Phoenix Satellite Television was originally jointly established by Asia Limited, Star Media and Huaying International.

In terms of share distribution, Star Media and Liu Changle's Asia Limited each hold 45% of the shares.

Liu Changle has a mainland prostitute background and has certain tasks to perform, so it is unlikely that his shares will change.

Therefore, if you want to take over Phoenix TV, the biggest way is Star Media.

Of course Du Sheng knew this very well.

It was precisely because of this financial crisis that Star Media sold 12% of its shares to Oriental Mobile Company for HK$20 billion next year.

Then in 2013, Star Media's parent company News Corporation sold all of its remaining Phoenix TV shares for RMB 16.7 billion as part of its split plan.

And now, due to his and Zheng Zetao's intervention, the crisis facing Star Media is even more serious.

The pressure can only be relieved by selling part of the shares of STAR Newspapers.

Even so, Star Media took too big a step and the funds are still not enough to improve its layout and operations in Asia.

Therefore, it is indeed a wise choice to streamline the bloated Phoenix TV in exchange for funds.

Moreover, with the intensifying competition in the media industry and local policy factors, selling out is a matter of time.

Of course, these are considerations within the Murdoch family and will not be made public.

Jared said calmly:
"At the shareholders' meeting at the beginning of the year, I told shareholders to increase investment."

Du Sheng laughed in his heart.

Can you bring out all the words that capitalists use to PUA their employees?

"Mr. Jared, Phoenix TV's current prospects are uncertain, and its advertising revenue is only one-fifth of TVB's.

Even if we captured some ATV market share at the peak of this year, we only achieved a profit of 8200 million, which is far below market expectations..."

Jared's face darkened.

You should know that Phoenix TV’s third quarter financial report data has just completed internal audit.

As the second largest shareholder, he only saw this report the day before yesterday.

Jared was furious. It was obvious that Asia Limited intended to squeeze Star Media out.

What he didn't know was that these were the data that Ye Jingzhi's father had obtained from Liu Changle indirectly.

Of course, selling is not out of the question, but it cannot be sold at a rock-bottom price.

Now that the other party has known all our cards, how can the negotiations proceed?

Jared looked at the young man opposite him again and smiled again:

"Over the years, Liu Changle, Chen Yongqi and I have invested billions.

Even if we have to sell, we hope to find someone who is capable of leading Phoenix TV to greater heights. Do you have this ability?"

"Mr. Jared, traditional media ultimately speaks for itself with the quality of its content.

If you can win simply by relying on financial investment, you would have replaced TVB long ago."

Du Sheng was not annoyed by being looked down upon, and smiled and said:
“It just so happens that I have some experience and ideas in this area!

You might want to learn more about “Chinese Paladin,” “Full House,” and “The Twin Dragons,” all of which are produced by Interstellar Media.”

Although Jared rarely paid attention to the mainland, he had heard of Du Sheng's name during his time in Australia. He nodded slightly:
“It’s good for young people to be brave and work hard, but this society lacks ambitious people.

How about this, I can give you half of the shares of Star Media for 2 billion!"

The reason why the transaction with the Zheng family just now was completed so smoothly was because STAR Newspapers was burdened with a large amount of debt.

But Phoenix Satellite Television does not have that much debt.

Although it is an indisputable fact that revenue is low, there is no rush to streamline the business.

"Mr. Jared, you are not sincere enough!

Phoenix TV's ratings in Hong Kong account for only 2%, and people in the mainland only watch its news. Its advertising fees are less than one-fifth of TVB's.

What is TVB’s current market value?

86 billion!
What is the current stock price of Phoenix Satellite Television?

1.2 Hong Kong dollars!

The total market value is at most 30 billion.”

Since Du Sheng had been thinking about this for a long time, how could he fight an unprepared battle?

"Mr. Jared, I'm here with sincerity and I don't want to haggle over pennies. I'll just use Phoenix TV's peak valuation of 36 billion and buy your 11% stake for 30 billion."

"impossible!"

Du Sheng seemed not surprised and added:
“Dollar delivery!”

The Apple and Amazon stocks he bought before have appreciated significantly so far.

For example, when I bought Apple, the stock price was $7.63, and now it has risen to $64.

Although Amazon's price was not as high, it also increased from $9.82 to $50.

Based on double leverage, the current profit is at least 8000 million US dollars.

If we take into account the revenue from records, Kung Fu Pie, endorsement fees, and film and television dramas during this period, it is not difficult to pay this money in cash.

If you add in high-quality asset bank loans, it would be a piece of cake.

Even if we pay the money to MGM at the same time, as long as it arrives in batches, we will have a certain ability to do so.

After hearing the proposal, Jared Murdoch pondered.

Currently, mergers and acquisitions in the market are usually carried out in the form of share exchanges or issuance of new shares.

Therefore, cash transactions are particularly attractive.

Especially at this critical moment.

After careful consideration, Jared shook his head slightly and said:
"11 billion is too little. Phoenix TV is worth much more than that."

Phoenix TV and TVB are the only two listed television stations in Hong Kong. Even though they are facing difficulties, there are still many investors willing to bet on them.

In contrast, STAR Newspapers had been leveraged by the Zheng family because of its huge debts, so not many people got involved.

But the situation of Phoenix TV is different. Jared can find more buyers.

And this is not a trivial matter, he has to communicate with his brother.

"I will discuss it with my family and give you an answer in two days."

Du Sheng smiled and said a few polite words, then he and Zheng Zetao stood up and left the meeting room.

Today's meeting is mainly to make our stance clear, not to reach an immediate agreement.

After leaving, Zheng Zetao patted Du Sheng's shoulder gently and smiled gratefully:
"Asheng, this time it's all thanks to you!"

"Helping each other is what we should do."

Du Sheng responded with a smile.

"That's natural, haha!"

Zheng Zetao laughed heartily and then asked:
"Ah Sheng, are you really confident about this?
Not to mention that the foreigners are asking for a lot of money, even if you can buy it, you may not be able to make a profit."

TVB, which was once as stable as half of the country, is now on the decline. It is obvious that traditional TV stations cannot maintain their basic base.

Phoenix TV, which focuses on news content, only made a profit this year, having suffered losses every year before.

In addition, with the rapid development of the Internet, it is becoming increasingly difficult for TV stations to make money solely through advertising and dramas.

This is also the reason why the Zheng family did not rashly wade into muddy waters.

“I understand the difficulty, but the TV station and my Star Media are complementary, which is crucial.

More importantly, we need its influence and its own channels.”

Du Sheng vaguely revealed some information.

He may not have great management skills, but he knows exactly what types of shows and TV series will be popular in the future.

With this, he is confident that he can improve the ratings of Phoenix TV.

With Phoenix TV, Star Media has a communication platform, which is a key link in building its ecosystem.

In fact, Phoenix Chinese TV is not only broadcast in Hong Kong, it also covers Guangdong and Guangxi regions for free.

For those families and hotels that have installed satellite TV receivers, it is not difficult to receive Phoenix TV programs.

This means that Phoenix TV's potential audience even exceeds that of some mainland satellite TV stations.

If we include channels from Europe, America, Asia-Pacific and other regions, the influence will be even greater.

If managed properly, this is undoubtedly a market with great potential.

前世凤凰卫视就通过Astla-2G、Eutelsat-9A、Galaxy-3c等卫星直播平台，已实现真正意义上的全球覆盖，并进入3000多家三星级以上酒店约140多万房间。

Ten years later, Phoenix TV had a global audience of over 5 million, making it the overseas Chinese-language satellite TV media with the widest coverage in the world.

Du Sheng knew this clearly, which was why he was willing to spend a huge amount of money on the bet.

If Star Media really takes over, this number will definitely double.

"That's right. If you don't have enough funds, tell me. I can still provide some support."

Zheng Zetao said without further ado, smiling.

Not to mention the cooperation between the two parties in the public welfare of "Kung Fu School", "Kung Fu" and "Huabang", the thriving Star Media alone is worthy of the Zheng family's bet.

"Thank you. If I need anything, I will ask you even if you don't mention it."

Since he could raise money on his own, Du Sheng didn't want to owe favors to others, so he kept smiling:
"Of course, we may need your Zheng family to act as a guarantor. This will not be so easy to accomplish."

.........

That afternoon, a piece of news dominated news all over Hong Kong.

"According to reliable intelligence, as Star Media is shifting its focus to streamline its business, Jared Murdoch has spread rumors in the industry that he plans to sell his stake in Phoenix TV!"

Although Phoenix TV has been suppressed by TVB, it previously made a name for itself by reporting on the 911 incident and the Irac War.

However, at present, only news information can keep up with TVB's style, and other sports, music, TV dramas, etc. are not worth watching at all.

The fact that TVB has a free license is enough to keep it standing. When this news came out, Hong Kong citizens had different opinions.

Some people criticized Jared for being stupid and having a lot of money, and for squandering all his elder brother's assets.

Some people praise TVB as an unshakable figure that has survived decades of ups and downs.

There are also people who just want to watch the fun and speculate who will be the next major shareholder of Phoenix TV.

There was also some anxiety within Phoenix TV.

"Didn't Star Media disclose before that it would not sell Phoenix TV and would help us double our share price?"

a female staff member asked in disbelief.

"Jared must have his own difficulties. News Corporation has proposed an Asian development strategy, and Star Media must be consistent with it."

"STAR Newspapers has been messed up by his son. His life must be difficult."

For many years, Jared Murdoch's image at Phoenix TV has been relatively positive.

On the one hand, it is because Phoenix TV’s basic treatment is better than other TV stations.

On the other hand, foreign shareholders rarely interfere with internal creation, which gives employees greater creative freedom.

Of course, this also means that the company will inevitably engage in extravagance and corruption during its operations.

After dealing with matters in Hong Kong, Du Sheng flew back to the mainland in the afternoon.

There are three important itineraries this time.

First of all, Yangshi Channel 3 is about to launch a new program, and Du Sheng and Girls' Generation are among the invited guests.

Since Yangshi's comprehensive revision half a year ago, "Variety Show" was "eliminated from the bottom" due to its declining ratings.

He officially bid farewell to the audience and left the screen not long ago.

What replaced it was "Happy Journey to the East".

Its positioning is "to connect a happy city with happy footprints", highlighting the charm of the city and demonstrating the identity of regional culture through entertainment and interactive methods.

Since this is the first recording, the Yangshi production team attached great importance to it and invited many famous singers and actors to participate in the performance.

Such as Mao Amin, Zhou Chuanxiong, Du Sheng, Girls' Generation, TVXQ from Korea, Chae Yeon, etc.

"TVXQ?"

When Du Sheng heard Wang Jinhua's reminder, his face turned strange.

If he remembered correctly, this popular band in Korea in his previous life should have been formed not long ago, and they are already performing across borders?

Also, this seems to be from SM company, right?

"Yes, thanks to the residual influence of the first generation idol group HOT, this successor group has a strong momentum of development, and its current annual record sales are temporarily ranked second in Korea."

Wang Jinhua seemed to see his doubts and said:

"In the past two months, they held a concert at the Great Hall of the People to celebrate the friendship between the two countries. After that, they also participated in performances in Modu, Liancheng and other places, attracting a large number of mainland fans..."

Du Sheng nodded thoughtfully.

HOT and TVXQ are both from SM Entertainment. The former has already disbanded, so it is not wrong to say that the latter is the successor.

What surprised him a little was that TVXQ was so powerful.

Although Star Media took the opportunity to acquire 8% of the shares when it learned that SM's valuation was volatile last time, this was only out of profit considerations.

When it comes to development, competitive pressure is overwhelming.

Especially for mainland idol groups, the impact was like a mountain torrent.

Du Sheng is well aware of how exaggerated the influence of Korean Wave will be in the future.

For example, in the opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup in the previous life, the official theme song "Dreamer" was sung by the Korean group BTS.

The World Cup is one of the most influential sporting events in the world. The Korean boy band's appearance on such an international stage is undoubtedly a recognition of their popularity around the world.

However, no Chinese celebrity in the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or even the entire world has ever had this honor.

To put it bluntly, many domestic artists are lacking in professionalism and artistic pursuits.

Especially in the era of traffic, everyone in the circle from top to bottom is only concerned with making money.

It's really like a piece of mud that can't be helped!

Take the Chinese national football team for example. If it had some potential, why would Chinese people support foreign teams?
Du Sheng felt sad just thinking about it!

But to be honest, you can't help but admire the efforts made by Korea in promoting and exporting its culture.

For example, in economically underdeveloped regions such as Africa and Latin America, Korean entertainment companies give away songs and Korean dramas for free to local media for broadcast.

Decades of continuous promotion have expanded the influence of Korean culture.

Just like in Cuba a few years later, people rushed to use their hard drives to copy Korean dramas, and the Korean culture has gradually become popular.

Du Sheng has now lived a new life and has no shortage of money, but he still feels pressured by the invasion of Korean Wave.

Because if you don't occupy this high ground, others will occupy it imperceptibly.

"In addition to "Happy Journey to the East", you will also have to participate in the Golden Eagle Awards and the Neon International Film Festival..."

Wang Jinhua didn't know why Du Sheng became so sentimental, so she simply changed the topic.

The new Golden Eagle Awards is about to be held. Du Sheng’s "The Heaven Sword and the Dragon Saber" and "The Chinese Paladin 1" have both been shortlisted for awards, so he has to make an appearance.

Du Sheng nodded, thought for a moment and asked:
"Aren't Blood Romance and Water Moon Cave completed post-production? Are there any plans to broadcast them?"

“Yes, and quite a few TV stations have contacted us proactively.”

Wang Jinhua was familiar with this and said casually:

"For example, Blood Romance is produced by our StarCraft, and has popular stars such as Lu Yi, Zuo Xiaoqing, and Tang Yan joining the cast. Previously, satellite TV stations such as Litchi TV, Pearl River TV, and Dolphin TV took the initiative to inquire about the price."

"We discussed it and decided to cooperate with Lizhi TV..."

According to her explanation, the reason for this choice was that in addition to the slightly higher copyright price offered by Lizhi TV, it also provided convenience in terms of publicity and broadcasting.

The drama will be able to be broadcast at the latest in mid-to-late October.

Other stations can’t do that.

Du Sheng had no objection to this.

"Blood Romance" has proven itself in its previous life. No matter when it is broadcast, it will definitely trigger a ratings boom.

Besides, it is also good for the show to be aired earlier, and Girls' Generation can also participate more in the promotion of the show.

By the end of October, they will have to join the crew of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and will have no time to take care of it.

"Because it is a novel fantasy drama, "Water Moon Cave" has also been well received by the market, and even TVB has some ideas about it."

Wang Jinhua continued:
"TV stations in Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Moscow have all contacted us actively, and the highest price offered so far is 10 per episode..."

As we all know, last year Zhang Da Huzi's "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" was sold to a TV station at an average price of only 9 per episode.

Why is "Water Moon Cave" so popular?

She speculated that there were three reasons.

First, it is almost a consensus in the industry that dramas produced by Star Media must be high-quality.

After all, there have been so many dramas released before and after, and none of them was a failure.

Secondly, the producer, director, photographer, etc. of this drama are all the original team of "Legend of Sword and Fairy 1".

The former is a novel fantasy drama, and the latter is a novel fairy tale drama.

This gives the outside world a subconscious understanding, that is, to innovate!
Everyone in the industry knows how popular "Legend of Sword and Fairy 1" is.

Thirdly, the leading actors of this drama are not bad either, they are either handsome men or beautiful women.

Especially the TVB actresses Cai Shaofen and Girls' Generation's Liu Shishi, who naturally brought a wave of popularity.

What's more, Du Sheng not only showed up to support the event, but also attended the launch conference in person.

This level of importance alone is enough to make it attract much attention.

Du Sheng thought for a moment and said:
"Since there is no consensus on the dispute, let the two companies jointly broadcast it. Small profits but quick turnover will not reduce profits."

He remembered that in his previous life, even when this drama was rebroadcast in Modu and Shenzhen, it was ranked among the top three in the region's annual ratings.

If the two companies were to premiere together now, the results would be even better.

Wang Jinhua nodded and said:

"But in this case, it will be difficult to coordinate the time. The earliest estimated time is November."

"As soon as possible, just coordinate it."

Du Sheng thought of something and reminded:
"If the ratings of this drama are not less than 8%, a sequel will be released next year."

With his previous life's achievements as a foundation, he was sure that this drama would not be bad.

At that time, even countries such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam introduced and broadcast the show.

What's more, the script of the sequel "Legend of the Spirit Realm" has been pulled out.

Even if the ratings are slightly lower, the threshold can be relaxed.

It was already evening when the plane landed in Beijing.

Wang Jinhua accompanied Du Sheng to the villa, where the three girls from Girls' Generation were waiting.

Seeing Du Sheng coming in, Liu Yifei's eyes lit up.
But she seemed to remember something and deliberately pulled a few little sisters to hug and play with them.

However, Yang Mi quietly broke away from Liu Yifei's embrace, quickly ran to Du Sheng, and happily kissed him on the cheek.

Du Sheng laughed and teased:
"Xixi, it seems that your dream of having girls all over your body still needs to be improved. Keep working hard."

Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at Yang Mi and said angrily:

"Sure enough, you are the first one again!

As soon as I saw someone, I forgot about sisterly solidarity. ”

………(End of chapter)