From 1988 to the present, Daenerys TV's primary revenue source has consistently been the series of reality shows stemming from "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?".
Over the past five years, these reality shows have noticeably declined in popularity.
Given Daenerys TV's extensive experience in the reality show sector and the wealth of classic ideas in Simon's mind, the TV division could easily continue to innovate and release new content.
However, Simon chose not to take this path.
The main reason was to wait for Daenerys Entertainment to secure its own public television network.
Moreover, even with their waning momentum, these reality shows still generated substantial profits, so there was no urgent need to phase them out prematurely.
On another front, Daenerys TV has also performed exceptionally well in the realm of scripted television over the past few years. One particular success is "Seinfeld," a sitcom that has grown immensely popular over the last two years and rivals "Friends" in its historical significance in North American television.
Even after its initial broadcast run, the syndication rights of "Seinfeld" will continue to generate significant revenue for Daenerys TV. Much like "Friends" in the original timeline, where Netflix paid up to $100 million a year to retain its streaming rights, "Seinfeld" holds similar potential for lucrative deals.
With the acquisition of MCA, Daenerys TV's focus has shifted more towards cable television networks.
Leveraging the successful reality show series and the hit drama "Desperate Housewives," the USA Network, jointly owned by Daenerys Entertainment and Paramount Communications, has become one of the top-rated basic cable networks in North America, firmly securing its position as a leading channel for professional female audiences.
Fashion TV, which launched earlier this year, may not have experienced the rapid rise of Daenerys' earlier groundbreaking reality shows or achieved the same scale as the USA Network, but its steady growth has firmly established it within the North American basic cable industry.
The cable television sector witnesses the birth and death of numerous cable channels annually in North America.
Thus, Fashion TV's national foothold is far from a simple achievement.
After spending the weekend thoroughly reviewing Daenerys Entertainment's television operations, Simon flew back to the West Coast on Sunday afternoon, specifically to San Francisco.
On Monday, America Online (AOL) was set to officially launch its portal website, 'www.aol.com'.
The delay until now was primarily to perfect their email system, a crucial tool for building a loyal user base for the portal.
Similarly, Microsoft's delay in launching their anticipated MSN portal was due to the ongoing refinement of their email and other related technologies. While both companies received the necessary technical licenses from Igreat, further support was withheld.
However, AOL held a significant advantage over Microsoft.
With a vast existing user base of millions, AOL could seamlessly convert these users into email account holders, bypassing the need for activation and automatically opening AOL email accounts for them.
Of course, both companies faced a significant challenge: how to attract customers away from Igreat, which controlled the vital internet gateway, the IE browser.
In this aspect, AOL also had an edge.
By revamping their network login software, AOL had transformed it into a mini portal interface. This allowed users to click on content and open it in the IE browser, directing them to the AOL portal.
This mini portal approach skirted dangerously close to the definition of a browser.
And indeed, it was.
Had Igreat and AOL not been under the same parent company, this mini portal interface could have sparked a massive infringement lawsuit.
Simon personally mediated this issue.
After extensive negotiations between the two companies, an agreement was finally reached.
AOL could continue to promote this interface, but it could not display content directly using browser capabilities; links had to open in the IE browser. Additionally, 50% of the recommended content on the mini interface had to come from the Igreat portal.
Lastly, AOL had to pay substantial regular patent fees to Igreat for the related technologies.
Using a dual-class share structure, Simon maintained absolute control over both AOL and Igreat.
The outcome of the negotiations essentially reflected Simon's own will.
AOL was never destined to evolve into an internet media company like it did in the original timeline. Instead, it would focus on being an internet service provider with ambitions to become a broader telecommunications operator, a direction Simon had set long ago.
Currently, allowing AOL to develop a portal website was mainly to ride the wave of the burgeoning tech boom.
In the growing internet bubble, merely having a portal website could significantly boost AOL's stock price.
Furthermore, AOL's portal website could help distribute the potential monopoly pressure on Igreat's portal.
Consequently, many of Igreat's content-related services would gradually be adopted by AOL. Critical systems like online payment, search engines, and social networks would be embedded directly from Igreat's existing products, a central clause in their cooperation agreement.
As a result, for Simon, AOL's portal website was essentially a shell without its own core products.
Yet, the capital markets viewed it differently.
In the eyes of many investors in emerging technologies, the transition from print to television to online media represented a natural progression in the media industry. Thus, the concept of internet media was more alluring to investors than mere technological advancements.
AOL's ability to carve out a niche in content, even under the same parent company as Igreat, was a notable achievement.
On Monday, with the launch of AOL's portal website, AOL's stock surged. By the close of the East Coast markets, the stock had risen by 2.9% in a single day, reaching a new market value of $37.1 billion, adding $1.056 billion to its market cap.
Given Westeros Company's 66.1% stake in AOL, a Goldman Sachs analyst posted on their Facebook page: "A day in the life of Westeros: Oh, just another $698 million earned."
This was just one among many similar comments circulating on internet platforms.
However, with a little help from the Facebook team, this particular post gained significant traction.
Sandra Bullock's repost and comment added fuel to the fire.
Known as a close friend of Simon, the actress posted a laughing, crying emoji and remarked, "Did some math: at this rate, it would take me 175 years."
This sparked a widespread discussion.
Stars and ordinary users alike joined the conversation.
- "Did some math: at this rate, it would take me 3,826 years."
- "Did some math: at this rate, it would take me 861 years."
- "Did some math: at this rate, it would take me 99 years."
- "Did some math: at this rate, it would take me 12,663 years."
- "Did some math: at this rate, it would take me 26,453 years."
- "Did some math..."
- "..."
Over the following days, this discussion spread from online platforms to traditional media. Both serious financial papers and light-hearted talk shows delved into the question of how long it would take to earn $698 million.
The prevailing sentiment was a deep sense of despair.
Helplessness.
This was the most common feeling among people.
If it were anyone else, such a vast increase in wealth might spark a broader debate about income inequality.
However, many viewed Simon as an anomaly, someone beyond the realm of normal comparison.
If the wealth surge involved a group, like Wall Street bankers or Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, there might be calls for policies to redistribute wealth through taxes.
But in this case, it was just one person.
The federal government couldn't reasonably implement policies targeting a single individual.
With his accumulated influence over the years, Simon also held considerable sway in federal politics, as evidenced by the recent visit of the new President to Silicon Valley, which hinted at his significant influence. Thus, Simon was not someone to be easily controlled or dictated.
Consequently, the only public suggestion was that Simon should contribute more to charity and give back to society.
The Simon & Janet Westeros Foundation has been very active in philanthropy over the past few years. Compared to many wealthy individuals who only rush to start charitable efforts after media scrutiny, the Westeros couple's generosity was beyond reproach.
This small media storm ultimately resulted in increased capital attention to the new technology sector.
In Hollywood, another week of the summer movie season quickly passed.
From May 21 to May 27, the most significant release was Sylvester Stallone's new film, "Cliffhanger." However, its opening week box office was a major disappointment for Columbia Pictures. Compared to expectations of $35 million to $40 million, the film grossed only $25.02 million in its first seven days.
With "Superman" set to release on June 4, even if "Cliffhanger" managed to maintain a relatively low second-week drop, its total North American box office was projected to be between $70 million and $80 million.
This is problematic given the film's production cost alone was $70 million.
Although Columbia's marketing expenditure was relatively modest at $20 million, the total budget of $90 million would require a global box office gross of $250 million to $300 million to break even.
With North America projected to contribute only $70-80 million, "Cliffhanger" would struggle to reach $250 million globally. In previous years, Sylvester Stallone might have had significant box office appeal in international markets, but now, especially this summer, "Superman" presented even stronger competition, likely overshadowing "Cliffhanger" both domestically and internationally.
Although it might eventually break even through all channels, Columbia Pictures was essentially running in place with this project.
In contrast, Sylvester Stallone comfortably pocketed a $15 million paycheck, making him the biggest winner in this venture.
Of course, both in this timeline and Simon's memory, Stallone's popularity significantly waned after "Cliffhanger," and he didn't star in another major hit
until the ensemble "Expendables" series many years later.
Following "Cliffhanger," Whoopi Goldberg's comedy "Made in America" took the second spot in the week's box office, earning $14.1 million in its first seven days.
"Made in America," both in terms of critical reception and box office performance, paled in comparison to last year's "Sister Act." Its total North American box office was expected to range between $40 million and $50 million.
Aside from these two new releases, Simon was particularly interested in New World Pictures' May 14 release, "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story."
With a production budget of $14 million, the biographical film earned $12.96 million in its opening week. In its second week, from May 21, the box office fell by 37% to $8.12 million, totaling $21.08 million over two weeks, suggesting a final gross of around $35 million, which would roughly cover its costs from North American distribution alone.
Moreover, this movie was developed alongside a similarly titled fighting game.
Both the film and the game launched simultaneously.
Alongside its May 14 release, the "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" game for the Nintendo platform debuted in North America and Asia. Thanks to Bruce Lee's widespread appeal in these regions, the game sold 260,000 cartridges in its first week and was expected to sell a total of 1.5 million, generating about $90 million in sales.
Clearly, Daenerys Entertainment's profits from the game far outstripped those from the film.
As May 28 arrived, the start of a new week, two more major films were set to premiere in North American theaters: Disney's "Super Mario Bros." adaptation of the Nintendo phenomenon, and another independent animated film from Filmation Studios called "Happily Ever After."
The "Super Mario Bros." movie needs little introduction.
However, with a hefty $48 million production budget, Simon viewed it as a colossal pitfall, given he could barely recall any significant details about this film.
The other film, "Happily Ever After," was quite intriguing.
This animation explores the aftermath of Snow White's story, focusing on life with her prince.
"Happily Ever After" was actually completed back in 1990. Initially titled "Snow White: Happily Ever After," Disney objected, fearing it might be mistaken for a sequel to their classic "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." A two-year legal battle ensued, resulting in the film's eventual release under its current title.
Simon didn't have high hopes for either film, predicting they would likely be box office flops. His real focus for the weekend was the quiet maneuvering by Canada's Seagram Group as they began to explore a takeover bid for Paramount Communications.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter]