"Four hundred and thirty thousand?"

Andy couldn't help but let out an exclamation, a slight gaffe.

But Andy can't be blamed for this, even Lan Li and Matthew are a little surprised. Not to mention the streaming platform, even if it is an ordinary Internet celebrity blogger on YouTube, the number of subscribers is far more than that, although such a comparison is unreasonable, because YouTube is a free subscription, while Sony's streaming platform crack (crackle) is required to pay; but the meaning is the same, for the network subscription channel that relies on traffic for a living, "430,000" is really too low and too low.

Andre cast his gaze towards Lan Li with a calm face, "His opinion." The subtext is: Blame Lanli has chosen a streaming platform with such a low number of subscribers.

The reason why the "crack" streaming media service is so low-key and so shabby,The main reason is that Sony has never paid attention to this part,Compared with the vigorous rise of online streaming media,Sony's parent group still attaches more importance to the operation and promotion of animation and games,All related services are centered around these themes,The importance of film and television must be ranked behind。

Because of this, Crackle's subscription service can only be used on LG and Samsung products, and is only available in a few specific countries and regions, such as North America, Japan, and South Korea. 430,000 subscriptions, to be honest, should not be strange, and even sigh that it can reach such a number, Sony's loyal users are indeed enough hardcore.

However, from another point of view, the main difference between acquiring a streaming platform and creating a new streaming platform is in two aspects: first, the film library, that is, the existing copyright of the streaming platform, and second, paid subscribers, omitting the pre-publicity and foreshadowing, and raising the starting point.

Of course, in addition, the algorithm of video recommendation, the construction of online websites, the production of smartphone software, etc., etc., there are many, many specific differences in the follow-up, but on the whole, the most important and core differences are the above two points.

Amazon established its own streaming media platform, in the absence of a film library, is to use its own priority user base, to open up the situation;Hulu.com has the film library of the three major companies as a backer, winning at the starting line, but the follow-up still lacks independent original works, there is no way to really achieve "synchronous" viewing of new works, which also restricts the rapid growth of subscribers, after all, the old works in the past are still not attractive.

"If the number of subscribers is 4.3 million, I'm afraid that the purchase price will need to be followed by a zero, or even two zeros. In the face of Andre's complaint, Lan Li responded calmly.

Andy thought about it seriously and nodded in agreement.

Andre pretended not to hear, picked up the red wine glass in his hand, savored it, and let the silence spread for a moment before changing the subject, "Sony really doesn't have much interest in running a streaming platform, and the exclusive office of Crack is almost an abandoned department, and now there are only five employees in charge of daily operations." ”

Five...... This is almost equivalent to an outcast, and I'm afraid, even within Sony, there are no employees willing to go to the streaming department, which can basically be considered exile.

"At the beginning, I also prepared a cooperation proposal, but when I saw this situation, I simply put forward the acquisition proposal. Sony didn't hesitate too much and made an offer directly. It seems that they don't think it's a bad thing to get rid of this baggage, but we still have some disagreements on the details of the acquisition. They just want to transfer the platform, but the copyright has to be calculated separately, which I don't think is a good deal. ”

In just one month, Andre and Sony have also exchanged many rounds back and forth, and even if Sony wants to get rid of the burden of cracks, they still can't give up their interests.

"In the end, we reached a consensus that for $30 million, Sony would own 20 percent of the shares in the form of copyrights. But ......" Before Andre's words could be spoken, he noticed that the eyes of the three people were projected, not a simple wait-and-see, and the burning eyes were still full of strength, which made Andre's words interrupt slightly.

"I know that 30 million sounds like a fantasy, even to me a little surprised, but there are other conditions, open up the whole platform network, including online websites and other smartphone application research and development, as well as follow-up related negotiations, all have to be completed by ourselves, which means that we are now acquiring a semi-finished product. Andrei added the follow-up words.

Lan Li is still not very sensitive to the business side, he can't remember the market value of Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in 2017, but he can be sure that Netflix is already catching up with Disney.

What does this mean?

This means that the market capitalization of the Netflix Kingdom is at least 100 billion, and maybe even more, which is "100 billion dollars", a height that ordinary people cannot reach in a lifetime, and now, the crack is changing hands for 30 million dollars?

Of course, as Andre said, first of all, Sony occupies 20% of the shares in the form of copyright, secondly, this is a semi-finished platform, and thirdly, Sony does not pay any attention to it at all, under the influence of many factors, the transaction price is so low, and the acquisition can be completed only by relying on the remuneration of a film of Lanli, but the result is still beyond Lanli's expectations, he thinks that at least 100 million US dollars is enough.

However, it is not a surprise to calm down and think about it: the billionaires of Hollywood and Wall Street, they may indeed be close to the 30 million dollars, and there are countless billionaires who can complete the acquisition, but who will buy a half-finished streaming platform, and then have to work hard to build the platform, but are not sure whether they can make a profit? Instead of buying a semi-finished product, it is better to buy a small island and get away with it.

Thirty million, this is just the first expenditure, if Sisyphus Pictures really buys the crack, those next in order to fill the original film library and establish a complete streaming platform, the price that needs to be paid is billion, two billion, or even more, the "ten billion" figure is definitely not a joke.

A simple horizontal comparison can be made, in 2017, Netflix spent $8 billion on original content, and this is only in North America, and is also trying to open up the European and South Asian markets, while Amazon and HBO spent less than $2 billion on original content, while Hulu.com, which is jointly owned by Disney, Universal Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox, has an investment budget of only $1 billion.

Of course, this is only a comparative data, and when it comes to Sisyphus Films, they will inevitably need to make further adjustments according to their own situation.

But from the side, it can be seen that filling the original content library is a "bottomless pit" that must be carried out for a long time, and the disadvantage of Netflix is that their original content accumulation is only a short decade, but Disney, HBO and other giants have 20 years, 50 years or even a whole century of rich accumulation.

So, how should Sisyphus Films' online streaming positioning be determined?

It's a huge subject, and it's much more than you can imagine.

Andre left a little room for reaction and thought, poured himself another glass of red wine, and then continued, "I haven't made a deal yet, it's up to you now." If we start, there is no turning back from this, we have to keep going like this. Of course, if we are not greedy, we can move forward steadily, and the proportion of investment in the first three years can take the lead in formulating a billion plan. But ......"

Andre shrugged his shoulders, "You should also know that everything in the Internet era is changing too quickly, perhaps, online streaming has reached its peak in just three and five years, and then it has begun to decline, and our original content filling speed cannot keep up with the pace of change of the times, then being eliminated is the only fate." ”

Such alarmist words, but Andrei said it lightly.

"Of course, there is also a possibility that we will not be able to succeed in production and go bankrupt directly without the elimination of the times. Matthew said silently beside him.

Andre didn't mind, either, "It's naturally a possibility. But that's not our goal when it comes to starting a business. ”

"A billion-dollar plan, huh?" Lan Li is a complete layman for creating a company and running a company, he can't help at all, and may even help more and more, so his thinking has always been clear, and he hasn't bothered about those potential possibilities, "If Sony Colombia is willing to take a stake in copyright, it's actually a good thing, I've always coveted their copyright library, and I always refuse to play online, piling up dust in the warehouse, which is really a waste." ”

Sony Columbia's film and music rights libraries are second to none in the world, and they are on the same level as Disney and Warner Bros.

"Sony doesn't think streaming can recoup much profit. Andrei explained.

Lan Li nodded slightly, "In this case, we can shoot a movie first, then fill the film library with Sundance and Sony's rights, then shoot a TV series, keep the subscribers with TV episodes, and then launch the independent movie channel step by step, winning with quality." ”

This is not the wisdom of Lanli, but the experience summed up by online streamers such as Netflix and Amazon, and Lanli is just copying.

"As for the investment ......," Lan Li pondered for a moment.

Although the billion dollars in the first stage does not seem to be an astronomical amount, the creation of companies does not work like this, they should make money out of money, either bank loans or venture capital funds, in such a way to create more profits, rather than paying their own money to create their own companies which is a means suitable for small cost companies.

At this moment, Matthew interjected and interrupted Lan Li's thoughts.