This star’s style is wrong

What was served in the reception room was tea, not wine.

Gong Jianbin poured a glass for Fang Xing and introduced: "This is the lapsang souchong brought by my friend from Wuyi Mountain. Mr. Fang will try it."

Fang Xing took a sip and found the tea fragrant.

The three of them drank tea and chatted casually about the film and television industry.

After chatting for a while, Gong Jianbin gradually brought the topic to the main topic:

"Mr. Fang has not produced any film or TV series this year. Do you have any plans in this regard?"

Fang Xing put down his tea cup and replied: "There are no film and television plans at the moment."

On the side, Zhou Ning, the president of Wandou Film and Television, praised: "Ark Culture is now a golden brand in the film and television industry, and "The Elegance of the Tang Dynasty" produced in the first half of the year also performed very well."

"The Elegance of the Tang Dynasty" is produced by Ark Culture. The ancient puppet film directed by Zhang Yigao used A-level investment to produce an entry-level S-level investment, and the broadcast results are also good.

Although there is no big hit, in the film and television drama industry, hit dramas are something that can only be encountered.

Therefore, in the film and television industry, as long as it is a profitable project, it is a good project.

Therefore, this "Fenghua of the Tang Dynasty" did not have Fang Xing as the director, but it was still successful, which shows that the TV series produced by Ark Culture are guaranteed.

"It's okay, it's a profit." Fang Xing said modestly.

"As expected of Mr. Fang, the other party generally doesn't care much about such a successful TV series. However, compared with "Nirvana in Fire", the data of "Fenghua of the Tang Dynasty" is not eye-catching, but compared with other film and television companies , then it is a high-quality project." Zhou Ning complimented.

"Mr. Zhou is overly praised." Fang Xing remained humble.

Gong Jianbin took over the conversation and asked: "I heard that the headquarters park of Ark Culture has been completed, and we were not invited to go when it was being cut."

"Mr. Gong is very busy, why do you have the nerve to interrupt?"

The cutting ceremony for the completion of the first phase of the Ark Culture Headquarters Park was actually not a big event, so not many people were invited.

"I heard that the Nebula Animation building has been built in the Ark Culture Headquarters campus. Are you planning to develop into animation in the future?" Gong Jianbin asked.

"Nebula Animation not only does animation, but also special effects. Last year, they established Nebula Film and Television Special Effects Company, which is also in the Nebula Animation building. If Mr. Gong needs special effects in the future, remember to contact us at Nebula." Fang Xing did not forget it. Pull projects for Nebula special effects.

However, Nebula Special Effects has just started a year ago. In fact, its strength in special effects is relatively average and it is still in the money-burning stage.

The early development of a special effects company is very expensive. If Ark Culture hadn't been able to continuously produce hit movies and TV series, as well as have chart-topping songs to support it, it wouldn't have been able to afford it.

Fang Xing is very willing to spend money on the Nebula special effects. Many domestic headhunting companies have helped recruit people, and they have spent tens of millions, but the Nebula special effects have not made any splash yet.

"Okay, we will definitely cooperate if we have the chance." Gong Jianbin agreed casually, but whether his words were polite or not depends on the actual actions later.

After a pause, Gong Jianbin looked at Zhou Ning and asked: "Are there any special effects that need to be produced for the self-made drama that is being produced now?"

"This... I have to go back and ask." As the president of Pea Films, Zhou Ning needs to be responsible for the company's self-produced drama projects.

Find a special effects company that has just been established to do special effects. If something goes wrong, he has to take responsibility.

Gong Jianbin added: "If there are projects that require special effects, give priority to Nebula special effects."

Zhou Ning nodded and agreed: "Okay."

It doesn't matter if I agree to this matter. After all, there are many places where special effects are needed in today's film and television dramas.

For difficult special effects, it is natural to hire an established special effects company. For simpler special effects, it is not impossible to hand it over to Nebula Special Effects.

Of course, this matter depends on how the specific project is discussed.

Gong Jianbin then asked: "Is Mr. Fang planning to increase the output of film and television content in the future?"

Fang Xing nodded and replied: "At least we will continue to output film and television content."

Gong Jianbin came closer and asked: "Mr. Fang, have you ever thought about in-depth cooperation between Ark Culture and Wandou Video?"

Fang Xing looked at his expression and asked, "How deep does Mr. Gong mean by deep cooperation?"

"You can go as deep as you want." Gong Jianbin said something that seemed to be a joke.

"Mr. Gong is planning to poach Penguin Video." Fang Xing also teased in a joking tone.

Gong Jianbin continued: "Penguin Group has its own film and television company, and it is a fully ecological closed loop. Ark Culture is not in this closed loop. When there is use value, it is in-depth cooperation. If there is no use value, it can be thrown away at any time."

This sentence is suspected of alienation.

However, what he said is indeed true.

Penguin Video is a subsidiary of Penguin Group, and Penguin Group’s business groups in the entertainment field range from novels to comics to animation to film and television. The entire ecological chain forms a closed loop, with subsidiaries enclosing territory in every link.

This means that unless Ark Culture becomes a subsidiary of Penguin Group, it will never enter this ecosystem.

Moreover, the strategic cooperation of Penguin Video cannot be decided by the CEO of Penguin Video. It needs the support of the group headquarters.

In fact.

When Li Xueying, vice president of Penguin Video, proposed to broadcast "Dark Glory" exclusively, Fang Xing had considered it, but if he wanted to broadcast "Dark Glory" exclusively, it could not be negotiated with a guaranteed contract.

If Li Xueying had taken the initiative at that time and asked Fang Xing to increase his shareholding and become the real major shareholder of Penguin Video, then exclusive broadcasting could be discussed.

However, this kind of strategic cooperation involving the ownership structure is not something that Li Xueying can decide, or even the president of Penguin Video.

It can even be said that there is no room to talk about this matter at all.

However, once "Dark Glory" is broadcast exclusively to Penguin Video, it means that viewers who want to watch the show on a regular website will need to register as a VIP member on Penguin Video.

With the popularity of this drama dominating the charts, it will bring a large number of VIP members to Penguin Video, and even compete for members of other video websites.

This is an absolute big moneymaker for Penguin Video.

However, solo broadcasting actually makes less money for Ark Culture.

After all, the number of VIP members of the three major video websites is close to 100 million. The exclusive broadcast of Penguin Video is equivalent to giving up the 200 million VIP viewers of the other two major video websites. If you include the viewers of other video websites, the CPM split will be at least Cut in half.

This is why popular dramas are usually simulcast on multiple platforms.

Fang Xing said at the time that strategic-level cooperation was needed to broadcast "Dark Glory" exclusively. This requirement was not excessive at all.

However, no one knew that "Dark Glory" could be so popular that it could even dominate the charts in overseas markets.

Therefore, there was no room for discussion about this solo broadcast cooperation from the beginning.

Now.

Gong Jianbin, the president of Wandou Video, said in a joking tone that he wanted to cooperate with Ark Culture in depth, even as deeply as possible.

The tone was joking, but the words were serious.

In fact, this was an attempt to find out what Fang Xing meant.

If Fang Xing is interested in in-depth cooperation, then we can continue the discussion.

Fang Xing did not refuse directly, but he also did not agree immediately. Instead, he stared at Gong Jianbin with interest.

Gong Jianbin knew that he was waiting for his sincerity, so he talked about last year's events: "Last year, I heard that Penguin Video had talked with Mr. Fang about cooperating in the solo broadcast of "Dark Glory", but in the end the negotiation failed."

Fang Xing did not deny it: "Mr. Li from Penguin Video did talk about this matter, but in fact there is no room for discussion on this matter."

We are all insiders, and it is not a secret that Penguin Video wants to broadcast "Dark Glory" exclusively.

Gong Jianbin smiled heartily and said: "Mr. Fang came to me at that time. If he comes to me, we can negotiate any cooperation plan as long as we can broadcast it exclusively."

Fang Xingxiao asked, "Are you sure?"

Gong Jianbin said in a very firm tone: "Of course, the president of Penguin Video cannot make the decision, but we at Wandou Video can."

Fang Xing praised: "I actually admire Mr. Gong's vision. He was the first to invest in homemade dramas, and he has a good vision. The TV dramas produced by Pea Video have basically been successful."

Gong Jianbin praised Zhou Ning next to him: "The main reason is that Zhou Ning has a good vision."

"I don't dare. I still have enough support from Mr. Gong." Zhou Ning said modestly.

Gong Jianbin then asked: "If "Dark Glory" was to be broadcast exclusively, what kind of conditions did Mr. Fang think there would be room for negotiation?"

Fang Xing laughed and said, "It's been so long since "Dark Glory" has been aired, and it's useless to talk about it anymore."

Gong Jianbin said: "Just chat, I also want to hear the future development direction of Ark Culture."

Fang Xing thought for a moment and came up with a very surprising answer: "Maybe I need to hold 20% of the shares."

Hearing this number, Gong Jianbin and Zhou Ning raised their eyebrows at the same time.

When a large company reaches a certain scale, its ownership structure will inevitably change, otherwise it will be difficult to overcome the bottlenecks it encounters.

Just like Wandou Video, Gong Jianbin, as the founder and CEO and the largest shareholder, only holds 32% of the shares.

And this shareholding ratio is considered relatively high among companies of the same level.

However, as soon as Fang Xing opened his mouth, he said that he would have to hold 20% of the shares before he could have any room for negotiation.

No domestic company would agree to this request, let alone Penguin Video.

Of course, what Fang Xing said about holding 20% ​​of the shares did not mean exchanging a TV series for 20% of the shares. This was impossible.

No matter how popular a TV series is, earning three to five billion is just as high as the sky.

Now the valuations of the three major video websites exceed 10 billion. It is impossible to exchange TV series for 20% of the shares, and there is no such transaction method.

After all, the revenue of a TV series is not known until it is finished.

The value of the shares is determined based on market valuation.

There is no possibility of trading between the two.

Fang Xingzhi’s shareholding of 20% means acquiring 20% ​​of the shares through investment and other means.

In the future, Ark Culture will continue to output film and television content, so investing in a video website is a good choice to continue to expand its business territory.

Moreover, video websites are now developing rapidly.

Fang Xing had a premonition that the development of video websites would be faster and faster in the future. The current valuation of Wandou Video is still around 12 billion, and in a few years, it will at least double or triple.

Of course, the premise is not to fall behind.

Although video websites are developing rapidly, competition is also fierce.

Moreover, video websites need to be supported by content. Only by continuously launching high-quality content can they stabilize the audience.

However, high-quality content cannot be launched just by launching it. It requires high-quality content output.

Undoubtedly, Ark Culture is this kind of high-quality content exporter.

However, Ark Culture has always had an in-depth cooperative relationship with Penguin Video.

If Wandou Video wants to poach this niche, it is basically impossible without some bold cooperation methods.

The three of them chatted all night.

It was a great chat. Of course, such a major cooperation cannot be achieved by just chatting.

Gong Jianbin also has to go back and discuss with the company's senior management and the board of directors before making a decision.

However, one thing Gong Jianbin can be sure of is that Fang Xing wants to acquire 20% of the shares of Wandou Video. If this cooperation is really reached, then Wandou Video will basically be tied to the same tank as Ark Culture. When the time comes, Penguin Video wants to Even if you want to grab it, you can't.

…

The dinner is over.

Gong Jianbin asked Zhou Ning to ride in the same car with him and go back together.

In the car, Gong Jianbin asked, "What do you think of Fang Xing's plan?"

Zhou Ning turned to look at Gong Jianbin's expression and said with a smile: "Mr. Gong is tempted."

Gong Jianbin mused: "If Fang Xing can continue to produce TV series as popular as "Nirvana in Fire" and "The Pretender", this cooperation will not be a loss."

Zhou Ning nodded and said, "But the problem is, no one knows whether Fang Xing's next drama will be a hit."

Gong Jianbin looked at him and asked seriously: "Are you sure that Fang Xing was able to produce six hit dramas in a row? Is it because of his strength or luck?"

Zhou Ning fell silent, and then said after a while: "I think it's a combination of strength and luck, and this person has a very accurate market vision and knows what the audience wants to see.

"Actually, I wasn't sure before Ark Culture filmed "The Elegance of the Tang Dynasty," but without Fang Xing as director, the show turned out to be only a small hit.

"It shows that Fang Xing does play a huge role in the TV series."

Gong Jianbin then asked: "So, do you think the 20% stake proposed by Fang Xing is feasible?"

Zhou Ning did not give a definite answer: "It depends on Mr. Gong's development plan. However, if Fang Xing is agreed to hold 20% of the shares, it means that Mr. Gong's shares will be diluted to less than 26%. Or Mr. Gong can consider, Let him film another drama to prove his strength."

…

A week passed.

Gong Jianbin asked Fang Xing to meet again, this time in the headquarters office building of Wandou Video.

Obviously this meeting was more formal.

Fang Xing brought several senior executives of the company with him, as well as the director of the investment department.

Gong Jianbin made a proposal, which was a gambling agreement:

"Mr. Fang is willing to give it a try. Ark Culture has customized a TV series for Wandou Video. If the broadcast results meet the standards, then Mr. Fang is welcome to become the second largest shareholder of Wandou Video."

Gambling agreements are not uncommon in the film and television industry. Many producers will sign gambling agreements with investors and distribution companies.

Earn profits based on the performance of film and television works.

The better the performance of film and television works, the higher the income will be.

On the contrary, if the screening results are much lower than that, then Party B who signed the gambling agreement will not only not make money, but even lose money.

This depends on whether the film producers have confidence in the film and television works they produce.