The gambling agreement was already very common in the later generations, but in 1997, it was naturally an advanced concept of a business agreement.
Mango TV's Director Chen had never even heard of this term, let alone understand it.
This was the first time the eldest girl had boarded the sedan chair.
"This…"
Director Chen was a little troubled. He hesitated and said," Mr. Su, gambling is illegal in the country.”
Ian almost burst out laughing.
He quickly waved his hand and said," A gambling agreement is actually a kind of business contract. Through the different expectations of the uncertain future interests of both parties, they agree on the distribution model of equity and profits. Gambling is just a verbal adjective. It is essentially a business contract. It does not mean that I want to gamble with Mango TV.”
"Oh."
Chief Chen nodded in confusion.
After listening to the gist of it, he seemed to understand it, but he still felt confused.
Ian explained in detail,"Actually, it's very simple. I'll let Mango TV broadcast 'My Own Swordsman' and Mango TV will fulfill the requirement of broadcasting this drama at prime time at 8 PM. This is the prerequisite of the agreement.”
"After that, we will decide on the profit I can earn based on the viewership ratings.”
" 1: If the viewership ratings of 'My Own Swordsman' does not exceed the Central TV series at the same time slot, I will not accept a single cent. I will treat 'My Own Swordsman' as a free gift to Mango TV.”
"2. But if the viewership ratings of My Own Swordsman reach or even surpass Central TV. Assuming that the viewership rating of Central TV's TV series at the same time slot is 5%, and My Own Swordsman reaches 5%, I'll charge the benchmark of 5000 yuan per episode. 10%, 10,000 per episode; 15%, 20,000 per episode; If it reached 20%, it would be 30,000 per episode…If it exceeded 25%, it would be fixed at 50,000 per episode.”
"If it exceeds 50%, it will increase to 100,000 per episode!”
" 3: Of course, Mango TV has to be restricted to broadcast 'My Own Swordsman' at 8 PM in the prime-time slot within a month, with at least two episodes per day.”
With Ian's words, the gambling agreement became extremely simple and clear.
To put it simply, it was free at the start, but the higher the viewership ratings, the higher the price of a single episode.
Director Chen could understand this very easily.
"With a viewership rating of 25% and a maximum of 50,000 yuan per episode, it's not considered expensive.”
Chief Chen calculated in his heart.
If it was five or six years ago, he would never have accepted this bet because at that time, the domestic television stations were only like Central TV. There were not even many provincial stations.
The television dramas in the country that could easily achieve 80% or 90% ratings were all released before 1994.
For example, 1987's 'Dream of the Red Chamber' had a viewership rating of 90%, 1990's 'Desire' had a viewership rating of almost 90%, and 1994's 'I Love My Family' had a viewership rating of 85%.
After that?
Even when 'Great Qing' became popular throughout the country in the first half of 1997, it had never created such terrifying viewership ratings.
Why?
Because everyone had no choice.
The audience would watch whatever the television station broadcasted.
And now?
With the addition of satellite channels, the domestic audience could watch more than 30 channels, which greatly increased the range of choices.
Following that, the viewership ratings became more rational.
Now, a TV series that was popular all over the country could reach a viewership rating of 30% to 40%. That was definitely the number one hit show of the year.
If 'My Own Swordsman' could achieve a viewership rating of more than 25%, then it would definitely be a hot drama.
The purchase price of 50,000 yuan per episode was definitely worth it!
If the viewership ratings were only on par with Central TV, 5000 RMB per episode would be a guaranteed profit.
In the late 1990s, Central TV's 8 PM prime time slot was still the absolute guarantee of viewership ratings. It would not be easy for My Own Swordsman to defeat it.
High probability.
It was Mango TV who got a drama for free and didn't have to pay a single cent.
As for the viewership ratings exceeding 50%?
That would be a joke.
And if they could really get this number, then it wouldn't matter even if they paid 100,000 yuan for an episode…
Chief Chen was a little tempted.
With that in mind, it seemed that regardless of whether or not Martial Arts Legend could take down Central TV, Mango TV would definitely make a profit…
If he didn't agree to such a good thing, he would be a fool!
"No problem! Sign the contract immediately!"
Director Chen made the final decision and signed the gambling agreement with Ian.
"Alright, happy cooperation."
Ian smiled.
The two of them held hands…
After signing the contract with Mango TV and handing over the first 20 episodes to Mango TV, Ian left Hunan Province. He still had to go back to the production team and quickly finish filming the remaining 60 episodes.
However, this trip to Xiang Province was much smoother than expected.
Of course, Zuo Xiaoqing's introduction was just a small interlude that saved Ian time. What really moved Mango TV was the gambling agreement Ian took out.
In this day and age, who dared to say that their drama could beat Central TV's 8 PM primetime slot?
At the very least, Mango TV didn't have the confidence to do so.
Even Mango TV, which had been very good at introducing TV and Korean dramas in the next 20 years and was riding on the evil trend of the Korean wave sweeping across Asia in the next 20 years, did not dare to imagine this scene in 1997.
However, Ian's confidence came from the confidence of 'My Own Sword'.
In 2006, Martial Arts Legend was the current viewership champion. Children on the streets were shouting " Sunflower Acupoint Pressing Hand "," Mountain-toppling Power ", and " I'll kill you with one slap!"”。
Its highest viewership ratings had once exceeded 10%.
That was 10% of 2006!
At that time, even computers and the internet were commonplace. A TV series that could reach 5% of the viewership ratings was already considered a hit…
In 1997, it would not be a problem for them to easily increase their profits by several times.
Moreover…
Su Ye also knew that it was not only 1994 that had dominated the screen. The last television series to dominate the screen in the mainland was actually 'Water Margins' in 1998.
Its viewership rating was 78%.
In other words…
In 1997 and 1998, domestic television dramas had a chance to achieve a viewership rating of more than 50%.
This was also the final window.
……
"He really sold it?"
A few days later, the news reached Big Boss Wang and the others.
Feng Pants nodded and said," It shouldn't be fake. The contract has been signed. It's said that it will be released in a month. But don't worry, everyone. Do you know how much he sold it to Mango TV for an episode?”
The surrounding people immediately perked up their ears.
"It's free!"
Feng Pants couldn't help but burst into laughter." This is the first time I've seen such an iron fool. Guess what? This kid had made a bet with Mango TV. If the viewership ratings could not compare to Central TV's TV series at the same time slot, he would give it away for free!”
Hmm…
"Puchi!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"This kid is doing charity.”
"The viewership ratings are even higher than Central TV's? You're talking nonsense in your dreams!"
"I'll definitely lose my underwear!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。