Daenerys Entertainment West Coast Headquarters, Upper West Side, New York.
The time is August 21st.
Thursday.
Entering late August, the summer movie season has begun to wrap up, and the 1997 autumn television season is approaching. Simon flew to New York from Los Angeles again on Tuesday. In recent days, he has been involved in programming for major television networks under Daenerys Entertainment. .
As for the ABC television network, this year’s highlight is still “American Idol.”
This is already the third season of this singing reality show. Based on the feedback from the second season contestants’ tour performance in the summer and the recent promotion of the third season, unless other super dark horses appear this fall, it is expected that the average "American Idol", which still has about 35 million viewers, can basically continue to lock in the ratings championship for the new year.
In addition to "American Idol", ABC's other ace show "Seinfeld" is about to enter its eighth season.
Perhaps some people later had the impression that the most popular sitcom in the United States in the 1990s was "Friends", especially foreign American TV viewers.
Actually that's not true.
The most popular sitcom in the United States in the 1990s was "Seinfeld."
For example, in the seventh season last year, the average number of viewers of "Seinfeld" reached 33 million, second only to the 37 million in the second season of "American Idol". "Friends", which was launched in 1994 and was in the third season last year, had an average number of viewers of 33 million. There are only 24 million people.
Of course, "Friends" still has a long way to go, and "Seinfeld" is expected to end with its ninth season next year.
Daenerys Entertainment has made efforts for this before, hoping that Jerry Seinfeld, the creator of "Seinfeld", can complete the tenth season, which can be considered a completion. For this reason, on the basis of the salary of one million US dollars for a single episode, Daenerys Entertainment also provided However, the comedy star did not agree and only signed a two-part contract for the eighth and ninth seasons when the contract was renewed this year.
It's not about money.
Repeating anything for many years will inevitably lead to fatigue. In addition, because of the popularity of "Seinfeld", the TV personality was not short of money at all. In the end, he voluntarily gave up the high salary offered by Daenerys Entertainment, just hoping to rest. one time.
In addition to the two main series, "Who Will Be a Millionaire", which was launched in 1988 and continues to be broadcast until now, will continue this year.
Compared with the popular "American Idol", the viewership data of "Who Will Be a Millionaire" has dropped to an average of 11 million viewers last year. However, because the production cost of this program is very low and the viewership is in the tens of millions, there is still a lot of room for profit, so it can continue for many years.
On the other hand, since it is no longer popular, the schedule of "Who Will Be a Millionaire" has been moved to Saturday nights, which is relatively unpopular for TV dramas, and has been reduced to one issue per week.
In addition to Daenerys Entertainment’s own ABC platform, several other popular programs on public television networks, NBC’s “Friends” and CBS’s “ER,” are both in their fourth seasons this year and are still in prime ratings. period.
"Survivor", which was born at the same time as "Who Will Be a Millionaire", will also continue. The average number of viewers of the latest season of "Survivor" was 13 million, which is higher than "Who Will Be a Millionaire". However, after all, it is someone else's show, and NBC has also reduced its order from two seasons per year in the early days to one season per year currently.
In addition to the public television network, there are cable television networks such as USA, ESPN and Fashion TV under Daenerys Entertainment.
Relying on the precise positioning of women's television networks and a series of popular flagship programs, USA, as a basic cable network, has developed very rapidly in recent years. The current number of subscribers has grown from the initial 21 million to 93 million. The main reality show series "Honey Wives" Together with the two TV series "Desperate Housewives" and "Sex and the City", they have been the focus of hot discussion among North American female groups in recent years.
USA’s film list this year has not changed much.
In terms of reality shows, in addition to the two long-running mainstays "Beverly Housewives" and "New York Housewives", the earlier "Atlanta Housewives" and "Miami Housewives" were canceled due to mediocre ratings, and last year's overseas branches "Melbourne Housewives" is very popular, and this year "London Housewives" has been added.
Coupled with several other female star reality shows involving cooking or fashion, USA can be said to be a big producer of reality shows.
Simon has actually been preparing two other memorable reality shows for USA, "Project Runway" and "America's Next Top Model." However, since the "Honey Wives" series can still support the ratings, there is no need to release it too early.
In terms of TV series, "Desperate Housewives" has entered its sixth season this year. According to the story line planned by Simon based on his memory, it is expected to end in its eighth season. In the previous fifth season, the average number of viewers of this TV series was as high as 15 million. It may be placed in the public The TV network is not a popular one, but for a basic cable network, it is already phenomenal.
In addition, "Sex and the City" has slightly lower ratings, but it also reached an average of 9.7 million viewers in the second season last year, and is expected to exceed 10 million this year. Moreover, because of its subject matter and audience, "Sex and the City" is just as popular as "Desperate Housewives". The audience of urban elite women makes this TV series more popular with advertisers.
ESPN, after reaching an eight-year, $9 billion buyout contract with the National Football League last year, the agreement was officially implemented this year. If nothing else, ESPN will officially begin its own take-off path, and ultimately achieve the ultimate goal of the 'ESPN tax' in Simon's memory.
The development of Fashion TV has been quite smooth over the years, and there have been no major changes this year. The main goal is to continue overseas expansion and increase global coverage.
Finally, there are actually some basic cable stations such as AE Television Network. This was the original media joint venture between ABC and Hearst Group. After the incident three years ago, Daenerys Entertainment obtained all the equity.
However, compared to USA, ESPN or Fashion, these TV stations can only be regarded as icing on the cake, and some of them are still losing money. Simon has no intention of shutting down. After all, this is to gain public opinion, whether it is Daenerys Entertainment itself or West All other industries in the Luo system will use these media platforms to a greater or lesser extent.
After finishing today's work, Simon had just walked out of the conference room side by side with Robert Iger. Girl A came up to him and whispered to Simon: "The Delevingne couple happened to be here today to discuss some cooperation details. They learned that boss you Here, I hope I can say hello.”
The Delevingne couple is Cara Delevingne’s Delevingne.
A few years ago, Simon met the Delevingne couple by chance at a Christie's auction in London. They chatted a few more words because of the names in his memory, and later learned that the man in this family, Charles Delevingne, was a real estate developer and real estate agent. He hired someone to help him buy a property in London, but he hadn't had many opportunities to meet him in recent years.
The reason why the Delevingne couple appear here this time is precisely because of the "Honey Wives of London" that was just finalized this year.
Pandora Delevingne, wife of Charles Delevingne, was selected.
The Delevingne family is also considered a member of the London celebrity circle and has aristocratic ancestry. Although it is very controversial if you look closely, the roundabout relationship between the family and various celebrities is also full of gimmicks for the show "London Wives". , enough to attract a large number of general audiences.
Just on the way, Simon nodded and agreed, and after saying goodbye to Egger, they went to a lounge on the other floor of the building.
The Delevingne couple saw Simon appear and stood up quickly.
After everyone said hello, Simon learned that the Delevingne family had arrived, and after talking about business, they would stay in New York for a few days, which could be regarded as a vacation. Simon casually invited the other party to attend the house party at Jerry Hall's house in the evening. By the way, it was a way to connect with this circle, and the couple agreed with joy on their faces.
Separate for now.
Simon rushed to Greenwich first. It was around six o'clock in the evening, and he arrived at Jerry Hall's large flat apartment. As soon as he entered the door, Hall's eldest daughter Elizabeth Jagger greeted him, and there were also the Hilton family's Nikki Hilton and their little stooge Kim Kardashian.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the girl rushing towards him, Simon held down the girl's head before she could wrap her around him, and said with a smile: "I won't buy it!"
"Ha, Dad, I didn't expect that the richer you get, the more stingy you become." The girl shouted sweetly, while she took Simon's big hand off his head and took his arm: "And I didn't say I wanted to buy anything. , summer vacation is coming to an end soon, I just want to go out and have fun, dad, can you lend me your Boeing 767?"
Simon looked at Jerry Hall, who was walking over with a smile: "This requires your mother's consent."
Elizabeth reached out and took the arm of her approaching mother again, sandwiching herself between the two adults. Her big eyes flickered pitifully: "Mom, you must be fine, right?"
Jerry Hall had no objection: "Okay."
Compared to Ulyanna, who secretly dislikes her two children, Jerry Hall is still a competent mother, but she only fulfills her obligations, and she is not that concerned about her children's education.
Elizabeth is only 13 years old this year, and her academic performance is a mess. She said she wanted to become a model in the future, so Hall helped her arrange training. However, the girl’s biological father, Mick Jagger, had strong objections to Hall’s indulgence of his daughter. Unfortunately, it was just It's all words, not to mention there is no custody rights.
Now, it was not the first time that the girl wanted to go out to play. Jerry Hall knew that Simon would make arrangements. She didn't need to worry about safety or expenses, so of course she had no objection.
Seeing that both women were like this, Simon agreed.
Not forgetting to nod and greet Nicky Hilton, who was looking at him with bright eyes, everyone came to sit on a sofa by the window in the living room. After saying a few words, Hall got up again. The waitress here They were busy arranging a party for the evening, and she had to watch it in person, leaving only three girls to accompany Simon.
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When Hall stood up, Simon patted the space vacated by the woman. Nicky Hilton immediately stood up and came over, making Kim Kardashian, who looked very insignificant, envious.
Skillfully discuss various topics.
"Actually, we want to go to China. Dad, Nikki and I recently went to see the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". It was really cool, but the bamboo sea there is even more beautiful. We want to go and see it. We even went out of our way to apply for visas this week, me, Nikki, Kim, Ivanka... In short, there are about a dozen of us, anyway, we all need your sponsorship."
Simon put his arms around Nikki's waist and casually put the girl on his lap to support her while saying, "What if I don't sponsor her?"
Elizabeth gently pushed Nikki who was sitting on Simon's lap, looking a little jealous, and threatened: "Then I can only call you Simon from now on."
"Forget it, there are many girls who are willing to call me daddy," Simon said as if he didn't care, looking at Nikki in his arms: "Come on, Nikki, call one of them."
Nikki's face turned red: "I won't shout."
However, Elizabeth immediately forgot about the threat just now, and encouraged with a wicked smile: "Nikki, shout, it won't stop you from liking dad, he will definitely like me more."
Nikki shrank her neck, shyly opened Elizabeth's little paws, and glanced at Simon's expression again. In fact, if there was no one else around, she would be willing. Now, how could she shout out.
Elizabeth didn't pursue her too hard. Knowing that Simon had just agreed, she turned around and said, "By the way, Dad, I saw in the newspaper that casting for "Lord of the Rings" has recently started?"
Simon nodded and smiled again: "You care about this too?"
"I have also read the "Lord of the Rings" novels, and there is a complete set of Tolkien in the study at home," Elizabeth said, leaning towards Simon again, with a look of anticipation on her face: "Dad, what do you think about me playing the elf princess?" How about it?"
"not so good."
The girl immediately grabbed Simon's arm and started shaking it: "Ahh-"
Simon would not let up this time: "Don't make trouble. If you were 10 years older, maybe it would be OK. Now you are too young and you don't know how to act. With an investment of more than 200 million, you are allowed to do whatever you want?"
Elizabeth's eyes suddenly widened again: "Wow, more than 200 million dollars. It seems that the out-of-control Titanic is only 200 million dollars, right?"
"This time, three movies will be shot together," Simon explained, and then knocked on the door of Ya's head: "Runaway Titanic?"
Elizabeth covered her head and said with a smile: "Everyone says so, if you invest 200 million, if you lose it all, Dad, will you feel bad?"
"Won't."
Elizabeth paused and then nodded: "Yes, dad, your net worth has dropped by hundreds of billions in recent months, so 200 million is nothing."
"This is not like persuading people at all. If you continue to be so venomous, I will have no choice but to regret not supporting your trip to China. You have lost hundreds of billions and need to be frugal."
"Well, Dad, I was wrong." The girl immediately turned around, and even came over and kissed Simon on the face. She was still a little unwilling: "Even if I can't play the role of the elf princess, dad, it will be no problem for me to play a guest role as an elf when the time comes. Well, I'm 1.7 meters now, so my height is no problem."
That's no problem.
Simon nodded politely and said: "As long as you are willing and the time can be arranged, you can play a guest role as an elf maid."
Elizabeth was not satisfied again: "Just a maid?"
"Yes, because there is nothing more marginal than this. If not, you will have to do odd jobs behind the scenes?"
"Okay, okay, the maid will be the maid." Elizabeth said, not forgetting Nikki on Simon's lap: "Dad, where is Nikki?"
"Nikki is too short and can't act in anything for the time being."
Elizabeth immediately gloated: "Haha."
Nicky Hilton suddenly became dissatisfied: "I'm one year older than Liz?"
Elizabeth gloated even more: "Who told you not to grow taller?"
Nikki suddenly felt resentful and looked at Simon. Seeing that the man would not let go, she had no choice but to do so.
The genetics are still not good enough.
Jerry Hall is 183 centimeters tall and was born as a model. Elizabeth also inherited her mother's genes and was taller than 1.7 meters when she was only 13 years old. And Nicki’s mother, Cathy Hilton, is barely 1.6 meters tall, which is still the tallest of the three Richards sisters. Nicki’s two aunts, Kim Richards and Kyle Richards, Simon had experienced it firsthand. They were all over 1.5 meters tall, petite and exquisite.
While chatting like this, dusk fell unknowingly, and when it got completely dark, guests gradually began to arrive.