Chapter 265 Good News from Hong Kong
Since the market in Hong Kong is small, these groups were brought to RB, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, South Korea and the Mainland for development.

They release albums, hold concerts, take part in announcements, and perform there. In short, the purpose is to earn foreign exchange, not to kill each other in Hong Kong.

Early July.

Several distinguished guests arrived in the ATV conference room - the management of NBC from the United States. NBC is the abbreviation of National Broadcasting Company, one of the three major commercial radio and television companies in the United States (the other two are CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting Company, and ABC, the American Broadcasting Corporation).

Headquartered in New York and founded in 1926, it is the oldest and most powerful commercial radio and television company in the United States.

Liu Zhicheng extended his hand enthusiastically and said to a middle-aged white elite: "Welcome Mr. Andrew and his party to Hong Kong!"

Andrew also stretched out his right hand. There was no arrogance in his eyes (NBC has hundreds of millions of viewers after all). Instead, he was quite respectful to Liu Zhicheng.

"Mr. Liu, you are a legendary businessman and a media tycoon in Asia!"

The management of ATV suddenly felt proud and honored. What Andrew said was true. The boss was the media tycoon in Asia.

Who would have thought that the copyright of ATV's "How to Tell a Millionaire" was successively purchased by ABC in the United States, British Broadcasting Corporation, Singapore, Taiwan, and Australia, with a total copyright fee of 3200 million US dollars.

And now, the beautiful country NBC has set its sights on "The Voice of China" and has come to discuss the purchase of the copyright.

In the past two years, NBC's competitor ABC has made huge profits thanks to "Who's a Millionaire?", earning nearly a million dollars in advertising fees for one episode.

ABC in the United States even claimed that "Who's a Millionaire?" was the most profitable TV show in its history.

In this case, how could NBC not feel heartbroken? Why didn’t it purchase the copyright itself?

Just when NBC was feeling heartbroken, they noticed that small Hong Kong, Asia Television, was producing another classic program.

The TV station even publicly declared that this was the world's first 'reality talent show' program, covering talent shows for Chinese people around the world.

Liu Zhicheng said modestly: "You are too kind. It is all the result of the efforts of all our colleagues! We work together to produce excellent programs and dedicate them to the audience who have always supported us.

As human beings have developed to this day, material life has been basically satisfied, but spiritual life has always been very scarce, so we are just bringing some spiritual food to our audience, that's all! "

For a moment, everyone in the conference room was stunned. Aren’t they all on the same level? What this person said was too lofty!
"This further proves that Asia Television is putting its heart into making programs, which is worth learning from!" Andrew said admiringly.

He really admired it, so when he came to Hong Kong this time, he specially visited Asia Television. An industrial building that could not be any smaller could produce two world-class programs.

Not only that, although it is only a city TV station with a population of 600 million, it has 2000 million viewers, and the programs it produces have influenced the entire Chinese community.

After some polite exchanges, everyone sat in the conference room.

Andrew couldn't wait to say, "Mr. Liu, we at NBC want to buy the copyright of The Voice of China!"

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "Of course, we are very happy that the beautiful Chinese can also realize their dreams of becoming singers through "The Voice of Beautiful Country".

This is a spiritual transmission. People who have dreams should pursue them bravely! The values ​​of this program are so simple. "

Everyone once again admired Liu Zhicheng's conversation, and the program was endowed with spirit and values.

Andrew said: "Thanks to Mr. Liu for his support, we are willing to pay 1200 million US dollars to purchase its copyright!"

After saying this, he showed a hint of pride, as if to say, we are much more generous than those bastards from ABC!
Liu Zhicheng smiled and shook his head, which made Andrew feel depressed instantly. He thought to himself, could it be that this guy wanted to offer 1500 million US dollars?

"No, you underestimate the value of dreams. I plan to sell you the copyright for 3200 million US dollars!"

For a moment, several beautiful Chinese people were stunned!

Andrew roared in his heart, where was your righteousness and gentlemanly demeanor just now! How come you are asking for too much now?
"Mr. Liu, are you kidding? 'The Voice of China' is not worth that much money?" Andrew said uncalmly.

Liu Zhicheng said calmly: "It is absolutely worth it! For NBC, buying it will help them defeat ABC.

For ABC, if they buy it, they can dominate the ratings in the United States and earn another $1 million a year! For CBS, they also want to become the next ABC. "

One of Andrew's colleagues said, "Mr. Liu, if you want to raise the price on our three TV stations, aren't you afraid that we will unite and refuse to buy?"

Liu Zhicheng shook his head and said, "I am a businessman and I know this is impossible. In the face of interests, I will not unite with my competitors and give up this interest.

You have to know that this is the world's first 'reality talent show'. There are so many people with dreams in the United States, maybe as many as millions!

It is said that the topic it has aroused will exceed that of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Moreover, the quality of this program is higher than that of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". I believe that the competition between students and the interaction between teachers and students is worth 3200 million.

By the way, when I sold "How to Be a Millionaire" to ABC, I deliberately sold it for only US$800 million because I felt that ATV needed to prove its ability to produce programs in the United States.

Now we have proven that nature will not sell copyrights at a low price anymore! We have many options! "

For a moment, everyone at NBC was stunned. Are there such shrewd businessmen in the world?
They think it makes sense, and now ABC has tasted the sweetness, so they won't mind paying another $3200 million to buy the copyright. In this way, ABC can continue to dominate the ratings (in the same period).

Andrew hesitated for a long time before saying, “This price is too high. Can Mr. Lin lower it a little bit?”

Liu Zhicheng also thought about it, and said after a moment: "3000 million US dollars, we will also send a team to assist you!

Also, I can promise that after you revise the copyright of this program, it will definitely be comparable to How to Get a Millionaire in the United States."

What a joke, this program was originally produced in the Netherlands, and was later purchased by the United States, France, Germany, South Korea, China and other countries.

As soon as its "The Voice of Beautiful Country" was broadcast, it immediately became the biggest competitor of "Beautiful Country Idol".

Good products are easy to sell. Even if NBC doesn’t buy it, ABC and CBS will soon!
The key point is that after selling the copyright of "The Voice of China", ATV's "Chinese Idol" will start again next year, and the Americans can make a lot of money again.

The two audition models are different, and you can’t blame ATV!
Gradually, European and American TV stations developed the habit of buying, buying, and buying, and no longer spent time researching new programs.

As for ATV, since they have the bug of Liu Zhicheng, they do not need to research new programmes, but they need to refine the content of the programmes according to Lin Zuhui’s outline.

"Mr. Liu, I need to discuss this with the headquarters!" Andrei said deliberately in a disappointed tone.

Liu Zhicheng refused to listen and said, "Please go ahead! Mr. Andrew, you can also take a look at the beautiful scenery of the Xiangjiang River!"

"Thank you!"

After Andrew and his party left, Liu Zhicheng smiled and said to his men: "Within three days, this group of people will have to pay us!

Of course, I originally planned to ask for 2800 million US dollars, and if I can bargain with them, I will reduce the price by another 200 million US dollars!"

Chow Liang Suk-yee analyzed: "It is said that ABC in the United States earned more than 6000 million US dollars a year from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire".

Not only that, generally speaking, the ratings of a program will drive the ratings of programs in the period before and after, and even drive the ratings of the entire TV station."

Many people echoed this view. Currently, under the powerful offensive of ATV, ATV's regular ratings account for 70%, while TVB only accounts for 30%.

If this continues, wireless will probably be in real decline!
Liu Zhicheng asked, "How is the preparation for the "Chinese Idol" project going?"

Zhou Liang Shuyi immediately said: "The team has been formed and is in preparation. There is still a lot of work to be done!"

Liu Zhicheng thought for a moment and said, "Hold a meeting with this team later and let's discuss it together!"

Zhou Liang Shuyi immediately became happy. She knew that Liu Zhicheng had many ideas, and the outline might actually be in the boss' mind.

"Okay!" Liu Zhicheng continued, "The company will hire some more educated and intelligent people. In the future, we will produce specialized programs and sell them wholesale to the world.

How much money can be made from Hong Kong? With a market of 600 million people, I will not even consider acquiring ATV!"

Everyone gave Liu Zhicheng full marks for being such a pretentious guy!
Chow Liang Suk-yee said, "Recruit another 100 people?"

Liu Zhicheng thought for a while and said, "Okay, reserve more talents, they will be needed sooner or later!"

After "Chinese Idol" starts airing next summer, Liu Zhicheng plans to prepare for "China's Got Talent" (to be aired in 1993) and "Into the Wild" in 1994.

One quality show a year! These shows actually only appear seven or eight years in advance!
After plagiarizing European and American variety shows, Korean variety shows cannot be let off!
ATV will not only have four channels, but will soon add new channels and may even form a satellite TV network in the future.

A day later, the Americans gave in. After a little bargaining, ATV sold the copyright of "The Voice of China" to NBC in the United States for US$2800 million and sent a team to assist.

ATV has already held "The Voice of China" for three sessions. The reason why people are only talking about it now is because its influence has never been enough.

This year, the scope of selection was expanded to the global level and the competition was broadcast simultaneously via satellite TV, which attracted the attention of television stations around the world.

The American NBC TV station was anxious to catch up with the ratings of the American ABC TV station, and was "blackmailed" by Liu Zhicheng.

Moreover, due to the price increase of NBC in the United States, the prices of ATV's future programs will increase accordingly.

Perhaps because of this, NBC TV in the United States will be criticized by its peers around the world for disrupting the market.

"Mr. Liu, it's a pleasure working with you!" Andrew seemed very happy after signing the contract.

It turned out that the NBC headquarters in the United States was also anxious to turn things around, so the top brass asked Andrew, without much hesitation, to acquire the copyright of "The Voice of China" as soon as possible to prevent it from being resold by ATV to ABC TV in the United States.

Liu Zhicheng smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to work with you. This is definitely a win-win situation! I bet that the ratings of NBC's "The Voice of America" ​​next year will become the biggest competitor of "Who's a Millionaire". If this effect doesn't come, Mr. Andrew, just come to me!"

Andrew smiled and said: "We are also very confident, so we are willing to spend a good price to buy the copyright of "The Voice of China"!"

Happy to everyone!

When ATV announced that it had sold the copyright of "The Voice of China" to NBC in the United States for US$2800 million, the whole of Hong Kong was in an uproar!
It’s incredible that when did the Chinese become cultural exporters?

For a time, Hong Kong citizens gave Liu Zhicheng rave reviews, believing that this would greatly boost the morale of the Chinese people!

TVB.

Uncle Shao put down the newspaper helplessly. He felt that the future of TVB seemed extremely bad.

While TVB was still focusing on Hong Kong, ATV had already completed its global layout.

Even European and American TV stations are competing to buy the copyrights of ATV's programs. It has now earned US$6000 million, or HK$5 million, which is TVB's net profit for two years.

Moreover, it is obvious that subsequent copyright income will continue to flow in. It is said that ATV is still producing new programs, which is very ambitious.

ATV's music began to develop the 'Hong Kong Wave' as early as two years ago. Its subsidiary YG Entertainment has launched Lee Jung-hyun and T in succession, both of which have achieved results comparable to those of the Little Tigers in a short period of time.

More importantly, YG Entertainment is unique and is known as the "founder" and has become the real "Hong Kong Wave".

ATV's dramas, such as "Justice Bao", "Legend of White Snake" and "The Greed of Man", are all excellent works, and their copyrights have also been sold in the Chinese regions, bringing in considerable profits.

Not to mention, the number of viewers of ATV's Asia Satellite TV is increasing day by day, and its advertising revenue exceeds that of ATV and TVB, making it a goose that lays golden eggs.

Uncle Shao also heard that Liu Zhicheng now often goes to ATV, and seems to be planning to "do something big", which shows that there will be more good shows to come from others.

I felt powerless, a feeling I had never felt before. It was as if we were not in the same league.

TV dramas can still follow the trend. TVB also produced the TV series "Justice Bao". For a while, citizens joked that "every day when I turn on the TV, I see Bao Heitan". The family fashion dramas of the two stations are indistinguishable from each other and are equally popular with the audience.

However, "The Legend of the New White Snake" is really impossible to imitate. Everyone just likes to watch Zhao Yazhi. Now Zhao Yazhi is firmly grasped by ATV and has excellent conditions.

In terms of music, TVB has also recently been studying YG Entertainment, and is planning to follow suit to create the "Hong Kong Wave". However, TVB does not plan to train trainees for several years, and plans to launch them in half a year at most. Of course, the original members must have a foundation.

It seems that the biggest gap is still the international programs, as TVB cannot develop even one.

"I'm getting old, I'm getting old. The young are really something to behold!" Uncle Shao could only sigh in the end.

This is a sign of giving up!
To be honest, all the wealthy businessmen in Hong Kong admire Liu Zhicheng. He is successful in everything he does and can do everything "not limited to Hong Kong."

At such a young age, he was able to propose "Hong Kong culture to revitalize Hong Kong" and to propose a plan for Hong Kong as a "Chinese Governor". The important thing is that others seem to be able to do it.

…………

In August, the Hong Kong government announced seven measures to combat property speculation, including requiring a temporary deposit of 5% of the property price, limiting each person to only one registration and purchasing one unit when registering a property, prohibiting the use of authorization letters for registration, and setting up a lottery procedure for selecting properties.

After the measures were issued, although the property sales process has improved, speculation has not been significantly suppressed and property prices continue to rise sharply.

In Liu Zhicheng's opinion, the Hong Kong government is 30% responsible for the rising property prices in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong government always auctions government land during the peak period of real estate, which attracts real estate developers to compete in bidding and eventually drives up the price to a sky-high level, thus driving up the entire market.

Another 40% of the credit is due to the "prevalence of speculation" in Hong Kong. With everyone speculating in real estate, the real estate developers are naturally happy, so it would be strange if house prices did not rise.

The remaining 30% of the work is done by real estate developers. As a real estate developer, Liu Zhicheng is well aware of the "cunning" of real estate developers.

Hong Kong is short of hundreds of thousands of housing units, but real estate developers will not step up their efforts to supply them.

For example, the Whampoa Group, which owns a large amount of land reserves, has supplied less residential space this year than before, at only around 260 million square feet (about 4000 residential units).

This is called having the land but not building it, and having the building but not selling it!
After all, the average residential price is over HK$2500, so supplying 260 million square feet is equivalent to sales of over HK$65 billion, and the net profit from real estate development alone is over HK$35 billion (the high profit is because the land was purchased at a low price).

Therefore, real estate developers will not increase the supply too much, not because they do not want to make more money, but because they are making long-term plans!
Friday, September 8st.

In Liu Zhicheng's office, Hao Qingwen, Han Chunxi and several other senior executives were having a small meeting with their boss on the sofa.

"When will the term of the Financial Secretary end?" Liu Zhicheng suddenly asked an 'off-topic' question.

The three of them looked at each other, seemingly not paying attention to this question. Han Chunxi said uncertainly: "It seems to be November!"

Liu Zhicheng did not blame them, but said: "Remember to ask around, I seem to remember it was in November!

As the saying goes, a new official has three things to do when he takes office. The first thing the new Financial Secretary may do is to crack down on property speculation! There is no need for the property market to fall, just be cautious. "

The two nodded. This made perfect sense. The crackdown had already been launched in August, but it was clearly not strong enough!
There have been many critical voices in Hong Kong regarding the current housing prices.

Of course, most people in Hong Kong still hope that house prices will increase, and Liu Zhicheng knows this!
Hao Qingwen said tentatively: "Boss, what you mean is that some units in Huijing Garden will be sold before the new Financial Secretary is appointed?"

Liu Zhicheng nodded and said, "Yes, but it's best not to do it too early. A week in advance is enough! In October, 3200 Hong Kong dollars per square foot should be no problem. You should calculate the time carefully and don't run into the gun of the Financial Secretary, although we are not afraid of him!"

.........

(End of this chapter)