The hot sales of Youth Idol tugged at the hearts of Wen Ying and others.
Another group of people were anxiously awaiting the premiere of Emerald Forest.
On August 1, Youth Idol was released.
On August 2, Emerald Forest premiered during prime time on Hunan Satellite TV.
With a renowned production team from Taiwan idol dramas and attractive lead actors, there was no reason for this drama not to succeed.
If things followed the trajectory of her previous life, this drama was supposed to premiere in October this year, but due to the flutter of Wen Ying’s reborn wings, the premiere of Emerald Forest was brought forward to August, the golden slot of summer holidays. The ratings for Emerald Forest might even surpass those in Wen Ying’s memory.
In Wen Ying’s memory, after its premiere, the drama’s ratings quickly soared to the top among TV programmes in the same time slot nationwide. It was so popular that the male lead could still reap the benefits of his role for over a decade, and even years later, production companies wanted to remake the drama.
Idol dramas are typically fast-selling products. Whether a drama is a classic cannot rely solely on fans’ hype; remakes are one of the key ways to prove its influence.
Of course, the original script by Zhang Guangzhen in her previous life also achieved top ratings nationwide in the same time slot. If The Princess’s New Clothes hadn’t been altered by Wen Ying, with the original cast and production team, airing it alongside Emerald Forest would have been a battle of titans.
Wen Ying’s involvement introduced variables. Emerald Forest premiered over two months early, and The Princess’s New Clothes had major changes to its characters and plot, with even the female lead replaced by Li Mengjiao. Who would win was truly hard to predict.
Hunan Satellite TV wanted to wait for Emerald Forest’s premiere ratings before negotiating the exclusive broadcast price for The Princess’s New Clothes with Yuan Fenghui. But would Yuan Fenghui really follow Hunan Satellite TV’s pace? After more than half a month of back-and-forth, Yuan Fenghui issued an ultimatum: the contract must be finalised by 6 p.m. on August 2.
If they couldn’t sign?
Then there was no need to wait for Emerald Forest’s ratings. Yuan Fenghui would take The Princess’s New Clothes and collaborate with other TV stations.
Even if the copyright fee was lower, Yuan Fenghui was willing to sell to other stations.
On the morning of the 2nd, during a call with Wen Ying, Yuan Fenghui reiterated her stance:
“I need to let Hunan Satellite TV know that Tianjiao’s dramas and Mengjiao herself are not commodities for them to pick and choose.”
The high ratings of Emerald Forest were not a reason for Hunan Satellite TV to suppress Tianjiao’s drama prices. The two dramas weren’t even airing in the same time slot, so there was no basis for comparison. Similarly, if Emerald Forest’s ratings were low, Yuan Fenghui wouldn’t use that to raise prices. Her negotiations with Hunan Satellite TV were always based on the quality of The Princess’s New Clothes and Li Mengjiao’s popularity. Even if Emerald Forest was poorly made, Yuan Fenghui had no intention of badmouthing it.
Thus, by 6 p.m. on August 2, the contract for The Princess’s New Clothes had to be finalised to avoid interference from Emerald Forest’s ratings.
Wen Ying wholeheartedly supported Yuan Fenghui’s decisiveness.
Yuan Fenghui’s current offer to Hunan Satellite TV was a three-year exclusive TV broadcast right for 60 million yuan, with online streaming rights retained by Tianjiao Media.
If Hunan Satellite TV agreed to these terms, the one-year exclusive broadcast fee for The Princess’s New Clothes would cover production costs, with the remaining two years being pure profit. After three years, the copyright would return to Tianjiao, who could sell it again.
Hunan Satellite TV found these terms outrageous, arguing that the three-year exclusive broadcast period was too short.
“They didn’t haggle too much over the 60 million yuan fee. Hunan Satellite TV isn’t one of those cash-strapped stations; they can afford 60 million. But they want the exclusive rights permanently,” Yuan Fenghui explained.
Permanent rights? Yuan Fenghui wouldn’t settle for just 60 million.
“But your bottom line isn’t really three years; there’s room for negotiation on that,” Wen Ying said, not in a questioning tone but with certainty that Yuan Fenghui would compromise on the time limit.
Sixty million yuan was indeed a steep price.
It was 2005, not 2019. Housing prices hadn’t yet skyrocketed beyond the reach of ordinary people, and the film and TV industry hadn’t entered the “billion era.” By 2019, TV dramas with investments exceeding 100 million yuan were commonplace, with high salaries for popular stars and increasing budgets for special effects driving up production costs. Some even claimed that multi-billion yuan production budgets were a money-laundering tactic, though Wen Ying, not deeply involved in her previous life, couldn’t comment.
In 2005, with low housing prices, wages, and living costs, The Princess’s New Clothes had a production budget under 20 million yuan. Selling the copyright for 60 million was enviable in the industry. If Wen Ying hadn’t suggested a time limit, Yuan Fenghui might have sold the rights outright to Hunan Satellite TV. Offering three years already left room for negotiation.
Yuan Fenghui laughed over the phone, “Not bad. We can negotiate on time, but not on price. Sixty million, not a cent less.”
Yuan Fenghui’s confidence led Wen Ying to suspect she already had cooperation intentions with other stations, and “60 million” was likely another station’s offer for exclusive rights.
Of course, Yuan Fenghui was tight-lipped, as Wen Ying had long experienced. Negotiations were a game of bluff and strategy, and if even Wen Ying could guess this, Hunan Satellite TV wasn’t foolish either. They, too, feared Yuan Fenghui would abandon them for another station.
Hunan Satellite TV scheduled Emerald Forest for August. If they couldn’t secure The Princess’s New Clothes’s rights, what would they use to retain viewers after the talent show ended in mid-September?
A high-quality drama was urgently needed by Hunan Satellite TV.
Both sides wanted to reach an agreement, but since Yuan Fenghui seemed to have a fallback, Hunan Satellite TV was more anxious. After Yuan Fenghui’s ultimatum, they had to show sincerity.
Pressure on the station didn’t just come from Yuan Fenghui but also from Mr. Liu of the dairy group.
The Princess’s New Clothes had to air on Hunan Satellite TV for the best promotional effect for the dairy brand.
For a sponsor willing to pay over 100 million yuan for naming rights, the station couldn’t ignore their demands.
Signing was a win-win-win.
Not signing meant losses for all three parties.
Mr. Liu acted as a mediator, actively facilitating the deal between Tianjiao and Hunan Satellite TV. On the morning of the 2nd, Yuan Fenghui entered the office with Director Fan and the station’s acquisition manager. Liang Dan and Mr. Guan had thought negotiations had collapsed, not expecting Yuan Fenghui to continue with Hunan Satellite TV after losing the prime time slot.
Something felt off.
Yuan Fenghui wasn’t someone easily swayed.
Liang Dan and Mr. Guan had a bad feeling.
Did Emerald Forest securing its slot before The Princess’s New Clothes really mean a victory for Emerald Forest?
Tonight, Emerald Forest would premiere. Liang Dan had someone keep an eye on the office where Yuan Fenghui was negotiating with station executives. At the morning meeting’s end, Yuan Fenghui was reserved, and the executives seemed in a bad mood.
Yet, they hadn’t completely broken down, resuming talks in the afternoon.
At 5:45 p.m., the office door opened. Yuan Fenghui emerged beaming, and Liang Dan received the latest news: the station had bought the exclusive broadcast rights for The Princess’s New Clothes!
