Compared with CCTV in this era, ATV obviously has too much to learn.

The completely commercial atmosphere and system, as well as the fierce competition brought about by TVB, a sworn enemy whose strength is still above ATV, all make ATV dare not relax its vigilance at any time. Under the slogan that everything is for ratings, in recent years, especially after Lin Xiaozhi became the owner of ATV, the reform of this TV station is so strong, not to mention Hong Kong, but also one of the best in the entire Asian region.

The effect is naturally very significant, only last year, adding TV drama serials, weekend TV drama broadcasts, a variety of grassroots variety show reform of ATV, the ratings from only equivalent to TVB about 40%, all the way to close to its 70% level, not only attracted widespread attention from all walks of life in Hong Kong, at the end of last year by the "Ming Pao" launched by the market survey, more than 90 percent of the "Ming Pao" readers who received the questionnaire survey generally said that the reform of ATV is more attractive to themselves than before.

The associated TVB was also greatly shaken, affected by the impact of ATV's reform and the loss of a large number of artists, TVB, who couldn't think of a countermeasure for a while, could only follow ATV's reform in the same way. However, their so-called reforms are nothing more than a copy of ATV's strategy, launching TV series series and producing some grassroots variety shows. For this reason, Lejin also reported TVB's malicious competition many times in the Hong Kong Radio and Television Association, which made Shao Yifu, the chairman of the association, very embarrassed.

Although ATV also imitated TVB earlier, it copied many programs as they were. But at that time, there was no radio and television association, and TVB couldn't find a place to appeal even if it wanted to. But now it's very different, even if TVB has repeatedly brought out all kinds of evidence to accuse ATV of plagiarizing many of their program ideas in the era of Qiu Degen, it can't get rid of ATV's protests against them now.

In the end, at the regular meeting of the Radio and Television Association initiated by Lejin, although TVB's proposal to implement a TV drama serial broadcast system was not vetoed, a number of officers and directors voted to approve ATV's proposal to require TVB to immediately stop broadcasting several grassroots variety shows that almost copied itself, forcing TVB to stop broadcasting its newly launched variety shows, and terminated its plan to also implement the 'weekend TV drama broadcast', which caused its reputation to plummet and the ratings to be greatly reduced.

CCTV and his entourage visited most of the columns and backstage control rooms in ATV, and under the arrangement of ATV, it took more than two hours to briefly visit the filming site of ATV's TV series "Silver Fox", which was played by Huang Rihua, Zeng Huaqian, Wu Yongwei, Lu Songxian, Jiang Hua, Zhang Jiahui and other well-known artists of ATV, can be said to be a TV series with the most investment in ATV in the second half of 92, with a budget of more than 12 million Hong Kong dollars, and then counting an additional after the start of filming of the TV series, properly surpassed "The Great Era", and was regarded by ATV's senior management as a work that sprinted to clean up the record in Hong Kong in 93.

During the short visit of the crew, sure enough, the acting skills of the Hong Kong artists and the filming efficiency of the crew surprised the CCTV visitors. So much so that before he left the crew, Zhou Taiyan was impatient to stick to Lejin, and repeatedly said that CCTV wanted to introduce this TV series.

By the end of the tour, it was close to seven o'clock in the evening.

ATV, as the landlord, naturally arranged a reception dinner as at noon. In the old four-star hotel, the Regal Kowloon Hotel, after most of the accompanying CCTV people were settled, Lin Xiaozhi and Lejin and several other senior executives of ATV and visited CCTV Zhou Taiyan and others opened a private room.

Lin Xiaozhi's current state is actually not suitable for drinking, but fortunately, with his current status, others will not embarrass him, although every time he raises a glass, he stops drinking, but the atmosphere in the private room has not been cold.

“…… Director Zhang's "Yang Jiajiang" was really wonderful, and I was fortunate to watch a few episodes when I went north before, and I always remember it vividly. Later, I asked a friend to find the videotape and watched it several times, but I still felt unsatisfied. It just so happened that ATV had plans to co-produce our four classical Chinese masterpieces with CCTV, and I was thinking about using Director Zhang's technology to shoot "Water Margin", so I mentioned it to the comrades in the mainland, hoping to let Director Zhang shoot you! ”

Chinese have had the habit of talking about things at banquets since ancient times, and after three rounds of drinking, Lin Xiaozhi also saw the opportunity and began to turn the topic to work.

Zhang Shaolin smiled gratefully, the mainland in the early nineties will still be compiled, like he was only subordinate to the local TV station before, although Shanxi TV is a provincial station, but in any case, it is not comparable to CCTV, not to mention that if he really takes over the director of the mainland's first co-production TV series with Hong Kong, if the TV series becomes popular in the future, he can also be regarded as the number one person in the entire mainland film and television circle.

Therefore, he didn't talk much on weekdays, and he gave Lin Xiaozhi three glasses of wine, but he didn't pat his chest to promise: "Thank you Mr. Lin for your recommendation and thank you for the promotion of CCTV leaders, "Water Margin" is one of our four classic Chinese classics, I like it many times since I was a child, and after receiving the notice from CCTV, I turned out the "Water Margin" that Shandong TV had filmed a few times, and also asked someone to find some works shot by Hong Kong and Taiwan and Japanese counterparts to study it, for how to shoot, How to shoot, I already have a belly case in my heart! ”

Zhou Taiyan saw him change his usual modest image for the first time, and although he was surprised, he was not surprised. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that if it really finalizes the benefits of this co-produced TV series between the two places. So he also helped and said: "Although Director Zhang's "Yang Jiajiang" was taken over by the middle way, the back part is indeed much better than the front! ”

Lin Xiaozhi gave Le Jin a look, and he immediately said knowingly: "In terms of preliminary preparations, our ATV side is almost there, we will invest 26 million Hong Kong dollars, and you will be responsible for the rest of the investment." In addition to lighting, photography and post-production, our sister company Media Asia has the best special effects processing team in Asia, which can provide convenience for you! ”

Today's Hong Kong dollar to RMB is naturally the former expensive and the latter cheap, Zhou Taiyan inquired when he came, and he had a number with a little estimate in his heart, knowing that this number is almost equivalent to 30 million yuan.

According to the previous verbal agreement reached between CCTV and ATV, the investment in "Water Margin" will be borne by both parties in half, and ATV is ready to invest 30 million yuan in this TV series, which also means that CCTV must come up with the same investment.

30 million is definitely not a small number for CCTV at this time. Take "Yang Jiajiang" as an example, the investment in the 83rd version of "Yang Jiajiang" in Shanxi Taiwan is only about 200,000 yuan, and one episode of the three episodes is 70,000 or 80,000 yuan, and after deducting labor, film, etc., I am afraid it is not even 60,000 yuan. Two years ago, Shanxi TV restarted the filming of "Yang Jiajiang" again, with an initial investment of more than 1.8 million, and then saw that the money was not enough and allocated a sum of money, and the two times together were only an investment of about 2.4 million.

The investment of more than 60 million yuan in a TV series is not to mention that it has never been seen in mainland China and Hong Kong, but it is probably the first time to look at the whole of Asia.

But is that really a lot of money?

In fact, there are not many, first of all, "Water Margin" has a lot of war scenes, even if the labor cost in the mainland is low, but at every turn, you have to borrow horses, ships, etc., and the cost is definitely not small. Moreover, there will be a lot of actors who need to be recruited in "Water Margin", just the one hundred and eight generals of Liangshan who need to be depicted in the plot, and the actors need to be carefully selected, which is a lot of expense.

In 80 years, Shandong TV took the lead in filming "Water Margin", and almost most of the 40 episodes cost less than 100,000 yuan, with a total investment of about 5 million. It seems that the plot is not only rough but also the scene pattern is too stingy, but Zhou Taiyan still remembers that when the "Water Margin" of Laoshan Shandong Station was released ten years ago, it immediately caused thousands of empty alleys as soon as it was broadcast, which caused strong repercussions across the country and won the Golden Eagle Award many times.

After more than ten years, CCTV, which is stronger than Shandong TV, will join hands with Hong Kong to restart the filming of "Water Margin", and the goal of both Hong Kong and CCTV will definitely be more classic than the old Shandong TV version of "Water Margin".

Although Zhou Taiyan is only a manager, he has a careful understanding of the filming of the TV series before going to Hong Kong, so he was a little surprised when he first heard about ATV's investment, but after careful calculation, he felt that it was not too much for the two companies to jointly invest 60 million to shoot "Water Margin".

It's just that this price is beyond the scope that he can finalize on the spot, and he sighed for a moment and calmly: "The investment of 30 million is not a small amount for our CCTV, I need to discuss it with the station!" ”

Le Jin glanced at Lin Xiaozhi, and when he saw that he nodded his head invisibly, he smiled and agreed.

However, although Zhou Taiyan did not agree immediately, Lin Xiaozhi was not worried at all. He knows that a little later in history, the initial investment of "Water Margin" invested by CCTV exceeded 15 million yuan, and then counting the two additions in the middle and late stages of filming, the final total investment is more than 30 million yuan (There are two theories about the total investment of the old CCTV version of "Water Margin", one is that after the total investment of the new Water Margin was exposed, some netizens posted an analysis post saying that the old version of CCTV was 43 million, and one is that the host said in the interview with the old Water Margin crew reuniting' At that time, the investment of 30 million in the Water Margin was really amazing when looking at the country', here I chose the second one).

Since the reform, especially in the 90s, as more and more manufacturers in the mainland began to realize the power of advertising, CCTV's advertising revenue has entered the era of 100 million, which shows that CCTV is not bad for money, what is missing is just a decision.

The old CCTV version of "Water Margin" is a classic, but it also leaves a point that many fans of "Water Margin" regret, that is, because the additional investment far exceeds the budget, CCTV is unwilling to pay more money for the TV series, so it has deleted a lot of length, so that the plot is not complete, and the most regrettable thing is that Liangshan One Hundred and Eight will not be able to meet the audience (some have been brushed aside, and some have only a few face-showing scenes), which has to be said to be a pity.

With the surge in ratings last year, ATV's advertising revenue in the second half of the year also rose, exceeding one billion Hong Kong dollars for the first time in 92, reaching a height of 1.14 billion Hong Kong dollars, excluding operating expenses, TV drama production costs, artist remuneration and purchased TV series copyrights, etc., ATV's net profit is still 240 million, which has surpassed the highest record of Qiu Degen's era.

Since the opening of the port this year, ATV has set a new record, with advertisements exceeding 200 million Hong Kong dollars in just one or two months. As one of the only two free-to-air TV stations in Hong Kong, ATV's target advertising revenue this year is HK$1.5 billion, which is the standard of TVB in 84.

84-88 was the peak of TVB, and TVB's annual advertising revenue reached 2.6 billion (before deducting commissions) in 88 years. With the impact of Lin Jianle, Lin Jianming and Lin Xiaozhi successively becoming owners of ATV, TVB's advertising revenue has declined to a certain extent in recent years, and it is said that it was only 2.2 billion Hong Kong dollars last year. Although I don't know whether the advertising production commission has been deducted, it is obvious that it has not risen but fallen compared with the peak period of 88 years, and the decline is fully revealed.

In fact, the investment in funds is not the most concerned issue on ATV's side, as long as CCTV is willing to bow its head, ATV can actually eat most of the investment money. What worries Hong Kong the most is actually the efficiency of filming TV dramas in the mainland!

After getting Lin Xiaozhi's hint, Le Jin opened his mouth again and said: "We want to make "Water Margin" a century-old classic, so the necessary investment is indispensable. However, in the later stage, you don't have to worry about losing money at all, not to mention the advertising revenue during the release of the TV series, the copyright takeaway alone can actually recover most of the investment, and maybe there will be a slight surplus. In Asia, there is actually a market for film and television works made about the four classical Chinese classics. Singapore, Taiwan Province, South Korea and Japan, especially the latter two, we have recently cooperated with the Korean film and television industry, and I believe it will not be difficult to release it in South Korea. And Japan is even simpler, the Japanese are very fond of the four traditional Chinese masterpieces, especially the Three Kingdoms and the Water Margin, in the past, Japan has not been less than their own filming, even if there is a little less understanding of the Chinese classical tradition, it can still get a good response in Japan, if the "Water Margin" co-produced by our two families is filmed, I believe that there will be a TV station in Japan to introduce this TV series! ”

ATV has also cooperated with Japanese TV stations since last year, not only introducing and buying out many Japanese TV dramas, but also following TVB's example to sign the Cantonese and Mandarin broadcast rights of dozens of well-known Japanese cartoons in one go, including "Smart Ikyu", "Astro Boy", "Flower Fairy", "Lucky Star Boy", "Alalei" and so on, and has also become familiar with many Japanese TV stations through this relationship. As Le Jin said, if the two co-produced "Water Margin" has a good response, there is no need for CCTV to go out at all, and ATV will definitely be able to operate the TV series to be released in Japan with a little activity.

Zhou Taiyan's heart moved, he knew that only a small number of the people who opposed his family were worried about the political wind, and most of them were still afraid that the co-production of the TV series would lose too much money and affect their future transfers. ”

"That's great, we're ready to wait!"

reminded Zhou Taiyan again vaguely, hoping that CCTV could complete the recruitment of actors and preliminary preparations as soon as possible, Lejin didn't say more, after all, everything has to wait for CCTV to finally confirm the investment.

The matter of work is almost discussed, and the toasts and politeness of you and me below are lively again. Lin Xiaozhi went out halfway and drank a round of wine with other CCTV personnel who visited, although he stopped drinking lightly, but after all, he was not in a good state, and when he returned to the private room, he was already a little drunk in his eyes.

As soon as he sat down, he saw Zhou Taiyan with a reluctant expression on his face, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Director Zhou, what are the problems with cooperation?" ”

"It's not!" Zhou Taiyan hurriedly shook his head and denied it, but he pursed his lips and hesitated a little, and finally asked: "Mr. Lin, Mr. Le, in fact, I have one more thing I want to talk to you about when I come to Hong Kong this time, I don't know if you are interested in participating in another famous TV series that our TV station is filming?" ”

Lin Xiaozhi frowned slightly, and immediately knew that the CCTV he mentioned was filming another four famous novels, which was an epic drama - "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"!

gave Le Jin a look and motioned him not to answer, Lin Xiaozhi's head quickly turned and thought.

Whether to invest in CCTV's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a difficult question to choose.

From a business standpoint, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is not a successful investment.

This TV series was filed in 87 years, and after 90 years of appropriation for filming, it has made six additional investments, and finally the total investment cost has reached 170 million yuan (most of which is in the construction of cinemas), and no one will be able to break its record of the highest investment cost Chinese TV series for a long time. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" lasted four years, and it has only just finished filming for most of the time, and it is conservatively estimated that it will not be completed until at least the middle of next year and enter post-production.

Because the filming cost is too high, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is actually far less profitable than several other famous novels filmed by CCTV. is also thanks to its initial release, which made the CCTV ratings reach an astonishing 46. 7%, only to rely on advertising revenue to make up for part of the investment, and then rely on copyright transfer, repeated rebroadcasts, until a few years later to recover the cost, now ATV to participate in the investment, is definitely more loss than gain.

can give up the investment, Lin Xiaozhi is a little reluctant. After all, this is the most magnificent and atmospheric TV series in the classical Chinese classics, which can be called an epic TV series, and if you miss this investment, you will have no chance to seek to share its copyright in the future. Although the mainland in 93 does not attach importance to the copyright of film and television works, it does not mean that people are fools, and the cost of nearly 200 million investment in filming is not something you can buy away with a million dollars.

After thinking for two or three minutes, Lin Xiaozhi looked up at Zhou Taiyan and said: "Director Zhou, let's invest in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but as far as I know, your station's current cumulative investment in filming this TV series has exceeded 130 million yuan. So we need some compensation, such as obtaining the exclusive authorization of the Cantonese and Hokkien versions of this TV series, as well as part of the equity of ZOSE! ”

In order to shoot "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Tang Minghuang", CCTV has set up a branch, namely China Television Film and Television Base, which has invested nearly 200 million yuan in Zhuozhou to build Seoul, Wuxi to build the Three Kingdoms City, Tangcheng and other film and television bases, although the scale is not as good as Lin Xiaozhi's Shenzhen Cinema in Shenzhen, but the limitations of Shenzhen Cinema are also obvious, the climate is too southerly to shoot snow scenes and northern scenes, Lin Xiaozhi has coveted Hengdian Cinema before, but its share composition is too cumbersome, With both local government investment and state-owned enterprises, central enterprises and private equity participation, it is extremely difficult to rationalize and intervene.

Although the scale of CCTV's subordinate China Television Film and Television Base is far inferior to Hengdian and Shenzhen Cinema, it is backed by the big tree of CCTV, and it is easier to get land in the local area. If he can take advantage of this opportunity to participate in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" to invest in China Television shares, the last shortcoming of his layout in mainland cinemas will also be completely filled. Not a successful investment.

This TV series was filed in 87 years, and after 90 years of appropriation for filming, it has made six additional investments, and finally the total investment cost has reached 170 million yuan (most of which is in the construction of cinemas), and no one will be able to break its record of the highest investment cost Chinese TV series for a long time. "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" lasted four years, and it has only just finished filming for most of the time, and it is conservatively estimated that it will not be completed until at least the middle of next year and enter post-production.

Because the filming cost is too high, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is actually far less profitable than several other famous novels filmed by CCTV. is also thanks to its initial release, which made the CCTV ratings reach an astonishing 46. 7%, only to rely on advertising revenue to make up for part of the investment, and then rely on copyright transfer, repeated rebroadcasts, until a few years later to recover the cost, now ATV to participate in the investment, is definitely more loss than gain.

can give up the investment, Lin Xiaozhi is a little reluctant. After all, this is the most magnificent and atmospheric TV series in the classical Chinese classics, which can be called an epic TV series, and if you miss this investment, you will have no chance to seek to share its copyright in the future. Although the mainland in 93 does not attach importance to the copyright of film and television works, it does not mean that people are fools, and the cost of nearly 200 million investment in filming is not something you can buy away with a million dollars.

After thinking for two or three minutes, Lin Xiaozhi looked up at Zhou Taiyan and said: "Director Zhou, let's invest in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", but as far as I know, your station's current cumulative investment in filming this TV series has exceeded 130 million yuan. So we need some compensation, such as obtaining the exclusive authorization of the Cantonese and Hokkien versions of this TV series, as well as part of the equity of ZOSE! ”

In order to shoot "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Tang Minghuang", CCTV has set up a branch, namely China Television Film and Television Base, which has invested nearly 200 million yuan in Zhuozhou to build Seoul, Wuxi to build the Three Kingdoms City, Tangcheng and other film and television bases, although the scale is not as good as Lin Xiaozhi's Shenzhen Cinema in Shenzhen, but the limitations of Shenzhen Cinema are also obvious, the climate is too southerly to shoot snow scenes and northern scenes, Lin Xiaozhi has coveted Hengdian Cinema before, but its share composition is too cumbersome, With both local government investment and state-owned enterprises, central enterprises and private equity participation, it is extremely difficult to rationalize and intervene.

Although the scale of CCTV's subordinate China Television Film and Television Base is far inferior to Hengdian and Shenzhen Cinema, it is backed by the big tree of CCTV, and it is easier to get land in the local area. If he can take advantage of this opportunity to participate in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" to invest in China Television shares, the last shortcoming of his layout in mainland cinemas will also be completely filled.