Chapter 197 196. Oh my God, you actually want to invite him?
Speaking of the history of introducing American TV series to China, it actually started very early.
Because of the influence of the international situation decades ago, cultural exchanges began after the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
In 1980, the first American TV series to enter China appeared. Many people who pay attention to American TV series or are older know or have seen it. It is called "The Man from Atlantis".
In fact, the proper translation should be "People from Atlantis", probably because people at that time didn't know what Atlantis was.
In October of my childhood, the second American TV series "Garrison's Gorillas" was broadcast, which attracted thousands of people to watch the show, and the scale of the show was comparable to classic old TV series such as "Journey to the West" and "Desire".
The drama was suddenly stopped after 16 episodes. Many people wrote to CCTV to ask the reason, which became a major event in the history of CCTV.
The reason for the suspension was that the leaders believed that "Garrison's Gore Squad" was a purely entertaining film with fighting and nonsense, which had little artistic value and caused a bad social impact.
Because according to reports, many people at that time practiced throwing knives, picking locks and other skills after watching the drama, and serious crimes such as serial theft also increased, which was a bit like "Young and Dangerous".
Anyway, ordinary people liked it, but leaders and artists didn’t like it. After all, marketization had not yet begun at that time, and the pursuit was not profit.
Subsequently, American TV series such as "Uncle Martin on Mars", "Growing Pains", "Hunter", "British Cop Shop", "Lace", and "Knight Rider" landed in China one after another. Even TV series such as "Wonder Woman" and "Superman" were available, and they had a certain impact on the country or region.
At that time, American dramas could be broadcast directly during prime time every night, whether on CCTV or other major TV stations.
However, in the 1990s, policies began to tighten, the introduction of American dramas gradually stopped, and Korean dramas began to become popular.
However, "Friends" began to be broadcast on Hong Kong's Pearl Channel in 1995. Since Pearl Channel can be watched almost everywhere in Guangdong, "Friends" naturally entered the hearts of the younger generation.
Later, many pirated disc dealers discovered the business opportunity. Situation comedies were especially popular among young people and were even used as courseware in classrooms to learn English.
So from the late 1990s to the early millennium, shows such as "Friends", "Will & Grace" and "Everybody Loves Raymond" began to rise in the pirated disc market.
It was not until the advent of the Internet age that subtitle groups such as Fengruan, Eden, Broken Bear, and Renren appeared, and they gave without asking for anything in return.
In addition, high-quality American TV series began to explode, including "Prison Break", "Grey's Anatomy", "Rome", "Lost", "The Sopranos" and "24", allowing American TV series to achieve a revival through the Internet.
Later, as video websites entered the era of standardization, the Optoelectronics Bureau's censorship of online dramas was not strict, or the system was still imperfect.
Video websites such as Youku, Tudou, and iQiyi have begun to purchase the copyrights of overseas dramas, and dramas such as "The Walking Dead" and "2 Broke Girls" have entered the mainland.
It was not until 2014 that new regulations were introduced by the Optoelectronics Bureau that online dramas purchased from overseas began to be censored, and American dramas were removed from the shelves on a large scale.
Coupled with various factors such as copyright protection, the disappearance of subtitle groups and resource groups, and the decline in the creativity of American dramas themselves, American dramas have entered a period of overall decline in China.
It was not until about two or three years before Eric's time travel that Bilibili began to purchase a large number of overseas dramas, including American, Japanese, and British dramas.
Although they have to undergo castration to some extent, it is already precious.
It is now the end of 2003. In fact, the policy of the Optoelectronics Bureau has been tightened. Currently, the lower-level TV stations can no longer broadcast American dramas, but CCTV's overseas theaters are still broadcasting them.
For example, Spielberg's "Band of Brothers" was broadcast, which is basically about I can set a fire, but you can't light a lamp.
So it’s not accurate to say that Eric wants to reintroduce American TV series. A more standard way of saying it is to reintroduce them on a large scale.
Not to mention returning to the golden age of the last century, at least allow local stations to broadcast it, allowing it to recover first and then flourish again.
After hearing his request, Zhou Xiaopeng and Han Sanping looked at Chen Ou together. They could not make the decision on this matter and it still depended on the attitude of the Optoelectronics Bureau.
Chen Ou hesitated for a moment and said: "There is some resistance to the introduction of American TV series in terms of policy, but it is not completely impossible."
"Now CCTV-8 is considering introducing "Friends" for broadcast next year, or introducing "Everybody Loves Raymond."
"But I don't quite understand what you mean by a stable channel for importing goods. Can you explain it to me?"
Eric gave an example: "Director Chen, you can understand it this way. MGM will set up a new company overseas. We define the nature of this new company as a distributor and middleman."
"It's just that it will be the exclusive distributor. I need Optoelectronics to grant the exclusive import rights. This means that for all American dramas, variety shows or other works that want to be imported into China, as long as they are not shown on the big screen, we will be the exclusive agent."
"Director Chen, the 'Friends' you just mentioned belongs to NBC. If this show wants to be sold to mainland China, it must first pass the hurdle of the new company."
"After we pass this test, we will do business with the Optoelectronics Bureau, or with a company authorized by Optoelectronics, such as Oriental MGM."
Chen Ou nodded: "Listening to your description, it sounds a bit familiar. Isn't this mechanism equivalent to Huaying Group?"
"Huaying controls the import and distribution rights of imported blockbusters, and your new company controls the United States' control over China's exports."
Han Sanping said hurriedly, "I was just about to say this. Is your new company specifically going to work on the small screen or the big screen? Is it involved in the film industry?"
Eric waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, we won't compete with Huaying for a living. We don't care about the big screen. Of course, we don't mind if you want to authorize us."
"You're kidding. I don't even have enough food to eat at home."
Han Sanping felt relieved when he heard that Eric had no interest in the big screen. TV dramas only make a few dollars and cannot be compared with imported blockbusters.
But this is a good thing. If Optoelectronics is authorized to Oriental MGM or Huaying to connect with Eric's new company, the profit in between will be a good income.
If nothing unexpected happens, after the "Megalodon" project is launched, he will be promoted quickly and MGM Oriental will be in his hands.
With one hand grasping imported blockbusters and the other hand grasping imported American TV series, dual-wheel drive and two wings flying together, it is simply a great thing, and I will be so lucky! Thinking of this, Han Sanping said, "Old Chen, I think this suggestion is good."
"Look at our current TV drama market. The development in recent years has become increasingly distorted. Once a theme becomes popular, everyone follows suit."
"Just like after My Fair Princess became popular, all kinds of dramas like Huaiyu Princess, The Last Princess, Xinyue Princess, The Thirteenth Princess, and Princess Getting Married all came out at once, which gave me a headache."
"Meteor Garden became popular, and various idol dramas appeared on the screen, which had a profound impact on young students."
"There are also drama series, dynasty series, secret history series, spy war series, etc. The production costs are rising, and the fees sold to TV stations are also rising step by step."
"But most of them are shoddy in quality, just trying to take advantage of the popularity and make a fortune."
"If we continue like this, the market will gradually be distorted. We must find a way to force the market to improve its production standards."
Hearing his complaints, Eric couldn't help but laugh in his heart. I wonder how you would feel if you saw the rampant anti-Japanese dramas in the future that rubbed the audience's IQ to the ground.
Chen Ou looked at him with burning eyes: "Old Han, what do you want to say?"
"What I want to say is very simple. We are engaged in overseas distribution and joint venture film companies. What is the purpose? Making money is part of it and a prerequisite, but the ultimate goal is to export culture abroad."
"This is the path we must take as our national strength improves."
"In the last century and the last generation, our country had not yet joined the WTO, and it did not usher in the golden period of development like it does now."
"They just needed to control their own minds and not be invaded by foreign ideas."
"But our group is different. We also need to find a way to put our things into other people's heads. This, like taking money out of other people's pockets, are the two most difficult things in the world, but the burden falls on our shoulders."
"Are you right?"
Chen Ou nodded: "Yes, go on."
"Old Chen, it's not easy to shoulder this responsibility. The old methods don't work anymore. You need to be more open-minded and liberate your thoughts."
"Times have changed. We can no longer follow the old ways. Policies should be relaxed. I think gradually opening up the market and bringing in dramas from outside is one way to do this."
“The premise of exporting culture is that you must have seen the culture outside first, so that you can do more targeted creation.”
"What's the saying? Learn from the barbarians so that you can defeat them. Of course, I'm not talking about you, Eric, but that's the truth."
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"If you walk around the street vendors or video stores, you'll find a lot of pirated American TV series and movies, especially among young people and college students who are the main audience."
"There is a demand in the social market for this kind of content. What they are exposed to now are all uncut versions, which may contain prohibited content."
"But can you block it? Can you catch it? In addition, in the Internet environment, our ancestors know that it is better to guide than to block!"
"We will do it ourselves, hold this market in our own hands, review it before importing it, and delete what needs to be deleted."
"This not only meets the needs of the masses, but also removes prohibited content, promotes market development, and forces domestic producers to improve their standards."
"After five years of this, I can guarantee that the quality of domestic TV dramas and movies will be greatly improved."
"Only when the foundation is well laid can we export our culture to other countries. Quality is the hard currency. Don't you agree?"
Zhou Xiaopeng also chimed in, saying, "It's a market economy now. Even Huaying is going to reform in August. The general environment is indeed different."
"As people's demands increase, the film and television industry naturally cannot be as meticulous as in the past. It is unrealistic to spend three or four years to create a work. People will starve to death."
"So this kind of me-too phenomenon is bound to happen, and shoddy products are also inevitable."
"Although costume dramas have developed well, they can only survive in Southeast Asia at best. It is impossible to go further."
"If this trend continues, the movies and TV shows that come out in the next few years will only get worse."
"Introducing good works from outside to stimulate internal production, and under the catfish effect, forcing domestic innovation and producing more sophisticated and diversified dramas, I think it is worth trying."
"Also, the domestic TV drama market is dominated by Korean Wave, so it is not a bad idea to introduce competitors."
Chen Ou pondered for a while and said, "What you said makes sense, but this is not a trivial matter. We can't decide it while we are talking."
"MGM has been working hard to help us and is our good friend. The Chinese people will never disappoint their friends."
"How about this, I will report to the director after I return, and we will definitely have an internal meeting to discuss it for a while."
"Even if Optoelectronics agrees, the proposal will still need further review after it is submitted."
"Eric, I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
Eric also knew that the process had to be carried out step by step. For something like this that involved policy, half a year would be considered fast to study.
"Director Chen, I'll leave it to you. Actually, it will benefit everyone if this matter is accomplished."
"In the future, if Optoelectronics wants to introduce good dramas, it only needs to deal with MGM, saving you from dealing with NBC, Fox, ABC and other companies."
"If you do business with me, I promise I won't cheat you. My principle has always been mutual benefit."
"Similarly, if local TV stations in China want to buy American TV series, they also have to go through Optoelectronics. We have huge domestic markets behind us, and middlemen make a profit from the price difference, creating economic benefits."
Eric's proposal is actually no different from a monopoly, except that it is a state-permitted monopoly.
If the operation is successful, it can accelerate the maturity of the mainland market and be very helpful in making huge profits in the future.
The negotiation lasted until the sun went down. Seeing that the time was almost up, Lao Han stood up and said, "We have been talking for so long, why don't you just sit there? Come with me. I have arranged it."
The group arrived at the restaurant, and after eating and drinking, everyone's face turned red except Susan who didn't drink.
"I said no one can leave. We still have shows to go on. Especially you, Eric. You left in such a hurry the last time you came."
"Come with me today and follow my instructions. You can also take a look at the good things here and see if they are worse than those in Hollywood."
Seeing this, Susan tactfully said goodbye and left, as she was not suitable to participate in the following content.
Chen Ou also wanted to leave, but Lao Han held him back and said that he really had something to do.
After all, this is the first time I meet Eric, and there is no interest connection between us at the moment, so it is better to be cautious.
Before leaving, Chen Ou suddenly grabbed Eric's arm.
"Eric, I have another request. I want to ask you for help."
"you say."
"It's almost Chinese New Year. We Chinese have a tradition of holding a nationwide gala during Chinese New Year, which is called the Spring Festival Gala."
"Recently, the director of CCTV complained to me that he was under a lot of pressure, trying to maintain high ratings while also trying to innovate."
"We have joined the WTO now, so he wanted to try to go international and invite international celebrities to sing a song. He asked me if I had any connections."
"When I saw you today, I remembered this matter, so I wanted to ask you, can you help me invite Michael Jackson to sing a song at the Spring Festival Gala?"
(End of this chapter)