused by his own actions; he has brought this upon himself!"

Many people nodded in agreement.

The relationship between Tomato TV and Coconut Jelly actually had a honeymoon period, back when "The Voice of China" was airing. It was through this program that Chi Ye gained greater fame.

At that time, "My Love from the Star" had not yet aired, "Big Boss" had not yet been released, and Chi Ye was just a popular idol who could only be described as a rising star, with a similar level of fame to Tao Cheng and others in the market today.

But later... some things did happen. First, there was the Shanghai city spokesperson incident, and then there were all sorts of other miscellaneous grudges and feuds. In short, the moment Chi Ye and Mango became intimately connected, Tomato TV could no longer be the same as before.

“I don’t think so. Ikeno’s influence and achievements in the TV drama field are well known. Saying that we don’t need this or that is completely unnecessary. We are a TV station. What we need to do is select excellent works. We need performance and we need to make the station develop better, not to put personal grudges on the table.”

At this point, another executive spoke up, saying very directly, "I believe that the vast majority of normal people would consider this matter rather than deny it outright, unless he has been paid by someone else."

"Hey, Lao Yan, isn't that a bit of an overreaction?"

The leader frowned: "Let's have a meeting and discuss this. Let's not start off with such a tense atmosphere. Remember, we are a team, a whole."

The leader's words carried some weight, and neither of them spoke again, though they both understood the implication.

To say that they accepted money would be too vulgar, but whether there was any personal benefit involved is only known to the person involved. But it doesn't matter, the other party isn't innocent either; everyone is just subconsciously supporting decisions that benefit themselves.

Getting Tomato TV to urgently interrupt the broadcast of "Joy of Life" is obviously not an easy task, but getting them to give up completely is equally difficult.

The key factor here is that there is choice.

If it were before Ikeno officially announced her relationship, and Tomato TV got this "opportunity," they might have hesitated at first, just like they do now. But it shouldn't have been long before, at least Coconut Channel was confident that they could successfully broadcast it on satellite.

But now everything is different.

The environment has changed, the subject-verb relationship has changed, and the so-called "eagerness to seek out talent" naturally no longer exists.

Actually, the TV stations are doing alright; the real power lies with the online streaming platforms.

It's just that because Coconut has always had Mango TV as its platform, even if "Joy of Life" doesn't do well, it can still be released on Mango TV at the same time. It's just that the promotional resources are a bit worse, which is unavoidable. Another drama, "My Sunshine," was also produced by them.

There are only so many resources available at the same time, which is understandable. Apart from that, Coconut doesn't have any other weaknesses in online streaming. On the contrary, it's the constraints of satellite TV broadcasting that have allowed traditional TV stations, which have long been marginalized, to stand up.

Other companies and investors, seeing that Yeguo was seeking a broadcast on a major television network, blindly followed suit, causing chaos in the industry. It's no exaggeration to say that Chi Ye is the real culprit.

Whether it's the current upheaval outside the industry or the chaos within it, it all stems from him.

In the afternoon, in just one morning, Tomato TV made its choice, because in the current context, it was not a particularly difficult decision.

They "politely declined" the "cooperation" with Yego and Ikeno, clearly stating that the broadcast schedule had been prepared in advance and, according to documents and ZC regulations, it was impossible to make temporary changes for any one person or company, so they could only regretfully decline this time.

Blueberry TV, the last of the three major TV stations, gave its response as early as yesterday.

They not only refused the coconut jelly, but also took the opportunity to promote their upcoming drama, "Wang Quan Fu Gui".

Yes, unlike Tomato TV, which is so "hypocritical," Blueberry TV is much more straightforward. They admit that they can insert programs into their programming, and they don't care about scheduling for half a year. As long as you have enough value and can offer enough compensation, everything is negotiable.

Tomato TV later announced that their upcoming drama series is a big-budget historical drama, starring the familiar face of Xiao Zhan.

This time, the cards were laid bare. Clearly, after fierce competition for profits, Tencent ultimately prevailed, having more money and resources. They even managed to acquire two top-tier TV stations, allowing both Yi Yangqianxi and Xiao Zhan to share the spoils following Chi Ye's official announcement.

As the instigator of everything, Coconut has remained silent on "Joy of Life," except for Hunan TV scheduling "My Sunshine."

"If you ask me, it's because Ikeno is too greedy."

Scene from the Dragon TV Drama Annual Ceremony.

This is one of the major events in the drama industry. As for what kind of event it is, it's definitely a fruit-picking event. As long as you come to participate, even second- or third-tier actors can get you some kind of award for quality acting. It's a "good party" where everyone who shows up gets a piece of cake.

Celebrities in the industry love to participate in these kinds of events because only a small percentage of people actually have real talent, while the majority lack talent. Naturally, they want their teams and fans to have something to boast about.

This TV drama awards ceremony is one of the most important events of this kind.

——Chino did not participate.

This Dragon TV drama festival has never given up inviting Chi Ye. Almost every year, they send invitations to Coconut, but Chi Ye himself has never gone and always politely declined.

This might be one of the reasons why Tomato TV has some reservations about Chi Ye. After all, as a renowned channel like Dragon TV, we've given you so much face, but you haven't come even once.

I could let it go before, but now that you need my help, do you dare not come?
Since you're not coming, then you don't need to come in the future.

Therefore, this time, Tomato TV was incredibly audacious in removing Ikeno's name from the list of winners.

This would have been an impossible situation in the past.

Even if Ikeno never came, Tomato TV would still give him a prestigious-sounding award and then talk at length in front of the empty seat, taking up more screen time than any of the other celebrities before finally ending the show.

This is a kind of "respect" for Ikeno, but it is also a disguised way of riding on his popularity. After all, if even Ikeno's works are not nominated for a TV drama awards ceremony, wouldn't that seem too unprofessional?

Who, inside or outside the industry, would approve of your gala?

But things are different now. Now that Ikeno's image has "collapsed," he lost a large number of fans after announcing his relationship. Although his public image has improved, his commercial value in the industry has been greatly reduced. He himself may not care about the capital, so there is no need for Tomato TV to give him face anymore.

The main problem is that giving it to them now would cause controversy, while not giving it to them might be more "natural." In the past, if Ikeno's name wasn't mentioned at a conference, it was considered amateurish; now, if Ikeno's name isn't mentioned at a conference, it's considered a "trend"!
People outside the industry won't be surprised; they'll just think that after Chi Ye made the official announcement, she completely ruined her career—look, no of Chi Ye's works were nominated at the Tomato TV Drama Awards, which is proof of that!
This is an environment where offense and defense are constantly shifting. From a certain perspective, Tomato TV is the first TV station to openly "state its position" since Chi Ye's official announcement, apart from the companies that endorse him.

At that moment, a director in the industry was in the venue, shaking his head at the group of people around him, his voice loud, because he didn't bother to hide it: "Two films, and they have to be released at the same time, isn't that just being rushed?"

One of the actresses reminded him, "Director... keep your voice down, lots of people are watching us."

"fine."

The director waved his hand dismissively: "It's all over, what are you still worried about?"

The actress was speechless: "What do you mean it's over... It's not the director, you... Okay, never mind what I said."

This director is also a veteran in the industry, with a long track record. He is the junior of directors like Guo Shi and others. He was once very ambitious and dedicated himself to making a name for himself in the film industry, but unfortunately, he did not have the talent of his senior brothers and has been relatively unknown over the years.

However, at his age, he has two representative works in the drama industry, which were more than ten years ago, so he likes to rely on his seniority.

The fact that someone with such qualifications and connections has managed to get to where they are today suggests that the director must have significant character flaws.

For example, he's rather stubborn and lacks common sense.

His thinking is still stuck more than ten years ago. When a popular artist makes an official announcement, it's definitely the end. No matter how much capital you have, can you out-capitalize those big companies?
An artist is just an artist; no matter how famous they are, they don't have the real power to back them up.

“I even contacted Chi Ye a couple of years ago. An investor in a movie specifically wanted him, otherwise I wouldn’t have gone to him, you know? Now look how lucky I am that I didn’t contact him. Look at all those endorsement deals that went to Chi Ye, they’ve all lost a fortune.”

The director said smugly, "In this respect, you young people really have a lot to learn from us veterans..."

"..."

Not far away, Director Zhang of "Loop" frowned and glanced over, asking his friend, "Who is this idiot?"

"Oh, an old director, not very famous, but he seems to have directed a big production recently... quite high-profile."

"A big show? Who's in it?"

"You haven't heard of the four-character poem 'Royal Power and Wealth'?"

"Oh, I understand then."

(End of this chapter)