Chapter 208: Home with Kids
Chapter 208: Home with Kids
After the TV series was finished.
The phenomenon of copyrights being acquired in packages by other companies is very common in the film and television industry. To put it bluntly, this is also a commodity.
This is just like many real estate developers today, who build office buildings themselves but do not put them into use, and directly sell the entire building to the outside world. This not only saves time and effort, but also reduces risks and stress.
The buyer saves time and energy, and both parties are happy.
Some film and television production companies need to recover funds as soon as possible to support the development of other projects, or to repay the funds borrowed for filming in advance to avoid being dragged down by loan interest.
Many media agencies with resources and connections never take the risk of filming dramas themselves, but prefer to purchase ready-made good dramas directly from the TV drama trading market. The principle is similar to purchasing the distribution rights of movies.
It may be difficult for ordinary film and television production companies to sell TV series at a high price and attract the attention of many TV stations to increase their profits.
But in the hands of many powerful media companies, there is a greater hope of maximizing the profits of certain good dramas.
In addition to maintaining good cooperative relationships with TV stations, these media agencies often also control the resources of advertising sponsors.
The current situation is that many small local TV stations do not like to spend real money, but instead directly give the advertising time before, after or during the broadcast of TV series to media agencies for their own operation.
Next, the media agency sells the advertising time to companies for advertising. As long as there are enough cooperating TV stations and the advertising price is high, these middlemen in the film and television industry will make money.
Still Yanjing.
When agent Jiang Shixi contacted the investors of the first and second seasons of "Home with Kids" and briefly introduced the idea of buying out the copyrights in a package.
Zhu Ziqi, the female boss of Qingrui Culture Communication Co., Ltd., was so surprised that it took her a long time to come back to her senses.
She had heard that Fan Wumian spent more than 10 million RMB to buy out the crew of the little-known "Wulin Waijia", and added more than 10 million RMB to allow the crew to continue filming.
But I didn't expect that I would encounter the same situation.
Holding the landline phone and tapping the table with a pen tip in her other hand, the 37-year-old female boss Zhu Ziqi was the first to ask the most concerned question:
"If, I mean if we sell it in a package, how much would you be willing to give?"
Jiang Shixi told her on the phone:
"Boss Zhu, as you know, the rebroadcast rights for the first season of Home With Kids couldn't be sold. They're not worth much now. The most we can offer is 100 million."
"We haven't found a buyer for the second part yet. I heard that your total investment cost is around 320 million. Our company can contribute 450 million, so the total is 550 million."
"At this price, the gross profit margin is about 40%, which is quite good. Even if you run the business yourself, the total revenue may not exceed this figure."
"."
The profits from investing in TV dramas are still relatively limited at present.
The second part of "Home with Kids" took a total of nine months from project launch to completion.
Zhu Ziqi felt that the bid was very generous, as he earned a 40% return in just nine months. He was recently worried that he would suffer losses after the second season was broadcast, because only Yanjing TV had expressed interest, but the bid was relatively low.
The first broadcast rights of the new drama, which had a total of 100 episodes, were sold for only 180 million, and tens of thousands more were spent on personal connections.
She and her partners are all of average ability.
When I was working in the system, I saw that the bosses outside had become rich, so I tried every means to set up a small crew for "Home with Kids".
Fan Wumian's Bentley Arnage R is worth three or four million RMB, but in this era in Yanjing, being able to raise 300 million RMB to invest in a TV series can actually be considered to have some strength.
The news came too suddenly. Zhu Ziqi had never thought of selling the copyright of the "A Family With Daughters" series before. It was just that one investor decided to leave and he planned to look for other partners.
With Jiang Shixi's offer, Boss Zhu was given a new choice. He was a little confused for a while and asked tentatively:
"Fan Wumian, that young Mr. Fan from Hong Kong, why would he want to acquire "Home with Kids"? "
Jiang Shixi was talking nonsense and had made up excuses in advance.
"The main reason is that Mr. Fan's fans are relatively young, and I feel that Home With Kids is very much to the taste of Mr. Fan's fans. In addition, we are currently looking for partners for the first season of My Own Swordsman, and some of these channels can come in handy."
"We, Bandit King Media, need to increase our influence in the mainland and open up the market."
"Anyway, I'm in contact with several companies recently. The total budget is limited, so whoever agrees first will purchase the drama. Mr. Fan is busy preparing a new Hollywood movie and doesn't care much about these things. I'm also taking a big risk by giving you such a high price."
The reason why Fan Wumian said he didn't care about this matter was mainly to avoid the seller asking for too much.
Now everyone knows that he has a good eye and is very good at making money.
If the true situation were revealed, Zhu Ziqi might turn around and make some noise in the circle, and use Fan Wumian's fame to negotiate cooperation with TV stations and media agencies, and try every means to make "Home with Kids" popular.
Take "Wulin Waijia" for example.
Before the TV series was released, a bunch of Fan Wumian's fans were eagerly waiting for it. It had transformed from a "poor crew" to one of the most anticipated new dramas this year. The media would send news every now and then to report the latest progress. In Fan Wumian's forum, there were always people asking when "Wulin Wai Zhuan" and "You Are the Apple of My Eye" would be released, and they couldn't wait to support "their own brother".
Celebrities can help other companies advertise, so they can naturally help promote their own companies as well.
Zhu Ziqi thought that considering Fan Wumian's popularity this year, it would be a shame not to strike while the iron is hot and release some film and television dramas to gain fans.
She thought she had guessed the truth about the plan to acquire the "Home with Kids" series, and like many Yanjing girls, she was straightforward. As soon as she determined that it was worth selling at this price, she immediately replied:
"Okay, but I don't have the final say in the company. I need to ask other shareholders for their opinions first."
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Port city.
When Fan Wumian learned the news, he was in his mansion in Repulse Bay, enjoying a Thai massage serviced by the customer.
A folding bed was placed next to the outdoor swimming pool in the back garden.
The girl was pretty, but she only spoke Thai and broken English. Her hands were very strong, and sometimes the pain was so severe that Fan Wumian gasped. It felt more like torture than enjoyment.
Assistant Pu Jiajing watched the fun and said while sitting on a recliner:
"Since the bosses of that Yanjing film and television company have decided to discuss it, they probably want to sell it to you, right?"
Fan Wumian was lying on his stomach, looking through the hole in the massage bed and seeing a small beetle crawling on the ground. He said:
"Nonsense, the house price may go up or down in the future. Now someone wants to buy your house at a 40% premium. Will you sell it?"
"Of course we have to sell it!"
Pu Jiajing looked very happy as she imagined earning more than one million Hong Kong dollars by selling the house. Excluding daily expenses, it would take her at least ten years with her current salary to save such a large sum of money.
Fan Wumian’s advantage is that he knows where the gold is in advance without the need for big waves to wash it.
He continued in a Buddhist tone:
"By the same token, most people would like to be able to pocket profits in advance when future earnings are uncertain. When I distribute TV series and movies, I have a large fan base and a higher chance of success. It's clearly a win-win situation."
A batch of good dramas emerge every year, but it is not easy to find a bargain.
Both "Wulin Waijia" and "Home with Kids" belong to small crews with relatively ordinary strength and resources. If it were a large project like "Drawing Sword" that cooperates with the official, Fan Wumian would simply be too lazy to ask.
In other words, sitcoms are not gaining much attention for the time being, which is why he was attracted to take advantage of the opportunity.
If it were other hit dramas, the investors are not blind. Many TV stations would compete to buy the first broadcast rights, so they can certainly estimate the market prospects. Even if there is a chance to buy it out, it would cost a very high price, and the profit margin is so small that there is no need to bother.
Therefore, the practice of purchasing film sources from third parties is difficult to maintain in the long run, and in the future, the main focus will still be on self-production and self-sales.
Other stars only need to find ways to become famous and compete for opportunities to make money such as filming movies and taking advertising endorsements. Fan Wumian is now both a star and an investor, so he has more problems to deal with.
In recent months, a group of experienced employees have been recruited, with Fan Wumian as the boss. Several departments have been set up at the headquarters, which in turn manage a number of project teams. Projects like "Crazy Stone", "A Quiet Place 2" and "Wulin Waijia" are usually managed by dedicated people.
The first season of "Wulin Waijia" has just been edited and entered the post-production stage, and has begun contacting interested TV stations in advance.
Agent Jiang Shixi's previous resources at Hubei Radio and Television also came in handy. Someone had already said that once the film was finished, they would be the first to give it to their TV station for a trial screening.
The crew of "Crazy Stone" had just finished filming. Director Lu Hao was very efficient. He spent only two days in seclusion to complete the rough and fine editing work.
If we start filming Lost on Journey now, it will not be able to catch up with this year's Spring Festival schedule. The main reason is that Xu Zheng is available, but the other leading actor, Wang Baoqiang, cannot spare the schedule.
I have contacted Wang Baoqiang's agency, and the salary they asked for is not high, only 600,000 RMB, but they will have to wait until the end of October to be available.
The release date of "Those Years..." directed and acted by Fan Wumian has been scheduled. Two groups of people are taking turns to work on the post-production. If "Crazy Stone" is scheduled to be released during the National Day period, the two films will definitely compete with each other. It is more appropriate to arrange it during this year's Spring Festival.
I have been busy working on a script recently, and my head was dizzy from morning till night all day long. After the Thai massage, I felt a lot more relaxed.
Suddenly a security guard came to report, and said helplessly:
"Boss, there's a tour group from Singapore at the door. Thirty or forty of them blocked the road, almost all of them are young girls. Your fans are amazing. They didn't let them take pictures, and even cursed at them. They gave them many gifts and asked me to pass them on to you."
Pu Jiajing reminded Fan Wumian:
"Maybe it's for your birthday party that I came to Hong Kong City to see you. I should hire a few more bodyguards by then. If there are too many people, it will be easy to get confused."
Fan Wumian stretched lazily and muttered:
“It’s hard to have peace even after buying a big house. The doorstep of my house has become a popular check-in spot. I have to sneak around when I go out and come home. Even tourist groups have come to join in the fun. Could it be that some travel agency is so eager to make money that they treat this place as a tourist attraction and take groups to visit.”
(End of this chapter)