On the other hand, Lion TV also announced in September that it would produce "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Season 2" this winter, and it was scheduled to air it next spring (1999). Pen %Fun %Pavilion www.biquge.info While others are still worried about their return next year, the end of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" at the end of September has made Fire Lion's opponents breathe a sigh of relief.

And NBC's "Friends", which made a strong comeback on the evening of September 24, finally got off to a good start, with a rating of 30.9 million people not only made NBC rejoice, but also made the American TV circle rerealize that NBC's TV king throne is really unshakable.

The finale of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" on Friday night on the 25th was strangely advanced to 7 o'clock in the day by Fire Lion TV, which made many viewers complain. Because anyone who works as a TV station knows that it is common knowledge that the ratings of nighttime programs are higher than those of daytime programs.

The prime time from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. is the most important time to watch, as it is the most suitable time for families to watch after dinner.

Bringing "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" forward by an hour for no reason, many people regarded it as a fire lion TV, and was intimidated by the strong debut of NBC's "Friends" the day before. Some people even say that this move is a manifestation of Sid's youth and immaturity as a "doll CEO", after all, he is still too young.

With such cynicism, most of them are affiliated with the media of several other major TV networks, and they are absolutely sensitive to their competitors.

But even so, the ratings of the last episode of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" still reached more than 30 million people, and the wonderful finale was addictive to watch, and the average viewership of the entire season of the show finally accumulated a staggering 29 million people.

And when the 9 o'clock show really ended, many people still had some unfinished business.

"Well, that's it. A red-haired teenager said with some dissatisfaction.

"At least this year's over, season 2 has to wait until next year, Boy. His father, a middle-aged uncle with the same red hair, said.

"It's a pity that the last contestant didn't get a prize of 1 million, do you think we should also participate?" asked Ma Ma, a brown-haired housewife on the other side.

"Forget it, Mama. Didn't you even pass the first round of phone interviews last time?" on the other side, who had the same brown hair as Ma Ma, a little Lori complained "mercilessly".

"It's only 9 o'clock?" the red-haired boy was a little speechless when he looked at the clock, "I don't want to sleep yet." ”

"If you stay up late at night, your pimples can be compared to the bell tower weirdos. Her sister grumbled again.

"Woo, it's impossible to live with such a sister as you. The red-haired boy covered his chest and sighed.

At this moment, the TV screen, which was still showing some "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", turned around, and a person walked out, "Hi guys, I'm Jeff Prost. ”

"Well, who is this?" the family paused strangely and looked at the strange man on the television.

"Although Fire Lion TV has only been established for less than half a year, we have had a good start because of the strong support of the audience. "Jeff Prost is standing in a huge studio, and this is a recorded video.

"So we at Fire Lion TV have been thinking about how to better thank all the audience and friends. Then Jeff Prost snapped his fingers with a smile, "And then we found out that the best way to do this is to give you more interesting and exciting programs." ”

Jeff Prost's words made many people feel novel, but the NBC executives who were also in front of the TV vaguely felt threatened.

"We at Fire Lion TV recently produced a novel show. Oh, and I'm not talking about Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. We selected 16 volunteers from the U.S. community through open recruitment. Then, a few months ago, they were sent to a small island in the South Pacific, and they were simply 'modern Robinson'. ”

Jeff Prost continued: "According to the rules of the game we set, the 16 'Robinsons' meet every week and vote to evict one of them from the island. ”

"And what's the fun about that?" asked the red-haired boy curiously.

But before anyone else could answer him, Jeff Prost on TV explained: "And whoever stays on the island in the end will be the winner, and he or she will win $1 million!"

Another million for that!?

Everyone's hearts suddenly fell into a groove, including the executives of the other four major TV networks who were watching Fire Lion TV.

"Well, you're sure to ask, when does our Survivor start? Good news for you, Survivor starts now!" Jeff Prost said with a charming smile but a devastating word.

What―The―Fu―！！！？

Without any notice, broadcast the show directly? Who taught you such a nonsense method!

Although countless TV station peers complained in their hearts, it was definitely a good move to put "Survivor" to premiere after the finale of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Of course, this is not the first of its kind on Fire Lion TV.

Later, the ABC television network took advantage of the "import effect" of the Super Bowl of the "American Spring Festival Gala" to broadcast the second and sixteenth episodes of the then leading drama "Grey's Anatomy" immediately after the Super Bowl, and that episode received 38 million viewers in one fell swoop.

It can be said to be the best example of the introduction effect, but there is one more important thing to do this, that is, the program that takes over must be good enough!

So, what is the quality of "Survivor"?

After Jeff Prost's introduction, the picture of Fire Lion TV cuts directly to a Chinese-style boat in the southern sea. As you can see from the picture, unlike the United States, which has already entered autumn, the picture is indeed a hot southern weather.

"Hey guys, I'm your host Jeff Prost. Jeff Prost, who had just appeared to introduce the show, reappeared, this time on a moving wooden boat.

"As you know, we're somewhere in the Southern Balance Ocean right now, and our target is there!" Jeff Prost pointed, and the camera switched to a small island merchant in the distance, which was still quite far away, but it was definitely a desert island.

"And beside me were 16 of our volunteers, Guys, who came to say hello. Following Jeff Prost's words, a group of men and women, white and black people jumped out laughing and greeted the camera.

"Hi" "Hello everyone!" "Hello. ”

After a quick turn of the camera, the host Jeff Prost's face suddenly changed and said, "I have something to inform you, now our ship will sail here." ”

"Uh, what?" the contestants thought he was joking.

"No, I mean really. "Now you have to load everything onto the raft and swim over!"

Seeing the serious appearance of the host Jeff Prost, everyone hurriedly began to load things, tie the raft, and as for how to get down, jump ship.

Watching the rhythm of the contestants jumping ship without saying a word, the audience in front of the TV was stunned. "Wow, that's an exaggeration?" said the red-haired dad in surprise.

"It seems to be interesting. "This is the brown-haired mom.

While most people didn't say anything, their actions said a few things, and they were all drawn to the development of Survivor. Most viewers who stayed from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire were drawn to continue watching Survivor.

Completely different styles, but the same wonderful and high-rise grooves, correspondingly, the ratings of "Survivor" are also rising.

――――――――――――――――――――

"Oh, 38.7 million premiere ratings? Well, not bad. Sid chuckled across the phone.

"Hehe, the performance of "Survivor" is indeed very good. It's just that I think the CEO of NBC might be dizzy in the toilet. Shirley Sandberg also laughed, and she, the COO, was happy that her branch could continue to achieve good results.

"And what about 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'" Sid asked.

"Survivor" started as smoothly as it did in history, which made Sid breathe a sigh of relief, and the most important thing in the Troika of the Fire Lion Group now is undoubtedly the Fire Lion TV station, which can constantly broadcast new programs and attract new audiences.

If you rely on Fire Lion Pictures alone, the long operation cycle will soon put the entire group into a shortage of cash flow. At that time, there is only one way to go public except for loans. But Sid was not interested, and gave his kingdom to Wall Street.

And the TV station, which completely controls the entire schedule, is much more flexible, which is also one of the biggest differences between media groups and independent film companies.

"In the first season of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", the average cost per episode was $700,000, and through advertising, etc., the profit that could be recovered per episode was $150~$2 million. In addition, Canada TV, Canada's largest television station, also approached us to buy the broadcast rights, and negotiated a price of $250,000 per episode. Shirley Sandberg's words made the corners of Sid's mouth curle.

"What about the surrounding area?"

"Now we are negotiating, there are chess and card dealers, Du Chang and others who want to use the picture rights of "Millionaire" and the portrait rights of the host, etc., and some game manufacturers want to buy the copyright and develop the game of the same name, and there are also some Internet companies that want to buy the naming rights. Shirley gave a brief explanation.