Chapter 746： circle

In the early days, the redness of a TV program could only be revealed from the long-term ratings curve. The TV station wanted to know the audience's opinions, and only through newspaper questionnaires and random telephone interviews. The way is very inefficient and the accuracy is not high.

This situation has changed rapidly with the rise of the Internet in recent years. After the "National Supermodel Contest" was broadcast, although it was not very popular in the traditional media, its popularity in the general audience was very intuitively displayed on the Internet.

Within a week of the Yahoo Forum's "American Supermodel Contest", nearly 180,000 new members were added. In Yahoo's search engine business, the "American Supermodel Contest" quickly became a hot word. Cindy Crawford’s personal homepage fans are rising in a straight line. Before the show aired, her personal homepage had only over 10,000 fans, but within a week of the show’s broadcast, the number soared to 120,000. And it is still increasing rapidly.

Because the personal homepage business has just been opened soon, although the total number of users is large, the related social networks are still in the cultivation stage. The number of personal homepage fans of most popular people is also in the 100,000 level, which is far from being like a fan. Million scale. Therefore, with the popularity brought by the "National Supermodel Contest", the size of Cindy Crawford's fans is far from the same industry, and even caused reports from traditional media.

Under the enthusiasm of the topic that spread unconsciously, the week passed quickly.

Although due to the feedback from the audience in the previous week, everyone is full of confidence in the ratings of the second episode.

However, the statistics of the second season of the "National Supermodel Contest" were released. Still makes people happy.

The highest number of viewers is 3.5 million. The average number of viewers was 2.8 million. The ratings reached 1.6, once again breaking all ratings of lietime TV.

Although the number of viewers is far from being comparable to that of public relations television, in the ratings of the core audience of 18 to 49 years old, which is most valued by advertisers, because the audience of the "American Supermodel Contest" is concentrated on young women, 1.6 ratings The rate has even been comparable to that of a public TV station.

The production and promotion of the "American Supermodel Contest" and "Tianqiao Pride" have always been closely linked.

Influenced by the popularity of the "American Supermodel Contest", on the following Thursday, the first episode of "Tianqiao Pride" also achieved an average score of 2.6 million viewers, and the highest number of viewers easily exceeded 3.1 million.

Although the "Tianqiao Pride" is a fashion production program. However, under the control of Eric and the Survivor team, this reality show has no professional and stereotypes in the audience's imagination. It was originally doubtful about the professional TV show of "Tianqiao Pride". The audience also quickly accepted this program, and relished the fascination with the players and made any material into a beautiful fashion.

With the increase in ratings, the traditional media has keenly grasped the news potential of these two reality show programs, and began to report, which further promoted the popularity of the "American Supermodel Contest" and "Tianqiao Pride" began to spread rapidly.

In the following weeks, the ratings of the two reality shows showed an upward trend, less than a month. The average number of viewers of the two reality shows exceeded 4 million at the same time. The popularity of the "American Supermodel Contest" was higher than that of "The Bridge of the Sky". The highest ratings in the fourth episode even reached 4.6 million.

At the same time, in just one month, with the popularity of the two reality shows, more and more people began to notice the lietime TV station.

Because of the speed of the "American Supermodel Contest" and "Tianqiao Pride" virus-like topics, either because of curiosity, or because they want to follow the direction of the surrounding group, many people find that there is no lietime TV station in their cable TV package. , have chosen to replace the package.

The subscribers of the lietime TV station therefore broke through 40 million in the following month, from the initial 34.5 million.

Those operators who carry the lietime TV signal are better. After receiving the user's request, it is very convenient to change the subscription package. But the days of operators who don't have the lietime TV signal are not so good. The most unfortunate one is Time Warner.

Things have to start from the beginning of the lietime TV reform plan. When the two reality show plans are finalized, Kasenberg will personally contact Comcast, telecom and Time Warner and other high-level operators, hoping that the other party can A wide range of signals from the lietime TV station.

However, because lietime TV station has been performing well, several major operators have been very cold about Kasenberg's requirements. Kasenberg has been lobbying everywhere, but the results have been minimal, until the number of subscribers before the "National Supermodel Competition" started. It has only increased the area by 3 million.

The operators of Comcast and telecom are reversing. They don't have large-scale self-owned TV stations, increasing or decreasing the number of users of lietime TV stations. Most of the time, they are based on the ratings of lietime TV stations.

However, Time Warner is different. After learning about the firefly group's reform plan for lietime TV station, considering that lietime TV station will rise, it will definitely compete with Time Warner's b-station, which faces the same young audience. Therefore, Time Warner not only does not cooperate to increase lietime. The size of the TV station's users, instead of the fall file, reduced the size of the lietime TV station by 800,000 in the form of a change package. Moreover, even more sinister, these users who were cut by Time Warner were concentrated in New York and Los Angeles. Among these big cities.

The fashion women in the metropolises of Los Angeles and New York are the most promising user groups of the "National Supermodel Contest" and "Tianqiao Pride" two reality show. After hearing this news, Kasenberg directly called the past era. The director of the Warner Cable Division was stunned.

but. Perhaps it is due to the sentence after the fall.

This fall has not passed. Time Warner has already been retribution because of the small trick.

If the "American Supermodel Contest" and "Tianqiao Pride" did not fire. Then, for the 800,000 users who have cut off the lietime signal, the lietime TV station is naturally optional, and no one will care about anything.

However, the current situation is far beyond everyone's expectations. With the broadcast, the "American Supermodel Contest" and "Tianqiao Pride" have become a topic of discussion among many young women. When everyone is discussing When a certain player of the National Supermodel Contest was regretted to be eliminated, when the girlfriend was chatting about a stunning costume in "The Bridge of the Sky". Because there is no signal from the lietime TV station in all the packages of the cable TV operators in the house, you can't put in a sentence at all. The embarrassing situation can be imagined.

Operators in the United States also have a geographical monopoly. Comcast, telecom, and Time Warner operators are very tacitly divided into their own sites in order to avoid unnecessary competition. In some remote areas, residents can only choose one. The operator accesses the cable TV signal.

If you are unfortunate enough to encounter this situation, you naturally feel unlucky. But in the metropolises of New York and Los Angeles, it is basically a battleground for major operators. This potential monopoly does not exist.

then. Those who can't find the lietime TV signal in the Time Warner cable TV package, in order to receive the "American Supermodel Contest" and "Tianqiao Pride". They have turned to Comcast and telecom operators.

In October, when Time Warner’s cable TV department once again counted the number of users, it was discovered that in just one month, Time Warner’s users quickly lost 460,000.

What is the concept of this number!

Time Warner’s total cable TV subscribers are only 15 million. After the original 800,000 lietime TV subscribers were cut, the remaining lietime TV subscribers left only 3 million, which is the lowest among several major operators. Of course, because of the competitive relationship between Time Warner and Firefly.

But at this time, the loss of 460,000 users a month is equivalent to 3% of Time Warner's total number of cable TV users. This is only a month's time. It should be known that the number of users of Time Warner increased during the entire 1994. 1.6 million, and if this situation continues, Time Warner's cable TV business will not grow, but will return to two or three years ago.

Terry Semel, who was being hit by the summer movie business again, heard the news and shouted the head of Time Warner’s cable TV department. Originally, Warner’s interior wanted to be silent. I handled this matter, but I don’t know why, but the news was suddenly spread.

For a time, the news of 'Time Warner's cable TV business fell sharply' flooded the media. Although everyone knows what is going on, Time Warner is completely trying to suppress the development of lietime TV, but because of the "American Supermodel Competition" and "Overpass" The strong rise of the proud son, and ultimately steal the chicken does not eclipse the rice.

Losing 3% of users in a month, how much will it be lost in that year?

Many people can't help but ask, and there are undoubtedly many people in Time Warner's shareholders who have this idea. Therefore, the management has once again received pressure from all sides.

In order to calm down this matter, it must be someone who is responsible.

Time Warner's internal forces are intertwined, and a cable TV department is entrenched in several parties. Everyone knows the ins and outs of this matter. In fact, if you change to this, you will basically do so. Therefore, this time the wind dial can not be regarded as a business mistake, Terry Semel can not provoke a dispute inside under the pressure of the outside world, and finally can only drop the teeth to swallow his stomach, put himself in the cable TV department The spokesperson came out as a scapegoat.

In just a few days, Time Warner announced that a former vice president of the cable TV department was about to leave because of a mistake in decision-making, which was given to all parties.

But of course this is unlikely to end.

The popularity of lietime TV is still rising rapidly. Time Warner has lost 460,000 users. If you don't reconnect to the lietime TV station as soon as possible, let the situation continue to develop, the situation will definitely be even worse.

In a hurry to deal with the pressure from outsiders and shareholders, Terry Semel personally called Kasenberg's phone.

The call was transferred to the secretary's office in Kasenberg, and the response did not seem to be surprising: "Mr. Kasenberg is not... When can I contact... I don't know."

Several trials failed, and Terry Semel had to call Robert Eiger, who had just taken the helm of the Firefly TV business.

Robert Eiger's attitude is very eager, but said that because the ae TV network is a joint venture with the Hearst Group, he is not good at interfering with the affairs of the lietime television station.

Condescending again, directly dialed the phone of Anne Sweeney, president of ae TV.

Anne Sweeney is more direct: "Sorry, Mr. Semel, the decision-making power of this matter is no longer in my hands."

In the office of Manhattan Time Warner headquarters, it was rejected three times in a row, and Terry Semel almost directly dropped the phone in his hand.

Looking at the gray sky outside the glass window of the office, I took a few deep breaths in a row, and Terry Semel calmed down.

Terry Semel certainly understands that this is a firefly's counterattack against Time Warner's original decision, and he wants to deliberately hang on Time Warner for a few months.

However, the current situation, Time Warner can definitely wait for it.

If next month, Time Warner's cable TV users will drop hundreds of thousands, and his eo may have to be involved in this matter.

Twisted for a long time, just as Terry Semel considered whether to personally fly to Los Angeles to interview Kasenberg, he suddenly remembered, as if the young man behind the firefly should be in East Hampton.

Although I have not visited it, Eric’s residence is not difficult to find out. A few calls have passed and I quickly got Eric’s estate address in East Hampton.

Considering for a moment, Terry Semel told the secretary to prepare the car, and he intended to rush to East Hampton.

After all, as the absolute controller of the Firefly Group, if you can get the promise of Eric Williams directly, it is definitely far more than the repeated entanglement with the top level of Kasenberg.

Moreover, although I admire this young man to create a huge industry in just a few years, but in the depths of my heart, Terry Semel still feels that Eric Williams is younger than sure, more than a savvy Carson. Berg has to deal with a lot. After all, he always believed that the experience of a person must be closely tied to his age. Even those geniuses are unlikely to jump out of this law. (To be continued.)