When a TV drama is produced by a film or television company, it's usually sold directly to a TV station. While the contract terms may vary, the core deal is the sale of the premiere and rebroadcast rights.
For big-name stars, high-budget productions, or highly publicized dramas, the premiere rights often reach sky-high prices, sometimes tens of millions. When one station can't afford it alone, several stations will jointly purchase and share the rights.
In these cases, the rebroadcast rights are never priced higher than the premiere, no matter how well the show performs.
However, there's another type of drama, where the premiere rights are sold cheap, not even enough to recoup costs, but after airing, the show blows up with soaring viewership. In such cases, the rebroadcast rights skyrocket, even far exceeding the original premiere price.
'Autumn in My Heart' was clearly one of those rare, high-potential TV dramas.
Excluding the profit-sharing agreement, Haijin Satellite TV had purchased 'Autumn in My Heart''s premiere rights for a relatively low price, 6 million yuan for 20 episodes, which allowed the three investors to recoup less than half of their total cost.
However, neither Lu Chen, Chen Fei'er, nor Qiande Pictures cared much about that, because there were still the rebroadcast rights to profit from.
But no one expected 'Autumn in My Heart' to become a hit this quickly, its popularity was jaw-dropping. Breaking the 1% national TV ratings mark catapulted this urban romance drama into the spotlight. It went viral on blogs and social media, while the cast became overnight stars.
And for many television stations, this was nothing less than a golden money tree!
'Autumn in My Heart' was a weekend drama, airing two episodes per week, a broadcast format that actually hinders viewership growth compared to daily serials.
Yet, even under this format, it scored exceptional ratings. That meant its potential was massive, rebroadcasting it in daily format could easily result in even higher ratings than the premiere.
Because with TV dramas, reputation builds over time, especially for mainstream TV audiences. If they missed the early episodes, they'll watch the reruns instead,
"Everyone says it's good, so it must be good!"
In this climate, even though 'Autumn in My Heart' hadn't finished filming yet, its rebroadcast rights instantly became a hot commodity, with more than a dozen TV stations rushing to negotiate.
The most eager and most powerful, among them were Capital City TV and Zhedong TV.
On January 7, Capital City TV sent representatives to Jinling to negotiate the rebroadcast deal with the three parties involved.
One of those representatives was Gu Rui.
Gu Rui was a music producer at Capital City TV and had once served as the music director for "Singing China." He was well-acquainted with Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er, and had a friendly relationship with them.
Normally, drama acquisitions had nothing to do with Gu Rui, it was the programming department's responsibility.
But because 'Autumn in My Heart' was too hot, too competitive, Capital City TV was afraid of losing out to rivals. So they sent Gu Rui to play the "relationship card." In Capital City TV's hierarchy, Gu Rui held a middle-ranking position, making him suitable as a liaison for this kind of negotiation.
Alongside him was another person Lu Chen knew, Zhu Shaotai, Deputy Director of the Variety Channel's Programming Department. The fact that two senior figures from Capital City TV had come personally to Jinling showed genuine sincerity.
Otherwise, for most small- and medium-sized production companies, they wouldn't even get a foot in the door, no matter what gift they brought.
Under normal circumstances, Capital City TV would never lower themselves to negotiate like this.
But, as the saying goes, "Even if a deal falls through, friendship remains." Even though a past collaboration hadn't worked out, Lu Chen, Chen Fei'er, and Qiande Pictures were all still very welcoming this time. That evening, Zhang De, General Manager of Qiande Pictures, hosted a banquet at the Marriott Hotel for the Capital City TV representatives.
Lu Chen, Chen Fei'er, and both their managers were all in attendance.
With 'Autumn in My Heart''s explosion in popularity, Haijin Satellite TV was the biggest immediate winner, followed closely by Qiande Pictures.
In the shark-infested world of Capital City's film industry, Qiande Brothers Pictures was barely a small fish, with only a few TV dramas under their belt and very little standing in the business.
But this time, thanks to 'Autumn in My Heart', Qiande Pictures had finally made a name for itself. In recent weeks, countless people had come knocking, offering partnerships, asking for favors, and it had become the center of attention.
Still, the Qiande brothers remained level-headed. They knew exactly whose thigh they needed to hold on to.
During the filming of 'Autumn in My Heart', Zhang De stayed stationed in Jinling full-time. In his own words, he was like a housekeeper, fully responsible for eliminating any worries the production crew might face.
Thanks to Zhang De's presence and coordination, the entire shoot went smoothly, unaffected by unforeseen problems, and was even likely to finish ahead of schedule.
At the banquet, Zhang De, who could really hold his liquor, took on the role of attack captain, constantly raising his glass. Even Zhu Shaotai, a seasoned drinker, had trouble keeping up, making the atmosphere lively and harmonious throughout the evening.
After downing a bottle of red wine, Zhu Shaotai gave a bitter smile and said, "Chief Zhang, Teacher Lu, Miss Chen, to be honest, I'm here to atone for my sins this time. Because of what happened before, the higher-ups chewed me out. No matter what, you've got to prioritize us this time, otherwise, I really won't have a way to explain myself when I get back!"
Though Zhu Shaotai was speaking half in jest with the help of alcohol, what he said was mostly true.
During the earlier negotiations for the first broadcast rights of 'Autumn in My Heart', he hadn't taken it too seriously, and ended up missing the opportunity to secure what turned out to be a potentially phenomenal TV drama. Back at the station, he'd become a subject of much gossip.
Truth be told, Zhu Shaotai was rather unlucky. If Haijin Satellite TV hadn't suddenly swooped in at the last minute to undercut them, 'Autumn in My Heart' would have almost certainly gone to Capital City TV.
After all, Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er had a good relationship with Capital City TV, and the Qian De Brothers operated in the Capital City entertainment scene as well.
Under equal conditions, Capital City TV naturally had the upper hand.
But who would've thought that Haijin Satellite TV, a channel with barely any presence, would pull a fast one on them?
Being undercut was one thing, Capital City TV was big and resource-rich, so they didn't care much. But they never expected that 'Autumn in My Heart' would become a national sensation! It was a total loss of face!
If they had lost to CCTV, Xiangnan Satellite TV, or even Zhedong Satellite TV, that would've been fine. But to be completely outshone by a third-tier channel like Haijin? That was a real slap in the face.
This was especially painful since Capital City TV had recently been pushing for reforms and fiercely competing for ratings, investing heavily in high-quality content. Losing 'Autumn in My Heart' was an unforgivable mistake.
The executives slammed their fists on the table, and the blame came down on Zhu Shaotai's head.
After all, he was the person in charge.
Zhu Shaotai truly felt wronged. Even if he had taken it seriously, he couldn't have matched the terms Haijin Satellite TV offered. The outcome would've likely been the same.
Still, he couldn't argue back. All he could do was seize this opportunity, come in person to negotiate, and bring Gu Rui along with him.
Gu Rui chuckled and said, "Director Zhu really has it tough."
Though this music producer was a bit straightforward and not very politically savvy, he knew exactly why he was here.
Naturally, he had to speak up for Zhu Shaotai.
Zhu Shaotai's half-truthful grievances left Lu Chen and Chen Fei'er looking at each other, a bit unsure. A vice-director of Capital City TV's Variety Channel had already spoken so openly, how could they not give some face? Otherwise, they'd be making an enemy out of someone.
Fortunately, Zhang De was a seasoned professional. He smiled and said, "Director Zhu, you're being too serious. There've been quite a few parties coming to negotiate lately. As long as the terms are reasonable, we'll definitely prioritize Capital City TV. After all, we're all Capital City folks!"
Technically, Zhang De wasn't originally from the Capital City, but he had long since transferred his household registration there.
His answer was flawless; he saved Zhu Shaotai's pride while still holding firm to their side's position.
And it turned out Zhang De was wise to do so.
The next day, January 8th, a representative from Zhedong Satellite TV arrived in Jinling.
Amusingly enough, it was another familiar face, Tian Tian!
Tian Tian used to be a program host for Zhedong Satellite TV. After a previous incident involving a fan attack, she'd moved behind the scenes and rarely appeared in public now. She had originally been friends with Chen Fei'er, and Lu Chen had once saved her life.
Zhedong TV had clearly chosen to send her as their representative to play the emotional card, and her presence was just as effective as the competition's.
Given the special relationships involved, after the evening banquet, Chen Fei'er dragged Tian Tian back to her room for a private chat, and had Lu Chen come along too.
That night, Tian Tian had quite a bit to drink, her face flushed red and looking rather stunning.
Maybe it was the alcohol talking, but she became especially bold, and grabbing Chen Fei'er's hand, she asked bluntly, "Fei'er-jie, are you and Lu Chen… you know… doing that?"
Lu Chen was half amused, half exasperated. 'What the heck does "that" even mean?'
Chen Fei'er playfully scolded, "Tiantian, I think you've had too much to drink!"
Tian Tian hugged her with a grin. "I'm perfectly sober. Just tell me, is it true?"
Chen Fei'er feigned innocence. "What are you talking about?"
Tian Tian hooked her finger mischievously. "Dating! Are you two secretly in a relationship?"
Chen Fei'er knew she couldn't hide it anymore and nodded.
"Seriously!?" Tian Tian's eyes widened in surprise, sitting up with a weird expression. "That's a huge scoop!"
Chen Fei'er rolled her eyes. "We're not planning to go public with it."
Tian Tian's eyes sparkled. "Then you've got to pay me hush money. How about giving us the rebroadcast rights for 'Autumn in My Heart'? Otherwise, hehe…"
Chen Fei'er was completely defeated by her shamelessness. "That's not my decision to make."
No matter how good their relationship was, when it came to something involving multiple stakeholders, she couldn't make promises on a whim.
It was a matter of principle.
Most importantly, Capital City TV was still in the running for the rights!
Being too popular can be a problem too!
(End of Chapter)
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