Reborn Russia as an oligarch

Wang Ye nodded and continued to ask: "For the development of NTV, does Director Serev have any long-term plans?"

This question is the purpose of Wang Ye's meeting with Serev today!

He wanted to talk to Serev in person and listen to the thoughts of this senior media person. After Serev's answer, Wang Ye would decide whether to keep the director.

Therefore, whether he can answer this question well and satisfy Wang Ye, the new boss, will directly determine Serev's fate!

Serev obviously also realized the importance of this question. After deliberating for a long time, he organized the language in his mind before he spoke cautiously:

"Actually, this question needs to be combined with some decisive conditions.

For example, the boss, your expectations for the TV station, and the budget money invested.

If you, the boss, want NTV to be self-financed and even profitable without investing a lot of money, then the development of NTV will be slower and more commercialized.

For example, reduce political news and in-depth programs, and produce more low-cost entertainment programs, because only in this way can TV stations earn more advertising costs.

But this will inevitably lead to less high-quality programs on TV stations, and less authoritative and influential.

If you, the boss, want NTV to grow faster, have higher coverage and greater influence, then you must invest more budgetary funds in the early stage to purchase or self-produce more high-quality programs.

But there are also disadvantages in this way, that is, the entertainment is not enough, the image is more serious, and there will not be too much advertising revenue..."

To sum up what Serev said, the meaning is very simple, that is, if you want to make the TV station bigger, you have to be willing to spend money!

What will happen to NTV's future depends to a large extent on Wang Ye, the boss...

Wang Ye nodded, noncommittal, he also understood the truth that it is hard for a clever woman to cook without rice.

So I never thought that just relying on the capabilities of NTV and Serev, the TV station could be made better without spending money.

After Serev finished speaking, Wang Ye said with a smile: "If I invest one billion dollars in NTV every year in the next ten years, and I don't need to consider the profit of the TV station."

Hearing Wang Ye's words, Serev, who was picking up the water glass to moisten his throat, felt a little dry after talking a lot just now, and all the water in the glass spilled out.

However, he didn't care to wipe off the water stains on his clothes, but looked at Wang Ye eagerly, and asked: "Speaker Mikhail, how much do you invest every year..."

It's not that Wang Ye didn't make it clear, but that Serev couldn't believe his ears!
For ten consecutive years, one billion dollars per year!

This amount is really outrageous...

You must know that Russia's largest state-owned TV station only invests more than 1 million U.S. dollars a year!

In the Abramovich era, NTV, in addition to the revenue of the TV station itself, the parent company only added 2000 million dollars a year...

Now the new boss directly said that he would give one billion dollars a year, and he didn't need to consider the issue of profitability!

How could Selev not be shocked by this!
He never thought that NTV could be so rich...

Wang Ye had expected Serev's shock. He smiled lightly and repeated, "One billion US dollars, every year."

After confirming that he heard correctly, Serev's eyes became eager.

If NTV TV station can really get so much money every year, then...

There is definitely a lot to do!

It won't take long, maybe two or three years, and he will be sure that NTV will "dominate" Russia... No, it should be the Russian-speaking market in Eastern Europe!

Let NTV directly radiate to all Russian-speaking countries, crush the state-owned TV stations in ratings, and become the undisputed most influential and highest-rated TV station!
Because one billion dollars a year, that can do too many things...

Because he was too excited, Serev was a little incoherent for a while, "Too much...too much! If we really have so much money, then we can produce several ace programs at the same time. Not only current affairs news programs can be made more timely and more It is authoritative, and it can also create entertainment programs, invite global big-name stars to participate in the programs, and can also produce some exquisite drama series with a lot of investment..."

Obviously, Serev also has many ideas and plans regarding the development of the TV station, but he is limited by insufficient funds, so those plans and ideas can only stay on paper or in his mind, and cannot be realized at all.

Now it's all right, the new boss is willing to invest a lot of money, he can also show his strength.

The reason why Wang Ye wants to invest a lot of money in NTV TV station also has his own ideas.

Because he felt that since the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the beliefs of many old men have collapsed, and they have also begun to have doubts and lack of confidence in their traditional culture.

With the "invasion" of strong foreign cultures, young people have begun to "Westernize", and they have been exposed to European and American culture and entertainment stars since childhood.

Under the long-term subtle influence, I have developed a good impression of Europe and the United States under the filter, so I am seriously dissatisfied with my own country and nation.

If we want to reverse this trend, we must establish cultural self-confidence, but this is obviously not an easy task.

But this is what must be done...

Wang Ye started to do it from two aspects. One is to control the Russian Internet and social platforms. Through the acquisition of MAIL.RU and YANDEX, and the establishment of Facebook, he basically achieved it.

At the very least, the Russian-language online information platform that young people can access is in their own hands.

In this way, at certain times, technical means such as keyword screening can be used to grasp the delivery and dissemination of information, etc. Some things are inconvenient to elaborate, but everyone should have experience.

The second, of course, is to slowly cultivate the cultural self-confidence of the people. TV programs are relatively effective in this regard.

So even in the Internet age, the power of TV stations cannot be underestimated.

Not to mention that it is only 2006, and the influence of TV stations is still great. Among the entertainment choices of more people, TV is still the first choice.

Therefore, Wang Yecai plans to spend a lot of money, using 100 billion US dollars in ten years, to build a strong cultural output position!

That is, the newly acquired NTV...

…………

Serev was so excited that his whole body was trembling slightly, he said at a loss: "So much money... there is no way to spend it all!"

Let him spend a billion dollars all of a sudden, it's really hard for him.

Seriously, even the most daring plans he'd ever dreamed up didn't come with a billion-dollar-a-year budget.

Spending money is also a technical job. You can't spend the money given by the boss. Serev doesn't have the guts yet...

Wang Ye smiled and said, "Let me make a request. Out of the annual budget of one billion U.S. dollars, [-] million U.S. dollars must be used to film one or two major dramas! The subject matter must be about our Russian history and culture. , it must be beautifully produced, the kind that can cause a sensation when it is broadcast, I don’t know if you can do it.”

2006 million U.S. dollars to film a TV series, such a luxury thing has never appeared before [-]!

Even if the TV series "Band of Brothers", which claims to have the highest investment in history, actually only invested a total of 2000 million US dollars, and now Wang Ye has quadrupled it!
Apparently, his ambition is not small. The big drama he shoots is not only to be broadcast in Russia, but also to export culture...

Of course, sufficient funds are not enough, there must also be a corresponding talent team to ensure that the money is spent in place to produce the effect Wang Ye wants.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be a big joke to shoot a bad drama with hundreds of millions of dollars!

This is also not allowed by Wang Ye!
Serev obviously understood what Wang Ye meant, and his face became more serious.

It is of course a good thing for the boss to be willing to invest in investors, but for an executive like him, the money is also very hot to hold.

Because the more money the boss puts in, the higher the requirements will be.

It is not an easy task to meet the requirements of the boss.

After thinking about it seriously, Serev nodded solemnly and said:
"Chairman Mikhail, please rest assured, I will definitely organize the top team in the country, from script polishing, to director team formation, to selection of actors, and finally to shooting effects, all links will strive for excellence and must be perfect!

I am confident that one or two big-budget and beautiful dramas will be produced every year, and NTV production will become a resounding symbol! "

To be honest, Serev felt a little guilty.

If the funds are sufficient to shoot a large-scale TV series, it can indeed be filmed, but the question is whether the effect of the filming can achieve the desired effect, that is, meet the expectations of the boss.

No one can guarantee this.

But at this moment, even if he had no idea, he had to bite the bullet and agree!

Because if he didn't even have this responsibility, what would he be the head of the station!
In any case, Serev had to fight hard, and he didn't believe it. He held a billion dollar knife in his hand, but he "tossed" vigorously for a year, and he didn't believe that there would be no effect from the toss!

Even if I was fired a year later because I didn't meet the boss's expectations, then I don't have any regrets.

Anyway, I am also a man who spends one billion dollars a year...

This is enough to blow half my life!

…………

Hearing Serev's assurance to himself, Wang Ye nodded in satisfaction.

Although he also knew in his heart that even if he had invested so much money, it was still unknown whether he could do a good job in this matter and achieve the effect he hoped for.

But he is also willing to give Serev this opportunity to let him try.

If it doesn't work, it's not a big deal to change people next year.

So Wang Ye smiled and said:

"Funds will be in place soon. I have already thought about the theme of the first big drama cast this year, and it will be Empress Ekaterina!

In terms of filming, I think you can learn from American dramas and shoot by season.

If the audience responds well after the first season is filmed, then immediately follow up with the second and third seasons...

If the effect of the first quarter is not good, it can also stop losses in time and adjust the direction. "

Wang Ye also had some considerations when he chose to shoot the drama "Ekaterina".

Before he was reborn, this drama was the most impressive Russian drama he had ever seen.

Not only did it receive a strong response in Russia, but it was also famously watched by many people abroad.

Now that I have invested a huge amount of money to film this drama in advance, and even invested a lot more than in my previous life, the effect of the filming will definitely be better than in my previous life.

This is one of them.

In addition, Wang Ye still has a little "selfishness" in filming this drama.

Don't forget, who is Empress Catherine!
That is the ancestor of Rosiana, the queen of the Romanov Dynasty!

This can be regarded as building momentum for Rosiana and cultivating her reputation.

"Empress Ekaterina...a very good theme. She is well-known around the world, and she is also a female emperor, so there are many stories that can be discovered. It is indeed right to choose this theme. Speaker, you have a really good vision. OK."

Serev patted Wang Ye's "flattery" without any trace.

Just kidding, since this is the subject matter that the boss has specified, no matter what the boss chooses, I can only say yes, instead of saying that the subject matter is not good...

Wang Ye laughed, raised the red wine glass in hand, and said, "Then wish our TV station's new drama a record high ratings!"

Serev also hastily raised his glass.

After a "ding" touch, both of them drank it down in one gulp!

…………

Wang Ye acted swiftly and swiftly, and quickly allocated the funds promised to Serev.

A billion dollars is a lot!
Originally, all the money he had on hand was spent on purchasing the assets of Khovchenko and Abramovich, so it was difficult to raise so much money in a short time.

However, the money he paid to Hovchenko is still in the account of the First United Bank, and Hovchenko will not need that much money for the time being.

Now that Wang Ye was in urgent need, he told Hovchenko and temporarily borrowed a billion dollars.

Given their uncle and nephew relationship, this is nothing at all. Hovchenko readily agreed, and even asked Wang Ye if one billion dollars was enough. If not, he had a lot of money in his account, so he could borrow it !

Serev was also very efficient. He came up with a five-year development plan as quickly as possible, planning to use five years to make NTV the largest TV station in Eastern Europe, with signals covering the whole of Russia and all surrounding Russian-speaking countries.

Of course, his confidence is Wang Ye's annual investment of one billion dollars...

As a key first step in the TV station's development plan, the filming of the self-made drama "Queen Ekaterina Season [-]" was immediately put on the agenda.

Serev personally served as the leader of the preparatory working group, widely distributed "hero posts", and called the top screenwriters, directors, and actors in the TV drama and film industry from all over Russia and even the entire Eastern Europe.

Let out a bold statement, to invest [-] million US dollars to create a drama that will shock the world.

This news immediately caused a great shock in the entire Russian entertainment circle, and everyone who had nothing to do with it wanted to squeeze into the crew for a piece of the pie.