69novels Chapter 34: A Ruthless Crush, a Crushing Blow to TVB!
Chapter 34: A Ruthless Crush, a Crushing Blow to TVB!
Gu Yuhan was the first in Hong Kong to install central air conditioning in all his cinemas. Golden Harvest quickly followed suit, but Shaw Brothers never took it seriously. Subsequently, major newspapers and magazines unanimously bestowed upon Shaw Brothers a highly ironic title: "Outdated, dilapidated cinemas, terrible viewing experience." Bang!
Looking at the harsh and sarcastic reports in the media, Shao Yifu felt a surge of blood rush to his head, and he almost spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot. He was filled with an indescribable sense of frustration and anger. He couldn't understand how things had developed to such an uncontrollable point.
Impressions are very important. Once the public forms the fixed impression that Shaw Brothers' cinemas are terrible and their movies are bad, then the vast majority of viewers will choose Golden Princess Cinemas and Golden Harvest Cinemas without hesitation when they go to the cinema.
For the first time, Shaw Brothers entertained the idea of completely abandoning the film market. He racked his brains but couldn't come up with any way to defeat his terrifyingly young rival, Gu Yuhan, in this commercial showdown. This was unavoidable; Shaw Brothers' biggest problem was its excessively large and bloated organization, becoming unwieldy and difficult to manage. Theater operations, film production, and artist management were all concentrated within Shaw Brothers, creating a closed, independent kingdom. There was no competition between departments; it was entirely up to the veteran directors at Shaw Brothers to make whatever they wanted.
In comparison, Gu Yuhan also has a full industry chain layout with a business scope that covers everything.
However, he split the company into several independently operating subsidiaries early on. He not only did not exclude any cooperation with external companies, but also required each department of his own company to compete fairly with external companies.
In this way, the entire company, from top to bottom, is filled with a sense of crisis and vitality, which means it has extremely strong internal competitiveness.
Tseung Kwan O, the headquarters building of Bright Film Productions.
"The 36th Chamber of Shaolin is a complete flop!" Zhou Jun said through gritted teeth, his excitement barely concealed. He strode to Gu Yuhan's desk and exclaimed, "Boss, I think Shaw Brothers really can't hold on this time. They've already been losing money for more than half a year. Young Master Yu, I just got confirmation from inside that Shaw Brothers has completely halted all film projects in preparation and production. It seems they're preparing to concentrate all their efforts on television dramas!!"
"How is your leg recovering?" Gu Yuhan looked up at Zhou Jun and asked.
"Thank you for your concern, Young Master Yu. I can now walk with difficulty, but I still need to use crutches!" Zhou Jun quickly suppressed his excitement and said respectfully.
"That's good!" Gu Yuhan nodded slightly, a faint smile on his face, and slowly asked, "How have you been doing with the actors from TVB lately?"
"We've already contacted them all!" Zhou Jun said. "However, quite a few artists are still unsure, worried that they won't have any roles after switching to us, so they want to continue to observe the situation!"
"Then don't rush!" Gu Yuhan picked up the teacup on the table, took a small sip, and said slowly, "It wouldn't hurt to observe first. Once our TV program airs, they'll naturally understand how to choose. Shaw Brothers won't last much longer!"
The people in the office chatted casually for a few more minutes.
Su Rongrong gently knocked on the office door, then pushed it open and walked in: "Boss!" "What is it?" Gu Yuhan put down his teacup and looked at Su Rongrong.
Su Rongrong said, "The latest box office data just came from the theaters, would you like to take a look?" "Sure!" Gu Yuhan's face lit up with an expectant smile, and he quickly asked, "How's it going?"
"Currently, 'Drunken Master' has surpassed the 15 million mark at the box office. Additionally, 'Happy Ghost 2' has grossed 14.03 million, and 'Uncle Zombie' has grossed 14.2 million!"
Su Rongrong replied quickly, "This is the latest box office data up to last night. However, based on the current growth rate, I think it can at least break 20 million, or even 25 million. Currently, the box office growth of 'Happy Ghost 2' and 'Mr. Zombie' has started to slowly decline, while 'Drunken Master' has great staying power!"
"These things are best left to the professionals in the theater industry to decide; I don't need to worry about them!" Gu Yuhan smiled, then asked, "Is there anything else?"
Su Rongrong said, "Furthermore, we've received news that Shaw Brothers recently underwent a large-scale personnel reshuffle, transferring most of its film actors to TVB!" Gu Yuhan, upon hearing this, smiled knowingly and said, "It seems Shaw Brothers is truly at its wit's end and wants to completely abandon the film market to fully enter the television industry!"
Su Rongrong nodded in agreement, and Gu Yuhan continued, "How's it going with Huang Xizhao? When will our 'The Voice of Asia' start airing?"
Su Rongrong said, "Director Huang said it will be within the next two days!"
"Alright, then it'll be these next two days!" A sharp glint flashed in Gu Yuhan's eyes as he smiled. "The defeat in the film industry is nothing; I'll make Shaw Brothers suffer a crushing defeat in their most prized field, television drama!"
At this point, Gu Yuhan turned to Zhou Jun beside her: "By the way, those people I asked you to contact before—Zhao Yazhi, Zheng Qiuguan, Chow Yun-fat, and Ray Lui—you need to put in a bit more effort with them!"
"No problem!" Zhou Jun immediately straightened his back and said decisively, "Young Master Yu, you can rest assured!"
TVB, Clearwater Bay TV City. So upsetting!
This was Shaw Brothers' truest feeling at that moment: the Shaw Brothers film empire he had painstakingly built over decades in the past six months had suddenly vanished.
It seemed that overnight, Hong Kong audiences' film tastes underwent a dramatic transformation. Every viewer's aesthetic standards and expectations for films had risen. Shaw Brothers felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness; he began to struggle to understand the current film market, and his own golden age seemed to have passed.
"Sixth Uncle!" Fang Yihua stood quietly beside Shaw, gently massaging his stiff shoulders with both hands: "We still have a way out. If TVB is managed well, I think it will definitely not be bad!"
Shaw sat there silently without saying a word.
Fang Yihua spoke up again, "Sixth Uncle, televisions are selling very well right now. Every household is buying one, and many people are gathering together to watch TV. Don't worry, everything will be fine, it'll definitely be fine!"
"Stop talking!" Shao Yifu sighed deeply and slowly said, "I know, I know everything, so please don't say anything!"
Seeing this, Fang Yihua didn't say anything more, but simply said softly, "Get some rest!"
Just then, Shaw's secretary rushed in, looking flustered. "Boss! Something bad has happened!" Shaw frowned, somewhat impatiently asking, "What is it?" The secretary took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and quickly said, "Just now, RTV suddenly held a press conference, announcing that all equity transfer procedures have been completed. RTV now belongs to Gu Yuhan, who has renamed it Phoenix TV. Starting tonight, it will officially broadcast newly produced television programs!"
"What?!" Shaw Yifu jumped up from his chair, his face filled with shock. He was now somewhat suffering from Gu Yuhan's PTSD. Just hearing that name sent chills down his spine. He asked incredulously, "Gu Yuhan took over ATV?" "Yes! Absolutely!" the secretary replied quickly. A strong sense of foreboding rose in Shaw Yifu's heart. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down: "Understood!"
Fang Yihua was also somewhat worried: "Sixth Uncle, Gu Yuhan, is this guy specifically targeting TVB?" "No way, no way!" Shaw shook his head, though he said that, he wasn't sure at all. However, soon, Shaw realized that something was really wrong, because the first drama series broadcast on Phoenix TV's prime time slot was Jin Yong's classic novel "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber." Overall, the production quality was excellent, with beautiful visuals, excellent acting, and a tight plot, without any sense of shoddy production.
This is thanks to the construction and opening of the Tseung Kwan O Film City. Although Gu Yuhan still finds the sets and special effects somewhat rough and fake, they are still much better than the simple cardboard sets that TVB has used for more than ten years without replacing.
This is the prime-time TV slot from 8 PM to 10 PM.
Then, around 10 PM, after the prime-time dramas finished airing, a variety show immediately followed. "The Voice of Asia?" Shaw Yi-fu stared blankly at the program title on the TV screen. Then, he quickly realized a terrifying problem: how could "The Voice of Asia" be so good?
The entire novel selection process, the insightful comments from the four big-name mentors, and the fierce competition to recruit contestants were quite entertaining. One of the contestants seemed vaguely familiar to Shao Yifu; upon closer inspection, he realized it was Andy Lau, who had once worked as an extra at TVB. Even after the hour-and-a-half-long "The Voice of Asia" ended, Shao Yifu felt a sense of lingering enjoyment and couldn't help but wonder what the next episode would be like. At that moment, Shao Yifu felt a chill run from his feet to his head, a coldness spreading through his body. It's over, TVB is getting thoroughly thrashed!
Hong Kong currently has only two television stations: TVB and Phoenix TV. The competition between them is extremely fierce. Previously, TVB completely dominated RTV (Rediffusion Television), but now, unexpectedly, Phoenix TV, reborn from the ashes, has turned the tables and is now dominating TVB.
The TV series is Kim Yong's.
In this day and age, nothing else needs to be said; Jin Yong dramas simply represent viewership ratings.
As long as it's a Jin Yong drama, the ratings won't be too bad. However, the truly impressive thing isn't the drama itself, but rather Gu Yuhan's creation, "The Voice of Asia." There have been talent shows before, but these were limited to the Miss Hong Kong pageant.
It is the Miss Hong Kong pageant
This can be considered an annual grand event, and it has always been a guarantee of TVB's ratings. However, now, Gu Yuhan has launched a new talent show. Don't mention Miss Hong Kong to me; I want to make talent shows a regular occurrence.
The program invites celebrity mentors to provide guidance and mentorship, aiming to cultivate a group of talented and ambitious young musicians for the development of the Chinese music scene. The four mentors will select their favorite contestants through blind auditions to form teams, and then lead their teams in musical competitions both within and between teams.
This looks very fresh.
The four mentors arranged by Gu Yuhan were Lin Zixiang, Chen Baiqiang, Tan Yonglin, and Zhang Guorong. Apart from Lin Zixiang, these four were the renowned "Three Kings and One Queen," referring to the four legendary superstars of the Hong Kong music scene in the 1980s.
All three were born in the 1950s, while Anita Mui was born in 1963 and is only sixteen years old now. The "Three Kings and One Queen" basically monopolized all the music awards in Hong Kong, and their emergence propelled Hong Kong's pop music scene into its golden age.
Gu Yuhan was quite interested in having Mei Yanlao serve as a student. It was just a talent show, after all. This was much more interesting than a beauty pageant. On its first day of broadcast, the ratings reached 90%.
Jin Yong's dramas were already a guarantee of high ratings, and now, to make matters worse, there's also "The Voice of China." In an instant, Shaw Yi-fu felt a chill run down his spine.
What's even more outrageous is that Gu Yuhan went so far as to launch his own newspaper, "Guangming Daily," and let the audience vote by printing a voting area in the newspaper so that the audience could vote for their favorite singer.
This kind of interaction can greatly enhance audience engagement.
In terms of running a television station, Shaw Brothers was far superior; he was completely outmatched. Mona Fong's face turned pale, a strong sense of foreboding washing over her. If things continued to develop as Gu Yuhan had, TVB would be no match for her.
However, nothing is absolute.
In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through Fang Yihua's mind. She could create her own version of "The Voice of China," just like everyone else.
However, as it turns out, Gu Yuhan has many more tricks up her sleeve.
For example, Monday night's variety show is "The Voice of China," Tuesday's is "The Birth of an Actor," Wednesday is "Happy Camp," Thursday is "Go Fighting!", Friday is "Everyday Cooking," Saturday is "If You Are the One," and Sunday is a food program.
Then I'll pick up "The Voice" for you again on Monday.
In short, Gu Yuhan is able to make sure that no two shows are the same. Fang Yihua saw this and was about to vomit blood. He just couldn't understand how this guy could do it and create so many variety shows.
Not only that, even the news is exceptionally interesting.