The news department is an independent and complete department of ABC, responsible for the production of all news programs of the ABC TV network. The profit margin of news programs has always been very low. In recent years, only CNN has broken this rule. However, the news department has It is the most important media communication channel of a media group. This kind of national public opinion control tool is definitely not a simple profit. Even if it loses money, several major TV networks will not easily cancel their news programs.
When Katzenberg mentioned "Nightline" as a late-night news program, Eric didn't just hear the huge profit gap between "Nightline" and the late-night shows of NBC and CBS, but was cautious. Asked: "What are the conflicts between Robert and David Westin, the president of the news department? Also, if "David Letterman Late Show" is introduced, what will happen to "Nightline"?"
Katzenberg replied: "This matter is mainly because David is worried that once "Nightline" is abolished, it will become the fuse for the headquarter to compress the news department. For news programs with high ratings, if all these programs are abolished, the number of employees and budget of the news department will be reduced by at least 30%. The news department has always been a complete system, so the management of the department is difficult to accept the original stable state It was suddenly broken. With "Nightline," Robert's plan was to put the news show an hour later, after the late-night show."
"The idea of postponing for an hour is really terrible. It's better to cancel it directly. If I were David, I would probably have a falling out with Robert," Eric shook his head and smiled. The original broadcast of "Nightline" The time is 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, delayed by one hour, and after the early morning, it has completely entered the garbage time of the TV station. After thinking about it for a while, Eric said: "You call David Westin to talk about this matter yourself. Don’t procrastinate and intensify the conflict. Just say it’s my promise. The headquarters will not make any large-scale adjustments to the news department, and even if “Nightline” is cancelled, the news department will not lay off large-scale staff.”
"What about the extra employees?" Katzenberg asked.
Eric thought for a while, and said: "Now there are two major professional news stations, Fox News and CNN in the industry. Professional news stations need to be scaled up to be able to achieve profitability. The rapid rise of Fox News also depends on the entire News Corporation has media resources all over the world. We don’t have any advantages in this regard. Therefore, we will not be an ABC news channel. However, there is no professional news website on the Internet. I think we can start from this aspect. The news department of ABC Although it cannot support a 24-hour news channel, it is more than enough to set up a professional news website.”
Katzenberg wondered, "Eric, isn't Yahoo a news site?"
Eric shook his head and said: "Yahoo's positioning is a comprehensive information platform website. The news section is only a small part of Yahoo's business. Yahoo will produce some content, but most of the information still comes from the entire Internet media. It is equivalent to a distribution network. 'Internet supermarket' for content from other sites."
Katzenberg nodded half-understanding, and made up his mind to go back and study the relevant information carefully.
Eric also said: "The Internet is likely to be the main media communication channel in the future, so let David Westin pay attention to this matter. If you encounter any problems in website construction, you can contact Yahoo for assistance. Help. When Ted Turner founded CNN, many people felt that CNN had no profit prospects at all. As a result, the cake that should have belonged to several major TV networks was handed over to this latecomer. The situation now is very similar to that in the past , almost no one has noticed the potential of professional news websites on the Internet, and ABC entered the market ahead of time. Maybe it can reach the height of CNN in reality.”
Eric has a clear understanding of the subsequent Internet environment. Compared with search engines, e-commerce and other fields, news websites do not have much profit prospects, and more importantly, they can be used as a tool for online public opinion. This is also what Eric values most, but he will not say it clearly at this time, otherwise, the news department will definitely not put all its energy into developing business in this field.
The most important purpose of Eric's proposal is to provide another development direction for the news department, and to resolve the internal contradictions of the news department caused by business adjustments such as "Nightline". But Katzenberg was a little excited because of Eric's suggestion. At this time, the Internet wave had begun to rise. As the head of a media group, Katzenberg also has more and more access to relevant information, creating a news channel to compete with CNN in reality. Katzenberg knows that ABC absolutely does not have this kind of strength, but If we can seize the opportunity and create a professional news website on the Internet that is no less important than CNN in reality, it will also be a very fulfilling thing.
"Eric, if this is the case, I will take time to personally take charge of the ABC News website. With this business, David's side should not be troubled anymore, and the adjustment of "Nightline" can also proceed smoothly. "
Feeling Katzenberg's smugness, Eric didn't want to hit him. He changed his mind and said: "How about this, Firefly can set up another subsidiary company to be responsible for the affairs of the news website, so that it can be listed in the next few years. financing, etc.”
Katzenberg wondered: "Eric, why did you want to go public? Didn't you always oppose going public?"
Listing, of course, is to make money.
Under normal circumstances, the profit prospects of news websites are uncertain, and it is almost impossible to raise funds through a separate listing.
But it will be different in the next few years. With the rise of the Internet wave, any Internet concept enterprise will be sought after by investors. Eric does not expect much operating income for the ABC News website, but if he does not take advantage of the Internet bubble If you make a profit, you will be too sorry for the prophetic advantage of your own rebirth.
This kind of thinking can't be said directly to Katzenberg, and Eric didn't want to talk nonsense, but just said: "Jeffrey, I can't explain it to you now, and you will understand in a few years."
This is not the first time Katzenberg has encountered Eric's remarks, and it has often been proved that Eric is right, so he no longer questioned, but continued to ask Eric about the establishment of the news website Have any specific thoughts.
They chatted until the sun sank into the sea outside the glass curtain wall, and Katzenberg and Kelly said goodbye together and left.
Eric checked the time, and there was an Oscar PR reception for "Saving Private Ryan" in the evening, so he went upstairs to change into a suit, and left Malibu in a hurry for Beverly Hills. (To be continued.)