1novels Chapter 51, "White Night," is now available online.
Chapter 51, "White Night," is now available online.
"Hmm," the station manager nodded, tapping the report with his finger.
"However, I heard some news that several video websites that cooperate with 'Tongfan Pictures', especially Tencent Video, have obtained the simultaneous broadcasting rights for 'White Night'. Although they are a few hours later than us, their members can watch multiple episodes at once, and even... it is possible that they will launch an 'early access' mode."
Fan Jin's heart skipped a beat; this was indeed the biggest threat the television station was currently facing.
The more flexible scheduling methods of video websites are clearly more suited to the lifestyles and work habits of today's young people.
The station director leaned forward and lowered his voice: "We can't be passive. My idea is that, starting tomorrow, 'Day and Night' will be broadcast three episodes a day instead of two. We need to speed up the broadcast pace and get ahead of those 'tricks' from the websites, firmly locking viewers onto our station!"
He Ming was startled upon hearing this.
"Three episodes a day? Director, this... this is a bit against the rules, isn't it? The prime-time drama slot usually airs two episodes back-to-back. Adding an extra episode at the last minute will disrupt the entire evening programming schedule, the contract will have to be renegotiated, and it will consume the drama itself too quickly. We're afraid the follow-up won't be able to keep up."
"rule?"
The station director interrupted him, letting out a cold snort.
"They're the ones who broke the rules. We all agreed on a simultaneous release, so what's with this 'members get early access' thing? Since they've already done this once, they can't blame us for doing it again."
"Let the editorial department figure out the scheduling issues. The GG (Gross Broadcast) contract can be handled as a special case; the extra GG slots can be sold at a premium! As for the show's consumption... it's over, but the buzz is still there. Rebroadcast rights, second runs, and even developing derivative value are all things to consider later! Right now, the most important thing is to strike while the iron is hot and push the ratings and buzz to their highest possible level!"
Seeing Fan Jin's hesitant expression, he softened his tone.
"Fan Jin, I know you have concerns. But the station is determined this time. You did a great job bringing in 'White Night.' Now, doing this well will be an even greater achievement! The station's leaders and I will remember that."
Fan Jin opened her mouth, but ultimately swallowed back the words that were about to come out.
"Yes, Director. I understand. I will contact Tongfan Film Industry immediately and arrange internal adjustments."
Fan Jin stood up, accepted the order, and left.
Stepping out of the station director's office, He Ming let out a long sigh. The excitement had faded, replaced by a complex mix of emotions.
Of course, he hoped that "White Nights" would be good and that it would be a success.
But is this kind of "draining the pond to catch all the fish" approach to broadcasting really a good thing for this meticulously produced work and for cultivating audience loyalty? He doesn't know.
All he knew was that, under the invisible hand of the giant, the television station was turning around in a somewhat clumsy and hasty manner.
......
A female dormitory at a media college
The room was filled with a subtle, deliberately suppressed atmosphere of excitement.
When Zhou Yuan pushed open the door, this was the scene she saw:
Her three roommates were twisted together in some kind of difficult position, their heads almost buried in the same laptop screen, and they didn't even notice her coming in immediately.
It wasn't until she put down her backpack a little louder that her roommate Jiajia, who was closest to the door, suddenly woke up, hurriedly slamming her hand on the space bar and then slamming her laptop screen shut.
"Yuanyuan, you're back!" Jiajia turned around, a slightly stiff fake smile on her face.
The other two quickly struck the standard pose of "we're busy but we're doing nothing," one frantically rubbing his nails, and the other pretending to have developed an unprecedented interest in the class schedule on the wall.
Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow and threw her schoolbag onto her chair: "What's going on here? Watching a porn movie? Hiding like that."
"No way!" my roommate, who was rubbing her nails, immediately retorted, her tone righteous and stern.
"We're conducting a serious academic observation! A, uh, a Korean drama with profound social critique! Yes, a Korean drama! Extremely melodramatic, extremely critical!"
"Korean dramas?" Zhou Yuan drawled, walking over and reaching to lift the laptop lid.
"A critical Korean drama? Let me see how critical it is—is it 'The Moon Embracing the Sun' or 'My Husband Got a Family'?"
"No!" Jiajia hugged the laptop tightly, like a mother hen protecting her chicks. "I just... I just finished watching it! It got stuck at the end! I was feeling sad, I can't let you interrupt my emotions!"
Just then, the laptop that was being held so tightly, probably unable to withstand the rough treatment, stubbornly and intermittently let out a little sound from its vents:
Male voice A, a bit roguish: "You dare go to the branch office alone? Aren't you afraid you won't make it back before dark?"
Male voice B, chillingly: "...If you're going to live a normal life, walk the path of humanity; if you encounter ghosts, walk the path of ghosts. It's time for me to tread the path of the night."
......
Although it was blurry, I could still make out the voice and the lines...
The dormitory fell into a deathly silence.
Zhou Yuan's hand froze in mid-air. Looking at Jiajia's face, which had instantly turned to stone, and then at her other two roommates whose eyes were darting around and who wished they could become wallflowers, she could easily understand what was going on.
Jiajia's face flushed red and then turned pale. "Yuanyuan, let me explain... oh no, I mean, I want to clarify!"
"We're examining current popular culture products with a critical eye! Yes! We're looking at what's so special about Qi Yue's stuff that's popular! We wouldn't watch a male chauvinist director's film! We're still on your side! I wouldn't even want to watch it for free!"
These words were spoken with conviction, but it seemed even the heavens couldn't bear to watch such clumsy acting and had to expose it on the spot—
"Ding-dong!"
Jiajia's phone, which was on the table, lit up, and a prominent notification popped up:
[Dear Tencent Video VIP members! The latest two episodes of "Day and Night" have been released, and members can watch them in advance! Click to go directly to the climax!]
Zhou Yuan knew very well that Jiajia was the most frugal one in the dormitory, and she would fuss over her ten yuan phone bill every month.
She actually subscribed to a membership?!
"I... um..." Jiajia stammered, her fingers almost digging a hole in the phone case.
"Newcomer perk! Only 9.9 yuan a month! It's practically free! I thought I might as well open an account... But I absolutely didn't watch 'White Night'! I opened it to watch the HD remake of 'SpongeBob SquarePants'! Really! I swear!"
SpongeBob SquarePants HD remake... This reason was so bizarre that Zhou Yuan almost lost her composure.
However, at that moment, the dormitory door was suddenly kicked open with a loud bang.
The girl from the next dorm burst in, holding up her phone in a flurry:
"Jiajia! Help! The link to the complete 'White Night' series that you sent me this morning is broken! I just saw Guan Hongfeng squatting there looking at the footprints, and the killer was about to appear, but then it disappeared! I'm so anxious! Quick! Send it to me again!"
After she finished yelling, she realized that the atmosphere in the dormitory was strange.
Jiajia's face was ashen, and her two roommates kept winking and gesturing at her, their facial muscles almost twitching.
Zhou Yuan was looking at her with a half-smile, a look that sent a chill down the girl's spine.
"Uh... I... I suddenly remembered that I still have water boiling in my kettle!"
The girl's expression changed instantly. She gave a dry laugh and then, with lightning speed, floated backward out of the door, leaving a mess on the floor.
"Uh...we're going to wash up!" The other two roommates shrank back and quickly disappeared.
"Yuanyuan, if you don't like this, I can cancel my membership."
Zhou Yuan suddenly felt a little tired, not from anger, but from a deep sense of powerlessness and... a sense of absurdity.
"Forget it, I won't give you a refund even if I do."
She suddenly realized that some things might not be as she had once firmly believed.
The director named Qi Yue's films seem to possess a kind of magic that she is unwilling to admit but cannot ignore, quietly changing many people, including those around her, and perhaps even shaking some of her own deep-rooted ideas.
This feeling was more upsetting to her than simply being slapped in the face.