Only as subsequent episodes are broadcast and discussions spread, will the influence explode exponentially.
And at this time at TVB headquarters.
Roughly estimated audience monitoring data began to arrive.
Fang Yihua frowned slightly as she watched the rising curve of ATV's afternoon broadcast of "Blood Ties", but she was not too nervous.
"Japanese drama? Yamaguchi Momoe? Well, the production is pretty good, and the actors are also charismatic. It's not surprising that it attracts some housewives and young people.
Japanese dramas only have this appeal. The subject matter is soft and the pace is slow. They can't be compared with our TVB martial arts dramas and wealthy family dramas.
It’s a standard choice. They have some vision and know how to buy popular dramas.
But, thinking they can turn things around with just one imported drama? That's just pipe dreaming! Daytime slots are garbage time to begin with, so if they can pull in some ratings, it's a feat.
The real battleground is the prime time slot tonight! Announce that "Strong Man" will air on time as planned! Give it the loudest possible publicity! I want all of Hong Kong to know what a true ratings ace is!"
Mona Fong and TVB's senior management viewed the slight increase in ATV ratings in the afternoon as normal market fluctuations.
They still firmly believe that in the decisive prime time, TVB's advantages accumulated over the years and its strong ability to produce its own dramas cannot be shaken by Asian Television.
They were on high alert, waiting for 7:30 p.m.
It's six o'clock in the evening, time for the children to get out of school.
On TVB's screen, pre-promotion for the upcoming blockbuster drama "Strong Man" has begun.
This is a wealthy business war drama starring TVB's leading actor Chow Yun-fat and actress Carol Cheng. It is well-produced and full of gimmicks. TVB has high hopes for it and hopes it will completely crush Asia Television's counterattack momentum.
However, during this period, Asia Television made a decision that surprised everyone.
The cartoon "Pokémon", which was originally scheduled to be broadcast in the late afternoon or on weekends, was moved forward to the "quasi-prime time" at 6 pm!
This animation, which caused a nationwide frenzy after being broadcast on Japan's Tokyo TV during prime time and drove the sales of "Dragon Jump" magazine to over six million copies, has finally landed in Hong Kong!
When the lively and recognizable theme music sounded, and when the chubby, yellow Pikachu with rosy cheeks and a lightning-like tail appeared on the screen, along with the curious young boy Satoshi...
The entire student population in Hong Kong Island, especially primary and secondary school students, felt like they were dropped with a depth bomb!
"Pikachu! It's Pikachu!"
"Ash! Pikachu! Check out the Asian channel! It's the Pokémon cartoon!!"
"Wow! It's actually airing! It's even better than the comics! The colors are so vibrant!"
"I saw Squirtle in the opening theme song! And Bulbasaur! So cute!"
On the streets and alleys, the children who had just finished school went crazy in an instant!
The huge popularity of "Dragon Jump" magazine among young people in Hong Kong Island has completely exploded at this moment!
They screamed, shouted, and ran like little whirlwinds, rushing towards their homes, or towards convenience stores and herbal tea shops with TVs.
The news spread among the children at an alarming rate.
"Asia Television is showing the Pokémon anime! Go home and watch it!"
"Don't go play ball! Watch TV first!"
"Amin! Turn on the TV! The Asian channel! Quick! Pikachu is going to release 100,000 volts!"
It is precisely because of the popularity of "Pokémon" on Asian Television that children and parents in countless families are instantly caught up in a "war" for TV viewing.
In the living room, the father had just turned to TVB to watch the trailer for "The Strong Man" when his son rushed over to grab the remote and shouted, "Dad! Change the channel! Change to the Asian channel! I want to watch Pikachu!"
"Why watch cartoons! Watch TV series!" Father frowned.
"No! I want to watch it! All my classmates are watching it! If we don't watch it, there will be nothing to talk about tomorrow!" The son was so anxious that he almost cried.
The mother tried to mediate: "Oh, if the child likes to watch, just watch for a while. It's okay to watch the TV series later..."
"What do you know! TVB's "The Strongest" is the real deal! Business war, so exciting! It has Chow Yun-fat in it!" My father insisted.
"Wow--"
The child's crying broke out, mixed with screams of "Pikachu", "Ash", and "I want to see", echoing throughout the room.
Similar battles for the platform are taking place in countless families.
The children did everything they could to keep their beloved cartoons coming to them: crying, acting like spoiled brats, promising good grades, and even threatening not to eat...
The remote control, which is usually controlled by parents during this time, has now become the focus of the family power struggle.
Many parents could not resist their children's persistence, or were attracted by the colorful, childlike and adventurous cartoons that they had never seen before, and eventually switched the channel to Asia TV reluctantly or involuntarily.
The ratings chart of Asia Television's evening show suddenly soared like a rocket at this moment!
The curve representing the ratings, in an almost brutal manner, pierced through the prime time barrier carefully constructed by TVB!
Pikachu's childish cry of "Pikachu!", accompanied by a 100,000-volt burst of lightning, not only knocked down the Spearow in the animation, but also severely shook the seemingly impregnable structure of Hong Kong's television industry.
As night falls, amid the lights of thousands of homes in Hong Kong Island, the war on television screens has just begun to heat up.
The newly renamed and seemingly weak new ship Asia Television is carving out an unexpected route in the stormy waves with the help of Kobayashi Tenmo's precise and tricky "combination punch".
And Fang Yihua, who was on the giant ship of TVB, was almost biting her back teeth off when she saw the glaring changes in the ratings data.
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