The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"When many people are doing something, it's no longer a hot trend."

Zhang Chaoyang said with a hint of smugness, "Although Sohu also acquires the copyrights of domestic films and TV series, they are not Sohu's main target. Sohu's target is American TV series."

Although there are some excellent dramas in South Korea and Japan, the scale of these two countries is limited.

Most of the better works that should have been imported have already been imported, leaving not many good works.

But the United States is different; its development in film and television is indeed ahead of other countries.

In addition, there are almost no American TV series imported to China, making this a blue ocean market.

Zhang Chaoyang believes that the price of domestic film and television copyrights will not increase significantly in the short term.

Moreover, with Sohu joining the competition, prices will only be driven up. It would be better to allocate more resources to American TV series.

Once the layout is complete, it will form a moat, giving a huge advantage in future competition.

Gu Ning was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. He wasn't surprised by Lao Zhang's plan, since he knew that Sohu was betting on American TV series.

He was surprised that Lao Zhang had actually told him about this strategic plan so easily.

But after thinking about it carefully, Gu Ning understood the source of Lao Zhang's confidence.

Simply put, it means there are no rivals.

It's 09 now, and neither kiwifruit nor Penguin Video has been launched yet.

Currently, none of the video platforms have large capital backing, so they simply don't have the money to acquire the broadcasting rights to American TV series.

Sohu was able to succeed not because they seized the initiative, but because other video platforms were relatively poor.

The United States has long since formalized its copyright laws, so their prices are definitely not cheap.

There's absolutely no point in acquiring the copyrights for this stuff.

Only Sohu can afford to play this game now. When Lao Zhang tells him these things, it's not because he trusts him or is stupid, but because of his confidence as the richest man.

"Mr. Zhang, the film and television industry has a special significance in cultural dissemination. Introducing American dramas is a good move, but the film and television industry will inevitably be affected by policies."

"Have you considered the potential policy changes?" Gu Ning hesitated slightly before asking.

Did Sohu make a mistake by betting on American TV series?

Strictly speaking, that's not wrong; it did bring a lot of traffic to Sohu in the beginning.

If it weren't for the policy changes, betting on American TV series would have been a brilliant move.

The film and television industry is different from other industries. Even if policies change in other industries, they rarely have a direct impact on the survival of companies.

Because these aspects are taken into account when formulating policies.

However, the film and television industry has the attribute of cultural dissemination, and even if it is opened to private enterprises, the state will always be in charge.

Film and television have a very strong ability to spread culture.

Take period dramas for example; many people take some period dramas as historical fact.

If this continues, even when presented with official historical facts, most people will still prefer to believe what they see on television.

This is also why the country later banned the arbitrary alteration of historical dramas and imposed strict censorship on them.

Many American TV series deal with issues of drugs, sex, and violent crime, and are quite explicit.

After a large number of American TV series were imported, these series became very popular, forcing the government to issue a ban on foreign content.

This led to Sohu's heavy losses from betting on American TV series.

Losing some money is nothing compared to the fact that Sohu missed out on the domestic film and television industry.

With the emergence of Kiwi and Penguin Video, Youku also received investment from Jack Ma. The capital behind these platforms is no less than that of Sohu.

This is what caused Sohu to fall behind completely.

"Business is inherently a gamble; there's no such thing as a sure thing."

Zhang Chaoyang shook his head and said, "Xiao Gu, you are very different from other young people. You are a bit too mature."

"I don't know much about this either, I was just saying it offhand."

Gu Ning smiled. He wanted to build an ecosystem centered around the film and television industry, and online video platforms naturally had to get involved.

He just doesn't have that much money right now, so he can't afford to play.

The reason I reminded Lao Zhang was not to advise him.

Old Zhang is an extremely arrogant person. Not to mention him, even if people of similar status advise him, he probably won't listen.

He said this in the hopes that if Old Zhang encountered setbacks in the future, he would remember what he said today and look at him differently.

At that time, we might be able to acquire a stake in Sohu.

Anyway, I just said it casually. Even if Sohu can't get a stake, we can still buy Tudou when its value drops significantly due to its failed IPO.

Old Zhang didn't think much of it and got straight to the point.

"Xiao Gu, do you think it's possible to make a movie or short film based on Sohu's development over the years?"

"Mr. Zhang, are you referring to a documentary film that's similar to an autobiography?" Gu Ning asked.

He had suspected this before, and thought Lao Zhang was just playing around, but he didn't expect Lao Zhang to be so shameless.

Old Ma only made a film called "Gong Shou Dao," he didn't intend to film his own experiences.

Throughout history, many famous people have enjoyed writing autobiographies.

But even wealthy business tycoons in China don't play this game.

Although the movie "American Dreams in China" was based on a real-life story, it wasn't something Yu Minhong (the actor who played the role) suggested.

"Not in the form of an autobiography."

Old Zhang shook his head and said, "It mainly focuses on the company's development over the years, and can be considered a form of publicity for the company."

He had actually had this idea before, but he felt it would be too shameless to give himself too much screen time.

Although he was a businessman, he was also a scholar.

He has had a relatively smooth journey so far, but he has still retained some of the pride of a scholar.

After watching Gu Ning's short film, he had this idea again.

Gu Ning made that short film as revenge against Lu Chuan.

To be able to create such a script under such circumstances with a clear purpose and such a short timeframe is truly impressive.

He wondered if Gu Ning could create a good script for Souhu, which could both promote Souhu and serve as his own autobiography, making him known to more people.

Gu Ning pondered for a moment, then shook his head with difficulty and said, "President Zhang, I know a bit about Sohu's development. Under your leadership, Sohu has had a very smooth journey."

If we were to make a film based on Sohu's development history, it would lack dramatic tension and have a rather bland plot, so I'm afraid it wouldn't attract many viewers.

Among all the internet giants, Lao Zhang's journey from starting his business to his current success is remarkably smooth.

Other business leaders experience ups and downs, but his entrepreneurial journey so far has only been one of ups and downs; he hasn't encountered any yet.

Even filming Old Ma or Little Ma would be better than filming him.

I heard that when Tencent had few users in its early days, Xiao Ma once pretended to be a woman and chatted with others.

If this were actually made into a film, wouldn't the audience love watching it?

"Too."

Old Zhang didn't understand Gu Ning's meaning and thought it was a compliment.

Sohu's development has indeed been smooth sailing, isn't that all thanks to his good leadership?

Just then, Mr. Wang walked in with a bottle of wine.

The bottle had no markings; it was just an ornate, transparent glass bottle filled with a yellowish-brown liquid.

"Xiao Gu, this is my treasured tiger bone wine, it's very nourishing."

Old Zhang gave Gu Ning a suggestive look and said, "Do you have a girlfriend? Want me to arrange one for you?"

Gu Ning: I'm so young, why would I need any supplements?