Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 314 The Battle for First Number

On October 22, Beiping was shrouded in autumn rain, the fine rain weaving a hazy scene.

In the spacious and bright conference room of the Tengda Technology Building, senior executives gathered together.

The Group's third-quarter summary meeting is entering a crucial stage, and all attendees are listening attentively.

"...These are the five essential elements that I personally believe the O2O e-commerce model needs to possess."

Online payment is the core key to realizing the O2O marketing model, so EasyPay will be the focus of the entire group's development in 2011.

Standing on the podium, Song Ci's gaze was sharp as he clearly articulated Tengda Group's next core development strategy.

As the meeting drew to a close, CEO Zhang Yong summarized: "The chairman's insightful guidance has pointed the way for the group's future development."

Please go back and carefully consider and implement the spirit of Chairman Song's speech. If there is nothing else, the meeting may be adjourned.

Song Ci sat motionless in the main seat and said softly into the microphone on the table, "Liu Yan, Zhang Zhao and Yu Xin, please stay behind."

The three presidents, who had already stood up, exchanged glances upon hearing the boss call their names. They all looked puzzled, wondering why the chairman had kept them behind. They could only silently return to their seats.

The group's senior executives left one after another, leaving only Song Ci, Zhang Yong, Wang Jing, and the three presidents who were kept behind in the conference room.

"Mr. Zhang, how is the acquisition of Shanda Literature progressing?"

Zhang Yong pushed up his slightly drooping black-rimmed glasses, looking troubled: "President Song, I was just about to report to you after the meeting, but Boss Chen is sticking to $4 million and refuses to budge."

Song Ci tapped her fingertips lightly on the conference table, her mind racing with calculations.

Shanda Literature currently holds a 70% share of the online literature market, making it virtually a monopoly. While the $4 million price tag is higher than the company's expectations, it is not unacceptable from a long-term perspective.

Some things change if delayed. If Alibaba or Tencent intervenes, the acquisition price will inevitably be higher.

So he made a quick decision: "400 million it is, no need to hesitate any longer, agree to Mr. Chen's request. With the acquisition of Shanda Literature, the company's entertainment strategy will have no weaknesses."

Tenda Group's cultural and entertainment strategy covers five major sectors: online video and film, music and performances, literature and games, sports and animation, and news and merchandise.

After several years of development and accumulation, the other major sectors are all doing well, but the literature sector is relatively weak.

Moreover, relying solely on its own development makes it difficult to achieve significant results in a short period of time. In this situation, direct acquisition is undoubtedly the fastest way to realize its strategic layout.

"Complete the acquisition before the end of the year." Zhang Yong understood the chairman's idea: by filling the gaps, Tengda's entertainment strategy could be fully closed, connecting the entire industry chain and achieving synergistic development.

After finalizing the acquisition with Zhang Yong, Song Ci whispered a few words to Wang Jing before turning her attention to the three presidents.

"Yu Xin, you've been working at TT Video for a while now. You should come up with a plan for the department's development next year as soon as possible."

You mentioned last time that you wanted to collaborate with TV stations to develop variety shows, but this wasn't mentioned in today's meeting. What happened?

Yu Xin felt a lot of pressure when questioned by his boss.

Former president Tang Jun was exceptionally capable, building TT Video from scratch to become the number one video platform in China. His outstanding performance caught the attention of the chairman, who then gave him the opportunity to take charge of WeChat, the group's most core department.

With Tang Junzhu's outstanding achievements as a precedent, his minor accomplishments are simply not worth mentioning.

Fortunately, Xin had some quick wit: "Chairman Song, the program 'The Voice of China' that I reported to you last time has reached an agreement with Donghai TV on the general direction."

Because some details haven't been finalized yet, I didn't mention this in my previous report. I planned to share the good news with you once everything was settled.

Song Ci nodded slightly: "The competition in the long-form video field is fierce nowadays, and the price of online copyrights for film and television dramas is rising steadily."

If TT Video wants to maintain its leading position in the industry, it must be original and put more effort into innovation; variety shows are a good entry point.

Seeing that the chairman did not pursue the matter further, Yu Xin breathed a sigh of relief: "Don't worry, I will definitely get things done before the end of the year."

Song Ci then looked at the person in charge of the film and television sector: "Zhang Zhao, recently, the films produced by Tengda Culture, such as 'Lost in Thailand' and 'Love is Not Blind,' have achieved great box office success, and several TV series have also had very good ratings. You have done a very good job."

Zhang Zhao was overjoyed, but he didn't show it on his face. He humbly said, "It's all thanks to your and President Wang's foresight in laying such a good foundation. I'm just reaping the benefits and dare not take credit."

"Two different things! According to the performance evaluation mechanism after the group's restructuring, presidents who achieve results will receive corresponding stock option rewards. Tengda Culture's operating results over the past two years are obvious to all, and the stock options you are entitled to will be cashed out at the end of the year."

"Thank you for your appreciation, Chairman. I will definitely continue to work hard." Zhang Zhao was overjoyed to hear this. He had worked diligently and tirelessly for Tengda, all for the generous rewards of the stock options!

Liu Yan and Yu Xin looked at Zhang Zhao with envy. The group is now estimated to be worth five or six hundred billion US dollars, and stock options are very valuable!

Song Ci paused for a moment, then continued, "Young people these days don't watch much TV. In the future, watching dramas through video websites will be the mainstream trend. However, the price of film and television copyrights is getting higher and higher, and over-reliance on external copyrights is not a long-term solution."

"It's better to rely on yourself than others. TT Video can collaborate with Tengda Culture to establish a dedicated production team to shoot web series exclusively for video websites."

Yu Xin and Zhang Zhao replied in unison, "Yes, Chairman."

"Mr. Wang, you are quite familiar with the film and television industry. Please follow up on the web series project and the variety show-related matters."

Wang Jing nodded: "Okay, I'll keep you informed as soon as there's any progress."

Yu Xin felt much relieved when he heard that the chairman had entrusted this matter to Wang Jing. The big boss was too shrewd and not easy to fool.

After all, he was Wang Jing's confidant, so communication was always smoother.

When Liu Yan saw the chairman's gaze turn to him, his heart tightened. Just now, the boss had given Yu Xin a reprimand and Zhang Zhao a compliment. He wondered why the chairman wanted to see him.

"As the company's Weibo account has grown to the point where it has over 3.5 million users and more than 3000 million daily active users, other company Weibo accounts have no chance of making a comeback."

To further highlight the platform's influence, I have decided to hold the Weibo Night annual gala next year.

Liu Yan paused for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Do you mean to hold a comprehensive honor ceremony similar to the Sina Internet Awards?"

"That's right! This ceremony will not only recognize achievements in the arts and entertainment field, but also focus on social and livelihood issues, covering multiple fields such as arts and entertainment, sports, science and technology, and social welfare."

The people present were all elites in the internet field. When Song Ci mentioned it, everyone understood his intention in organizing this "Weibo Night": to consolidate Weibo's position as a core social media platform in China through this grand ceremony that garnered attention across the entire internet.

"The ceremony could include more awards, such as film of the year, TV series of the year, most influential event of the year, Weibo king/queen, so that more slices of the pie can be distributed."

Additionally, we can organize an online poll to encourage celebrity fans to actively participate and generate buzz for their idols.

"Great idea." Liu Yan's eyes lit up. He kept the chairman's suggestion in mind and couldn't wait to have his department come up with a plan.

"President Song, our department will prepare a detailed plan as soon as possible and send it to you for review." After discussing the details with a few others, Song Ci ended the short meeting. Just as he was about to leave the meeting room, Liu Yan came to his side, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"Is there anything else?"

Liu Yan leaned closer and lowered his voice: "President Song, it's about some things that have been circulating on Weibo recently regarding Madam."

"What's been going on with Shishi lately?" Song Ci was quite surprised. His wife had been busy learning English lately and was oblivious to everything else. He hadn't heard any news about her.

Liu Yan turned around and looked around. Seeing that the others had all left the office, he continued, "Chairman Song, recently your wife's fans and the fans of the other main actors of 'iPartment 2' have been making trouble online."

Song Ci's doubts deepened: "I heard that 'iPartment 2' had very impressive ratings after it aired on Beiping TV. What's all the fuss about?"

Liu Yan immediately reported what he had learned to the chairman.

After listening to his subordinate's explanation, Song Ci finally understood the whole story.

It turns out that after "iPartment 2" aired, its ratings exploded, ranking first in the country during prime time, and creating a youth storm across the internet.

As one of the leading actresses in this drama, Liu Shishi's fan base is proud and happily congratulates her on gaining the popular role of "Qin Yumo".

However, some extreme fans spread rumors that the excellent ratings of "iPartment 2" were due to the addition of the female lead.

These remarks naturally drew the ire of fans of the other main actors, who argued that "Qin Yumo" was merely a new character added in the second season, had no romantic partner, and could only be considered a supporting role.

It's obvious that Liu Shishi only came to participate in "iPartment" to ride the wave of its popularity after seeing the positive reviews of the first season.

They slandered my sister as a supporting character trying to ride on someone else's popularity. How could "Little Lion" tolerate this? He analyzed the character settings, scene arrangements, and even the order of appearance of all the characters in the opening theme song, and made a reasoned analysis to show that Liu Shishi was the female lead. He argued fiercely with the fans of other actors.

The argument escalated, and fans on both sides really got into a fight. Some netizens started digging up so-called dirt on each other and spreading rumors.

With the addition of fans of other female celebrities stirring up trouble, the online flame war escalated, making the situation somewhat embarrassing.

Recalling the report from his subordinates, Liu Yan couldn't help but sigh: "The Madam's fan base is really fierce. They're chasing after the fans of other lead actors on Weibo, Tieba, and various forums. They're really taking on a whole group of them, and they're making sure the other side has no chance to fight back."

The situation is escalating, and it's starting to drag other female celebrities' fan groups into it. Since they're fans of the lady, I'm hesitant to make a decision. What do you think we should do?

Song Ci nodded. Her childhood sweethearts, Yu Zhouzhou, Lin Shui, Long Kui, and Lü Su, had played so many unforgettable and beloved characters, and their fan base was far beyond what the newcomers of "iPartment" could compare to.

In addition, Liu Shishi is rich and willing to spend money to give out benefits on a daily basis, and carefully maintains her relationship with her fans. The cohesion of the "Little Lion" is really not to be underestimated, and its fighting power is naturally terrifying.

Upon hearing this, Song Ci also felt a headache coming on. After thinking for a moment, she instructed, "Anyone who spreads rumors or slanders against Shishi on Weibo must have their account banned. Anyone else who deliberately stirs up trouble should also have their account banned."

As for ordinary fans, let's ignore the normal arguments. Take down the ringleaders, and I think things will calm down quickly.

I'll talk to Shishi when I get home tonight and ask her to do some fan work.

"I will have my men handle it according to your instructions."

"Let's leave it at that. But speaking of which, let's keep things separate. Shishi's Qin Yumo shouldn't be the lead actress in the second season, right? Are Shishi's fans really this domineering these days, resorting to unreasonable tactics?"

Song Ci was taken aback. He had read the script and knew that Qin Yumo was a rational and gentle character who was indeed outstanding with her good looks and elegant image.

But since he was a character who joined midway through the second season and didn't have a romantic storyline, how could he possibly be the lead actor?

Liu Yan frankly stated: "The lead actors in the second season should be Zeng Xiaoxian and Hu Yifei, who should share the billing."

However, it's understandable that the fans of the actress in question misunderstood, since Qin Yumo was the first character to appear in the opening theme song of the TV series, a privilege usually reserved for lead actresses.

Just like in the first season, Lin Wanyu, who was the first character to appear in the opening credits, was the lead actress.

The female CEO carefully observed the chairman's expression. Seeing that he remained calm, she continued, "These days, celebrity fans can be quite a headache for us."

Some fans enjoy their own little world, posting pretty pictures and doing data analysis – that's the easiest kind of thing. But there are also some fans with a strong fighting spirit.

They always find fault, going to other celebrities' fan groups to make sarcastic remarks and deliberately stir up trouble, often making Weibo a chaotic mess. There are a few such troublemakers among the wife's fans as well.

Although Song Ci, out of affection for Liu Shishi, usually shows favoritism towards her fans, he was still acting in a professional capacity at this moment:

"People like this should be warned and their accounts should be banned. We shouldn't worry about saving face for Shishi. We should treat everyone who violates the Weibo user agreement equally and deal with them seriously."

"I understand." Liu Yan felt a little relieved. With the chairman's approval, she could handle some things without being too restrained and could make sweeping changes to Weibo.

At 10 p.m., Liu Shishi, the top female star of Tangren Media, published a long blog post on Weibo.

"I was looking through photos on my phone late at night when I suddenly remembered the days on the set of 'iPartment 2'."

When the lights are on, I am Qin Yumo; when the lights are off, I am Liu Shishi, whom you all pamper.

Today I really want to have a heart-to-heart talk with you all.

I had a great time with my co-stars during my time on set, and this period will surely be one of the most beautiful memories of my acting career.

The character Yu Mo is like a gentle drop of water, softly falling into the lively ocean of Love Apartment.

She wasn't "crazy" enough, but you remember her heartwarming act when she helped Zhang Wei out of a predicament, and her unwavering strength in the face of betrayal.

I regret to inform you that I will be absent from the third season next year due to scheduling conflicts.

Even though I'm not here, the apartment's stories will always be lively. Whoever is missing will be replaced, but Qin Yumo's chair will always remain in my heart.

Finally, I want to say thank you for every "Yu Mo is so beautiful". It is your support that gives this character warmth.

The road ahead is long, and perhaps we will meet again in another form. But no matter what, whenever I hear "Your Moon, My Heart," I will remember those shining days.

Love you all, Qin Yumo (Liu Shishi)
November 2010, 10

P.S.: Just between you and me, filming for "iPartment 3" will start next month!

When Liu Shishi officially announced that she would not be appearing in the third season or even in the Apartment series anymore, the online debate about who would be the lead actress vanished instantly.

What we can't have is the most unforgettable. No matter how noisy things get, the absence of Qin Yumo in "iPartment" always leaves people feeling a sense of loss.

(End of this chapter)