How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 258 One shot after another!
It only took a little over a month from recording to the premiere of "Sisters Over Flowers". Because it did not cooperate with a first-tier TV station, the review and broadcast were also very fast.

"Sister Hua" is positioned as a true "online variety show," adopting a model of online + satellite TV broadcast. The satellite TV station it collaborates with is Beijing Satellite TV, which is currently considered a near-first-tier, second-tier leading local satellite TV station. It has secured a prime time slot of 8 pm on Saturday nights.

The reason why they have the confidence to use a combination of online platforms and second-tier satellite TV channels for broadcast is mainly because the program is not only novel, but also has a lineup that is gimmicky enough. The return of Zhang Baizhi alone is enough to generate a lot of controversy.

In addition, the success of "Fairy Robe" has given Nazha and Yang Ying enough variety show fans, plus Song Qian's influence among Korean entertainment fans in China and Song Dandan's popularity among all ages.

With just a little promotion, it would naturally generate buzz and increase viewership. Moreover, as its first online variety show, Sohu Video has attached great importance to it and put a lot of effort into its promotional work.

The celebrity reality show format is a first in China. Although there have been other reality shows featuring ordinary people like "The Torture Scheme" before, it is completely different from watching celebrities. The show immediately generated 500,000 views on Sohu Video upon its premiere, and the ratings on Beijing TV reached an unprecedented 0.7%.

In the past, apart from news broadcasts, their station rarely had programs with a rating of over 0.5%. The first episode mainly introduced several guests and the rules of variety shows, but the novel format, along with the beautiful women from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong competing in the same frame, made it a unique experience.

Behind each beautiful face is another beautiful face; a casual sweep of the camera can evoke amazement, especially the three fresh faces: Gulnazar, Dilraba, and Yang Ying. Although they were the main characters in "Fairy Tale," the audience only had a fleeting glimpse of them because they had too much screen time and were too fragmented.

This time, the long shot was a direct close-up of their faces, which not only amazed the audience with these fresh faces but also added a lot of intimacy. It felt completely different from how we viewed other female celebrities in the past, and seemed more real.

In particular, the unique speaking style of "Nangyin" in the Northern Xinjiang twin lotus characters of Gulnazar and Dilraba has a brainwashing effect on the audience.

Nazha accidentally stepped on Dilraba's foot, and Dilraba complained in her sweet voice, "Hey friend~ I don't have any on my legs on the main road."

When Dilraba asked for directions, she was refused by a passerby and then mocked by Gulnazar: "Hey friend~ your face is my shoe sole."

Upon arriving at their first accommodation, the two were once again assigned to the same room. While playfully fighting and choking each other on the bed, one of them exclaimed, "Hey, you! Fighting is fighting, but give me some air!"

The two stunningly beautiful girls from exotic lands displayed a 'living quality' that is rarely seen on television, giving the audience a great sense of novelty.

That evening, the related hashtag 'Northern Xinjiang Twin Lotus Seeds and Words' suddenly appeared at the top of the trending search list on the MS platform. Fan Bingbing also posted a group photo with Nazha and the others watching the premiere, which promoted the show and attracted many netizens to watch it on Sohu.

'Is the room really being recorded 24/7? That's pretty exciting.'

'Tsk, what have I done to deserve seeing Sister Zhiling in her pajamas?'

'These two girls from northern Xinjiang are hilarious! How can they be so beautiful and funny at the same time?'

"A friend from northern Xinjiang, could you tell me if this is really how you say things?"

'Yang Ying seems very reliable; she led the team and maintained order very well throughout.'

'Why do people in Hong Kong really not like speaking Mandarin?'

The show sparked a lot of discussion on social media, highlighting the advantages of online variety shows: there are no restrictions on broadcast time slots, and viewers can watch it anytime they want.

That evening, although Sohu's viewership barely broke one million after the first round of broadcasts, it began to increase at tens of thousands of views per hour after natural spread and fermentation.

It even exceeded Sohu's expectations.

"Bro, guess how many views it got in 12 hours?" Zhang Chaoyang called excitedly early the next morning.

"Ten million?" Wang Yao yawned.

"It's not that exaggerated, but it's almost 3 million! If you add the TV ratings, it's already over 10 million for the premiere. I estimate the second episode will break 10 million right away." Zhang Chaoyang's voice couldn't hide his laughter.

Last night, Sohu alone added over 100,000 new users. After the program aired, its daily active users increased by almost ten times compared to usual. It is estimated that it will firmly hold the top spot in daily active users among online video platforms during the same time slot. Moreover, with such high viewership for its premiere, its potential is definitely even greater.

If "Sister Hua" airs for a month, it will directly suppress the user share of other platforms. Moreover, there are other online variety shows such as "Superman" and "Dance of a Thousand Years" coming up. Perhaps with the help of the website, Sohu can directly reverse its decline.

"That's not bad either," Wang Yao nodded.

The first online variety show I remember was "Where Are We Going, Dad?" in 2013. It achieved over 10 million views on its premiere and over 100 million views across the entire network within half a month, which laid the foundation for the syndicated broadcast format and allowed film and television variety shows to no longer be limited to television stations.

The user base in 2010 was definitely much smaller than in 13, so this result is still quite good. We'll just have to wait and see what the TV station's feedback is after today.

"Sister Hua" is bound to be a huge hit. Although Zhang Chaoyang chose to co-broadcast it with Beijing Satellite TV, other satellite TV stations could also try to snatch it or get a second run.

However, what is more important to Wang Yao is the show's broadcast effect overseas, because it relates to the soft product placement on the three apps Ms/KT/Mulan Street, as well as the sponsor of the next variety show of "Sister Hua".

The exclusive title sponsor of "Sister Hua" this time is the skin care mask brand "Jimei". Although they did not directly secure the sky-high sponsorship price of 1 million yuan, Wang Yao made a bet with the other party.

Jimei will be listed on September 24th. Before that, if the number of views on the online platform of "Sister Hua" exceeds 100 million and the e-commerce sales exceed 1 million, Jimei will pay a sponsorship fee of 100 million and hand over the online operation business to Xingdian with a 35% commission.

If the sponsorship fee doesn't reach 100 million, it will be settled according to the standard naming fee of 20 million.

With its IPO imminent, Jimei needs such a gimmick, especially if its e-commerce business can really break one million in a month, that would definitely be a new positive development. As for the 1 million sponsorship fee, although it is exaggerated, they think it is worthwhile because in the future, whenever online variety show sponsorship is mentioned, Jimei will be an insurmountable mountain.

It can be used for repeated exposure and publicity.

"I regret it. I should have invested more shares back then," Zhang Chaoyang said regretfully.

When he invested, he only received the revenue from online broadcasting, copyright, and first broadcast. The subsequent sponsorship and advertising revenue had nothing to do with Sohu. He felt a pang of pain when he thought about the potential huge hits "Dance of a Thousand Years" and "Superman".

"It's alright, there are other projects coming up. Let's wait and see what feedback the TV station gives," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Besides the first batch of online variety shows, the talent show 'Genesis 101' is also a show that has the potential to become a huge hit. We can see how other video platforms react after 'Sisters Over Flowers' becomes popular.

Moreover, in the current variety show field, the production teams in China and Korea that are capable of producing variety shows are basically monopolized by Tianhuo and KT. Even if other platforms want to invest in their own shows, it is difficult to bypass them.

"You're not going to give all the good shows to the Le family, are you?" Zhang Chaoyang asked warily.

"Fair competition, absolutely no bias," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Sohu Video currently holds a market share of around 12% in the domestic video platform market, second only to Youku and Tudou, but it mainly relies on traffic from Sogou Browser. This year, Baidu invested in Qiyiguo, and Sohu's advantage will soon be overtaken.

Now, thanks to the "TV-Internet co-broadcast" model pioneered by "Sister Hua," it can be said that it has directly disrupted the TV station's dominance and is an absolute advantage. If it can maintain this output of online variety shows/web dramas, then it may be able to make a comeback.

Zhang Chaoyang chatted with Wang Yao for a long time, repeatedly emphasizing that no matter what, Souhu must be included in the future joint venture, and even considering increasing Tianwang Private Equity's subscription share to the 10 billion level.

The success of "Sister Flower" is a major boon for the entire Tianhuo TV network. Even if "Fairy Robe" was an accident, the fact that "Sister Flower" managed to secure over 500 million views on its premiere without even leveraging the channels of top-tier satellite TV stations is enough to prove Tianhuo's authority in the variety show sector. For all TV stations, this is both a threat and an opportunity.

In the variety show industry, people have been suffering from Mango TV for a long time. They don't think that internet platforms can pose much of a threat to them. They just see that new variety show formats may bring surprises in ratings to TV stations.

Shanghai TV, which had already collaborated with Wang Yao on "Fairy Robe", contacted him immediately to inquire about the price and data for "Sister Flower". After "Fairy Robe" finished its run, they bought the popular foreign variety show "China's Got Talent" to take over, and four episodes have already aired.

Because it was sponsored by the international giant Procter & Gamble, and had a global influence, the show's opening ratings were very good, with a stable viewership of around 2%, but it did not reach the level of "Fairy Robe".

The show has 10 episodes and will finish airing around the end of September. After tasting the success of variety shows, Shanghai TV wanted to work hard in this area, but the production costs and risks are also corresponding. Now that Tianhuo has produced "Sister Hua", they want to achieve a long-term cooperation.

However, Wang Yao has some concerns about the "TV and online broadcasting" model. He insists on the broadcast because he needs to monetize through the video platform's e-commerce function and accumulate data and popularity for his artists among young netizens.

Although TV stations have stable ratings and advertising revenue, they cannot match the real-time interactive strategy that Wang Yao needs. Moreover, he is not in a hurry. As long as the program becomes popular, no satellite TV station will be willing to compromise.

In the film and television industry, Berna was naturally overjoyed to have gained an early advantage. The return on investment and speed of the variety show far exceeded his expectations. As long as the revenue of the first phase of "Sister Hua" is estimated, they will be confident that they can raise more funds when they go public.

Yu Dong and Dongfang Xin called one after another to express their praise for Wang Yao and hoped that the launch of the second batch of online variety shows could be considered now. They also decided to increase their subscription share of Tianwang Private Equity again.

Since all the capable and successful online variety show teams are currently with Tianhuo Media, nothing is more convincing than mutual benefit.

但听到神秘资方已经拿下20亿50%的份额，以及嗖狐准备追加25%的份额后，余东有些急了直接又追加了3亿认购凑了5亿，占了10%的份额。

With the National Security Bureau behind him, it's quite convenient for Berna to raise money or borrow in the short term.

As a result, Tianwang Private Equity, which had originally raised less than 25% of its funds, suddenly raised about 88% of its funds. Time was running out for others.

Tan Hui came from Beijing to review the film. Wang Yao took him to the newly built review room of the company, where director Guan Jinpeng had been waiting for a long time.

"22.22" has undergone three rounds of fine editing, resulting in two versions, one 102 minutes long and the other 96 minutes long. It was already dark when the three of them finished watching it.

"The film has a good concept, but it's all newcomers. Although their acting skills are good, there's no male star who can carry the box office. There are only a few cameo appearances by Gu Tianle at the beginning. Can that work?" Tan Hui pondered for a long time after watching the film.

Objectively speaking, the movie is decent, with some commendable aspects in terms of plot, acting, and pacing, but it's not particularly amazing. The only touching thing is its theme, which is patriotic. It can ride on the popularity of "Tang Zhen" and, with Wang Yao's promotional abilities and Gulnazar's popularity, it might actually have a surprise box office performance.

But he felt it was definitely not as valuable as a Feiteng Film City.

He spent nearly 5 million yuan to acquire that film and television city. Although Xingmei has recently made a lot of money from Tianhuo Entertainment's stock, it can't make up for the losses.

This movie cost 4 million to make. If it grosses 40 million at the box office, that's ten times the revenue. At most, it'll be another "Lost in..." As for Wang Yao's claim of breaking 100 million and generating 20 to 30 times the revenue, Tan Hui thinks that's just wishful thinking.

"It must be released before September 9.6th," Wang Yao said solemnly.

"Setting a schedule in just half a month? Isn't that too rushed?" Tan Hui frowned.

“Of course, the sooner the better for verification. If this one doesn’t work, I have another one, and that one will generate at least ten times the revenue,” Wang Yao said with a smile.

Stanley Kwan nodded in agreement. He had been rushing to finish "22.22" recently, while "Lost 33" had been shelved for almost three or four months. However, since they were both urban films, they were easy to edit and could be completed before November.

"You really have a backup plan, huh? But I still feel like I'm losing out a bit. How about this: if the box office is less than 100 million, I'll find a way to give you all the profits. If it's over 100 million, you can keep Feiteng Film City. But you won't secretly inflate the box office figures, will you?" Tan Hui asked warily.

After all, even without Xingmei Cinemas, Wang Yao already has a market share of over 10% with just Tianhuo and Kanpianer.com. If someone were to secretly use his services, he really wouldn't be able to detect it.

"What do you take me for?" Wang Yao said unhappily.

"Alright, I'll take these two versions to Han Laosan for review. Let's release them on September 9.6th. Should we do some pre-release publicity?" Tan Hui smiled.

He and Han Sanping were very close. Even if there were problems with the film, it could still be released first. As for the release date, the Tianhuo Cinema Group controlled one-third of the cinema market. As long as it didn't affect the major companies, the scheduling was entirely up to them.

Moreover, he really didn't think the movie would break 100 million at the box office, and he didn't care if all the profits went to Wang Yao; he could just consider it as generating revenue.

"As long as your side gets the approval, I'll handle the publicity and distribution. Mr. Tan, you'd better hurry up and give me time to build up my position in Xingmei in advance. I'm looking forward to making a profit and recovering my losses in this wave," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"So confident? Then you should start building your position now. I can give you an update before midnight." Tan Hui thought Wang Yao was joking, so he patted him on the shoulder, put the tape into his bag, and prepared to submit it for review that night.

"Director Guan, you've worked hard these past few days. The box office revenue sharing will be settled normally later." Wang Yao turned to Guan Jinpeng and smiled.

"Mr. Wang, you're overthinking it. I really like this film, and I'd like to see the audience's reaction after it's released. This is my first time trying such a commercial yet artistic style," Kwan Kam-pang said with a smile.

The two left the screening room chatting and laughing. When Wang Yao returned to his office, he found Zhao Liying squatting at the door like a stone statue.

"You startled me, what are you doing?" Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

"How is it, Mr. Wang?" Zhao Liying's originally chubby face had become visibly thinner, with clearer lines, and she had gained a more mature charm.

She didn't feel anything special while filming, but after filming, when it came to the editing stage, she suddenly became obsessed with other things, spending all her time in the editing room without eating or drinking, not offering any opinions, just mainly providing companionship.

Kwan Kam-pang thought she was a bit crazy, but he could understand it, since it was the most important role this young girl had played since her debut.

"It's already been submitted for review, just wait for the scheduling. Don't worry about it anymore, it won't change anything anyway. Just enjoy the peace and quiet of being a minor actress. If you become an overnight sensation, you'll have to keep a low profile from now on," Wang Yao joked, patting her head.

Hearing this, Zhao Liying breathed a sigh of relief.

Her eyes, with dark circles, stared at Wang Yao.

His eyes sparkled as if they held a thousand unspoken words, and finally he pursed his lips and nodded.

"One shot at a time!"

Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

???

(End of this chapter)