"Wow, I almost forgot, today is the start of the Home World Cup!" The children’s faces lit up with excitement as they saw the two colossal robots nearby.
If there was one competition that dominated the world in 2040, it was undoubtedly the Home Battle Fighting Grand Prix, boasting unparalleled popularity.
When Homes first appeared, they were merely novelties, lacking any practical use, let alone being used for competitions.
However, the situation changed after Jiangnan Group established the Home Club and then invited a string of wealthy individuals to participate in Home fighting. The tycoons found themselves irresistibly drawn to the immense pleasure derived from the combat of these gigantic mechanical constructs, quickly immersing themselves in this entirely new sport.
Some analyses, however, suggested that these wealthy individuals weren't necessarily fond of the fighting sport itself, but rather the immense wealth it represented. It was a sport that even the wealthiest elites couldn't easily engage in.
To acquire just one Home unit, the initial cost once reached a staggering 5 billion US dollars.
Although the cost gradually decreased to around 1 billion US dollars per unit with mass production, it was still beyond the reach of ordinary wealthy individuals. Globally, there were only about twenty to thirty players.
Some might argue, given that there are thousands of billionaires on the rich list with assets exceeding 1 billion dollars, how could there only be twenty to thirty players?
Please understand, assets do not equate to liquid capital. Even a billionaire with tens of billions in assets might not have more than a hundred million in readily available funds.
Not to mention that 1 billion was just the entry fee. Following that, one would need to hire a professional team of over 50 people to maintain and service the Home unit.
If maintenance was handled through the Home Club, the basic monthly upkeep alone would cost 10 million US dollars. And if there were battle damages, the repair costs would be astronomical.
Consequently, this had always been a game for the rich. After developing for about 10 years, it remained confined to an extremely small circle. That is, until an accident occurred: someone secretly filmed a battle, uploaded it to the internet, and within a single day, it garnered over ten million views, sparking global discussion.
Despite widespread criticism that this was a waste of wealth by the rich, many more desperately urged the secret videographer to upload more videos, which promptly occupied the top twenty positions on major video websites.
Thus, the clandestine videographer was quickly discovered and expelled. However, the wealthy individuals, with their extremely sharp senses, realized something.
They suddenly understood that their private entertainment held immense commercial value.
If they could organize a formal league and sell broadcasting rights, even if they couldn't recoup their investment, they could at least earn some maintenance funds!
Moreover, who wouldn't want their victorious moments against rivals to be admired by the world?
Consequently, the Home Club convened an internal meeting. After two months of discussions, they decided to establish a new company named Home Sports Entertainment. This company would be responsible for the operational management of the revamped Home fighting.
The company's share distribution was structured as follows: the Home Club would hold 20%, with the remaining shares divided equally among other Home mecha owners. The operational capital would be collectively contributed at 2 billion US dollars, according to share proportions, serving as the initial operating funds.
With 2 billion in operating capital, the entire league expanded at an unimaginable pace. Riding the immense wave generated by the eight leaked videos online, Home Sports seized the opportunity to announce that Home fighting competitions would be held in Florence.
However, the competitions in the initial few years remained quite traditional, utilizing modern technological means for comprehensive live broadcasts of battles within Florence. Concurrently, owners of all Homes established corresponding clubs to compete under a league system.
Yet, the initial results of the competition were not particularly impressive. Although the first season's viewership topped the charts, ratings declined year by year in the subsequent years.
It was anticipated that after the initial novelty wore off, the colossal Home mechas engaging in battle would become quite dull. Furthermore, due to the need for global live broadcasts and ensuring the safety of the pilots, many modern weapons were disallowed, permitting only hand-to-hand combat between the robots.
As a result, after five years of operation, the company was on the verge of announcing the suspension of the competition, as advertising revenue was insufficient to cover operational costs.
At this critical juncture, Huang He handed over the company to Huang Fan to manage. Huang Fan had just secured his second World Cup championship and was one win away from retirement. Thus, Huang He entrusted the company to Huang Fan for him to gain experience.
Having been involved in the sports industry for decades, Huang Fan naturally understood what kind of sports competitions audiences enjoyed the most. He immediately initiated reforms across the entire sports company.
The most significant change was abandoning the company's original philosophy of safety and peace, directly transforming its public propaganda into a message of war, machinery, and explosions.
Simultaneously, it was announced that weapon restrictions would be lifted, allowing the use of missiles, machine guns, and all other modern weaponry in matches. Pilots were also required to battle within their cockpits, with the only restriction being the prohibition of targeting the pilot's location.
More crucially, in terms of match operations, the focus shifted from managing clubs and players to managing the Homes themselves.
In previous competitions, the operating company aimed to promote the emergence of star players.
This in itself was not problematic. Just like in traditional sports, the emergence of a star player like Jordan or Maradona could have a tremendous impact on the market.
For instance, in China, thanks to the presence of Huang Fan, football has become a national sport, showing signs of potentially replacing table tennis.
However, Home mechas presented a unique issue: their pilots were not professional athletes but the wealthy owners of various conglomerates. These individuals were extremely self-centered, and most tycoons disliked public exposure, even expressing resistance and opposition to the company's promotion efforts.
Furthermore, the availability of these wealthy owners was uncertain, possibly only having 2-3 days a year to participate in competitions. Leagues, however, required fixed schedules. This inevitably led to the necessity of employing professional players.
This could result in a situation where a single mecha might be piloted by multiple different players. If players were still the focus of promotion, it would be incredibly problematic.
Therefore, Huang Fan decisively announced that the promotional focus would be placed on the Home mechas themselves, with no publicity whatsoever given to the pilots within the mechas. All achievements and failures would belong to the Home, with no connection to the pilots behind them.
This was somewhat akin to virtual influencers of the past, where the focus was on the avatar or costume, and the person behind it was irrelevant to the audience.
Under this promotional strategy, the Home league gradually penetrated the market, creating numerous star Homes. Many Home social media accounts gained over a hundred million followers, and the entire league achieved tremendous success.
In just five years, it transformed from a league on the brink of bankruptcy to the most watched league globally. This year marked the inaugural World Cup league, where the strongest Homes produced by various countries would engage in a grand decisive battle!