On April 3, 1992, under the leadership of Ding Yaowu, an interpreter at the Chinese Embassy, Lin Zixuan and Mu Shanshan went to the headquarters of the American Chinese Television Station in Midtown, Manhattan, New York.

Founded in 1990, this television station broadcasts Chinese and Cantonese programs, covering the surrounding areas of New York State, or the greater New York area, and has considerable influence among the Chinese in the eastern United States.

In the United States, private television stations are fairly common.

It is not difficult to start a TV station, as long as you have money, can afford equipment and channels, register a company, and hire a few professionals, the TV station can be opened.

As a result, each ethnic minority living in the United States has its own television station.

Excluding the mainstream television stations of white Americans, African-American television stations are the most, followed by Hispanics, Japanese Americans, and Koreans.

Chinese TV stations are behind them, although they are not ranked high, but there are many Chinese-founded TV stations, and there are as many as a dozen Chinese-language TV stations in the eastern and western United States.

In New York City alone, there are five Chinese TV stations, including overseas television, macro TV, Chinese TV, Apple TV, world TV, and American Chinese TV, to seize the Chinese audience market.

Due to limited financial resources, ethnic minority television stations can only buy time slots from privately run cable or wireless television stations, which have short airtime and poor picture quality, and are prone to bankruptcy and closure.

It's a highly competitive industry.

Lin Zixuan analyzed the Chinese TV station in the United States during his time in New York, and finally selected this American Chinese TV station.

Although the Chinese Television Station in the United States has been established for a relatively short time, it uses the broadcast method of Chinese and Cantonese, and is closer to China in terms of broadcast content.

For example, it will broadcast news in China, unlike some Chinese-language TV stations that only broadcast local programs in the United States and Hong Kong.

With the arrival of the second group of crew members, they brought Lin Zixuan a letter of authorization from the Beijing Television Art Center and Huaguo Television, authorizing him to handle the sale and distribution of domestic TV dramas and videotapes in the United States.

Most Chinese living in the United States communicate in Cantonese, which means that Chinese TV stations broadcast in Cantonese, and all the films and dramas broadcast are Xiangjiang.

In such a situation, it is very difficult to promote domestic TV dramas, and the language and cultural background are not shared.

That's why no one has done this before, but times are different now.

With the rise of the tide of Chinese domestic departures, more and more domestic people are coming to the United States, these people are used to watching Mandarin programs, and some people will enter the United States to work in Chinese TV stations, and the change is quietly underway.

Seeing this change, Chinese Television in the United States chose to use two broadcast methods: Chinese and Cantonese.

The station is young, dares to try new things, and has an advantage over the competition.

After careful comparison, Lin Zixuan believes that the American Chinese TV station will be a breakthrough.

He did not rashly go to the Chinese TV station in the United States to promote the TV series, but went to the Chinese embassy first.

He expounded on the benefits of broadcasting domestic TV dramas on Chinese-language television stations in the United States from several aspects, one is that it can play a role in propaganda and let Chinese Americans see the changes in China.

This is also a transmission of culture.

In the future, not only TV dramas, as long as the situation is opened, domestic variety shows can also be broadcast in the United States, which may affect Americans while affecting Chinese.

It may not have any effect in the short term, but it is a long-term, subtle process.

He said so much because he wanted to get the support of the embassy, and with the participation of the embassy, there was a good chance that this matter would succeed.

After listening to Lin Zixuan's analysis, the embassy agreed to Lin Zixuan's request after consideration, and would try its best to assist him in broadcasting domestic television programs on Chinese-language television stations in the United States.

Propaganda is an important means of expressing values.

But until then, these programs have to be censored to ensure mental health.

This is because they are too worried, no matter how you say it, the Beijing Television Art Center is a state unit, and there is a strict system in this regard, so it is impossible to make such a mistake.

In this way, the three of them came to the headquarters of the Chinese Television Station in the United States to visit.

Due to the prior communication made by the embassy, Jiang Tianlong, president of the Chinese Television Station in the United States, personally received them.

Jiang Tianlong is very clear about their intentions, because of the lack of funds and manpower, Chinese-language television stations in the United States rarely produce their own TV programs, and basically buy the broadcast rights of other TV programs.

Even if it is to produce some news or variety shows, the level is limited.

Jiang Tianlong naturally wanted to buy TV programs from Lin Zixuan, but he had two worries, one was the price, and the other was the quality of TV dramas in China, whether they could be loved by Chinese audiences in the United States.

Compared with TV programs in China, the quality of Heung Kong TV programs is more guaranteed and popular.

"Mr. Lin, we are a private TV station with limited funds, and now the competition is so fierce, if your TV show is not popular, we will lose a lot. Jiang Tianlong was embarrassed.

This is the truth, Chinese TV stations in the United States are all private TV stations, without the support of big conglomerates.

The audience is mainly Chinese, and due to the influence of regional dialects, age, and cultural level, the ratings of Chinese TV programs in the United States are generally not high, coupled with high operating costs and insufficient advertising revenue, it is quite difficult for TV stations to survive.

"Mr. Jiang, otherwise, I'll take a TV series and broadcast it on your TV station first, if it's really unpopular, I won't take a penny, if I can increase the ratings, let's talk about the price according to the ratings, what do you think?" Lin Zixuan thought for a while and said.

"Is it a martial arts movie or a kung fu movie?" Jiang Tianlong said curiously.

With the popularity of Xiangjiang kung fu films, these two types of film and television dramas are very popular among Chinese Americans, and they are also TV programs that Chinese TV stations in the United States focus on buying.

"It's an urban emotional drama. Lin Zixuan replied, "When it was broadcast in China, it had a great impact and won many awards." ”

He said this, but he was smiling bitterly in his heart, I am afraid that it will take a few years to shoot martial arts TV series in China.

Lin Zixuan watched various Chinese TV stations in New York, and knew that Xiangjiang martial arts films were the mainstream broadcast on Chinese TV stations, and he didn't know whether "Desire" would be popular.

The only TV series brought from China this time are "Longing", "Foreign Girl" and "I Love My Home", and it is believed that "The Story of the Editorial Department" is not suitable for broadcast on Chinese TV stations in the United States for the time being.

Lin Zixuan can only show "Desire", whether it is success or failure depends on this one.

Jiang Tianlong heard that it was not a martial arts movie, so he was a little hesitant.

"Mr. Jiang, I believe that the emotions between Chinese people are the same, and this TV series can touch countless people in China, and it can also be among Chinese Americans. Lin Zixuan said affirmatively, "If the expected ratings are not reached, you have the right to stop the broadcast at any time." ”