Chapter 551: Streaming Media Overseas War

Li Meijin’s words had a profound impact on Li Mingyang, so he suspended the preparations for the young lady.

Let’s finish the post-production of Goodbye My Soul Mate first so that it can be released sooner.

On May 5th, just when Li Mingyang finished editing Goodbye My Soul Mate and was preparing to compose the music.

Zhang Wei called and said that FBTV’s sales had plummeted, with the daily sales of “Empresses in the Palace” and “Scarlet Heart” falling below 50 million won, which is less than 250,000 yuan.

Scarlet Heart will be released in Korea on April 4.

On the finale day of May 5, FBTV’s total sales reached 9 million. After that, FBTV began to plummet, and within twelve days, it had dropped below 130.

User traffic also plummeted, to less than one-tenth of its peak period.

“Let me ask you something. Will Zhen Zhidan and Zhao Wenzhuo fight?” Zhang Wei asked.

“We’ll know then.”

“It’s already this late…if they don’t fight, our traffic will drop drastically. Do you have any stock?”

“We have some in stock, Sugar Man’s Xuanyuan Sword.”

“Is there Liu Shishi?”

“Have.”

“Then there is still hope. When will Xuanyuan Sword be broadcast in mainland China?”

“Mid-July.”

“Can we play it first?”

“That’s definitely not possible.”

As for whether Xuanyuan Sword can work or not, Li Mingyang feels that it would be good enough if he can keep it stable.

“Empresses in the Palace” and “Scarlet Heart” were big hits in mainland China, but “Xuan-Yuan Sword” can only be said to be a small hit. Although it has the added bonus of Hu Ge and Liu Shishi, the main character is Jiang Zemin boxing!

It was very popular at the beginning, but there was no high-quality copyright to follow up, and the local Korean film source could not be purchased. Now FBTV is hanging on by the Century Battle between Zhen Zhidan and Zhao Wenzhuo.

The number of reservations has exceeded 10 million!
If this fight breaks out, the money collected from the live broadcast ticket, which costs five or six yuan, will be more than 50 million!
Unfortunately, Zhen Zhidan was unwilling…

If I lose the fight, I will lose all my face. How can I make money? My career will be ruined and I will lose hundreds of millions!
After hanging up the phone, Li Mingyang calmed down for a while and continued to work on post-production.

However, a sudden phone call completely disrupted Li Mingyang’s work and made it impossible for him to stay in the studio and concentrate on making the movie.

Kakao’s boss Jin invited him to have lunch at a restaurant in Chungmuro.

Li Mingyang came to the restaurant and had lunch with Lao Jin. The meal was simple: bibimbap, sushi and soju.

After eating and drinking, Lao Jin first said a lot of nonsense, the meaning of which was roughly that our cooperation was very pleasant.

And then…but…

Lao Jin wants to acquire FBTV and turn it into a streaming media company under Kakao.

51 billion won, % of the shares.

Li Mingyang sneered and disagreed.

It seemed that Lao Jin was just testing the waters. When Li Mingyang disagreed, he didn’t say anything harsh but just kept persuading him.

They say that as a foreign company, it cannot buy local TV copyrights, while Kakao, as a local company, can buy local TV copyrights.

Lao Jin has already negotiated with the three major TV stations. As long as Kakao acquires FBTV, the three major TV stations will sell the copyright to him.

It is better to compromise than to be deadlocked.

With the support of Kakao, FBTV will definitely fly higher and generate higher revenue.

“Are they really willing to sell the copyright?” Li Mingyang asked in surprise.

“Who can resist money? I have almost finished talking about it.”

“Buy it with money, without giving shares?”

“No need!”

“By the way…you bought FBTV, aren’t you planning to form a partnership with Penguin?”

After listening to the translator’s translation, Lao Jin shook his head decisively, “Penguin is just an investor and does not interfere with the company’s management. What I do has nothing to do with them. Chairman Li, this is a rare opportunity. With the local film and television copyright, we will be the top media in Korea.”

“There’s also an oil pipe.”

“YouTube is too complex and not professional enough. The future belongs to us.”

This is good news. With the copyright of Korean local film and television, even if it is old, it can stabilize the traffic and directly transform into Korean local film and television streaming media.

The old ones have been sold, and the new ones are not far away.

A new drama will be available for purchase within a year after it is aired. As long as the traffic is sufficient, you can make a fortune by selling memberships!
Li Mingyang doesn’t mind Kakao’s investment, but 51 is too much.

Li Mingyang was only willing to give 30 at most. He didn’t want money, but wanted to exchange it for Kakao shares.

He is very optimistic about Kakao, the Korean entertainment giant in the Internet entertainment industry.

Then Lao Jin was unwilling again. This kind of acquisition was very complicated, and Lao Jin didn’t think that he could reach an agreement today. He just wanted to discuss the possibility of the acquisition.

So both parties parted happily and agreed to sit down and have a good talk tomorrow.

In the next few days, Li Mingyang worked on two fronts.

During the day, Li Mingyang and Zhang Wei went to Kakao together to negotiate the acquisition.

In the evening, Li Mingyang went to the studio to check the progress of the work and make modifications to any areas he was not satisfied with.

I was so busy that I didn’t even have time to attend the premiere of New World in Cannes.

However, Li Meijin did not say anything, but instead advised him to work with peace of mind.

As time went by, the needs of both parties became clear. Li Mingyang owned 80% of FBTV and Zhang Wei owned 20%.

Li Mingyang’s 80% also includes Huace’s 10%.

Li Mingyang will only sign a contract with Huace after obtaining the copyright of Running Man.

Lao Jin is not obsessed with 51%, but it cannot be lower than 40%, otherwise his acquisition will be meaningless.

After all, Kakao can originally take 30% of FBTV’s profits.

On May 5, both sides had agreed on the details.

100 billion won + 2% Kakao shares in exchange for 40% FBTV shares.

Cash plus stock.

There is also a three-year gambling contract.

However, just as the two parties were preparing to sign the contract and Lao Jin had even taken out his pen, he received a phone call.

After the call, Lao Jin came back and terminated the contract, and even cursed SBS as a jerk.

It turned out that SBS changed its mind and was unwilling to sell it.

So are KBS and MBC.

The three major TV stations would rather let their own streaming software rot than sell it to Kakao.

Before he could catch his last breath, Li Mingyang angrily overturned the conference table weighing several hundred kilograms.

After leaving Kakao headquarters, Li Mingyang became more and more angry. “Let’s check what happened. Lao Jin is not an idiot, and SBS is not an idiot. They clearly reached an agreement, so why did they suddenly go back on their word?”

“Could it be that the chaebols are causing trouble? But the three major TV stations are backed by chaebols… It’s too contradictory.”

“Check, check it for me!” Li Mingyang said with great sorrow.

My head is about to explode.

“Hey, see you at the usual place.”

When Li Mingyang heard Zhang Wei calling, he subconsciously asked, “Who are you calling?”

“Jin Langjun.”

“Why look for him? Can he find out?”

“He knows where to investigate… The only people who can investigate chaebols are prosecutors.”

Li Mingyang thought about it and went to the old place Zhang Wei mentioned.

A Japanese bistro across the street from Bouquet Technology.

It was still the same Japanese-style private room with three doors, but the difference from last time was that all three doors were open.

When Kim Jae-joon heard that Kakao was going to acquire FBTV, he had no reaction.

When I heard that the three major TV stations were willing to sell their copyrights to Kakao, I was very surprised and said it was impossible.

“But it’s true. The contract was almost signed.”

“That’s absolutely impossible. The three major TV stations are backed by chaebols.”

“That’s why I want you to check.”

Kim Jae-jun sat on the tatami chair, shaking his head continuously. After a few minutes, he stood up and left.

Having not eaten for a day, as soon as Jin Langjun left, Li Mingyang picked up his chopsticks and showed off the Japanese food on the table.

“Why don’t you eat?” Li Mingyang looked at Zhang Wei who was sitting upright and asked with concern.

“Period.”

Li Mingyang said “oh”, lowered his head and continued to eat. After eating until he was half full, he poured himself a glass of sake. “Are there any other problems in the company recently?”

“The rest are minor issues. Copyright is the primary issue… And if Zhao Wenzhuo and Zhen Zhidan don’t fight, it will be very ugly.”

Except for Zhen Zhidan himself, everyone is looking forward to the two of them fighting. Zhao Wenzhuo has been very active recently, posting on Weibo every day to show off his muscles.

The whole person became thicker, and rushed to kill Zhen Zhidan…

Even Lu Zhen encouraged Zhen Zhidan to fight.

Li Mingyang heard that the odds had been opened in Macau, and it would be difficult to end the fight if the two did not fight.

Fighting or not fighting is not important.

At worst, I can just default on the payment.

As long as Zhao Wenzhuo, the person involved, doesn’t make a fuss, Zhen Zhidan won’t say he won’t fight.

If Zhao Wenzhuo dares to yell, I will break his legs!

See if he continues to fight!
Under normal circumstances, Zhen Zhidan would definitely lose, but it would be hard to say if he broke his leg.

Zhen Zhidan could really fight.

Jin Langjun is so efficient!
Just as Li Mingyang was about to leave, he came back.

Brought news.

Reasonable, unexpected.

Kakao was built with money! It even made the three major TV stations interested.

The price offered by Kakao is quite explosive. The price offered for old dramas is as low as 100 million won.

National hit dramas such as Dae Jang Geum and Autumn in My Heart even offered a sky-high price of 1 billion won!
This drama is very cheap in China.

Kakao not only bought old dramas, but also bought new dramas that are currently being filmed, with a total investment of 100 billion won!

This abnormal behavior made Li Mingyang and Zhang Wei immediately think of Penguin, as Kakao simply did not have that much money.

And this is exactly the case. Kakao plans to acquire FBTV and then merge it with Penguin Video.

With the local copyright in hand, Penguin has become the big brother of Korean streaming media, and has also opened up the upstream and downstream of Korea. This is Penguin, using money to pave the way, and being rich and inhumane…

As a foreign company, Penguin faces many constraints, but Kakao is different in that it is a local company.

As the middleman, Lao Jin will definitely be able to gain control of this streaming media once the merger is completed.

One thing leads to another, using threats and inducements.

So insidious.

“How do you know so much?” Li Mingyang asked puzzledly.

“Because the person responsible for this matter is my colleague, and he was arrested…” Jin Jae-jun said with a bit of gloating.

Li Mingyang and Zhang Wei looked at each other. The prosecutors had been mobilized, but the penguin was no slower than them.

There are so many things to do, it’s hard to sort them out.

Li Mingyang and Zhang Wei returned to Huahua Technology, and while checking the information sent by Jin Zaijun, they discussed the next countermeasures.

Penguin is using Kakao to target Korean entertainment with its financial power. If the chaebols hadn’t suddenly changed their minds, this would have been a failure.

And he had to cooperate with the penguins and work for them.

No matter how you go abroad, you can’t get rid of penguins.

From the information sent by Jin Zaijun, Penguin’s layout was so fast and so large that it far exceeded Li Mingyang’s expectations.

He is still playing around a bit.

Penguin acquired more than a dozen large local Korean companies through Kakao and created a film and television production chain. Although this chain is riddled with holes, miracles can be achieved with great effort.

It really worked.

However, Penguin does not want to develop streaming media on its own, but wants to complete the monopoly of Korean entertainment streaming media by acquiring powerful companies.

FBTV is what Penguin needs most.

“Penguin is really rich. It buys everything and invests along the industry chain.” Zhang Wei said in surprise.

“Don’t forget, the most developed industry in Korea is the gaming industry. Penguin became rich by acting as an agent for Korean games. The Korean entertainment industry he invested in is also related to the gaming industry.”

“The three major companies actually held on, while Penguin returned empty-handed.”

This was also what puzzled Li Mingyang. The chaebols couldn’t resist the sugar-coated bullets, but the three major publishing houses did and didn’t pay any attention to the penguins at all.

Li Mingyang was puzzled and was about to call Jin Zaijun to ask.

The cell phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

At that time, there were not so many scam calls and advertising calls. The moment Li Mingyang saw the unfamiliar number, he thought of the mastermind behind the bad penguin’s good deeds.

What can make the chaebol regret is definitely greater interests.

“Hey.”

“Director Li, I’m Gong Yu!”

It turned out to be Gong Yu. He just eats, sleeps and plays penguins!
This cannon is so accurate.

“I’m at the entrance of Bouquet Technology, let’s have a drink together!”

“Did you destroy the cooperation between Kakao and the three major TV stations?”

“Is this true? If you don’t tell me, I won’t know anything! What’s going on?” Gong Yu said in surprise.

Gong Yu flatly denied it, and Li Mingyang became even more certain that he was the one who did it.

Ten minutes later, Li Mingyang and Gong Yu came to the nearby “Goodbye Bar” to drink.

The bar was originally going to be renovated, but Zhang Wei thought it was too much trouble and would interfere with her work, so it was not done.

It’s really deserted, but there are still a few guests, probably because they want some peace and quiet.

“Director Li, this bar is like a pub in China,” Gong Yu said half-jokingly.

“This is a nightclub.”

“Really? Haha.” Gong Yu sat down at the booth and flipped through the drink menu. He was stunned at first glance. “One hundred thousand won for a glass of beer?”

“Master-level craftsmanship, would you like to try it?”

“Try it.”

A few minutes later, a glass of beer made with master-level craftsmanship arrived. Gong Yu took a sip and found it was not as delicious as Tsingtao Beer, which was just made with a few ice cubes.

They dared to spend more than 500 yuan for this glass of crappy wine. What a shady shop.

“This drink is good with ice, not bad.”

Gong Yu put down his wine glass, smiled heartily, and asked Li Mingyang with concern how FBTV was developing recently.

“It’s OK. Thank you for your concern.”

“Director Li, there is something I am not sure whether I should say or not.”

“Tell me, would you like another one million won drink? It’s absolutely a masterpiece of master craftsmanship.” Li Mingyang flipped through the dark wine list, and when he saw the one million won drink, he immediately recommended it to Gong Yu.

Gong Yu tried to shirk responsibility, but couldn’t resist Li Mingyang’s insistence on drinking, so he reluctantly ordered a glass. Then he said, “FBTV’s development has encountered a bottleneck. If it can’t get local Korean TV dramas, it will fail sooner or later… This is a very realistic problem.”

Li Mingyang nodded and waited for the next words.

Gong Yu avoided the question, saying that the Korean market is naturally suitable for streaming media, and then saying that the Korean market is small and the chaebols monopolize the film supply, which is not conducive to development.

After chattering for a while, he finally told the reason for his visit today.

Gong Yu wanted to cooperate and merge the overseas version of iQiyi with FBTV. iQiyi only wanted 49% of the shares and also invested billion to purchase the local copyright of South Korea.

“Can you buy it?”

“There is nothing that money can’t solve. Besides, Director Li and I have the same idea. Girls’ Generation going to Dongda will definitely be a fortune tree. We can start right away. I’ll be in China and you’ll be in Korea. Together, we can integrate Southeast Asia and then all of Asia will be ours.”

“There’s still a little day ahead.”

“Hey, I just came from a small life, I don’t have enough ability, and I have to rely on Director Li from now on.” Gong Yu picked up a glass of red wine worth one million won and smiled brightly.

“What if I don’t agree?” Li Mingyang said suddenly.

Gong Yu put down his red wine glass and sighed, “I don’t want to fight you, and you don’t have the energy to fight me. The companies under your name, both domestically and abroad, have more than 2,000 employees. Except for the Bouquet Hotel, none of your companies can make stable profits.”

“You can enter the stick market, but without sufficient funds, you will only be slowly worn away by the market. Mutual benefit leads to win-win results, and we have no conflict, right?”

No conflict?

I came to Korea to develop streaming media because you forced me to do so.

BAT is too rich and too willful. They just push forward without caring about the consequences. As long as they can monopolize the market, they can bear any consequences.

Domestic entertainment has gone astray.

Although BAT is not the dominant player, it is also the biggest accomplice and cannot escape blame.

“Director Li, you are a smart man. You should know that cooperation is a win-win situation… We have fought and cooperated before. We know each other best. This is the prerequisite for cooperation. I have unconditional trust in Director Li’s ability. If you and I join forces, the entire Asia Entertainment will belong to us.”

Gong Yu is painting a big picture, and Baidu does have the ability to do so.

After all, it has a monopoly on the Dongda search engine and is the only one in the market with no rivals.

Li Mingyang flipped through the wine list to see if there was anything more expensive than one million. Zhang Wei was still too conservative and thought one million was the upper limit.

More than 5,000 yuan? Who are you looking down on?
Li Mingyang put down the drink order, looked up at Gong Yu, and grinned, “You were the one who did the SM thing, right? Function, and Girls’ Generation.”

Gong Yu did not deny it, and nodded with a smile, “It’s no loss for you, right? I always think that working with Director Li is definitely the happiest and most enjoyable thing. Girl groups are indeed big business.”

“SM actually listened to you?”

“We are just going with the flow. Whether it is Huace, the three major TV stations, or the three major agencies, as long as the benefits are sufficient, they can be driven by us.”

“I’m curious about how you did it. To be honest, their appetites are bigger than each other.”

Gong Yu heard Li Mingyang’s doubts and felt very happy. It was so boring to know some things only by oneself.

And Li Mingyang is the only one who can speak.

“This is all thanks to Director Li.”

“Me? I don’t even understand the threshold of the three major TV stations.”

“I heard that Director Li is currently filming a movie called Goodbye My Soulmate, which is based on a Chinese short story called July and Ansheng. I also heard that July and Ansheng will also be filmed in China, directed by Jing Tian. One script, two versions, this idea is really ingenious.”

“So what?” Li Mingyang was still confused.

“So it’s feasible to shoot one drama twice, and it’s probably also possible to buy one drama twice. I tried it. I bought the Chinese and Korean network copyrights together. The premium was doubled, and the three major TV stations were in chaos. The premium was tripled, and the three major TV stations sold it on their knees.”

“In a price war, you hurt your enemy before you hurt yourself.”

Gong Yu smiled faintly and did not refute. The streaming media is to raise the threshold to a level that makes oneself uncomfortable and discourages peers!

Li Mingyang did not agree, and Gong Yu did not expect to reach an agreement today. He happily paid for the wine and said he would come to the black shop again tomorrow.

Looking at Gong Yu’s departing back.

Li Mingyang felt helpless because of the price war between Penguin and iQiyi!

If these two malignant tumors continue to develop like this, the Korean ecosystem will be destroyed.

The reason why Korean entertainment can rise is all thanks to the transfusion from Dongda.

Later, due to the restriction on Korean entertainment, Korean entertainment turned to Europe and the United States, making use of the film and television industrialization and outstanding talents nurtured by Tokyo University!

Along the way, whether it was the hell road of the flower bouquet or the confrontation with the booming Huayi, Li Mingyang had a clear way of playing.

With the help of Huace boss Zhao who stabbed them in the back, they won quite easily.

Any tree that is beautiful in the forest will be destroyed by the wind!

The directing department of Beijing Film Academy and Hollywood are both scams.

As for the overseas expansion of culture, Li Mingyang went against it directly and targeted Yinghuang Film and Television Cultural Village. He hit it three times and finally ruined it.

It was very tortuous and difficult, and Li Mingyang himself didn’t know how many people he had offended.

The most dangerous box office battle last year.

Li Mingyang joined the game himself, used traffic and fans, fought against piracy, hit the sinking market, used ticket subsidy software to influence the situation, killed people and broke their hearts, and won the first annual championship in his life.

It’s a bit embarrassing.

But as long as you are not embarrassed, it is others who are embarrassed.

The winner takes all!
However, iQiyi and Penguin Video are eyeing us with evil intentions, and their development speed is beyond imagination.

And copy his operation…

Whatever he buys, the other party buys…it’s so annoying.

It’s better to fight in the country!
The ban on Korean culture only prohibits Korean wave from coming to China, and does not mean that Dongda Capital will leave Korean entertainment.

In fact, Dongda Capital, led by BAT, has never withdrawn from Korean entertainment…

Always trying to bring Korean entertainment back…

I can’t wait any longer. I can’t just keep developing in a vain way!

Hit! Hit now!

If we don’t drive them away, there will be no more fighting in the future!

……

(End of this chapter)