Heads Up Hollywood

The rumors were confirmed, which inevitably caused a strong shock in the hearts of Tony Grammer and Martin Tang Wen.

120 million US dollars invested in a TV series... This is definitely a legend!

Last year, Tang En Pictures acquired the Starz TV network, and the total cost was only 170 million US dollars.

Such investment courage is amazing!

Of course, it also made Tony Grammer and Martin Tang Wen truly understand Tang En's ambitions.

The future STA will bid farewell to the era of buying movies and enter a new era of self-production and self-sale!

Tony Grammer and Martin Donwen are both founding members of the Starz TV network. Of course, they hope that the TV station can develop rapidly, defeat HBO and SHO, and become the leader of professional cable TV stations in North America!

Tang En's ambition, courage, and structure obviously also have thoughts in this regard.

Tony Grammer and Martin Tang Wen glanced at each other, both showing a bit of fanatical excitement.

Tang En glanced at the changes in the expressions of the two from the corner of his eye, nodded in satisfaction, and smiled slightly, "By the way, Tony, did you sell the pay TV rights of "Spider-Man" to anyone?"

Tony Grammer tentatively said, "HBO? I heard...they raised the price to $28 million!"

This is definitely a sky-high price!

According to Hollywood's window marketing model, the film will be shown on professional cable channels 12 months after its premiere. The TV station got the exclusive copyright for 12 months, and within this year, it has the right to broadcast 3 times.

After 12 months, the copyright expires and the film is sold to free public television for its first run.

In other words, HBO spent a huge sum of 28 million US dollars and only bought 3 exclusive screening rights within 12 months!

Such a large investment is enough to make a movie alone.

In particular, it can be seen that HBO is firmly striving for high-quality film sources.

Tang En smiled, "HBO failed."

"Ah? Could it be SHO? No way? That old guy Lei Shidong has never been so generous." Martin Tang Wen was a little incredulous.

Showtime TV station belongs to Viacom Group, and its strategic development must be in line with Mr. Redstone's business ideas.

Tang En smiled faintly, "It's us!"

"us?"

Martin Tangwen's eyes widened in astonishment.

Bill McNick didn't have Tang En's ostentatious show off. He said slowly: "That's right, Tang En Pictures has invested 30 million US dollars to represent Starz TV station and obtained the paid screening rights of "Spider-Man". That is to say, Say, in May, "Spider-Man" will be able to meet audiences across the United States on Starz TV!"

"$30 million?"

The two bigwigs from the STA TV network were so surprised that they almost forgot to breathe.

This handwriting is too big!

Even with the 30 million US dollars, 27 million US dollars will be returned to Twain Pictures' books after Universal Pictures' handover. But this is a rejection of HBO's offer of up to 28 million US dollars!

With the current subscription fees of the STA TV network, at least 10 million new subscribers must be attracted by "Spider-Man" to make up for the loss. Is this possible?

Bill McNick made a pressing gesture, and said calmly: "You don't need to have too much pressure, you just need to know our determination to develop the STA TV network. From the perspective of Tang En Pictures, the short-term Within a short period of time, we never thought of making money through STA, and even invested a lot of money to boost the development of STA and attract more users."

Tony Grammer looked at the senior executives of Dunn Films in the conference room with such serious expressions, and finally realized the big boss Tang En's determination to develop the Starz TV network.

He took a deep breath and said: "Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, I have made clear the determination of the company's headquarters. If the headquarters can provide enough capital investment and strategic services for the Starz TV network, I am confident that I can lead the Starz TV network. Go up to a higher level!"

"It's not enough!" Dunn waved his hand, then nodded to Isla Fisher, and she got up and began to distribute documents to everyone present.

"This is my six-point request for the future strategic development of the Starz TV network, and it is also an essential element for developing the vast market of professional cable TV stations. It must be done no matter what!"

"First, create an industry brand with differentiated content!"

Tang En took a sip of water, and after everyone got the documents, he slowly said: "TV content production will be the core industry of the Starz TV network in the future. Since the current Starz TV network does not have this strength, content production is temporarily The TV production department of Tang En Pictures is in charge. However, I cannot produce traditional family comedies, and I need to seek differentiation in themes, such as "Six Feet Under", which focuses on the funeral industry. With this type of unique content type, I can Complete the promotion and establishment of self-brand."

"Second, don't judge success or failure by ratings! The current Starz TV station is small in scale and has few users. We can't rely on the ratings for utilitarianism. We must pay attention to the quality of the work itself! For example, a TV series like "Six Feet Under" is A rare boutique, even if it has low ratings, is a guarantee of word of mouth, this is the brand guarantee!"

"Third, we need to invest heavily to set new standards in the industry! In the past, TV dramas had little investment, small format, and shoddy production. This is irresponsible to users! Starz TV must follow the high-quality line. Every year...the investment in TV drama production, It can’t be less than $100 million! Of course, I will personally check the content of the episode.”

Tang En paused for a moment, and found that everyone in the field nodded repeatedly, very satisfied.

"Fourth, we must respect creativity and talent! Just the day before yesterday, I met a new friend. He is a crime reporter for the "Baltimore Sun". He is familiar with many real crime cases and experiences, and adapted a script. "Fire Wire". This is the most typical example, we must drop talents without sticking to one pattern!"

"Fifth, don't overuse! This is very important! The Starz TV network now has two channels, starz TV and Encore_MoviePlex TV, one dedicated to TV dramas and one dedicated to movies, which is very good. But I heard...you intend to put strategic Lean toward music, sports, children's drama?"

Tony Grammer wiped the cold sweat off his head, "This...we just want to attract users' attention through richer content types."

"This is absolutely not possible!"

Tang En categorically vetoed it, and his tone was unquestionable, "Brand is the standard! We provide high-quality resources, and we must not put cheap programs to deceive the audience! Don't pursue quantity, but focus on content quality wholeheartedly!"

"I understand. When I return to the company, I will convey these requirements to the employees." Tony Grammer sighed secretly. This big boss is really unambiguous and decisive.

Tang En said in a deep voice: "This point needs to be paid special attention to. In the early years, HBO also diversified its development, and made many expansions in music, sports, talk shows, children's dramas, and stage plays, but they all failed. Why? Because of these contents, There are no technical barriers, and the duplication is too strong! The programs launched by HBO, other public TV stations quickly imitated and launched the same type of programs. If there are free ones, who pays for them? We want to create high-quality content exclusively for STA!"

The atmosphere was a bit dignified, and Jonathan Nolan half-jokingly said: "Of course, the scale of the content must be large! To establish differentiation, we are a professional cable TV station, and it is impossible to play some mild soap operas like those public TV stations. .”

Tang En said with a smile: "Yes, the scale must be large and the taste must be strong!"

Everyone laughed.

Bill McNick shook his head again and again, "No matter how big the scale is, there must be a bottom line, and it should not challenge the values ​​of the people of the United States too much. We are different from the Playboy TV station."

As soon as these words came out, the laughter in the conference room grew louder.

Tang En eased the atmosphere, and after a while, he resumed the theme, cleared his throat and said, "The sixth point is mainly for the adjustment of the scale of the STA TV network. HBO has been globalizing since 1991 The layout has been completed, but the progress is limited, and the strategic direction is seriously wrong!"

West Cotton added with a smile, "It is true that HBO's early funds were insufficient, which led to their unsmooth cooperation in Europe, and they turned to the third world such as South America and Asia. But...we are English department content, Europe is leading.”

Tang En said: "It's not complete. South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and other places in Asia also have subscription capabilities, and they are very pursuing high-quality genuine content. But we can't make the mistake of News Corp. The market on the other side is huge, but Now is not the time to reach out."

"Of course, this is a very large business scale. Without suitable network resources, it will be difficult to open up the market. There is no rush. When Tang En Pictures completes the acquisition of a world-class film distribution company, we will have channels all over the world and resources, at that time, it is the time for the STA TV network to expand its layout on a global scale."

Tony Grammer and Martin Tang Wen panicked when they heard this.

A world-class film distribution company?

Isn't that the Big Six of Hollywood?

Is Tang En Pictures going to acquire a Hollywood giant?

This is simply big news!

Bill McNick frowned, and said majesticly: "Be careful to keep it secret!"

Tony Grammer coughed heavily, "Um...boss, since we are going to implement a boutique route and focus on building a brand image, then... the previous subscription fee of $3 a month, should we also adjust it? ?”

"Of course, it must be changed!" Tang En was full of courage and vigor, "Even if we will experience labor pains in the short term, we must adhere to the long-term strategic line! Subscription fee... 3 months minimum, 23.99 US dollars, half-year subscription fee is $45.99, $89.99 for a single year subscription."

"ah?"

Tony Grammer and Martin Tang Wen directly exclaimed.

The price...is too high!

Currently, HBO, which has the highest subscription fee, only costs 6 dollars a month, and SHO, it costs about 5 dollars... And Tang En's pricing has increased STA's subscription fee to 8 dollars a month in one fell swoop!

This is too dark, right?

Tang En frowned, and said coldly: "The price is high? Huh, this is just the beginning! When the brand is established, my goal is $10!"

$10 for a monthly subscription?

The big boss, how high is his expectation for the future of the Starz TV network?

Tony Grammer gasped in surprise.

The future is unpredictable!