Chapter 354: Confident Tudou, Beaten Tudou

Tudou, among today's video websites, belongs to the two poles, competing with Youku for the top spot.

In fact, a few years ago, relying on earlier creation and the resource advantages of Yi'an, Tudou occupied the absolute industry number one spot.

But in the last two years, although it still maintained the lead, it had been caught up by Youku, and even surpassed by Youku in some places.

There are many reasons why the two sides are like this.

For example, Tudou insisted on diversified development, encouraged user-generated content, and built a community, which is to say, making a video version of Weibo.

This certainly gave Tudou quite a few loyal users and video masters, which was quite creative, but it made the strategy not focused enough, dispersing resources and energy.

Youku was relatively simple. From the beginning, the goal was to be a video playback platform, sparing no cost to improve user experience and technical investment to satisfy the user's viewing experience.

It can be said that under the same content, Youku's viewing experience was much stronger than Tudou's.

Even if Tudou had many exclusive resources, it couldn't withstand the frequent piracy now. Youku played various edge-ball tactics, and then relied on technical advantages to quickly attract and retain users.

Another one was financing ability. Wang Wei's performance in this regard could only be said to be qualified, and because of various reasons, he guarded against shareholders.

Looking at Youku's Boss Gu, he was from the financial investment field, had a lot of capital and connections, so he was like a fish in water in financing and had more ammunition.

Another one was copyright. Tudou had an absolute judgment error.

Success is also Yan Li, failure is also Yan Li!

Yan Li's Yi'an provided a large number of exclusive blockbuster resources. At the same time, his Yi'an, which was specifically responsible for copyright operations, contributed a huge copyright library to Tudou.

This led to Tudou's awareness and intensity in copyright competition being lower than Youku's. Often, if they felt the cost-performance ratio wasn't high, they would choose to give up.

Youku, on the other hand, because Yan Li and LeTV acquired a large amount of copyright, meant that there wasn't much copyright Youku could compete for, so the urgency and the psychological tolerance for cost were higher, and they fought desperately for copyright.

Yi'an Media's copyright was mainly old dramas and cheap mid-to-lower-level film and television, mainly to fill the library.

While the popular film and television resources led by Yi'an only occupied a part of the current market, and for the other part of the copyright, Tudou couldn't compete with Youku, which was also the reason for Youku's rapid rise.

Another most critical one was the founder.

Youku's Boss Gu was a typical professional manager, with a capitalist mindset, a very strong goal orientation, high execution, deep understanding of market rules, and expertise in integrating resources to fight hard battles.

Looking at Tudou's Wang Wei, internet giants evaluated that Wang Wei was a very good product manager, but not a very good boss.

This person had quite a bit of literati attribute, was too idealistic, but at the same time valued money and power very much. Many things were contradictory, which also made Tudou filled with a thick sense of wavering.

For example, Tudou strongly supported user-generated content and built a video community, partly because of its own positioning, and partly because it wanted to get rid of its resource dependence on Yi'an.

Wang Wei wasn't unaware that Tudou couldn't leave Yi'an now, so he wanted to use this method to enhance content diversification to avoid being controlled.

But clearly knowing that it couldn't leave Yi'an, he insisted on using Yi'an's resources as a bottom line, reluctant to fight Youku with bayonets, wasting his own advantages in vain.

And under these circumstances, he also refused Yan Li's further binding, hoping to keep Tudou independent and at a high position.

It can be said that in decision-making courage, execution, capital operation, strategic decision-making, and interpersonal cooperation, Wang Wei had various problems.

Including Yan Li's targeting and explosion at Tudou this time, it wasn't just because Tudou refused the share swap; more of it was that he had long been dissatisfied with Wang Wei.

Before, Yan Li had hesitated about plotting against Tudou, feeling it wasn't authentic, and had thought about letting Wang Wei be responsible for management after mastering the equity.

But now he had already put an end to this idea. Handing Tudou to Wang Wei would definitely not have a good end.

Once he got absolute control of Tudou, Wang Wei had to leave or be marginalized.

This time, making trouble and killing the chicken to warn the monkey was just one aspect. Yan Li wanted to show the importance of Tudou, create momentum for himself, and at the same time carry out more intrusion and control over Tudou, paving the way for seizing power.

Shanghai, Tudou Headquarters

After Yan Li made a series of arrangements, Tudou soon realized the trouble.

First, Weibo's traffic diversion was significantly reduced!

For Tudou, Weibo was very important. It could advertise Tudou and Tudou's content in various ways to attract users.

Let's put it this way: after Weibo's rise, Tudou's new users and related traffic had always firmly suppressed Youku, and it saved a lot of money, which was much stronger than Tudou's previous advertising diversion plan.

Now that Weibo had stopped its support for Tudou's traffic diversion, the effect was immediately shown.

Tudou contacted Weibo, and the latter's reply was very simple: Tudou used to belong to Weibo's strategic ally, so naturally, it had various welfare supports.

Now the two sides were not, except for some reached contract cooperation that remained unchanged, everything else would be handled according to official business.

If Tudou wanted to divert traffic and advertise, it had to spend money according to the rules.

By the way, spending money might not work either. Too many people were looking for cooperation with Weibo, Weibo's advertising space was limited, first come first served, and the highest bidder got it.

Before, Tudou had priority, but now it had to either queue or pay more.

Secondly, all Yi'an projects under negotiation were suspended, which was also very fatal.

Many of the projects produced, made, and distributed by Yi'an were popular projects at the moment. Without the support of these popular film and television dramas, Tudou's monthly activity and traffic plummeted.

Unless Tudou went to grab other non-Yi'an projects, but how many could it grab in a short time, and how much more money would it spend?

Yi'an's projects sold to Tudou couldn't be said to be low-priced, just market price + exclusive, occasionally giving a discount.

It looked like the conditions were average, but one had to consider the intensity of the current video website competition.

Like Youku and the others buying dramas, not only did they have to fight fiercely, but popular dramas were hard to get, and there was no such thing as market price at all. Almost all were bought at a premium, which led to the continuous increase in the online broadcast price of TV dramas now.

Why did Tudou rely on Yi'an? It really couldn't grab them, and the price was too high. It was better to cooperate comfortably with Yi'an, no need to grab, and the price was appropriate.

However, now that Yi'an had stopped cooperation, Tudou was as uncomfortable as it was comfortable before.

In addition, the more fatal thing was that Yi'an Media suspended the renewal of the copyright library.

Yi'an Media's copyright had always been rented to Tudou, ranging from 3 to 5 years, and renewed upon expiration.

These copyrights were extremely numerous, providing more than 75% of Tudou's film and television resources. The annual rental fee alone was not a small amount.

It wasn't that Tudou didn't know that outsourcing the copyright library was too risky, and it had always wanted to solve this hidden danger, but Yi'an Media only rented and didn't sell.

Yi'an Media had Yan Li behind it, and Tudou couldn't use any mandatory means, so it could only bite the bullet and rent while trying to find ways to supplement its own film library.

But limited by funds and the fact that the copyright on the market had been bought up, Tudou's own film library had mediocre results and still had to rely on Yi'an's copyright library.

Now the hidden danger had exploded. Because there was still a contract, Tudou was still fine for a short time.

But if it didn't renew for a long time, after a long time, Tudou's film library resources would disappear in large quantities. Within 1–3 years, it might drop by half.

This was digging up Tudou's roots!

In the office, Wang Wei was so annoyed by the executives that he couldn't speak, and couldn't help but roar.

"Stop arguing."

"What's there to panic about? It hasn't reached the point of heaven collapsing and earth cracking yet."

Wang Wei looked at the calmed-down executives and said calmly with a frown.

"Don't be anxious. He is applying pressure. I thought of this when I refused him."

"The more it is at this time, the more we need to be calm and face it calmly."

"If he applies pressure and we compromise, then Tudou will become a worker for Weibo and Yi'an in the future."

An executive questioned: "Then if we don't compromise and go head-to-head, can we do it?"

"Why not?"

Wang Wei said confidently: "Weibo and Yi'an were originally cooperation benefits. If they are canceled, it just puts us on the same starting line as other websites. Our loss isn't as big as imagined."

"Although the copyright library is fatal, there is still time, and we have the opportunity to make up for it."

"Like this, try to stabilize Yan Li, avoid intensifying contradictions, and cause targeting. If you can fool him, fool him; if you can lie, lie. In short, drag the time out for me."

"From Yan Li's attitude, it can be seen that he still has room to maneuver and doesn't want to fall out, so there is room for mediation."

"If the time is dragged out, Yan Li will also have losses and will also worry that our tough attitude will harm his interests. At this time, if we loosen up appropriately, we can solve this crisis at the minimum cost."

"This matter is also a test for us, perhaps it can allow us to reduce some dependence on Yi'an, reduce related restrictions, and get more autonomy."

Another executive lacked confidence: "Will this work? The outside world is rumored that Yan Li wants to leave Tudou. Shareholders have already called to ask."

Discerning people understood Yan Li's importance to Tudou, and his various halos were also an important part of Tudou.

If Yan Li withdrew from Tudou, it would be a subversive blow to Tudou, and might even trigger a collapse-like departure of investors. By then, Tudou's situation would be dark.

"Just a pressure technique, don't panic."

Wang Wei felt that Yan Li wouldn't leave Tudou. Tudou was now the industry leader, he was the major shareholder, had invested countless resources and hard work, and Tudou was complementary and helpful to his business map.

In this situation, it was just a disagreement with Tudou. It was something that could be solved by negotiation, no need to respond so fiercely.

"I will call him personally to ease the atmosphere between the two sides. Boss Xiong and Boss Xu will also say hello. I think he won't give me no face."

Wang Wei kept cheering himself up: "Can't chicken out. If you chicken out once, you won't be able to stand up. We are called Tudou, but we are not real potatoes that can be kneaded round or flat by others."

Hengdian, Yi'an Garden

Yan Li was brushing his teeth while looking at the Tudou plan triggered by today's intelligence.

"Pretending to bow to drag time?"

"It seems the means are still too gentle, the pressure isn't enough."

Yan Li rinsed his mouth, not too surprised. Although he had some opinions about Wang Wei, being able to make Tudou what it is today meant he absolutely couldn't be a waste.

Tudou's scale was here. Even without Weibo and Yi'an's support and help, it couldn't be in a mess immediately.

Hmm, it seems he had to let Tudou feel the bitterness of leaving Yi'an and being an enemy of Yi'an, and then apply extreme pressure.

Yan Li finished brushing his teeth, shaved his beard, changed his clothes, and then went to the gym.

Hengdian was crowded with people, and Yi'an Garden had a ready-made gym. Yan Li often chose to exercise indoors.

When the exercise was over, Qin Lan was already up, putting on makeup. Seeing his angry eyes, she said with a hoarse voice.

"It's all your fault. How am I supposed to film today? Everyone will look at me."

"This can't just be my fault. I told you to rest a bit before, but you kept talking."

Qin Lan didn't know if it was because she was getting older, but she was becoming more and more talkative, not stopping for a second.

This time, many of the Teddy Sisterhood came to Hengdian, and she finally found someone to talk to. Her lines in the play were constant, and she kept talking outside the play.

Yan Li had come to Hengdian to visit the set these past two days, and she had babbled and shared the situation during this period again, until her throat was smoking.

Of course, Yan Li also had to admit that he was somewhat responsible, as he had used a bit too much strength.

But Qin Lan throwing all the blame on him was something he absolutely wouldn't admit.

Qin Lan rolled her eyes at him and sent a text to her assistant, asking her to get some throat-moistening and throat-protecting medicine.

Yan Li went to take a shower, then opened his computer to arrange some matters for Tudou.

He asked Yi'an's distribution department to sell the online broadcast rights of the drama "Lurk" to Yi'an Media, and then have Yi'an Media negotiate cooperation with Youku or Ku6.

Then arrange for Weibo to follow up and cooperate with a series of promotion and marketing for "Lurk."

This drama was Yi'an's key project in April. Originally, it was Tudou's big killer, but now it had become a killer to deal with Tudou.

Wang Wei thought Yan Li would worry about Tudou's share interests and only suspend cooperation, but wouldn't help the enemy.

Yan Li did have concerns, but knowing Wang Wei's thoughts, he wouldn't follow his plan.

Instead, he had to show a more aggressive posture, making people feel that Tudou either had to be obedient or would become Yan Li's enemy.

Yi'an's cooperation with Tudou's competitors like Youku was the first step, and other attack methods like Weibo could appear at any time later.

Yan Li thought about it and gave Weibo a heads-up.

Relevant information could be revealed to the public, exposing that Yi'an and Tudou had started to fall out, and shifting the blame onto Wang Wei and Tudou.

Wang Wei acted arbitrarily, Tudou was ungrateful, disregarded Yi'an and Weibo's interests, refused cooperation, only took and didn't give back. Yan Li couldn't bear it anymore and completely unbound from Tudou.

Occupy the moral high ground!

Public opinion war!

Yan Li held Weibo, this public opinion platform, and he himself had more passerby popularity. It would be embarrassing if he couldn't play these two cards well.

"Let's just do this for now, see the situation before deciding."

Yan Li still didn't deal a fatal blow to Tudou, mainly focusing on deterrence and pressure.

Otherwise, Weibo's actions absolutely wouldn't be so gentle. As the largest public opinion platform, Weibo had too many tricks.

Not to mention anything else, Tudou had had various "sao" (showy) operations for so many years. Just bringing the rhythm could make Tudou fall into a negative vortex.

At the same time, using Yi'an's strength and influence in the entertainment industry, surround and kill Tudou.

Even if it didn't reach the point where Tudou couldn't buy resources, it could increase the difficulty and price, consuming its funds.

This didn't count the fact that many of Tudou's shareholder capitals were on good terms with Yan Li, as well as the blow from official policies. If the two sides were really enemies who wouldn't stop until one died, Yan Li couldn't kill Tudou, but he could make it half-dead.

"Who made you angry again?"

Don't know when, Qin Lan came over and rubbed her hands on Yan Li's forehead.

The media hyped it up, netizens discussed it hotly, and the artists who cooperated with Chow spoke out one after another for various reasons, being divided into the anti-Chow faction, pro-Chow faction, ambiguous faction, and the bystander faction. Netizens were also arguing, and the divorce and child custody battle with Alyssa Chia once became the biggest hot spot in March and April.

Having followed Yan Li for so long, Qin Lan was sensitive to Yan Li's emotions, at least the relatively strong ones were not hard to detect.

Just now, seeing Yan Li in this state, she knew he was at odds with someone again.

"A little interlude."

Yan Li didn't want to mention it more, looked at the time: "It's almost 7:30, don't you have a play in the morning?"

Qin Lan was the female lead and had many scenes. It was common for her to crawl up at 4 or 5 o'clock to put on makeup. The past two days, she had also been running to the makeup room at 6 or 7 o'clock.

"Yu Zheng said the set wasn't ready, so he changed the play to the afternoon."

Yan Li immediately understood what was going on: "Not filming properly, just thinking about this."

What set wasn't ready? It was clearly to please the boss and the boss's wife. If the notice hadn't been set dead two days ago and was hard to adjust, he estimated Qin Lan would have been relaxed long ago.

"Don't say that, isn't he also kind-hearted."

But the crew delaying filming costs my money, and I still have to owe him a favor!?

Yan Li complained, but didn't say anything. Qin Lan had indeed been busy these past two days, and he didn't dare to toss her around too much at night.

It was rare to have a half-day off, and Qin Lan didn't want to stay idle in the room, so she pulled Yan Li out for a stroll, and even went to visit the small woods where they first met.

This was also their daily routine every time they came to Hengdian together, and they would even take photos as souvenirs.

Hengdian was developing rapidly, changing with each passing day. Maybe one day this small woods would be gone, and by then, they could still have photos to keep as a memory.

After wandering around a big circle, they almost ran into a team of paparazzi.

Yan Li looked at the back of the paparazzi leaving: "These people aren't from the mainland, they feel like they're from Hong Kong."

He had dealt with paparazzi from both the mainland and Hong Kong. The mainland side was more low-key, while Hong Kong was much more arrogant, and their dress and temperament were slightly different.

"There have indeed been more paparazzi these two days. Didn't Stephen Chow have the 'Big Name Gate'? There were various reporter interviews. Before, there were reporters who came to our crew to interview Lao Ba (Cherrie Ying)."

Yan Li understood. In March, Stephen Chow's boss's wife, Tiffany Chen, suddenly bombarded Stephen Chow, triggering a big discussion.

The media hyped it up, netizens discussed it heatedly, and the artists who had collaborated with Zhou came out one after another for various reasons to voice their opinions. They were divided into the "Anti-Zhou" faction, the "Pro-Zhou" faction, the "Ambiguous" faction, and the "Neutral" faction. The netizens were also in an uproar, and the divorce and custody battle with Jia Jia Jingwen became the biggest hot topic from March to April.

Stephen Chow and Alyssa Chia's experiences and situations had nothing to do with Yan Li, but he was more or less involved in them.

No way, these were huge heat, Weibo couldn't bypass it and couldn't bear to give it up.

As for which side Yan Li and Weibo stood on, it wasn't hard to choose. Whoever the users and the public supported, they supported.

Thus, Weibo, regarding Chow's incident, had several big Vs and internet masters take the lead in holding activities to refute rumors and support Stephen Chow on Weibo.

Unfortunately, Stephen Chow didn't take the bait, estimated to want to handle it coldly, otherwise Weibo would have wanted to do an exclusive interview with him.

Alyssa Chia was much more cooperative. She wanted to win back her daughter's custody and needed public opinion advantage.

Weibo not only provided exclusive interviews and public opinion support, but also gave her a voice channel. Now her supporters in the mainland were much more than in Taiwan.

Of course, there were advantages and disadvantages. Alyssa Chia gained public opinion support, but putting aside the "good mother" persona, her personal halo filter was shattered.

Taiwan media had thousands of bad things, but their intelligence capability was truly fierce, digging out the details of her private life.

Enduring humiliation to marry into a wealthy family, mother-in-law's difficulties, husband's infidelity, forced smiles, swallowing anger, only to be swept out of the house a few years later. Not only was she cleaned out, but if she wanted to get her daughter, she had to pay the mother-in-law's family 26 million, and she was not allowed to marry for five years.

Before, Alyssa Chia was a costume goddess liked by countless people, one of the very few female stars in Taiwan who could compete with the popular mainland actresses, entered the top 32 of the Weibo Goddess for two consecutive years, and marrying into a wealthy family was even more enviable. She herself also published quite a few wealthy socialite press releases.

Now the goddess and wealthy socialite halo were gone, leaving only embarrassment and public sympathy. ===== CHAPTER 355 =====