Chapter 802 – Journey to Olympics
Station Chief Jia’s career had been smooth sailing. He had become CCTV’s Station Chief and had successfully increased the TV station’s revenue. All the programs on the channel were well received by the viewers. He was praised by the higher-ups more than once.
But recently, Chief Jia was troubled. The Olympic Games will be held this year, and CCTV had to produce many Olympics related programs, and he had to raise the production funds by himself.
Although the income from advertisements had increased a lot, CCTV’s cost had also increased. The salary of the workers was much higher than the previous few years, and the station still had to give them bonuses and subsidies.
Just when Chief Jia was thinking of a solution, he received a call. He looked at the number and got an idea.
“Oh, Station Chief Jia. Thank you for treating me to dinner here. Donglaishun is expensive.”
“Ah…… you had treated me several times, and I must treat you back this time.”
“Right. You are promoted and got an increment. You must give me a treat.” Station Chief Jia had not only become CCTV Station Chief, but he was also the Central Publicity Department Minister’s assistant.
After eating some lamb, Feng Yu and Chief Jia had a toast. This hotpot was really delicious.
“How come I did not see you at this year’s Advertisement Slot bidding?” Chief Jia asked with a smile.
“I am busy overseas. My men had participated in the bidding, and I heard that this year’s highest bid is 66.66 million RMB. It is much higher than last year. You used this as a benchmark and increased the prices of other time slots. Your station’s advertising revenue should increase by at least 50 million?”
You still want me to go and raise the bids for you? I will not fight for the highest bidder. Those people are crazy. They think that having a primetime slot is enough? The amount they paid is enough to get many slots in other timings.
But all these years, it was the alcohol factories that were bidding the slots at ridiculous pricing. Two years ago, it was Kongfu brand, followed by Qin Chi. In Feng Yu’s previous life, Lehaha had also gone crazy. But in this life, Lehaha does not need to fight for the primetime slots. Feng Yu prefers to use multiple time slots for advertising Lehaha’s products.
Feng Yu’s products only needed some TV advertisements and do not need to air it on primetime. Most of his products do not have competitors.
“The advertising revenue had increased, but our expenditure had also increased. The Olympic Games will be held this year. Do you know about this? We need to send people to the US for interviews and still need to produce all sorts of related programs. All these require a lot of funds.” Chief Jia sighed.
Mei Zhigao looked at Station Chief Jia curiously. This was the Chief of CCTV. How come he does not behave like a top government official, and he still seems to be very close to Manager Feng?
“Chief Jia, we have known each other for quite some time. Just tell me what you need.”
“Manager Feng, you have many ideas on TV programs. Can you give us some suggestions?”
Mei Zhigao’s jaws dropped. A TV station’s leader asking someone who is not in the industry for advice? Manager Feng…… knows about TV production?
This was troubling Chief Jia? Feng Yu thought Chief Jia was asking him for some sponsorships. But Chief Jia should know that if Feng Yu were to sponsor some programs, he would ask for something in return.
“TV production? Last November, CCTV 5 had been converted to the satellite channel. You can just show live telecast of all the events. What’s so difficult?” Live telecast of sporting events is very different from Gala nights. It is much easier.
“This is not a problem for us, and we had planned for this. But the higher-ups want us to promote the Olympic Games. The Sports Administration said this year will be our best performing year for our athletes. We will get good results. I heard that they had gotten lots of sponsorships. That Old Lu from the Sports Administration now speaks much louder because of this!” Chief Jia replied jealously.
Feng Yu could tell what Chief Jia wanted from him. Suggestions for programs? You just me to sponsor your programs!
“Chief Jia, I had made some sponsorships at the Sports Administration. Are you asking me to sponsor some programs for CCTV too?”
Chief Jia replied. “You also mentioned that CCTV 5 is a satellite channel now. Why is the advertising fees for this channel still so low?”
Huh? CCTV 5 advertisement fees are low? This year is the Olympic year. Advertising on CCTV 5 will have greater outreach.
“There are still unsold advertising slots? I will go back and look. If the price is right, I will buy some of the slots.” Feng Yu replied casually. “Oh, I have a suggestion for Olympic related programs. You can do a special Olympic program.”
“What special program?” Chief Jia asked.
“Wind and Rain – Journey to Olympics!”
Chief Jia: “……” There is no problem with this program. But how can you decide on the name sponsorship?
“Tell me about this idea.”
“The concept of this program is simple. You just need to set a timing like in the afternoon or evening primetime and air some Olympics events. You don’t need to air the competitions all the time. You can get some commentators to explain the games. You can also feature some of the athletes that have high chances of winning medals. The Sports Administration should be happy to help you.”
“Will this add stress to the athletes?”
“Stress can also motivate them. Just look at Deng Yaping. She is under immense stress, but who can win her? Liu Guoliang’s results last year are also unbeatable. Wang Junxia’s nickname “Oriental Deer” is also given to her by others. There are also many sports like Gymnastic, diving, weightlifting, etc. where our athletes have high hopes of winning. Some events, our athletes might still break the world records. We must let everyone know about this.”
“Only this?”
“Of course not. We can also introduce our former Olympic medalists and the coaches. They are the ones that helped our athletes and had made significant contributions to the nation.”
“This is a must. The honor belongs to the team.” Chief Jia nodded.
“The reporting of athletes must also have a clear distinction. There is no point focusing the report on table tennis. We are already the best in the world for this event. We can report on tack and fields, badminton, etc. At the same time, we can advocate a national healthy lifestyle movement. ‘We might not be able to compete in the Olympic Games, but we can also take part and exercise.’ This is a good slogan. Jogging is one of the sports that everyone can participate in.”
A national healthy lifestyle movement? This is a good idea. The higher-ups will also be happy with the slogan. But Chief Jia did not realize that the star of China’s running arena was Wang Junxia. This movement will increase her value further. Feng Yu, who had a long-term contract with her, will benefit from it.
Hmmm……. Should I sign more star athletes now? Fu Mingxia will be winning two gold medals this year and became famous.
Yes. I must get someone to sign those good-looking athletes.”