Chapter 165 The Exclusive Broadcast Rights

Both Longyu Corporation and Rabbit Tail Live were very efficient. After some simple communication, the general contract was drawn up by noon the next day.

The main reason it was done so quickly was that Longyu Corporation was in a hurry.

The iCL League had already started its promotion, and the preliminary preparations for the venue were basically in place. The only thing that hadn't been finalized was the livestream.

The livestreaming platforms were clearly aware that Longyu Corporation was in a hurry, so they deliberately dragged their feet in an attempt to further lower the price.

But what kind of temper did Eric have? He wouldn't put up with these people!

Except when he had to endure facing Boss Pei, Eric basically never put up with anything else.

After considering it, Eric felt that since these livestreaming platforms all wanted to lower the price and were so insincere, then forget it!

It was all the same selling to any livestreaming platform anyway. Boss Pei was offering more money and guaranteeing publicity, so there was no harm in cooperating.

In terms of strength alone, Rabbit Tail Live couldn't compare with the established livestreaming platforms. But if they really used some of the resources of Tengda Group to promote it, as Boss Pei had promised, then Rabbit Tail Live's power would definitely not be worse than the other platforms.

Therefore, with Boss Pei being very generous with the price and conditions, the two sides quickly reached an agreement.

The main points agreed in the contract were as follows:

First, it was an exclusive broadcast contract. Only Rabbit Tail Live could livestream the iCL League. The price was still the same as previously agreed, 35 million.

Second, the contract required Rabbit Tail Live to invest a lot of resources in promoting the iCL League, both inside and outside the website. Of course, Longyu Corporation would also spare no effort in promoting the iCL League.

Third, if some force majeure or special circumstances occurred, such as insufficient website bandwidth, lagging livestreams affecting viewing, or major public opinion events, the responsible party would bear certain losses, and the other party could terminate the contract unconditionally. Of course, after the termination of cooperation, Longyu Corporation would partially refund the money according to the actual losses, and the exclusive broadcast rights would also be terminated.

Finally, there was an additional clause. Even if neither party was at obvious fault, if one party wanted to forcibly terminate the contract, they would not need to pay sky-high liquidated damages, but only 20% of the price, which was 7 million, to terminate the contract.

In theory, this last clause should not be needed, because if both parties strictly fulfilled the provisions of the contract, the iCL livestream and promotion work should be very successful, and there should be no need for forced termination.

The main reason for adding this supplementary clause was that the hostile relationship between the two sides made Eric very distrustful of the cunning Boss Pei.

As for Pei Qian, this contract was also completely fine with him. After the legal departments of both parties studied and decided, Pei Qian sent Chen Yufeng to Modu to formally sign the contract and discuss the detailed cooperation matters.

…

Guangzhou, ZZ Live headquarters.

The new features that Liu Liang had previously deployed had been developed as quickly as possible in a 996 state, and he was finally able to relax a little.

Recently, he had also had several phone calls with Zhao Xuming, briefly communicating his opinions on the iCL broadcast rights issue. Liu Liang's idea was the same as President Zhu of Wolf Fang Live, both hoping to lower the price further.

The iCL League was about to be held, and there wasn't much time left for Zhao Xuming. In the end, he would probably have to make some concessions.

Of course, Liu Liang didn't want to make things too rigid, because they would still have to cooperate in the future. As long as Zhao Xuming showed some good faith and lowered the price by a little more than a million, so that the iCL League's broadcast rights returned to their proper value, Liu Liang planned to buy them.

However, Zhao Xuming, who had been calling very frequently before, hadn't made a single call today, which surprised Liu Liang a little.

Just then, Liu Liang heard hurried footsteps outside his office, followed by someone knocking on the door.

"Come in."

Liu Liang looked up and saw the employee who was responsible for liaising with Longyu Corporation on matters related to the iCL broadcast.

"What's the rush? Speak slowly."

"You must maintain a calm and natural, unhurried and unhurried attitude at work. If you panic yourself, how can you do your job well?"

"You must be as calm as I am in the future."

Liu Liang saw that this guy wasn't even breathing evenly and criticized him for his impatience.

The employee didn't have the mood to dwell on these details and said hurriedly, "President Liu, something bad has happened!"

"It seems that Finger Company is going to sell the exclusive broadcast rights for the iCL to Rabbit Tail Live!"

Liu Liang's expression changed instantly, and he jumped up from his chair. "Rabbit Tail Live?"

"Exclusive broadcast rights?"

"When did this happen!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier!"

Liu Liang bombarded the employee with a series of questions, leaving him stunned.

"President Liu, I just found out about this. The two sides seem to have negotiated the cooperation very quickly, and it seems to have been finalized within a short period of one or two days. The specific details are not yet clear, but it seems that the chances of success are very high..."

Liu Liang fell into a daze.

This matter was really beyond his expectations. He didn't expect it at all!

Rabbit Tail Live and the iCL League seemed like two completely unrelated things!

Boss Pei had said before that Rabbit Tail Live didn't constitute a direct competitive relationship with other livestreaming platforms and was a platform that focused on knowledge and education. The promotion and livestreaming content when Rabbit Tail Live first launched had indeed confirmed this.

Logically speaking, even if they were going to do game livestreams, they should first poach a few popular *gog* streamers or livestream *gpL* to test the waters, right? What did it mean to spend a lot of money to buy the exclusive broadcast rights of the iCL right away?

As for the iCL League, wasn't it said that Finger Company and Tengda Group were mortal enemies? Wasn't it said that *ioi* and *gog* were the biggest competitors?

Eric and Zhao Xuming had suffered so many losses at the hands of Boss Pei, shouldn't they directly refuse to cooperate with Boss Pei?

Liu Liang had actually thought before about whether other livestreaming platforms would try to grab the exclusive broadcast rights of the iCL, but after a few days of observation, he felt that this possibility was very slim.

Because the price of the iCL broadcast rights was already too high. With it being uncertain whether the league could be held successfully, there was no need to take such a big risk to buy exclusive broadcasts.

Wouldn't it be better for everyone to join forces to lower the price of the broadcast rights and get the iCL broadcast rights together at the lowest cost and with the least risk?

But he never expected that Boss Pei's Rabbit Tail Live would suddenly jump out!

This disrupted Liu Liang's entire plan, leaving him a little overwhelmed and at a loss.

He had told his employees to calm down and maintain a calm and unhurried attitude, but now he was even more panicked than his employees.

The two men stared at each other, and the employee quickly asked, "President Liu, what should we do?"

Liu Liang's brain was working quickly. "I'll call Zhao Xuming!"

If Longyu Corporation and Rabbit Tail Live hadn't signed the contract yet, then there was still a possibility of intercepting it.

Everyone knew that Boss Pei always acted quickly and efficiently, so Liu Liang didn't dare to delay and immediately called Zhao Xuming.

It rang for a long time before the other side slowly answered, "Hello? President Liu, what's the matter?"

Zhao Xuming's attitude was indescribably calm and comfortable.

Liu Liang's heart skipped a beat, and he felt that the situation was not good.

Zhao Xuming had been eager to find him to sell the iCL broadcast rights, and his attitude had been very polite, offering all kinds of preferential conditions.

But now, Zhao Xuming's tone was clearly tinged with indifference.

Liu Liang quickly said, "President Zhao, I heard that you are in talks with Rabbit Tail Live about the exclusive broadcast rights of the iCL?"

Zhao Xuming was noncommittal. "Oh, is there a problem?"

Liu Liang: "President Zhao, you're being a bit unfair! We've been talking about the broadcast rights all along, and we haven't reached a conclusion yet. You're suddenly going to sell the exclusive broadcast rights to Rabbit Tail Live without even informing us. That's a bit much, isn't it?"

Zhao Xuming smiled. "Oh, President Liu, I was actually planning to tell you tomorrow, after we formally signed the contract with Rabbit Tail Live. Hey, you can't blame us for this. It's mainly because you didn't seem to be very interested in the iCL League, so of course we had to find a more suitable buyer."

Obviously, Zhao Xuming was now taking the moral high ground. Although he wouldn't say anything harsh, he couldn't avoid satirizing them.

Because Zhao Xuming had also been begging these livestreaming platforms to promote the iCL broadcast rights, but the vice presidents of these livestreaming platforms were all suppressing prices and delaying, playing a good game of Tai Chi, which made Zhao Xuming feel very angry.

You can do the first day of the month, can't I do the fifteenth?

In this situation, he definitely had to verbally enjoy himself and vent the anger of the past few days!

Liu Liang didn't dare to say much and quickly continued, "Haven't signed the contract yet? That's good. President Zhao, it's not that we're not interested in the iCL League, it's mainly because we were still investigating. Now the investigation results are out, and we also want the iCL broadcast rights! How about selling them at the price you proposed before?"

"10 million, what do you think?"

Zhao Xuming chuckled. "I'm sorry, I really can't sell it. To be honest, the conditions offered by Rabbit Tail Live are very, very generous! But I can't reveal the specific amount."

"Actually, I can understand your idea, President Liu. After all, the iCL League is a newly established league, and no one can guarantee that it will be successful. Buying the broadcast rights at a high price is indeed very risky."

"In that case, you don't have to take these risks for now. After this season is over, we'll talk in detail when we sell the broadcast rights for the next season!"

"I'm sorry, I still have work to do, so I'll hang up first. Let's contact you later."

After Zhao Xuming finished speaking, he hung up the phone directly.

"Hello? Hello!"

Liu Liang was simply furious, pacing around his office three times.

On the one hand, he was angry because of the change in Zhao Xuming's attitude, and on the other hand, he was angry because of Rabbit Tail Live.

What was Boss Pei planning!

He said that Rabbit Tail Live wouldn't pose a threat to other livestreaming platforms and mainly focused on knowledge-based content, but then he spent a lot of money to buy the exclusive broadcast rights of the iCL, catching them off guard!

But it was no use for Liu Liang to be angry, because deception is permissible in war, and it is normal to release some false information in the business world.

Boss Pei was such an elusive person.

Liu Liang paced back and forth in his office, thinking about what to do about this matter.

Seeing Zhao Xuming's resolute attitude, Rabbit Tail Live must have offered benefits and prices that could not be refused.

This was also normal, because Boss Pei was willing to spend money on whatever industry he was in. If he wanted to make the mortal enemy Finger Company abandon its previous hatred and cooperate, he would definitely give a lot of money.

In other words, unless ZZ Live, Wolf Fang Live, and other livestreaming platforms joined forces and offered a price that was much higher than before, adding up to 20% or more than what Rabbit Tail Live offered, it would be possible to intercept it.

But this fell into a very embarrassing situation:

Before, it could be taken down for around 9 million, but now it would cost another three or four million or even more for nothing. It would be a blood loss in mentality and difficult to accept;

The interests of each livestreaming platform were not completely consistent. If they wanted to buy the broadcast rights together at a high price, the cooperation would not be possible if one livestreaming platform didn't join.

But what if they gave up the iCL broadcast rights?

Although it wouldn't seem to be a big loss on the surface, everyone knew how sensitive Boss Pei was to the industry and how well he understood the game and esports industries.

In the game and esports field, Boss Pei could be called a godfather-level figure. If he said he was second in the country, no one would dare to say he was first.

Boss Pei had set his sights on the iCL and directly bought the exclusive broadcast rights of the iCL at a high price. Did this mean that the value of the iCL far exceeded everyone's imagination?

So, would he regret it to death if he missed this opportunity?

Adding three or four million now still had the possibility of giving it a shot. What if it cost five or six million to buy it in the future?

Liu Liang never expected that the situation would change so drastically in just one or two days.

"Forget it, the contract is going to be signed tomorrow, and it's too late to join forces with other livestreaming platforms to intercept it now. It's not realistic for us to grab the exclusive broadcast rights alone. The price is too high, the risk is too great, and Boss Pei will definitely continue to bid against us."

"We can only say that Boss Pei's move was really stable, accurate, and ruthless. He calculated the reactions of Finger Company and our livestreaming platforms and took advantage of such an excellent opportunity to directly grab the exclusive broadcast rights of the iCL."

"We can only take it one step at a time. If the iCL doesn't cooperate well with Rabbit Tail Live, maybe we'll still have a chance..."

Liu Liang thought about it and couldn't come up with a better solution, so he had no choice but to give up and wait and see.