Chapter 395： The fierce and fierce Redstone

During this time, Lei Shidong was in a very bad mood.

Tang En's achievements in the past few years have been very dazzling, so Lei Shidong has enough vigilance, attention and attention to this kid.

Unexpectedly, this kid still played tricks under his nose!

First, through the cooperation of the "Fantastic Four" cartoon and the "American Idol" variety show, and then the cooperation with the Paramount investment project, Redstone let down his guard against him.

Just taking advantage of this space, the sta TV network suddenly exploded like a high-rise building on the ground!

Half a year ago, the number of paying subscribers of the sta TV network had been reduced to 2 million due to the increase in subscription fees, less than half of the sho TV network.

However, starting in May, the sta TV network suddenly exerted its strength.

The two films "Spider-Man" and "The Chainsaw" are just warming up, and the subsequent "Six Feet Under" is the real feast!

The most recent issue of Variety magazine selected the ten most wonderful American dramas of all time.

The first place is the undisputed "Friends", the second place is hbo's famous masterpiece "Dark Family", then "Seinfeld", "The X-Files" and "The White House", "Six Feet Under" unexpectedly Can be ranked sixth!

You know, this is only the first season of Six Feet Under!

Lei Shidong has great influence in the media field, and his resolute and ruthless style has always been in line with Wall Street's appetite. Of course, I was unwilling to be slapped by this kid Tang En like this.

Although it was after get off work hours, Lei Shidong was still sitting in the office, looking at the document he just got, his face was very ugly.

This is the viewership status of the last episode of "Under Six Feet" two days ago, as well as information on the number of users of the sta TV network.

The final episode of "Six Feet Under" was watched by more than 2.8 million households in the United States!

Among them, only 140,000 users are using the free trial rights.

This is definitely a viewing miracle for professional cable TV stations!

The leader in this field, hbo, is only able to compete with the two **** films "Black D Family" and "Sexy City".

As for Viacom's, don't even think about it!

Just look up!

Looking at the subscribers of the sta TV network, it has reached more than 4.9 million, which is a full 2 ​​million more than 3 months ago!

Although it is less than the 5.3 million subscribers of the sho TV network, is this a concept?

How much does a sta subscription cost? $23.99 for 3 months.

what about sho?

$9.9 for 3 months!

Professional cable TV stations do not broadcast advertisements, and the main income is to rely on users' subscription income and the sales of CD-ROM and video tapes of TV series.

The sho TV network does not produce self-produced dramas, so naturally there will be no sales revenue of video tapes and DVDs, and subscription revenue...

Compared with the sta TV network, it is simply unbearable to look directly at it!

Although the subscribers of sta are only 4.9 million, the subscription fee is 2.4 times that of sho. Such a subscription group is equivalent to 12 million users of sho!

This is absolutely an astronomical figure for the current professional cable TV station!

If the sho TV network can have 12 million paying subscribers, it is estimated that Redstone would wake up from his dreams.

You know, hbo, the industry leader, only has more than 7.5 million subscribers, and the basic subscription fee is only $14.99 for 3 months, which is still incomparable to sta.

More importantly, "Six Feet Under" is just a "small budget" TV series with an investment of 30 million US dollars. By next month, the real aircraft carrier will strike - the investment of 120 million US dollars "Band of Brothers"!

"Hbo is a bunch of trash!"

In fact, Lei Shidong has never ignored the sta TV network, but he thought that Tang En's strength in the cable TV field was not enough, and he could easily solve it with HBO's shot.

Unexpectedly, the next situation shocked him!

Hbo did make a move and grabbed the copyright of "Band of Brothers" with sta.

But Tang En's courage is too strong, the aura is too strong!

Directly spending a huge sum of 80 million US dollars to purchase the North American TV copyright of "Band of Brothers", such an act is simply crazy!

Throughout the entire television field, the only person who can do such "ridiculous things" is Dunn, a layman.

This is price gouging!

But then again, the $80 million purchase did have a huge effect. This is the focus of DreamWorks' publicity, allowing the miniseries to have a strong enough social impact before it airs.

It is conceivable that with the arrival of September, with the more powerful "Band of Brothers", the number of users of the sta TV network will have a more significant increase.

According to the current situation, let alone Viacom's sho, even Time Warner's hbo may be trampled underfoot!

Redstone has seen too many winds and waves. To be honest, he doesn't care about this small market in the field of professional cable TV. Otherwise, he would have invested heavily and let sho and hbo fight to the death, and he would not be willing to be the second in the industry for decades.

This is too small compared to his billion-dollar Viacom Group.

What he hated was Dunn's previous cleverness.

Make him feel cheated.

When he is old, especially Lei Shidong's disobedience to the old, the most disgusting thing is that young people play tricks, tricks, and tricks with him.

Without thinking much, Lei Shidong dialed Tang En's cell phone number directly.

At this time, Dunn was in the Mid-Levels Manor, constantly changing clothes amid the chattering laughter of Penelope Cruz, Rose Byrne and Abby Cornish. He was going to a family gathering.

After receiving Lei Shidong's call, Tang En's heart tightened instinctively, "Mr. Lei Shidong? Hello, I'm Tang En."

"Hehe, didn't bother you?"

"No! Is there something wrong?"

Lei Shidong said calmly: "It's not a big deal. I watched "Under Six Feet" on starz TV. The subject matter is novel, the theme is profound, and it's very exciting. I want to get it on the air, can you give me your love?"

Tang En's heart immediately "squeaked" all of a sudden.

Where is this request?

Totally an order!

Can you refuse?

When he was weak, he faced Tom Rothman's request, and he refused; when he grew up, he encountered the threat of Michael Eisner, and he also refused.

Now Dunn, it can be said that he has stood firm in Hollywood, with a straight waist and a straight waist, and he is not afraid of any intimidation. Even Kirk Douglas, he does not care at all.

However... the other party is Summer Redstone!

Tang En instinctively wanted to refuse, but the words came to his lips, but he did not blurt out.

"Under Six Feet" is the most popular drama at the moment. Many local stations have come to buy the second round of broadcast rights, and the prices are very sincere.

Because in the selection requirements of the Emmy Awards, only films that have been watched by more than 51% of the audience in the United States (have the opportunity to watch, can choose to watch or not) can participate in the selection.

There are 110 million home users in the United States, which means that if "Six Feet Under" is to be selected for the Emmy Awards, at least 55 million home users in the United States have to have access to "Six Feet Under".

This requires Dunn to push "Under Six Feet" to more broadcast platforms, and local second- and third-tier commercial stations are the best choice.

The scale of the sta TV network is still too small. Even the American dramas produced by hbo now have to be pushed to other viewing platforms in order to meet the conditions for participating in the Emmy Awards.

There are three advantages to doing this -

First, if a local TV station wants to broadcast such a large-scale drama, it must cut down and mute lines to a certain extent. If the audience wants to watch the full version of the drama, they must subscribe to a professional cable TV station or buy a DVD.

Second, as the most important TV awards in the United States, being able to nominate the Emmy Award will be a great help for TV dramas and will boost the sales of DVD discs.

Third, the subscription fee of espn is higher than that of starz, but North American users can reach an astonishing 80 million, and more than 80% of household users are subscribed to watch. Obviously, the audience of professional cable TV stations is small, not because of the high subscription fees, but because the general understanding of TV stations in this field among American audiences is still stuck in the concept of "adult content".

With the promotion of some local TV stations, more viewers, especially older viewers, can realize that professional cable TV stations can break the traditional cage and provide high-quality, healthy and high-quality content.

This is what hbo is trying to do in recent years.

If the sta TV network wants to develop further, it must stick to this road.

But……

Not a local second-rate commercial TV station!

And starz are professional cable TV stations can play the full version of "Six Feet Under". The audience watched the abridged version. Once curiosity was aroused and they wanted to watch the full version, which TV station would they subscribe to?

Of course it's cheaper!

Whether Redstone is intentional or unintentional, such a request is too much for Dunn and sta TV network!

This is forcing Dunn to send warmth to competitors!

Dunn was silent for 20 seconds, and the atmosphere of the conversation between the two was a little stiff.

In the end, Lei Shidong was the first to break the silence and asked with a smile, "Why, is it inconvenient?"

Tang En was so angry that he could not wait to curse!

A media tycoon who has been in the shopping mall for decades and started with cable TV, would he not understand such a simple truth?

Pretend, you pretend to be a fart!

Fake old fox!

But now the time period is too sensitive, there is no doubt that Dunn will make a lot of money through the "911" incident. At the same time, with the arrival of a huge fortune, he is also likely to be subject to moral criticism from the media.

So now for Tang En, it is very important to have a good relationship with the media organizations.

Moreover, don't look at Dunn's steady standing in Hollywood, but in front of a legendary tycoon like Redstone, you must be careful, careful, and more careful!

Now Dunn is not his opponent at all.

Redstone is a Jewish boss. He has complicated relationships on Wall Street. He has a huge influence in Hollywood. He has close friends with politicians in the White House. In the field of media, he is the undisputed number one person in the United States today!

Dunn is very strong in Hollywood, and even the big boss of Disney, Michael Eisner, has nothing to do with him.

But, don't forget, Barry Diller has... a lesson from the past!

(Sanqi Chinese)