American Scandal King

Chapter 126 Negotiation with CBS
July 7, CBS headquarters building in New York.

A banquet is being held in the banquet hall at the top of the building, and the protagonist this time is undoubtedly Ian Carr.

Surrounded by lights and melodious music.

Ian walked among the wealthy businessmen, holding a red wine glass in his hand and greeting them one by one.

"Mr. Hadfield, it's a pleasure to meet you. It's an honor to meet you."

"Mr. Inez, it's nice to meet you."

"Mr. Gammon, I heard you have investments in Hollywood... Ah, I did buy a film company recently, but it's just a small business. Those guys are arrogant, and I haven't been able to break into their circle yet."

"The media is the core of the world, they should revolve around us."

In the luxurious and spacious banquet hall, Ian was dressed in formal attire, speaking politely and courteously with a humble attitude. He was successful at a young age but not ostentatious.

Standing next to Ian was Gaskell. The old man had been officially discharged from the hospital, but he was still accompanied by a nurse to take care of him at all times.

There was also a thin middle-aged man with two small mustaches at the corners of his mouth.

James Paley, chairman of CBS Television Network, owns 5.3% of CBS's internal shares and 7.1% of the market shares. He has a net worth of around billion and is a Jew.

Therefore, the entire CBS tends to support Jews. From this perspective, Ian's acquisition of CBS is in huge conflict with his own values.

But he had no choice.

The only large media company that has not been acquired is CBS.

Fortunately, the rumors that Ian was "hostile to Jews" were suppressed and did not spread, and the Jews also put their interests first.

James Pelley might not know Ian's attitude towards Jews, and even if he did, he might not care.

We all have more commercial attributes than national attributes!
"It's amazing that a young man has developed to this level in less than a year. We are honored to meet you. You will be a rising star in the future." At this moment, a fat man smiled and gave Ian a hug, then turned and left.

James Paley introduced him: "Ichabod's family is very powerful in California. If you want to go into business, you can make friends with him."

Ian nodded and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Mr. Perry."

Just then, another young man came over.

He stood beside Ian and said, "Ian Carl? Hello, I'm Clemens."

Ian raised his eyebrows slightly. "Ivo Clemens? Winner of the 91 Pulitzer Prize. Your reporting is fantastic!"

Clemens laughed and said, "But not as good as you. Your coverage of the Palos bank robbery was outstanding. Next year's Pulitzer Prize will be yours."

Ian shook his head. "No, they won't give that award to me. Those guys are just like the old men at the Academy Awards. They like news that has depth. Going to Africa to interview starving people, watching vultures waiting to eat carrion, or praising a certain saint are all more likely to win awards than my news. My news is like a flashy commercial blockbuster. It can make money at the box office, but it's not enough to win an award."

The Academy Awards are the Oscars. A group of old men like to pursue the core, so they have always been dismissive of commercial blockbusters.

There are only a few films that have achieved huge success both commercially and artistically, such as The Godfather, Forrest Gump, Schindler's List, and The Lord of the Rings 3.

The Pulitzer Prize is similar, it also requires a core.

Does the Palos Bank robbery have a core?
Just sensationalist visual stimulation and a bunch of rambling interviews.

Hearing Ian say this, Clemens smiled slightly and said, "Then wait, there will be a chance."

After a few pleasantries, Clemens left.

Watching him leave, Ian said, "He doesn't like me."

James Pelley was surprised: "He didn't seem to be rude?"

Ian shrugged. "A good reporter should be able to keenly perceive the other person's hidden emotions... I recently completed a pretty good deal using this technique."

James Pelley smiled and said, "Ivo is a top reporter for CBS. Perhaps he feels threatened by your presence. After all, you're not just a top reporter, you're also the owner of a media group. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course," Ian replied. "A good businessman must learn to read the hearts of others, but never let their inner thoughts dictate his own thinking. As the old Chinese saying goes, 'Goodness is judged by the heart, evil by the deeds.' As long as he doesn't provoke me, it doesn't matter how much he hates me." James Pelley smiled and said, "You seem to understand China very well."

I can even speak full Chinese!
At this moment, he gave Ian a look, and the two of them and Gaskell walked towards the small living room on the side.

You can't talk about important things when there are too many people around. If you really want to talk about it, you have to do it when there are fewer people around.

At this moment, the three of them sat down in the small reception room.

The small living room has an elegant environment and a bonfire is burning next to the fireplace.

The three of them sat down on the sofa, and a beautiful waitress in cool clothes poured wine for them.

James Pelley noticed Ian's gaze lingering on the waitress and said with a smile, "You can take any woman here you want."

Ian felt inexplicably familiar.

Oh, this is what Sicong said to the sewing brother.

He smiled slightly: "No need."

Lena is still here... She is like a wife, watching Ian closely.

Jampelli changed the subject: "I can accept your terms. WND will become a news website under CBS, you can get a two-point stake in CBS, and you will be on the board of directors. In addition, all major news about you and Butterfly must be submitted to CBS."

WND is currently valued at 112 million, while CBS is as high as billion. Two points is a huge discount, mainly because of the binding of Ian and Butterfly.

Ian shook his head slightly. "I'm not here to work, much less to seize power, Mr. Pelley. I can accept co-issuing all major news with CBS, but I want 14% of the insider shares and a seat on the board of directors, at par."

Acquiring a company, especially internal shares, generally requires a premium. Ian proposed a par price, which is basically impossible to accept under normal circumstances.

This requires the support of other resources, the most typical of which is Ian's explosive news.

In addition, since CBS has equal shares but unequal voting rights, according to Ian Carr's request, the 14% internal shares he wants correspond to 35% of the voting rights, which is more than one-third.

For such a large company, having so many voting rights is equivalent to a certain degree of control over CBS.

Even if Ian said that the shares should be handed over to James Pelley for holding, it would be useless - I can give it to you, and I can also take it back!
James Pelley shook his head slightly. "That's outrageous. You have to understand that CBS isn't just about news."

Ian laughed and said, "CBS is a news network. It's called Columbia Broadcasting System. News is always at the core and the most important factor influencing the world. Its three-minute news reports may not create much value, but their influence far exceeds that of a three-hour soap opera. We all know what that means."

James Pelley sighed softly: "I believe in your ability, Ian, but information like Palos Bank and Dandy Building is not always available."

Ian said, "So we need to work out a tiered agreement. I promise to significantly increase CBS News' ratings over the next three years! Let's talk directly with the data!"

As one of the top five television networks in the United States, it controls a large number of users across the country. It has become difficult to improve ratings, broadcast rates, etc. The bosses are racking their brains to figure out how to further squeeze the profits brought by existing users.

But the user base is eternal.

Ian doesn't care about the profit, he only cares about increasing the number of users. After all, that is his area of ​​expertise. As for user monetization, he can leave it to these experienced old guys.

They have plenty of ways to take money out of users' pockets.

Therefore, when the number of users cannot be increased, or even decreases due to the impact of the Internet, Ian's proposal is extremely tempting. Of course, this proposal itself also includes the Internet.

Media tycoons believe that the Internet has unlimited prospects in the future, but the Internet has not yet reached its peak in this era, especially after experiencing the bursting of the bubble, so they are not optimistic enough.

Ian knew better than them how far it could go, and even if he did nothing, he would not lose the bet.

James Pelley understood what he meant and looked at Ian in surprise: "Do you have more secrets?"

Ian responded softly, "More news than you can imagine!"

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PS: Chapter 123 can’t be released. I can’t understand it. There are red bars all over the place. I don’t know how to revise it. Sigh.

(End of this chapter)