Early on Sunday morning, Eric had a phone call with Chris in Tokyo to learn about the situation in Southeast Asia. In the morning, he rushed to Century City to meet with Harvey Weinstein. After the FFM TV station was handed over to Weinstein to operate, the headquarters of FFM was set up near the Fox Century City studio.
Last weekend, that is, on June 15th, "The Sopranos" went through 13 weeks of broadcasting, and the first season officially ended.
Relying on Harvey Weinstein's skillful operation methods, the word-of-mouth of "The Sopranos" continued to spread like a virus. With a good start of 1.76 million viewers in the first broadcast, the ratings of the series have also soared. When the final episode of the first season was broadcast, the highest viewership reached 3.25 million, almost double that of the premiere.
Influenced by the influence of "The Sopranos", FFM's popularity has further expanded, and subscribers have also increased significantly. By the end of the first season of "The Sopranos", the number of subscribers of FFM TV station has reached nearly 6 million.
The user base of FFM was only about 4.5 million before the broadcast of "The Sopranos". Due to the relatively low starting point and the full support of the three major media giants, everyone has a premonition that FFM TV station will just sprout in fertile soil grows as quickly as a seedling. However, in just one quarter, the number of new subscribers is close to 1.5 million. This kind of user growth rate is still unbelievable. You must know that the number of new subscribers of HBO TV station in the same period is less than 500,000 in a quarter.
Since the idea of establishing FFM TV station came into being, Eric had the idea of competing with HBO. Therefore, while giving full support to FFM TV station, Eric did not relax his attention to the operation of the TV station. Since it started broadcasting in September last year, Eric has participated in at least two to three FFM TV station operation meetings every month.
After a short period of initial discomfort, Harvey Weinstein quickly demonstrated his excellent ability in television business operations. In the most recent quarter, the number of subscribers of FFM TV station has skyrocketed. To be honest, "The Sopranos" can only be credited with 30% of the credit, and the remaining 70% is the result of Weinstein's excellent business operation ability.
Just like the public relations operation process of hedging an Olympic film, since the broadcast of "The Sopranos" has established word-of-mouth, Weinstein has carried out in-depth operations on "The Sopranos" through all available channels such as newspapers, TV, and the Internet. During the three-month broadcast period, the plot of almost every episode of "The Sopranos" will become the focus of heated discussions in the media. After the first season is over, the "sacred drama" view of "The Sopranos" has already been in the minds of many people Correspondingly, the brand of FFM TV station has become more deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and thus brought a large number of new users.
Speaking of it, Weinstein's operation of FFM TV station during this period is very similar to Netflix in his previous life.
After the original time and space in 2013, when it comes to Netflix, the first thing many people think of is "House of Cards". "House of Cards" is naturally also a work that can be called a drama, but just like "The Sopranos" at this time, strictly speaking, the two dramas only serve as a catalyst, which really made Netflix rise. It is also the company's excellent business operation ability. Of course, just like some chemical reactions cannot proceed without a catalyst, if there is no "House of Cards", it is impossible for Netflix to increase the number of subscribers from 26 million before the show to 40 million within two years of the show. Similarly, although "The Sopranos" cannot be regarded as playing a decisive role in the development of FFM, it must not be ignored.
However, behind the soaring number of users is the rapid increase in operating costs of FFM TV stations.
Although it has the support of the three major media giants, FFM TV is an independent company that needs to be responsible for its own profits and losses. Neither Firefly nor Fox can provide free film and television copyrights to FFM.
In order to compete with HBO, FFM not only packaged and bought a batch of film and television copyrights in the early stage to fill the broadcast time, but also introduced a new film on average every week in addition to the self-produced drama "The Sopranos". After all, FFM This year's expenditure on film and television content will exceed US$300 million, and the TV station's advertising and marketing budget will also be close to US$200 million. In addition to the operating expenses of the TV station itself, the annual operating cost of FFM TV station will reach US$700 million.
On the other hand, in order to attract new users to subscribe, FFM has also implemented a large number of discounts and promotions in terms of fees, which has also greatly reduced the average subscription fee of users. Although the number of users is increasing rapidly, FFM TV Station is expected to The total revenue of HBO will not exceed 500 million U.S. dollars, which is only about one-third of HBO's annual revenue. This also means that in 1997, FFM will bring losses of at least US$200 million to each shareholder.
In fact, if the ambition is small, in the context of the explosion of the cable TV industry as a whole, relying on the rich content resources of the three major media giants, FFM only needs to significantly reduce the budget expenditure on content and marketing, even if it only relies on the existing subscribers , you can quickly realize profits and live your life comfortably. But in this case, FFM TV station will forever lose the possibility of becoming a giant of paid cable TV stations. Even, in the future streaming media era, FFM TV station is destined to become the first traditional cable platform to be eliminated.
Eric will naturally not let this kind of thing happen, either not to do it, or to do the best possible, even if the final result is not satisfactory, Eric will not allow FFM to be content with the status quo from the beginning.
What's more, the average annual loss of 200 million U.S. dollars, according to the shareholding ratio of each company, is only tens of millions of U.S. dollars. In recent years, everyone's situation has been very good. It is not unacceptable to pay tens of millions of dollars a year for a premium cable station with great growth potential. However, Eric also knows that after the Internet bubble bursts, the life of cable TV operators who are also beneficiaries of the new technology wave will become very sad for a long time. At that time, tens of millions of dollars a year It is more difficult for them to accept loss expenses, and Eric also looks forward to being able to get back the 20% of the shares that were apportioned to the major cable TV operators at that time.
Based on the current growth rate of FFM TV station, by the end of 1997, the total number of subscribers will exceed 8 million, and it is very safe to break through 10 million subscribers next year. However, after the number of subscribers exceeds 10 million, just like a fast-growing seedling enters a mature stage, the growth rate will slow down, and it will start a more direct personal battle with HBO.
In the conference room of the FFM television headquarters, after listening to Harvey Weinstein's report, Eric said: "Harvey, isn't your contract period five years? In this way, if you can transfer FFM during your contract period When the number of subscribers grows to 20 million, I can promise now to increase your option share by 50%."
Harvey Weinstein left the demonstration stage and returned to his seat, and said with a smile: "Eric, your conditions are indeed very attractive, but this is not an easy task. Whether it is Firefly, News Corp. or Mi Gaomei does not have a national cable TV network like Time Warner, and several major operators are only minority shareholders in FFM, so they cannot support TV stations with all their heart. Time Warner's cable TV network will definitely crowd out FFM, telecommunication The company is also eager to build its own premium cable station Starz, and the basic cable companies, they have a very close relationship with Viacom, these factors will limit the further expansion of FFM TV stations. In my opinion, the scale of FFM subscribers has grown to About 15 million will enter a bottleneck. If you want to break through, the three of you must purchase a national cable TV operation system that is sufficient to support the further development of FFM TV. Otherwise, I can only guarantee that FFM’s The number of subscribers grew to 15 million."
Harvey Weinstein's contract started in July last year and ended in July 2001, a period of five years. This period happened to be the most turbulent period of new technology waves, although when Harvey's contract expired, the Internet bubble must have passed Even if it broke, Eric couldn't have shot too hastily. Of course, it is even more impossible for Eric to buy the cable company before the Internet bubble burst, that would be simply taking advantage of him. That being the case, Eric must not be able to meet Harvey's request.
Under Weinstein's expectant gaze, Eric finally shook his head and said, "I have no such plans for the past few years, but you can discuss it with Rupert."
Weinstein shrugged helplessly. He had actually discussed this topic with Murdoch. News Corporation itself already has a satellite TV and cable TV network, but the scale is relatively small. Moreover, in recent years, News Corporation has put more energy on the development of TV stations, and is not too keen on the basic cable TV operation business.
This topic was no longer mentioned, and everyone in the conference room chatted about other things. The meeting finally ended when it was close to twelve o'clock at noon.
Harvey Weinstein packed up the documents in front of him, glanced at Peter Rich, who had been sitting next to Eric today, and smiled with a harmless fat face: "Eric, let's have lunch later Bar?"
Eric followed with a smile and said, "Of course, even if you don't mention it, I will let you invite me to dinner."
Eric came here today, in addition to participating in FFM's recent operation meeting, he also has another purpose, which is to officially introduce his assistant, Peter Rich, to Harvey Weinstein. In fact, at the beginning of this year, Eric He's already talked to Weinstein about it, and he's already prepared. When FFM was first formed, Eric didn't get involved in personnel issues too much, and it's nothing to just put in a manager at this time.
In the restaurant near Century City, most of the management of FFM TV station has been dispersed, and there are only four people sitting in the box, Eric and Peter Rich, Weinstein and FFM's vice president and head of production department Brad De Gray, as for Harvey's brother Bob Weinstein, is still focusing all his energy on Miramax and does not serve at FFM.
Eric wasn't very in favor of FFM TV's acquisition of the production company of Weinstein's former assistant Brad Gray. However, Weinstein eventually drew him closer to the company to be in charge of the programming department, and used 5 million US dollars to buy the production company of Brad Gray. Rad Gray's production company bought it. The amount involved in this transaction is not large, and it is not even as good as FFM's purchase of the right to broadcast a popular movie, so Eric did not block it too much.
After ordering lunch, several people chatted about the arrangement of "The Sopranos" hitting the Emmy Awards in September, and Harvey Weinstein took the initiative to mention the arrangement for Peter Rich: "Peter, I hope you can I first came to the marketing department as Mark's deputy, Mark Levinson, whom I introduced this morning, and his current position is the manager of the marketing department. Get familiarized with it for a while, and if you have a more interested position, I can make appropriate adjustments. "
The current scale of FFM is actually not too large, with less than 200 employees. As a premium cable TV station, the core functional departments are film procurement, program production, and advertising and marketing departments. In the future, after FFM’s self-produced content will be more abundant, the copyright operation department will be added. Other departments such as finance and personnel are the same. Important, but will not have much impact on the development of FFM. In recent years, due to the rapid expansion of FFM, the company's advertising and marketing department has become more important. Being able to join this department will have a broader room for future development.
Although Eric had discussed it with him before, Peter Rich was still a little excited to hear Weinstein's formal proposal. The deputy manager of the marketing department, and the next level up, is the vice president of FFM. Although it is beautiful by Eric's side, at this time, Peter Rich can be regarded as the starting point of a career with a wider display space.
After a brief moment of excitement, Peter Rich quickly nodded: "Thank you, Harvey, I will work hard to be competent for this job."
Weinstein's smile remained unchanged, he glanced at Eric, and said, "So, when do you plan to join the job, let me arrange it in advance?"
Peter Rich also looked at Eric.
Eric put down the tableware in his hand, smiled, and said, "Next month, I'm going to England soon, and it's too late to change people. Of course, Peter, you can also apply for a month's leave when you come back from England , I remember that since you were by my side, you seem to have never rested?"
Peter Rich shook his head eagerly and said, "That's not necessary, I can get to work right away."
Eric nodded with a smile and said, "Of course, this is your choice."
Weinstein followed suit with a laugh, and said, "Actually, young people, that's how it should be. Look at each of us, it's Sunday, and we're not all working. In fact, I admire Eric for being able to Can do that. If I had your money, I'd be enjoying life on some private island by now."
Eric shrugged, laughed too, and said, "Well, it seems that my current painting style is very uncoordinated in your eyes."
Several people chatted and laughed, and after lunch, Weinstein asked again: "Eric, the first three episodes of "Prison Storm" have been produced, do you want to watch the finished film together this afternoon?"
"I still have something to do in the afternoon, and it has been delayed for two weeks," Eric shook his head, and said, "Well, let someone send a sample to Angle Manor, and I will take a look at it some time."
"No problem," Weinstein nodded, then vaccinated Eric again, and said, "However, Eric, I don't think this show is too good, at least, it must be far from the same Compared to The Sopranos."
"It's natural, any production company has its ups and downs, and I never expected that all the films produced by FFM will be like The Sopranos."
The overall strength of a TV station has always relied on the quality of its overall drama series, and it is the best state to be accompanied by one or two popular drama series without interruption. If all the dramas produced are top-notch, not only is it unrealistic, but even if it is realized, it will turn into an overall "mediocre" after raising the audience's aesthetic requirements.
Eric's expectation for "Prisoner" is as long as it can exceed the average level.
Separated from Weinstein and Brad Gray, Eric drove to the Trousdale Manor, dismissed his assistants and bodyguards, and walked into Drew's mansion alone.
In the living room of the villa, Drew was lying on the glass coffee table in the center of the living room looking through a pair of aircraft documents and drawings. A pile of papers was also scattered on the carpet and sofa next to him. The twins sat kneeling on both sides of the coffee table, softly helping the girl with advice.
Seeing Eric coming in, the girl immediately raised a blueprint in her hand, and said with a tone of excitement rather than worry, "Eric, it's so messy. I didn't expect buying a plane to be so troublesome."
Eric came over and sat down casually on the carpet next to the girl. He took the blueprint in her hand and flipped through it. He said to Natasha next to him: "When there are guests coming, clean up the surroundings."
"Okay, master," the two women responded, and got up quietly to tidy up.
Focusing on the blueprint in her hand, the girl's little head has already moved over: "Eric, I suddenly don't want to buy a 777."
"oh?"
"The Boeing 777 has twin engines. I heard that the 747's four-engine is safer, so the 747 is the presidential plane."
Eric smiled and said, "If you're worried about this, you won't be able to fly."
"Hee hee, people are afraid of death."
"Then buy a 747."
Eric smiled and said as the girl meant. In fact, he has also read a lot of information on aircraft recently. The reason why the 747 adopts a four-engine design is mainly because the power of the aero-engine at that time was not enough.
Since the Boeing 757, due to the advancement of aerospace materials and engine design, Boeing has generally adopted a twin-engine design. As for the fact that four engines are safer than twins, there is some truth to that claim. But in fact, during the flight, even if all the engines of the plane suddenly fail, it will not fall directly from the sky, but will continue to glide. As long as it is operated properly, it can still land safely. What's more, the simultaneous failure of both engines is hundreds of times lower than the probability of an airplane being struck by lightning. The probability of an airplane being struck by lightning during flight is quite high. As for the failure of a single engine, it will not have much impact on the flight.
"But the 777 is bigger, I still want to build a party plane."
"Then 777."
"Wow, your tone is too perfunctory, be careful, I will buy both."
Eric continued to nod: "That's fine." (To be continued.)