We've reached the top.
Although no one said it outright, everyone was aware of this fact.
With the increase in information dissemination channels, the television industry has actually been on a downward trend for some time. The days of viewership ratings in the teens and twenties are long gone.
A viewership rating exceeding 6.5 is something many TV stations wouldn't even dare to dream of. A rating exceeding 7 isn't even a dream; that's just wishful thinking.
From marketing accounts and entertainment enthusiasts on Weibo and Green Petal, to professional film critics scattered across various platforms, and even internal members of Ru Guan TV, everyone has tacitly agreed that the ratings for "Tianban" have hit their ceiling. Not the ceiling for this particular drama, but the ceiling for the entire television industry today.
The ratings starting with a six will probably stay that way for a while. It'll probably only reach a seven by the time the finale airs.
Such comments are scattered across various platforms. Although they dare not express sarcasm (there's really nothing to mock about these ratings), there is a sense of "thank goodness, this crazy show has finally stopped."
Having gotten used to eating meat in big bites, scooping up soup with a small spoon doesn't feel quite as satisfying.
Ru Guan TV made many efforts for this. First, they removed the idol drama that was airing in the afternoon and replaced it with "Tianban," rebroadcasting it from the first episode. In this way, "Tianban" could reach different viewership groups at different times, and also deepen the audience's memory of the plot details. It could also allow viewers who missed the previous episodes of "Tianban" and did not have access to watch them online to catch up and fill in the gaps in their knowledge.
As for that idol drama that was canceled halfway through its run, let it go, Ru Guan TV doesn't care.
The daytime viewership rating for "Half a Day" reached an astonishing 1.8%, higher than the premiere ratings of many new dramas during the summer season. This figure can only be described as humiliating.
Advertisers, unable to secure prime-time slots, flocked to afternoon slots, creating the bizarre situation where "advertising fees for afternoon slots on certain satellite channels were higher than those for prime-time slots on other channels"—a rare and unconventional commercial phenomenon.
After the daytime rebroadcast, Ruguan TV began to vigorously promote heroic culture and the deeds of soldiers on the hidden front, even holding offline gatherings of revolutionary books and screenings of revolutionary films. They created a strong atmosphere for the broadcast of "Half a Day."
After its recent propaganda mishap, Ruguan TV has learned its lesson and is no longer focusing on promoting "Ruguan heroes," instead changing its slogan to "national heroes." From land enclosure to opening up, this step is undeniably significant. The image of Li Yiming is finally gradually shedding its narrow local connotations and regaining its underlying spirit of serving the country and its people.
In hindsight, this move was quite correct. After Ru Guan TV changed its story, major official accounts that had previously remained silent, such as Phoenix Daily, Southern News, and Northern News, all stepped in to promote the story. Even the usually arrogant CTS (China Television System) symbolically reposted an article as a gesture of support.
While Ruguan TV is domineering towards its subordinates, it's quite adept at dealing with its superiors and even those at the same level. So, it went all out, expanding its publicity for the heroes of the covert front from Ruguan to the entire country. This was a clever move, and many official accounts and news platforms expressed their enthusiastic support.
While the quality of tap water at the grassroots level is important, official endorsement also has its significance. This bottom-up celebration has finally completed the last piece of the puzzle.
After doing these two things, Ruguan TV started to get restless again and was eager to target the actors.
The phenomenal success of "Half a Day" owes much to Shang Yechu. Even though Ruzhou TV is shameless, it no longer treats her with the same disrespect it used to. But Ruzhou TV is, after all, an entertainment channel; it simply can't resist messing with its actors.
Ruguan TV has an entertainment program called "Summer Stars," a variety show that airs exclusively in the summer. The content is nothing more than joking around and playing games, and the level of intimacy is handled very well, ensuring the guests are never embarrassed. Therefore, many celebrities in the entertainment industry are happy to accept invitations to this program.
Due to the sensitive subject matter of "Half a Day," Ruguan TV was afraid of giving others cause for criticism and originally did not plan to invite Shang Yechu to participate in the variety show. However, now that the official backing has been provided and the ratings are stuck at 6, Ruguan TV can no longer sit still.
Under the guise of promoting the TV series "Tianban," Ruguan TV invited most of the cast and crew of "Tianban" to participate in the next episode of "Starry Summer." Except for Qi Ming, who was too old to handle the jumping and running format, everyone else agreed.
Shang Yechu was the lead actress, so she had no reason to refuse. However, Ru Guan TV's request was truly unacceptable to Shang Yechu: Ru Guan demanded that Shang Yechu promote the CP from "Tianban" on "Starry Summer".
The clause about creating on-screen couples was written into the contract, and Shang Yechu shouldn't have refused. However, Ru Guan TV's conditions were simply outrageous—they demanded that Shang Yechu create two couples at once!
That's right, Ru Tai, you're asking Shang Ye Chu to simultaneously promote her official pairing with Shi Shan while secretly promoting her cult-like pairing with Chu Zi Xin (the actor who plays Di Ting)!
"Half a Day" is not lacking in romantic storylines. Although Zheng Bohan is not good at writing romance, he is very good at writing about enemies. The nemesis CP is also a popular pairing on the internet. In addition, Shi Shan did not appear in the first eight episodes, so the CP fans naturally caught wind of the situation and started shipping Li Yiming and Di Ting.
The actor Chu Zixin, who plays Di Ting, has a refined and scholarly appearance. When he wears a fake eye during makeup, he exudes a sophisticated yet roguish charm. In terms of appearance, he and Shang Yechu are a well-matched couple.
Furthermore, Chu Zixin's acting skills are quite good, and he has great chemistry with Shang Yechu. Shipping a couple is all about that feeling; if the feeling is right, nothing else matters.
The "Dili CP" (滴沥CP) of Diting and Li Yiming broke through the ranks of Weibo's CP (couple) super topic list and firmly secured the number one spot. Now, the number of "little water droplets" (CP fans' self-designation) in the super topic has exceeded 100,000, and the activity level is extremely high. Shang Yechu occasionally peeks in and often sees some misunderstandings that make her dizzy.
The camaraderie between Li Yiming and Li Ruhui, meticulously portrayed by Zheng Bohan, also has its own dedicated fan page. The couple is known as "Dawn Couple," and their fans are called "Little Ruyi." Unfortunately, despite the fans' name, the couple's popularity is disappointing. Not only do they have only one-fifth the number of fans in the "Dili" (滴沥) fan page, but they've also been overshadowed by the "Shenguan" (神关) fan page on the popularity charts!
It's worth noting that the "Shen Guan CP" is actually a pairing of Chu Zixin's character in another drama and Shang Yechu's character Xiao Yue in "The Mute Woman"!
The popularity of the official couple couldn't even surpass that of the unofficial fan pairings, and the person who found it hardest to accept this was none other than Zheng Bohan himself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
