Guangnian Entertainment.
Conference room.
Smoke filled the air.
Interspersed with bursts of coughing.
Both smokers and non-smokers were silent.
Chairman Li Hongyi sat quietly, his gaze fixed on the viewership ratings displayed on the projector, looking as if he had aged ten years.
This drama was the key to Guangnian Entertainment defending its market. If it performed well, they would remain the oldest and most well-resourced film and television entertainment company in the domestic industry.
If it performed poorly, they could only watch helplessly as Xinghui snatched resources, as investors withdrew their investments one by one and turned to Xinghui's embrace.
Originally, during the preliminary promotion of "Night Rain Sound," with Tingyu's addition, they were ruthlessly outmatched. At that time, everyone had actually given up hope.
At that time, their thinking was that Xinghui was already invincible, and losing was losing, at least they had tried and fought.
With this mindset, losing was easier to accept.
But no one expected that "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" had poor initial reviews, reigniting the desire for victory among Guangnian Entertainment's executives.
They spared no expense in creating public opinion, using all their resources to boost the market reputation of "Night Rain Sound."
In fact, the effect was quite good.
Of course, this was only the public opinion effect before the second day's broadcast.
Many people were praising "Night Rain Sound" and denigrating "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber."
The market sentiment had indeed been stirred up by them.
However, what Li Hongyi and the others never expected was.
Despite the audience verbally scolding "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," their actions were more honest than anyone else's. Under these circumstances, the viewership ratings for the first episode of "The Heaven Sword" today not only did not decrease but even increased, reaching a terrifying 7%!
And "Night Rain Sound," praised all over the internet, only garnered 3% viewership!
"Why is this happening?" Li Hongyi smoked half a pack of cigarettes without understanding. The public opinion had clearly turned one-sided, yet the results were the opposite.
This was something he had never encountered in his career.
No matter whose work it was, under widespread criticism, the ratings would definitely be significantly affected.
But Jiangnan, under these circumstances, not only was not affected, but the viewership ratings actually increased, and it increased ridiculously!
"I can't figure it out either. It's as if the trending searches we bought earlier and the public opinion we hyped up essentially promoted 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'?" The director of the marketing department extinguished his cigarette butt and then looked at the empty cigarette pack in his hand.
Clearly, they were creating negative news about "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," so why did it seem like marketing promotion from a market perspective, boosting the drama's market appeal?
This was like seeing a ghost, who wouldn't be confused?
"This should be the reason."
Just then, a shareholder in a suit and tie handed his tablet to Li Hongyi.
He didn't smoke, but the smoke-filled conference room made his throat very uncomfortable.
However, he dared not complain, as Li Hongyi had set the precedent.
The "No Smoking" sign on the wall was now in pieces on the floor.
Li Hongyi, like a student with bursting curiosity, immediately took the tablet.
It was a review of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" on Penguin Video.
Currently, this TV series was exclusively broadcast on Penguin Video, with over two hundred million online views, crushing all other dramas.
"No matter how much they scold, I have great confidence in the old thief. How can I abandon the series after just a few episodes?"
"Hahaha, so everyone is the same. Weibo is full of scolding the old thief, but if you look closely, everyone is a comrade!"
"Jiangnan's reputation, even if the main characters appear at the end, I'll still be happy to watch. But we still have to scold, who told this person to always write sad endings!"
"Weibo is already exploding. Zhang Cuishan and his wife commit suicide, Zhang Wuji is seriously injured and dying, directly collapsing many people's mental states!"
"Even if they collapse, they still have to watch. Many people online are already calling for Penguin Video to release early access screenings."
"Before, everyone was spraying about early access screenings being a rip-off, but this time everyone is uniformly saying, why isn't early access available? Do I lack tens of yuan for you?"
"Haha, netizens being hypocritical is truly inhumane!"
"..."
Li Hongyi's face gradually turned grim.
Finally.
He couldn't hold back.
With a "bang!"
He smashed the tablet onto the floor.
They were all playing me!
I thought you were genuinely criticizing "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," so I specially asked the company to increase the hype budget, spending millions more on promotion, and you tell me you are all allies?
Collapsed!
My mentality has collapsed!
"How much promotional budget is left?" Li Hongyi rubbed his aching forehead.
"Five hundred thousand." The director of the publicity department cautiously extended five fingers.
"Use it all..." Li Hongyi sighed, put the cigarette pack from the table into his pocket.
"Still... still use it?" The director of the publicity department said incredulously, "All our current promotions are helping Xinghui."
Li Hongyi waved his hand and got up to walk out of the conference room.
"Director Li, where are you going?" someone asked hurriedly.
"To see an old friend."
Li Hongyi's voice came from the corridor, along with his coughs from the smoke.
...
Clean bar.
Soft music was playing.
In a VIP booth, sat two middle-aged men.
Cocktails were placed in front of them.
They held cigars in their hands.
Both were looking down, the atmosphere somewhat heavy.
"I remember you used to like red wine." Li Hongyi swirled the cocktail in his hand, his eyelids lowered, making his expression unreadable.
"That's all in the past. Ever since Tingyu released this song 'mojito,' I only drink this now. By the way, it's perfect with grilled saury. You should try it."
Qi Shenghua picked up a skewer of grilled saury and said with a smile.
"Aren't you and Tingyu rivals?" Li Hongyi finally looked up, but his face was filled with deep helplessness, his spirit completely drained. "If it weren't for him, your Dingsheng Entertainment wouldn't have ended up like this."
Dingsheng Entertainment, once one of the four major entertainment companies in Kyoto, had fallen from its former glory with the rise of Xinghui and the decline of online songs.
"What else can I do?" Qi Shenghua took a bite of the saury and then looked at Li Hongyi.
The latter held the saury, staring blankly for a long time, unsure how to answer.
"To be honest, I don't hate Tingyu, because he is indeed amazing, and his contributions are enough for the entire domestic entertainment industry to thank him." Qi Shenghua spat out a fishbone. "Of course, this doesn't include our entertainment company, because we are businessmen, inherently standing in opposition to the public."
"You are quite open-minded." Li Hongyi said with a bitter smile.
"The growth of some people is unstoppable because they have the strength to surpass capital." Qi Shenghua sighed.
"Strength that surpasses capital..." Li Hongyi mused.
"Don't think about it too much. Whether it's Tingyu or Jiangnan, they are the same kind of people. They both possess the strength to surpass capital."
Qi Shenghua patted his shoulder.
"Damn it, you're getting oil on me!"
"Cough cough... Sorry, I didn't notice."
...