Chapter 539: Advertising fees might break history! (Extra update)

"Station Master Xu, three brands—Tyson Laundry Detergent, Haishan Bibimbap Sauce, and Yuanqi Drinks—are all looking for us again, wanting to get into the advertising time for *Friends*."

Xu Senjin nodded and said: "Of course we welcome them back, but since there was a temporary withdrawal of ads in the early stages, this time they need to increase by 20% on the previous basis."

The person in charge of the advertising department standing in front of him hesitated and confirmed: "Is it an increase of 20% on the previous sponsorship fee?"

"Is there a problem?" Xu Senjin asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.

"Station Master, we had already negotiated the sponsorship fee at the top-tier price before."

"I know, but they temporarily withdrew their sponsorship before the show started," Xu Senjin said. "Now that they want to come back, of course, we can't execute it according to the previous standard; otherwise, other sponsors will follow suit, and how will we attract investment in the future?"

"Yes, but 20%... okay, I understand, I'll go talk to them."

"The peak rating of the premiere has already broken 2, and as of now, the full-network search volume for this show is ranked first in the entertainment category. How many people seeing the sponsorship of this show means—we don't need to emphasize that to them," Xu Senjin said. "The third rebroadcast at 7:30 this morning even had a rating of 0.64%."

Xu Senjin signaled that this matter was finished.

The person in charge of the advertising department left.

The secretary knocked and entered, saying: "Station Master Xu, Station Master Shen Tailin of the Beijing Station wants to make an appointment with you for this weekend to have a meal together."

Xu Senjin said: "It must be him coming to me again, wanting *Friends* to have a second round of airing on the Beijing Station."

The secretary kept smiling, waiting for Xu Senjin's instructions.

"Tomorrow night, then," Xu Senjin said. "Tomorrow night at eight, just say that's the only time I'm free."

"Okay," the secretary nodded. "There's one more thing. You asked me to remind you that the *Friends* crew will come to the station this afternoon to record *Saturday Wonderful Night*. The rehearsal time is at 3:00 PM, and the crew's arrival time is at 2:30 PM."

"Okay, everyone's dressing room is independent, right?"

"Yes, it's been made clear to them; they are all independent."

"Good, you must personally confirm the gifts prepared for them; don't let them make any mistakes."

"Okay."

Xu Senjin's phone rang.

It was a call from the station master of another TV station.

The secretary tactfully retreated and closed the office door.

Xu Senjin answered the phone.

"Station Master Wang, calling me so early on a Saturday, why not sleep in a bit more?"

Saturday morning—this should have been a leisurely morning on a day off, a time to sleep in.

However, for people at first-tier TV stations, this was destined to be a morning where they couldn't sleep lazily.

The blockbuster opening of *Friends* fired a shot into the hearts of every TV professional who felt that "TV stations are declining."

An average rating of over 1.9% and a peak of over 2%—in this era, this number is unreachable for all local stations, except for CCTV.

But *Friends* did it.

Even though everyone anticipated that with the return of Bai Jingnian and Lu Yan He, as well as the viral marketing-style launch promotion of this show, including the 24-hour exclusive window period, the launch results of this show definitely wouldn't be bad, but everyone's expectation was just breaking 1.

Breaking 1 was already a remarkable miracle.

As a result, *Friends* came in with a fierce bang.

It was too exaggerated.

How could this be?

Why, even though the third season was already so rotten and the later ratings collapsed the Beijing Station's foundation, could *Friends* directly ignore the failure of the early stages?

Has Lu Yan He's appeal reached this level?

On Saturday morning, every first-tier TV station, especially the TV drama business sector, was working overtime, analyzing the reasons behind this.

The cast?

Of course, after the first three seasons, the six actors of *Six People* have had their popularity and appeal greatly improved compared to the first season; this is indisputable.

But to say they could carry the ratings foundation?

Sorry, in this era, no actor can do that.

Could it be the promotion and marketing?

Of course, the promotion and marketing of this show can be said to be the best in recent years.

Online, offline... the omnipresent promotion means it was extremely expensive behind the scenes.

However, if such promotion could burn out a 1.96% start, any show and any TV station would be willing to burn it, because this could burn out several times the advertising revenue.

What else?

Is this show super good?

No, it can be seen from the premiere ratings of this show that one minute after the show started, the real-time ratings reached over 1.8%.

Why?

Why on earth? -

*TV Review* published an article at 9:42 AM, commenting on the premiere results of *Friends*, directly pointing out:

—I think this Saturday morning is a busy morning for first-tier TV stations that still have the ambition to fight.

—Why was *Friends* able to get such exaggerated ratings upon its premiere? This question will linger in the minds of every TV professional for some time to come.

—I must say, taking my own circle of friends as an example, there is almost no one around me who hasn't watched *Friends*. It's exaggerated, but it's indeed a fact. Over the past few years, this show has attracted everyone around me to become interested in it through various topics and discussions. Just looking at how many people cursed the third season, you know how many people watched it.

—Why exactly was *Friends* able to get an epic start? I cannot give a particularly professional and objective explanation, but allow me to make a bold guess: this is the unique charm of a sitcom.

—The biggest difference between a sitcom and other types of shows is that once you get into the story and are familiar with these characters, you actually don't need to know what each episode is about at all. You can start watching from any episode because it's not a show with a strong story or strong plot.

—And over the past three years, this group of people from *Friends* has almost become a symbol of the internet era. I don't mean that kind of grand symbol; I mean they have become a cultural symbol. We use Li Lili to describe those beautiful city girls who have a bit of a temper but no bad intentions, and we use the viewpoints, attitudes, and choices of many characters in this show to explain how many young people in our era think.

—This show spent three years shaping such a cultural context, and the news of Lu Yan He bringing everyone back to this show was a rallying cry, summoning everyone who had ever been moved by this cultural context to return.

"*TV Review* magazine is always on the front line of praising you," Li Zhibai said with some envy. "I've noticed long ago that this magazine never skimps on praise for every one of your shows, having people write drafts early and publishing them at the first opportunity to stand up for you."

Lu Yan He, who only woke up at ten, came to Li Zhibai and Yan Liang's place in his pajamas, sat on the carpet, drank oat milk, and listened to Li Zhibai read the media's evaluation of *Friends* to him.

Lu Yan He immediately said: "*TV Review* doesn't always take an encouraging and praising attitude toward my shows. Don't forget, it has the same positive evaluation for *Washed* and *White Jade Ballad* that you starred in."

Li Zhibai: "Damn, you remember that?"

"I am a loyal reader of *TV Review*. I don't have that much time to watch every show, so I can only understand the shows that are currently airing through their reports and reviews," Lu Yan He said with a smile. "I have to know the changes in the market."

Li Zhibai: "You are too exaggerated. I really doubt how much information you have to ingest into your brain every day."

Yan Liang came out of the kitchen with his water cup.

He reminded: "Yan He, we have to leave in an hour."

"Okay," Lu Yan He nodded. "I haven't asked you yet, how did your talk with Zhou Ping'an go this morning?"

"He tried to convince me to believe that even if he signed Meng Li, it wouldn't affect my work here," Yan Liang also sat down cross-legged and opened his water cup.

Li Zhibai looked into his water cup and clicked his tongue. "What are you drinking? Why does it smell like Chinese medicine?"

"I just put some medicinal herbs in it that are good for the body," Yan Liang said, a bit speechless. "You're so weak, you should drink some too."

"So, were you convinced in the end?" Lu Yan He smiled and brought the topic back.

"Of course not. I was very persistent; I must have an executive agent who can handle my work at any time," Yan Liang said. "He was a bit unhappy in the end, but he still agreed."

"Of course he had to agree. In your current situation, as long as you don't leave Star Entertainment, you can kick him out and change to another agent at any time," Li Zhibai curled his lips. "If you leave, even having Meng Li won't be of any use."

Lu Yan He asked: "But are you willing to let him arrange an executive agent for you?"

"If I don't let him arrange it, he won't easily loosen his grip. Although I can change agents, he and I both know that if I change agents at this time, I will at least be delayed for half a year by the adjustment period between me and the new agent," Yan Liang shrugged. "Especially after *Friends* became a hit again, my invitations from all sides have multiplied. It's not a good time to let a new agent take over."

Lu Yan He nodded. "Indeed."

Yan Liang said: "And, letting him arrange the executive agent, and then I myself request a new assistant and a full-time driver, makes him less wary."

"Cool, Yan Liang, you're playing mind games with him."

"If you want to peacefully grasp a little bit of your own power, you can only do it bit by bit," Yan Liang shrugged again. "I've learned a lot from Yan He."

Lu Yan He quickly waved his hands.

"I wouldn't dare. If I had such ability, why would I have been suppressed by Zhou Ping'an for so long back then?"

"You've made great progress in the last two years. Sister Ziyan taught you a lot, and I've learned a lot from following along," Yan Liang said, then looked at Li Zhibai. "Especially the part where Li Zhibai broke up with Zhou Ping'an—it made me think for a long time, because I will face this day sooner or later. How can I preserve myself as much as possible in this war without being too affected? I've been thinking about it for a long time."

Li Zhibai's reliance is his family background, which no one dares to provoke easily, and his super high popularity since he debuted, which allows him to go anywhere without being cautious.

Of course, there is another key point. Li Zhibai is not the "good student" image like Lu Yan He. From the moment he debuted, he was a "cool guy," so if you want to create some scandals like playboy, bad temper, or unprofessional work to threaten him, you can't threaten him at all, because not many people thought of him in a good way anyway.

Simply put, Li Zhibai has been an idol with a 70-point image since he debuted. If you splash dirty water on him, it won't get much dirtier.

This is what Lu Yan He envies most about Li Zhibai.

If one day he were photographed drinking or smoking (although he doesn't smoke, just an analogy), many people would definitely be shocked and say:

—You actually drink?!

—You actually smoke?!

Lu Yan He drank his oat milk in one breath and let out a satisfied burp.

"I'm going to take a shower and get ready to leave."

"Mm," Li Zhibai asked. "So you guys aren't eating lunch?"

"Didn't Yan Liang make a big pot of chicken soup?" Lu Yan He said. "I'll just drink a bowl of that. I just ate a bowl of noodles, so I can't eat much more."

Li Zhibai looked at Yan Liang in disbelief.

"You even made chicken soup? How weak are you to be doing all these miscellaneous things?"

Yan Liang: "If you want to still be in a good state at forty or fifty, you have to start paying attention to health preservation from twenty."

"Cut the crap," Li Zhibai expressed his attitude bluntly.

"We all know very well that this show will definitely create new history, so, if you want to add ads, OK, you can, but please don't joke around with the previous quotes anymore."

Zheng Huairen sat in his office, holding his phone. The autumn light flowed around him like honey, making the smile on his face look exceptionally sweet and gentle, as if it were a tempting trap.

As the exclusive online platform for *Friends*, although the first episode wouldn't go online until 8:00 PM tonight, its performance on the Yuehu Station last night was enough to prove that the market hadn't completely lost hope in this series. As long as they give the audience expectations, they are still willing to come and support this show.

So, the online title sponsorship and other sponsor positions are naturally hot commodities.

Actually, the positions that should have been sold were already sold.

But *Friends* is clearly about to become an annual hit, so brands that didn't get on the bus before naturally want to buy a ticket and get on now.

And buying a ticket—naturally, it comes at a more expensive price.

After all, those who bought tickets before were gambling, while those buying tickets now have already seen the speed of this train.

Zheng Huairen dealt with several advertisers who tried to play the emotional card, set his phone to silent, plugged it into the charger, and put it aside.

Now he needs to calm down.

Zheng Huairen picked up the data report that had just been sent over—

This report is the number of reservations for *Friends* and the real-time search count within the site.

Although the first episode hasn't even gone online yet, the real-time search count for this show has already reached the number one position on the site.

Even the click count for the trailer is growing crazily.

Obviously, these are data formed by people who want to watch *Friends* but can't see the full episode yet, so they can only click in to watch the trailer.

Actually, if you ask him, how to exert the commercial value of *Friends* isn't about new member acquisition, nor is it about advertising sponsorship during airing. If Lu Yan He and the others agreed, just do product placement. With the popularity of *Friends*, just by doing product placement, it could easily reach over 100 million for one show.

You have to know what the subject matter of *Friends* is—it's just the daily life of a group of modern urban men and women.

There are too many places where this can be placed!

Product placement revenue of over 100 million—this number is definitely not exaggerated at all.

It's just that Lu Yan He and the others have always been very resistant to this point, firmly refusing to put product placement into the content of the episodes, because they firmly disagree with using the advertising slogans requested by advertisers and inserting them into their lines.

In the current market environment, only Lu Yan He and Bai Jingnian can manage to refuse this point.

The person in charge of the advertising department knocked and entered with an excited face.

"President Zheng!" He couldn't hide his excitement at all. "Songquan Home Furnishings wants to invite the six of them from Lu Yan He to shoot a small commercial clip, to be played as a pre-roll. They said as long as this can be done, they are willing to give 100 million."

Zheng Huairen's eyelids didn't even twitch.

"Reject them."

"Reject?" The person in charge of the advertising department was stunned, in disbelief. Zheng Huairen didn't even hesitate.

"?"

"..." The person standing opposite Zheng Huairen said, "Sorry, I was too excited and didn't explain clearly. They mean the cost for the six actors to shoot this small clip is negotiated separately; the 100 million is only for our online pre-roll playback fee."

Only then did Zheng Huairen look up, his eyes emitting a bit of brilliance.

"Contact the agents of the six actors immediately," he said. "Get their quotes at the first opportunity and start negotiations with Songquan Home Furnishings. 100 million is fine, but the validity period for the pre-roll playback is only three years. After three years, we will take down this advertisement."

"Three years? Is this time a bit short?"

"Do you know that the first season of *Six People* still earned the Beijing Station more than 35 million in advertising fees last year?" Zheng Huairen said. "They calculate this economic account, and they will only calculate it more clearly than us. 100 million is a lot, but there is only one national hit of the *Friends* level."

The phone alarm went off.

Zheng Huairen immediately waved his hand, signaling that he had things to do, and told him to go handle his business first.

The person in charge of the advertising department left his office.

Zheng Huairen took a deep breath and dialed Lu Yan He's number.

"Yan He, I didn't disturb you, did I? Haha, surely the entire entertainment industry is congratulating you."

Zheng Huairen laughed very heartily.

"I haven't looked closely at how the media is praising it, but from the business side—their noses are always the most sensitive. Just after airing the first episode, this morning alone, more than a dozen brands have been scrambling to squeeze in. This is a grand occasion that Northern Lights hasn't encountered since its establishment. I must say, even *Seventeen Layers* and *My Own Swordsman* didn't encounter such an exaggerated scene. This can only mean one thing: in their eyes, this show will reach an unprecedented height."

Lu Yan He pressed his temples.

He found that he didn't know when it started, but the people around him were speaking more and more exaggeratedly.

It's always unprecedented, unbelievable, epic...

"Sponsoring *Friends* is naturally the most cost-effective thing," Lu Yan He said. "Other shows are done once they finish airing, but we all know how exaggerated the long-tail effect of this series is. I heard that the online views for the first three seasons of *Six People* started to surge again yesterday, entering the top five of Icefield Video. Placing an ad once is effective for several years."

The online broadcasting rights for the first three seasons of *Six People* are in the hands of Icefield Video.

This matter was told to Chen Ziyan by someone from Icefield Video, and Chen Ziyan then told Lu Yan He.

Zheng Huairen said: "I can only say that *Friends* is very likely to break the history of advertising revenue in the online video era."

Alright, another history is about to be broken.

Lu Yan He said: "Then I can only say, let's wait and see."

Zheng Huairen: "Don't forget our lunch tomorrow."

"Can't forget," Lu Yan He smiled helplessly. "You've already reminded me three times."