Huayu: The young actress is heavily dependent on me

He opened his laptop and pulled up the revenue sharing data report that Bai Mengyan had compiled earlier.

When I was negotiating the contract with Wang Yi in the Tencent meeting room, he offered a unit price of 2.0 yuan per effective play for an A-level revenue-sharing drama.

This figure was already quite high in the online drama market in 2014. The unit price for a regular C-level revenue-sharing drama was only 0.7 yuan, B-level was 1.5 yuan, and A-level was 2.0 yuan.

But when Director Zhao gave him an A grade, he probably wasn't sure himself.

After all, everyone has seen how far a show that was promoted from C-level can go.

Now, 7 million views have answered the question for him.

According to the industry standard, effective playback is generally around 55%, which is the portion of the total playback where a single episode is watched for more than 5 minutes.

If the total number of views is 7 million, then the effective views are 7 million × 55% = 3.85 million.

For each valid play, the platform calculates a basic revenue share of 2.0 yuan, so the total revenue is 3.85 billion × 2.0 = 7700 million yuan.

But this 7 million figure is only for the first month. The long-tail effect of web series has only just begun.

Based on the current popularity and positive reviews of "So Cute Us" and the fixed homepage recommendation given by Tencent Video, the number of views will continue to climb.

During its peak run, it's conservatively estimated to reach 20 billion views, and over the next three years, the long-tail traffic will likely reach at least 30 to 50 billion more.

Of course, the price per view for long-tail views will gradually decrease, and the billing cycle will be very long.

He picked up a pen and wrote down a few lines of calculations on a piece of paper. During its peak run, the show garnered 20 billion total views; assuming 55% were effective views, that's 11 billion views.

The basic revenue share is 11 billion yuan × 2.0 yuan = 2.2 million yuan.

The contract he received stipulated that the platform and the studio would split the revenue according to the A-level revenue sharing ratio. After deducting the platform's channel costs, the studio would receive about 30%, which would be 2.2 million × 30% = 6600 million.

This is just the basic revenue sharing.

GG patch division is another major part.

After the show became popular, the number of pre- and post-roll ads increased from the initial two or three to more than twenty, including snacks, mobile games, and skincare products, with the longest being 30 seconds and the shortest being 5 seconds.

According to Wang Yi, the price for a single 15-second GG patch is around 60 yuan, and the total revenue for 23 GG patches would be around 1000 million yuan.

The platform will deduct 10% for operating costs first, leaving 900 million, from which he will still receive about 270 million.

Combined, he will receive around 6870 million after the peak season ends.

You also need to pay corporate income tax, and if you want to transfer the money to your personal card, you also need to pay dividend tax.

Moreover, this money won't be received for three months after the premiere, and the settlement cycle for long-tail viewership is even slower.

But Chen Li was already quite satisfied with this speed—some slower platforms have a checkout cycle of up to six months.

However, Chen Li was filming "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" at the same time, and it wouldn't be a problem since he wouldn't receive the money for three months.

......

On the morning of February 3th.

The opening ceremony for "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" was held on an open space outside the side gate of the Ming and Qing Palace. The offering table was set up as soon as it was light.

Sohu Video, as a co-producer, attaches great importance to this start-up ceremony.

2014 was a crucial year for them to make a strong push in the field of self-produced dramas.

The exclusive broadcast of "Fleet of Time" in the first half of the year gave Sohu Video a lot of confidence. In the second half of the year, they joined forces with Tangren Media to create this fantasy web series set in the Republican era, with an investment of up to 40 million yuan, of which 8 million yuan was for special effects.

When Chen Li arrived, the venue was already full of people.

Cai Yinong and Lin Yufen were standing in the main seat with a middle-aged man, talking in hushed tones.

Wang Yanlin saw him from afar and strode over to greet him, patting him on the shoulder and putting his arm around him:

"Dude, you're amazing! I was watching Tencent Video yesterday, and when the ending theme of 'So Cute Us' started playing, the comments were full of your name."

"When we auditioned in Shanghai, you told me, 'No one can play this role better than me,' and I thought you were just bragging—"

He paused, his expression suddenly becoming complex.

"Wow, you're really amazing!!"

As the two were talking, Cai Yinong, who was sitting next to the main seat, turned her head slightly, her gaze passing over the crowd and landing on Chen Li, her expression carrying a hint of inscrutable caution.

At first, I just thought highly of him and even considered poaching him.

In just six months, this first-year performing arts student has already garnered 300 million views for a web series with a budget of 7 million yuan, achieving a level of success on Tencent Video that she herself needs to take seriously.

This made Cai Yinong's original plan to poach him from Fan Bingbing's hands somewhat complicated at this moment.

The more popular Chen Li is now, the harder it is for me to control him, and the more difficult it is to poach him!

"Is that the actor who plays Zhang Xianzong?" Zhou Hao followed Cai Yinong's gaze and looked Chen Li up and down.

"Director Lin's casting skills are truly outstanding; the physical attributes are such a perfect match—by the way, do you know President Cai?"

"President Zhou," Cai Yinong said, pulling herself out of her thoughts and regaining her professional composure.

"Chen Li was a student in the 2013 undergraduate class of the Performance Department at Beijing Film Academy, and she was classmates with Chen Yao, who played Yue Qiluo."

"When Jin Chen recommended him for the audition, I didn't expect it to go so well—he passed on the first take on the day of the audition."

She paused, then added, "And he's not exactly a newcomer anymore. You might not have noticed, but a youth drama he wrote, directed, and starred in recently surpassed 7 million views on Tencent Video, and it's incredibly popular online."

"7 million?" Zhou Hao raised an eyebrow and glanced at Chen Li a few more times. "That is indeed not to be underestimated."

He had no choice but to take it seriously.

2014 was a crucial year for Sohu Video to make a strong push. The success of its self-produced dramas "Men's Diary" and "Lady's Diary" the previous year, as well as the popularity of its exclusive broadcast of "The Voice of China Season 2", allowed Sohu Video to barely maintain its position in the first tier.

Faced with Youku's integration of Tudou and iQiyi's acquisition of PPS, Sohu had to increase its investment this year.

As their core project co-produced with Tangren Media, "Wu Xin: The Monster Killer" had a total investment of 40 million yuan and was highly anticipated from the very beginning.

Cai Yinong and Lin Yufen exchanged a glance, then walked to the main seat with Zhou Hao to begin hosting the opening ceremony.

"Good luck with your startup!"

On the altar were a statue of Guan Yu and fresh offerings, and the smoke from the incense burner was gently drawn out by the morning breeze.

The main cast and crew members stepped forward one by one to offer incense. Chen Li stood in the line of actors, side by side with Wang Yanlin.

The sound of camera shutters clicking incessantly filled the air, and microphones from various media outlets were pointed at the main subject like searchlights.

Wang Yanlin leaned closer and whispered with emotion:

"Zhang Xianzong, Gu Xuanwu, we're both supporting actors. At these kinds of opening ceremonies, reporters usually surround the male and female leads, leaving us nameless nobodys—"

He gestured towards the main seat, where reporters were surrounding Han Dongjun.

"Look, Han Dongjun is the most popular young actor promoted by Tangren Media. I heard that besides Jiang Jinfu, he is the most favored. Of course, he is the male lead in Wuxin."

"Reporters don't even bother interviewing newcomers like us..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly froze, his expression changing from displeasure to utter astonishment.