Chapter 969 Own Platform 2
"Zhou Ping'an and Lu Yanhe never really had a falling out; people in the industry know that."
"Huh? How is that possible?"
"See, you just don't understand. The reason these rumors circulated before was because Lu Yanhe changed agents, leaving Zhou Ping'an and going to Chen Ziyan. But apart from that, have there been any other rumors about the two of them? Actually, no, right?"
"That makes sense when you think about it."
“Now that Zhou Ping’an has also gone to Shijin, representing Shijin, it’s perfectly normal for him to cooperate with Linghe. There are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.”
"You're absolutely right."
"How about it? I wasn't lying to you, was I? As long as you follow me, I guarantee you'll meet some big shots in the industry. Maybe someone will take notice of you and give you some opportunities. If you seize them, you can soar to the top."
...
In Yuming, there are always some cafes or teahouses that are regarded as "bases" by some people in the entertainment industry.
The term "base" refers to a place where people choose to discuss work or chat casually, and this place becomes known through word of mouth. Over time, it acquires a certain significance.
Those who want to make it in this industry will definitely choose to come here.
Before you've actually entered this industry, come here and enjoy the illusion that you've already entered this circle.
In such a place, you will often hear conversations like the one described above.
Unsuspecting newcomers might actually be fooled.
He suddenly realized that the person in front of him was a seasoned veteran who knew such secrets.
However, anyone with a bit of experience in this field would scoff at such words and encounter such people.
"What the hell is this?!"
It sounds like he's making a lot of sense, but in reality, there's not a single piece of substance to it.
It is essentially "speculation," without any "source of information."
Originally, Xin Zixing didn't intend to get involved in this kind of thing.
But this conversation took place between a man with a small braid and an artist-like air, and a girl in a white cotton dress who looked like a little white rabbit. Xin Zixing immediately saw through the man's intentions—
When Xin Zixing got up to leave, she deliberately took a detour from that direction.
Do you know Zhou Ping'an and Lu Yanhe?
She went straight to the point and asked.
The man with the braid was caught off guard by the sudden questioning and didn't react for a moment.
Xin Zixing chuckled softly.
She patted the girl gently on the shoulder.
"Young lady, I don't even know what the relationship is between Lu Yanhe and Zhou Ping'an. What he said is all nonsense. Don't be fooled."
"Who are you?" the man snapped.
The little girl stared at Xin Zixing, stunned. She opened her mouth, then finally called out, "Zixing, sister."
Xin Zixing laughed.
"So you know me. That makes things easier." She straightened up and turned to look at the man. "You're not welcome here. Don't come back."
"You—" The man's expression changed, and he was about to lose his temper.
Xin Zixing had already raised her hand and waved.
A waiter came over immediately.
"Boss," the waiter said respectfully.
Xin Zixing pointed at the man and said, "Don't let this person into our store again."
The waiter immediately nodded: "Okay."
After saying that, Xin Zixing left without lingering.
The man, still sitting there, angrily shouted, "How can you do business like this? Go bankrupt!"
The little girl in the white cotton dress looked at the man with a gaze that no longer held the same adoration she had shown before.
-
This shop was opened by Xin Zixing herself.
She went there often.
Whenever she needed to think about something, she liked to go there, sit down, and think quietly.
Strangely enough, places with white noise always seemed to soothe her inner turmoil.
She's going to submit her resignation to YeMai.com today.
This matter has been pondered and planned for a long time, and it has finally come to this point.
In just a few years, under her leadership, YeMai.com has become a platform website that is like a "literary bible".
However, the website's positioning is becoming increasingly different from the needs of Shijin Entertainment.
Xin Zixing is facing a choice.
Should she continue to pursue what she wants, or abandon her convictions and serve the strategic vision of Shijin Entertainment?
This is not actually an objective multiple-choice question.
Because Xin Zixing herself knew perfectly well that Shi Jin wouldn't actually give her a choice.
Although she currently holds considerable power at Yemai.com, Shijin cannot simply replace her.
But if she continues to stay at the forefront, making Yemai.com a haven within Shijin Entertainment's empire, Shijin will definitely replace her.
Rather than being driven away, it's better to leave while you still have the initiative.
Her posture is also much better.
-
Lu Yanhe had previously extended an olive branch to Xin Zixing.
He hopes that Xin Zixing can come to Linghe and coordinate the resources of Linghe, Shihuo, and Tiaoqilai to establish a platform, which is definitely not a video platform.
He can't afford to burn through the money to create a video platform now.
Investing 1 billion yuan might not even make a ripple.
The market is saturated.
What Lu Yanhe wants to do at this stage is to create a comprehensive platform similar to Yemai.com, but with a larger scope.
A genuine entertainment platform.
A platform that integrates news, commentary, artist information, social interactions, and other information.
Of course, it could also transform into a video platform in the future.
This is based on the premise that everything is in place.
Lu Yanhe currently feels that it's pointless to waste money on this.
The key issue is that such a platform facilitates future expansion and development in any direction.
Xin Zixing is very good at this.
Xin Zixing left Shihuo and returned to Yemai.com because she was more passionate about creating such a platform than being a program producer.
-
“I understand that the non-compete agreement is for six months.” Xin Zixing nodded. “I’m tired during this time and should take a rest.”
Yang Zhouli: "YeMai.com is doing very well now, Zixing, are you sure you want to leave at this time?"
“President Yang, let’s be frank. YeMai.com’s positioning is too artistic, even resistant to commercialization. However, ShiJin Entertainment does not need a non-commercial platform,” Xin Zixing said. “This is something that my ideas are incompatible with ShiJin Entertainment’s positioning of YeMai.com.”
Yang Zhouli remained silent for a moment, but did not deny it.
Xin Zixing: "It's not easy for Yemai.com to get to where it is today. When I leave, I will take two people with me. I will not poach the rest of the team. In any case, I have feelings for Yemai.com and I hope it will get better and better. Mr. Yang, if one day Shijin no longer needs Yemai.com and wants to find a buyer, I hope you will contact me first."
Yang Zhouli clasped his hands together and rubbed them.
"Okay." He smiled slightly and asked, "Where do you plan to go next?"
Xin Zixing smiled slightly in return.
"Yan He and the others have been hoping I would go back to producing programs, but after thinking about it, I realized that's not my forte. So, I'll put everything aside for now and give myself a break," she said.
-
Chen Ziyan brought the wine glass to herself, picked it up, and took a sip.
"You've brought Xin Zixing back to build a platform for Linghe. I'm curious, if you want to create a platform, what is its positioning? To what extent would you allow it to operate commercially?"
Lu Yanhe said, "Based on a comprehensive cultural and entertainment platform, in the short term it is a platform with a wider range of content, modeled after Yemai.com. In the long term, text, video, news, social interaction, etc. can all be developed and derived. We will see in which aspect the platform will eventually stand out and plan around the characteristics that it grows out of itself."
Chen Ziyan: What about commercialization?
“I don’t object to normal commercialization,” Lu Yanhe said. “Whether it’s advertising or brand entry, it’s fine. There’s just one thing: it can’t be made to look like a cheap third-rate website.”
“If you can think like that, I think your platform can succeed.”
"Do you think I want to do this platform non-commercially?" Lu Yanhe asked in surprise.
"Xin Zixing left because she resisted implementing Yemai.com according to Shijin Entertainment's strategic plan, which led to a disagreement on development philosophy."
“But not because of commercialization,” Lu Yanhe said. “Sister Zixing doesn’t want Yemai.com to become an appendage or a megaphone for Shijin Entertainment, just like how the program ‘Journey’ was initially positioned for Aurora Video, only to promote Aurora Video’s films and TV series. In fact, I don’t want this platform to become a promotional platform for its own content either.”
Chen Ziyan: "However, you will inevitably face this need."
“It’s a necessity, not a positioning,” Lu Yanhe said. “Moreover, having such a platform in our own hands doesn’t mean we have to compete with other platforms or channels, but at least we won’t be strangled by others one day. Yemai.com also produces a lot of video content, but its video content is different from the general direction of leading video platforms like Northern Lights and Icefield, which creates differentiation. At the same time, under this differentiated development, it has created its own space and opened up a large market that didn’t exist before. For example, many celebrities and bloggers upload their videos to Yemai.com, combining short video platforms with long video platforms, turning it into a gathering place for celebrities and bloggers.”
Chen Ziyan asked, "So, what direction do you plan to take with this platform?"
Lu Yanhe shook his head.
“We’ll work in a few possible directions. We can’t burn money on content, but the direction will gradually emerge on its own,” Lu Yanhe said. “We have so many content creators, artists, and such a top-notch team. With Sister Zixing’s abilities, she can completely arrange and combine the resources we have to create branded content for this platform.”
"Okay." Chen Ziyan nodded. "Sure."
Lu Yanhe laughed.
"Moreover, I already have an idea about this platform."
What are your thoughts?
"I want to ask Sister Qiuling to make a connection so that we can be stationed at a police station to film a documentary, and to film the daily life of that police station," Lu Yanhe said. "We want to film real cases."
Chen Ziyan: "...Huh?"
“This is just one example,” Lu Yanhe said. “Sister Zixing is actually best at making this kind of documentary-style program. That’s how ‘City Travelogue’ came about. The police station and the police officers are just a sample. You can launch different series of documentaries for various industries. In fact, there are many viewers for such programs.”
Chen Ziyan: "Okay."
“Peng Zhixing and Li Pengfei are also going to make an outdoor documentary, and I’m planning to buy it and promote it as the flagship program of this platform,” Lu Yanhe said with a smile. “Including—well, for example, focusing on the profession of agent and presenting some things behind the scenes. These are very eye-catching programs that don’t have high production costs.”
“You really have a lot of ideas in your head,” Chen Ziyan said. “How do you come up with so many ideas?”
Lu Yanhe just kept laughing.
More than that.
There are so many ideas.
There are so many ideas that don't require much production cost but can still generate a lot of buzz.
-
"An in-depth interview?" Peng Zhixing looked at Lu Yanhe in surprise.
Lu Yanhe nodded.
“Didn’t you always want to do this?” Lu Yanhe said. “There are no requirements for the broadcast date, and we won’t interfere with your content in any way. It’s 800,000 yuan per episode. We’ll prepay 4 million yuan for 5 episodes. If the first 5 episodes are profitable, we can discuss how to cooperate further. How about it?”
In-depth interview programs are unlikely to generate significant commercial value.
The advertising revenue for a single episode doesn't even cover the production costs.
Interview guests may appear on the show free of charge for promotional purposes or other reasons.
However, Peng Zhixing, the host, and his production team certainly cannot work solely out of love.
800,000 yuan per installment doesn't seem like much, and the actual amount distributed is even less.
However, in the current environment, such production funding is still difficult to obtain.
Even if you're a top-tier host, you'll basically never get it.
Each platform needs to make money and has KPIs; they're not here to support you doing this out of passion.
Peng Zhixing knew that this meant an opportunity.
If a program can generate a certain amount of viewership and positive feedback, it can continue to be produced and survive.
The key point is that this program has no scheduling or production pressure.
It could have been done entirely by the team from "The Journey" during breaks in the filming of "The Journey".
This means everyone can earn an extra amount of money, which makes Peng Zhixing and his team very happy.
Peng Zhixing was extremely surprised.
"Are you really going to support me in making this kind of show?"
“Really.” Lu Yanhe nodded. “Moreover, I think it has great potential.”
“From a market perspective, I think it’s going against the grain.”
“No, from a market perspective, in recent years, the market has actually been correcting itself. You can clearly see that anything with a good reputation, regardless of its form, will always receive positive feedback in terms of traffic and commercial returns,” Lu Yanhe said. “For so long, in-depth interview programs have almost all disappeared. However, when everyone says that content is dead, you must have also noticed that long-form written reports are becoming more and more likely to gain widespread discussion. This is especially evident in interviews with celebrities.”
(End of this chapter)
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