Chapter 411 This is Yang Huan’s purpose!

The elevator that Jeremy Darroch was sitting in was rising slowly.

Looking forward, the elevator door was as bright as a mirror, reflecting his expression at the moment.

Nervous, anxious, uneasy, and pretending to be calm.

He was holding a document tightly in his hand, which was a request from his immediate superior.

With a ding, the elevator arrived.

His heart was also in a knot.

Walking out of the elevator, I entered a spacious and bright office.

There are signs hanging on the doors of all the offices in the building, except this one.

But this office is the biggest and the best.

Outside the office door is a front desk secretary.

"Hello, Mr. Darlock"

The front desk secretary stood up as soon as she saw Jeremy Darlock, "He's already waiting for you."

The secretary walked to the office door and knocked gently a few times. She waited until someone from inside said "come in" before she opened the door.

"James, Mr. Darroch is here"

Inside was a man wearing glasses who was about 40 years old and looked very gentle and experienced.

He is James Murdoch, the youngest son of News Corporation Chairman Murdoch and the former chairman of Sky Television.

Earlier this year, he was forced to apologize and resign because of the phone-hacking incident, but he is still in charge of all matters big and small at Sky TV.

Everyone also knows that once old Murdoch is gone, this prince will be his successor.

"Oh, Jeremy, here you come"

James Murdoch was playing golf in his office. When he saw Jeremy Darroch come in, he put away his golf ball after hitting a hole-in-one and walked over with a smile.

"James" Jeremy Darroch greeted nervously.

He knew that the rumored number one heir to the Murdoch family actually had a very bad relationship with his father.

He even doesn't like people calling him Mr. Murdoch, but prefers to be called James.

However, no one will deny the future of this prince.

That is to take over the entire huge News Corporation

Since he took over Sky TV, everyone has concluded that this is

Because Sky TV is the core business of News Corporation.

"He called early in the morning to ask what was going on in Southampton?" James asked as soon as he sat down.

Only those who have frequent contact with James can understand that the "he" here refers to old Murdoch.

Chairman of News Corporation, world-renowned media tycoon

In fact, Murdoch would call almost every day to inquire about the situation of Sky TV, because it was so important to News Corporation.

It was so important that he would call at least once a day to inquire about the company's situation, and every major decision had to be approved by him before it could be implemented.

In Jeremy Darroch's opinion, James Murdoch is lucky.

His predecessor, Donny Bo, created a very good situation for him. He used the advantage of exclusive broadcasting rights for the Premier League to attract seven million users. Each user paid an annual fee of 400 pounds, and the income from this alone was nearly 3 billion pounds.

What James needs to do after taking office is very simple, just keep this core business.

As Murdoch's son, although everyone knew that James had a bad relationship with Murdoch Sr., he was at least not a playboy who had accomplished nothing, so he quickly used the influence of Murdoch Sr. to secure his position in the company.

But all of this still depends on the guidance and supervision of Murdoch Sr. behind the scenes.

Jeremy Darroch is also used to having such conversations with James.

They had done this countless times in the past.

"This is the intelligence I collected this morning." Jeremy Darlock handed over the document in his hand.

James took it, flipped it open casually, and read it from top to bottom, page by page, reading it very carefully and seriously.

This is also his consistent style of doing things.

I believe this is what Murdoch values ​​most about him.

"So, Southampton is planning to force the Premier League to compromise?" James smiled slightly.

This is interesting.

Over the past few years, I have never seen such a strong promoted team.

Jeremy Darlock smiled bitterly, "Do they have such courage?"

"Haha, Jeremy, never underestimate other people's ambitions"

James smiled and pointed to a section in the report, "Look at this."

Jeremy Darroch immediately took over the conversation, which was Yang Huan's speech during the media interview at the hotel entrance.

"This is a diplomatic statement. The in-depth exchange of views means that the two sides argued fiercely, but each had their own ideas and failed to reach an agreement. At the same time, he affirmed the role of the round table meeting and the Premier League, which shows an attitude."

Jeremy Darroch immediately raised his head and looked at the prince.

"I have made my bottom line clear. If you are sincere, we can talk again."

At this point, James couldn't help but laugh, "This Yang Huan is really interesting. The Chinese people just like to talk in a veiled way."

Jeremy Darroch suddenly realized it and clapped his hands vigorously, "Yes, I was wondering about it before."

"What's up?"

"Yesterday afternoon, Southampton CEO Peter Neen called me about the renovation of the broadcasting system at St. Mary's Stadium. He also called the engineering department to urge them to start work today."

James nodded continuously, "That's right. If you are really determined to withdraw from the competition, then why bother to reform?"

When he said this, James couldn't help but frown again, as if he had thought of something.

When Jeremy Darroch left the report and got up to say goodbye, James Murdoch picked up the mobile phone on the table and made a call.

"Daddy"

There is no doubt that the person on the other end of the phone is the world-famous media tycoon, News Corporation Chairman Murdoch.

This is a powerful figure in the news media industry, who can cause an earthquake with just a stomp of his foot.

James Murdoch chattered away on the phone about his findings.

The communication between this father and son is very interesting.

The English they spoke had a very complex accent.

It has a bit of an Australian accent, but it also has a distinct Boston accent mixed with American English, and a bit of an Indian flavor.

The difference is that James also has a Hong Kong accent.

Murdoch, who is nearly 80 years old, has been quietly controlling News Corporation behind the scenes and has no intention of retiring yet.

When he heard about this from his youngest son, he couldn't help but smile playfully on the other end of the phone.

"What a cunning little devil"

James couldn't help but frown. This didn't sound derogatory, but praise.

"The reason why the top teams in England had the courage to leave the First Division and create the Premier League was because we had Sky TV supporting us and even fueling the flames. At that time, we urgently needed football to gain a foothold in the UK."

James is very clear about this period of history.

If we say that News Corporation's core business is Sky TV, then Sky TV's core business is the Premier League.

Even though Sky TV has made countless efforts over the years, it has not been able to break away from its dependence on the Premier League.

Who makes people from all walks of life in Britain regard football as a religion?

Football is no longer just a sport in the UK. It has been integrated into every aspect of British society.

"We are interdependent with the Premier League and neither of us can exist without the other. However, in the 20 years since the Premier League was founded, the broadcasting fees have been rising steadily. The broadcasting fee for a single game has increased rapidly from £630,000 from 1992 to 1997 to £4.3 million now, nearly seven times."

James listened silently. In this regard, he was not as clear-sighted as his father.

Because my father is the witness and even the creator of all this.

"While this has the benefit of scaring off potential competitors and building a copyright barrier for us, it is also constantly increasing our operating costs. We were fully aware of this as early as 2003."

The first Premier League broadcasting contract was from 1992 to 1997, with the broadcasting fee for a single game being £630,000.

It was this contract that established Sky TV's leading position in the UK pay television industry.

By the second contract, from 1997 to 2001, with the rapid growth of Sky TV, the broadcast fee for a single Premier League game quickly increased to 2.79 million pounds.

The third contract from 2001 to 2004 was again increased to 3.64 million pounds.

In 2003, when the fourth Premier League broadcasting contract, that is, the one from 2004 to 2007, was negotiated, Sky TV realized that it could not go on like this. In addition, the EU's antitrust measures forced the Premier League broadcasting rights to be divided.

In the fourth contract, the number of live Premier League matches per season increased rapidly from 106 to 138, divided into three packages in total, but the broadcast fee per game fell rapidly to only 2.47 million pounds.

Even the overall broadcasting rights fees have shrunk.

But after 2007, more and more television organizations joined the competition. In particular, after the Premier League realized Sky's intention, it responded quickly, allowing other TV stations to bid jointly and dividing the broadcast package into seven parts, consciously allocating existing game resources more reasonably to maximize profits.

So by 2007, the broadcasting rights for a single Premier League game reached 4.12 million pounds, a record high.

By 2010, it had climbed again to £4.3 million, setting a new record, while the number of broadcast matches in a single season increased again.

It can be said that in this competition, Sky TV was forced to compromise almost time and time again.

Although Sky TV has almost monopolized the broadcasting rights of the Premier League and passed on the huge broadcasting fees and operating costs to fans, this is not a long-term solution.

Because of the endless price increases, users will sooner or later speak with their feet.

Especially with the rise of potential competitors such as British Telecom, Sky TV is under greater pressure.

Murdoch has been waiting for his opportunity.

Waiting for a chance to lower the price

"Although doing this may seem like helping Southampton, but, James..."

"Daddy" James Murdoch habitually obeys orders.

"Tell Darlock to put pressure on the Premier League to refuse to raise prices or increase the number of live broadcasts. As for the reasons, that cunning kid has already found them for us."

When James Murdoch heard this, he suddenly realized it.

It turns out that this is Yang Huan's purpose

"But, the other competitors..."

Murdoch didn't let him continue, "If they are smart, they will know what to do. If they are not smart, then what do we have to be afraid of?" After saying that, he regained his usual confidence and laughed.

James Murdoch nodded continuously, "I understand, Daddy"

"Also, I heard that after Yang Huan's Miracle Media acquired Yingfang, its acquisition of IN has been approved."

"What?" James Murdoch was shocked.

Although they are in different fields, the market value of ING company is not cheap.

This was acquired?

Isn’t that Chinese man too ambitious?

"I heard that they are contacting several European giants to organize an International Champions Cup and a European Youth Champions League. You should pay close attention to them and take them if the price is right."

These resources are scarce, and once they are put into use, you will benefit from them for life.

Back then, didn’t Murdoch make a big bet on the Premier League and Sky TV?

"I see"

"Yu Cui, you should go to Southampton in person," Murdoch said on the phone.

"Haha, I heard that the Chinese food at Wangjiang Pavilion is world-famous, you should go and try it."

"Okay, I'll contact you."

"Well, that's it, I'm tired"