The rumors were confirmed, and this inevitably caused a strong shock in the hearts of Tony Granmore and Martin Tangwen.

$120 million to invest in a TV series...... This is an absolute old story!

Last year, Don Pictures acquired Starz TV Network, and the total cost was only $170 million.

Such an investment courage is amazing!

Of course, it also made Tony Granmore and Martin Tangwen really understand Done's ambitions.

In the future, STA will bid farewell to the era of buying films and enter a new era of self-production and self-sale!

Tony Granmore and Martin Tangwen, both founding members of the Starz television network, certainly hope that the TV station can develop quickly, defeat HBO, defeat SHO, and become the boss of professional cable TV in North America!

And Don's ambition, boldness, and pattern obviously have this idea.

Tony Granmore and Martin Tangwen glanced at each other, and both showed a bit of fanatical excitement.

Tang Enyu glanced at the change in the expressions of the two, nodded with satisfaction, and smiled slightly, "By the way, Tony, do you know who the pay TV rights of "Spider-Man" are sold to?"

Tony Granmore tentatively said, "HBO? I heard...... They've raised the price to $28 million!"

It's definitely a sky-high price!

According to Hollywood's window-based marketing model, movies are shown on professional cable television 12 months after their premiere. The TV station gets the exclusive rights for 12 months, and within this year, it has the right to broadcast it three times.

After 12 months, the copyright expires and the film is sold to free public television for its first screening.

In other words, HBO spent a huge amount of $28 million to buy the exclusive rights to only 3 screenings in 12 months!

Such a large investment is enough to make a movie alone.

In particular, HBO's resolute pursuit of high-quality film sources.

Donn smiled, "HBO failed. ”

"Ah? Is it SHO? Isn't it? Lei Shidong, that old guy, has never been so generous. "There's something unbelievable about Martin Tangwen.

Shotime TV is part of the Viacom Group, and its strategic development is certainly in line with Mr. Lei Shidong's business ideas.

Don smiled faintly, "It's us!"

"We?"

Martin Tangwen's eyes widened in astonishment.

Bill McNick didn't have Donn's kind of sell-off show, he said slowly: "That's right, Donn Pictures has invested $30 million to get the paid screening rights of "Spider-Man" on behalf of Starz TV. In other words, in May, "Spider-Man" will be able to meet the national audience on Starz TV!"

"$30 million?"

The two bigwigs from the STA TV network were so surprised that they almost forgot to breathe.

This is too big!

Even if the $30 million is handed over by Universal Pictures, $27 million will return to the books of Down Pictures. But this is the rejection of HBO's offer of up to $28 million!

With the current subscription cost of the STA TV network, it is possible to attract at least 10 million new subscribers to subscribe with "Spider-Man" to make up for the loss?

Bill McNick made a downward gesture and said calmly, "You don't have to be under too much pressure, just know our determination to develop the STA network." From the perspective of Down Pictures, in a short period of time, we did not think of making money through STA, and even invested a large amount of money to boost the development of STA and attract more users. ”

Tony Granmore looked at the group of Donn Film executives in the conference room, with such a serious and solemn look, and finally realized the determination of the big boss Donn to develop the Starz TV network.

He took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Chairman, Mr. President, I have already made clear the determination of the company's headquarters. If the headquarters can give Starz TV network enough capital investment and strategic services, I am confident that I can lead Starz TV network to a higher level!"

"It's not enough!" Donn waved his hand, then nodded to Ella Fisher, and she got up and began handing out papers to everyone in the room.

"This is my six-point requirement for the future strategic development of Starz TV network, and it is also a necessary element to open up the vast market of professional cable TV stations, and it must be done no matter what!"

"First, build an industry brand with differentiated content production!"

Tang En took a sip of water, and waited for everyone to get the documents, before he said slowly: "The content production of TV will be the core industry of Starz TV Network in the future, based on the fact that Starz TV Network does not have this strength at present, and the TV production department of Tang En Pictures is responsible for content production for the time being." However, I can't make a traditional family comedy, I have to seek the differentiation of the subject matter, such as "Six Feet Under", which focuses on the funeral industry, and has this unique type of content to complete the promotion and establishment of my own brand. ”

"Second, don't judge success or failure by ratings! The current Starz TV station is small in scale and has few users, we can't only utilitarian ratings theory, we must pay attention to the quality of the work itself! For example, a TV series like "Six Feet Under" is a rare boutique, even if the ratings are low, it is also a guarantee of word of mouth, which is the brand guarantee!"

"Third, we must invest heavily to set a new standard in the industry! In the past, TV dramas had little investment, a small pattern, and shoddy production, which was irresponsible to users! Starz TV station should take the high-quality route, and ...... every year The investment in producing a TV series cannot be less than 100 million US dollars! Of course, I will personally check the content of the series. ”

Tang En paused for a moment, and found that everyone in the audience nodded their heads again and again, very satisfied.

Just the day before yesterday, I met a new friend, a crime journalist for the Baltimore Sun, who is familiar with many real crime cases and experiences, and adapted a script called The Wire. This is the most typical example, we have to be eclectic to reduce talents!"

"Fifth, it's better to have less than to overuse! This is very important! The Starz television network now has two channels, starz television and Encore_MoviePlex television, one dedicated to TV dramas and the other special to show movies, which is very good. But I've heard...... Do you want to tilt your strategy towards music, sports, and children's theatre?"

Tony Granmore wiped the cold sweat from his head, "This...... We just want to attract users' attention with a richer content type. ”

"This is absolutely not going to work!"

Tang En categorically vetoed, his tone was unquestionable, "Brand is the standard! What we provide is high-quality resources, and we must not put cheap programs to deceive the audience! We must not pursue quantity, but focus on the quality of content wholeheartedly!"

"I understand that when I get back to the company, I will communicate these requirements to the employees. Tony Granmore sighed secretly, this big boss is really unambiguous and resolute.

Tang En said in a deep voice: "This point should be paid special attention to. In the early years, HBO also diversified and expanded, with many expansions in music, sports, talk shows, children's plays, and stage plays, but all of them failed. Why? Because there are no technical barriers to these contents, and the reproducibility is too strong! HBO launched programs, and other public television stations soon followed suit and launched programs of the same type.

The atmosphere was a little solemn, and Jonathan Nolan said half-jokingly: "Of course, the scale of content must be large! To establish differentiation, we are a professional cable TV station, and it is impossible to put on some painless soap operas like those public TV stations." ”

Tang En smiled: "Yes, the scale should be large, and the taste should be heavy!"

The crowd burst out laughing.

Bill McNick shook his head again and again, "No matter how big the scale is, there must be a bottom line, and we can't challenge the values of the people of the United States too much, we are different from Playboy's TV station." ”

As soon as these words came out, the laughter in the conference room was even louder.

Tang En eased the atmosphere, and after a while, he resumed the topic, cleared his throat and said: "This sixth point, BO has been carrying out a global layout since 1991, but the progress is limited, and the strategic direction is seriously wrong!"

Wester Cotton added with a smile, "It's true that HBO's early lack of funding led to a lack of smooth cooperation in their operations in Europe, and they turned to the third world such as South America and Asia. But...... We are the content of the English department, and Europe is the dominant one. ”

Tang En said: "It's not quite, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, New Zealand and other places in Asia also have the ability to subscribe, and they are very keen on high-quality genuine content." But we can't afford to make News Corp's mistakes, and although the market on the other side of the strait is huge, now is not the time to reach out. ”

"Of course, this is a very large business scale, and it is difficult to open the market without the right network resources, so there is no hurry. When Down Pictures completes the acquisition of a world-class film distribution company, we will have channels and resources all over the world, and at that time, it is time for STA TV Network to expand its global layout. ”

Tony Grammore and Martin Tangwen listened in a panic.

A world-class film distribution company?

Isn't that the Big Six Hollywood?

Could it be that Down Pictures is going to buy a Hollywood giant?

This is big news!

Bill McNick frowned and said majestically, "Pay attention to secrecy!"

Tony Granmore coughed heavily, "That...... Boss, since we want to implement the high-quality route and focus on building a brand image, what about ...... Is the $3 a month subscription fee in the past going to be adjusted?"

"Of course, it must be changed!" Tang En was full of courage and sharpness, "even if we will encounter labor pains in the short term, we must stick to the long-term strategic line!" Subscription fee...... $23.99 for a 3-month subscription, $45.99 for a semi-annual subscription, and $89.99 for a single-year subscription. ”

"Huh?"

Tony Grammore and Martin Tangwen exclaimed directly.

The price is ...... It's too high!

HBO, which has the highest subscription cost at the moment, costs only $6 a month, while SHO costs about $5...... And Donn's pricing has raised STA's subscription fee to $8 a month in one fell swoop!

It's too dark, isn't it?

Tang En frowned, and said coldly: "The price is very high? Hmph, this is just the beginning! When the brand is established, my goal is 10 dollars!"

How much does a single monthly subscription cost $10?

How high is this big boss's expectations for the future of the Starz TV network?

Tony Granmore took a cool breath.

The future is unpredictable!