[Chapter 324: Knowledge Is Money, A Hit Before It Airs]
Chris had strong executive skills, and after gaining Linton's support, he quickly implemented a series of new management policies with the leadership team, including performance evaluation methods and a salary-grade management system.
UPN TV Network had been struggling too long, and all the employees were holding their breath, eager for change. More importantly, after being acquired by Linton, the original vested interest groups were completely dismantled.
The former CEO fled early, the former COO and the finance manager were forced to resign voluntarily, and other executives were firmly under Linton's control, being strictly reprimanded and still bearing their past mistakes.
The new management methods received enthusiastic support throughout the company without any obstacles and were smoothly rolled out across the network.
This resulted in a qualitative improvement in the employees' morale; everyone's work enthusiasm was fully mobilized, and they all began to focus on the company's performance.
On this basis, Chris launched the variety show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and clearly informed everyone that this was a project personally planned by the big boss Linton, and the entire company fully pushed it forward.
Soon, the TV network actively started advertising for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
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The advertisement was simple, just displaying text on the screen with the host's narration.
"Do you want to become a millionaire?
Come join UPN TV Network's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Knowledge is power, knowledge is money. Just answer 15 multiple-choice questions correctly, and you can win a $1 million prize.
During the quiz, you can use three lifelines: ask the studio audience, phone a friend, or eliminate two wrong answers, but each can only be used once per round.
How to participate: Anyone can dial to answer questions by phone. Only three correct answers on the phone qualify you for the live televised quiz final, giving you a shot at the $1 million prize."
This caused a huge stir. Such a good opportunity - just answer 15 questions correctly and win a $1 million cash prize, while also showcasing yourself on TV.
Isn't this a pie in the sky? I'm totally set to get rich. That $1 million is mine!
Isn't this my American Dream? Hahaha, millionaire, here I come.
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In America, where individualism and the pursuit of wealth were paramount, this show struck a chord with everyone.
Students, white-collar workers, lawyers, doctors, laborers, housewives, government employees, capitalists, factory owners, farmers, even the rural folk were all stirred.
From 80-year-old seniors to 7- or 8-year-old elementary school students, practically no one was uninterested.
UPN TV initially set up only five phone lines for viewers' preliminary quiz selection, but the phones quickly jammed.
The phone operators barely had time to drink water, with no breaks, and many viewers complained that the hotline was unreachable.
UPN's Variety Department responded promptly by increasing phone lines from 5 to 10, then 20, finally easing the situation.
This also reflected the show's popularity; in fact, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was already a smash hit before it even aired.
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The show hadn't even started pulling sponsors, but major brands quickly flocked to negotiate show sponsorships and ad placements. Since its launch, UPN had never seen such glory, making people in the advertising department so happy they practically walked on air.
The first season was scheduled to start on November 12, airing each Saturday from 9 pm to 10 pm, planned for 13 episodes over three months.
Because it was the first season, no one could be sure about the ratings or ticket price for ads. After consulting Linton, they decided just to buy ads for the first episode initially and negotiated official ads after viewing the ratings.
What no one expected was that the first episode alone sold $8 million in advertising. After the affiliate's share, UPN's net ad revenue was over $4 million.
...
The news drove everyone wild. Last year, UPN's total ad revenue was less than $30 million, so a company takeoff was clearly imminent.
However, this was the achievement of the Variety and Advertising departments. Under the company's new performance evaluation system, these departments' employees would have sky-high incomes this year and promotions and raises would soon follow.
This put pressure on the Drama and News departments. Without any top management urging, their leaders proactively held brainstorming sessions to find practical ways to improve program quality and ratings.
One could say that the scientific and effective management evaluation system had injected vitality throughout UPN TV Network. The enormous success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the hit show before it even aired, further fired up the company's entrepreneurial spirit.
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Answering three questions correctly on the phone seemed easy, but each question only allowed 10 seconds and covered a broad range of knowledge, making it tough to get them all right.
After a week, fewer than 100 people had passed the preliminary test with all correct answers.
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Meanwhile, after a week of preparation, UPN's Variety Department had completed all the program recordings.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was just a knowledge-based quiz show, not a talent show or stage performance, so the host requirements weren't particularly high.
The host only needed to have a good image, a pleasant voice, a sense of humor, and good stage control -- no need for a superstar host.
Fortunately, the host standard wasn't too high; otherwise, UPN might have had to look outside for talent.
But now it was unnecessary. Picking from in-house hosts was barely sufficient, though some outside hosts wanted to jump to this show, the company decided -- after careful consideration -- to select from their own talent.
This hotly anticipated show naturally became a precious top resource and sparked fierce competition among four hosts at the network (one male, three female).
Frankly, whoever won as the host was destined for stardom and becoming a nationally famous host wasn't a dream.
Two of the female hosts even approached Linton, hoping to get promoted by using their charm.
However, though they were tall with long legs, shapely figures, young and beautiful, they were nowhere near top-tier beauties.
Given UPN's barely alive state before, it was hard to attract top beauties as hosts, and even if they came, they wouldn't stay.
Linton rejected both, delegating Chris to organize a judging panel for an open competition.
After rounds of open and covert battling, Stephanie Carter, a female host, successfully secured the position.
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With everything in place, the program team notified the 93 candidates who passed the preliminary test to start recording.
Obviously, not all 93 players' quiz processes would air. The best performances would be selected to create a 60-minute televised show.
Criteria for good performance included high accuracy, good looks, clear speech, strong camera presence, and humor.
When recording began, UPN updated the promotional ads for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, adding the line: "Want to know who will win the million dollars? Don't miss it on November 12 at 9 pm."
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