Wanting Exclusive Early Broadcast Rights?

The next day, at 10:30 a. m.

Meng Shu just arrived at the company, put down her coffee, and hadn't even turned on her computer when Supervisor Lian called her WeChat.

This means she has received news from her side.

Hearing the urgent ringtone, Meng Shu turned on her phone and answered it at the same time.

[Good morning President Meng. We have news regarding the virtual stage technology you requested.]

The familiar voice of Supervisor Lian came from the other end of the phone.

Clearly, this so-called news should satisfy him.

Meng Shu picked up her coffee, took a sip, and asked softly.

"Really? Tell me about it."

Supervisor Lian immediately spoke up.

[President Meng, the special effects stage play you mentioned refers to the performance with virtual characters. We've communicated with C Corp in Japan, and they've expressed their willingness to provide on-site technical support to help you achieve this stage effect!]

[But they have one condition.]

condition?

Of course.

Meng Shu was not surprised when she heard this.

The other party is Japan capitalist who controls nearly half of the virtual idols in his country. He has countless fans, receives numerous advertising offers, and frequently participates in events.

If a company of this size offered to do it for free, Meng Shu would actually be a little worried.

But now that the request has been made, things are easier to discuss.

An equal exchange or a negotiated purchase is fine.

After all, this is a transaction.

"Tell me, what are your conditions?"

Supervisor Lian paused for a moment, then spoke.

[They want you to exclusively grant them the pre-release rights for their next game, only then will they be willing to provide technical support free of charge.]

After hearing this, Meng Shu smiled wryly.

"Does this mean that C Corp wants to monopolize the pre-broadcast rights? What was your response?"

Supervisor Lian answered quickly and truthfully without hesitation.

[We can't make that decision ourselves, and the Japan side believes the game was developed by our company, Infinite Network Entertainment. So we said we need to consider it and will call you immediately to ask for your opinion.]

Meng Shu nodded and pondered for a moment.

C Corp's desire to exclusively secure pre-release rights for its next game clearly stems from its success with Control Failure.

However, there is another company in Japan called H Corp, and the two can be considered competitors.

This is an unfair business competition for them.

If C Corp gets the rights to preview the new game, while H Corp does not.

That situation would be at least one-sided.

But that's not the main point; Meng Shu doesn't care who gets the pre-broadcast qualification.

What he cares about is the player community.

With C Corp C Corp the pre-broadcast qualification, its fan base was naturally overjoyed.

But what should H Corp's fans do?

Are you suggesting we get them to abandon the virtual YouTubers they promote and go watch C Corp's shows instead?

This is obviously not good.

C Corp's approach directly impacts gamers, who naturally have diverse preferences, and both C Corp and H Corp have a large number of loyal fans for their virtual idols. Therefore, for Meng Shu, since her primary target audience is gamers, she needs to cater to the fans of both companies.

Either treat everyone equally, so that everyone gets something.

Either we all refuse, or no one will.

So Meng Shu took a sip of coffee and declined.

"There's nothing to discuss about monopolizing it; I refuse."

"I don't have any particular feelings about H Corp, but I don't want to abandon the players and fans who like H Corp. So there's no need to do something so thankless for such a small benefit. Let's find a compromise and communicate more between the two companies."

"If all else fails, then we won't contact them. We also have virtual YouTubers in China, so there must be companies that operate them. We can try contacting them."

Supervisor Lian on the other end of the phone seemed to have expected this, so she just chuckled dryly.

But after a moment's thought, she still offered her opinion.

[President Meng, is it possible that we agree to C Corp's conditions and grant them exclusive rights? Then, with H Corp, we can sell them game pre-release rights. What do you think?]

Meng Shu chuckled, put down her coffee, and wiped the coffee stains from her lips.

He was quite taken aback when he heard Supervisor Lian say such a thing.

If we can squeeze some money out of H Corp, that would be great.

only...

"Neither of these companies is stupid."

Meng Shu responded.

[Um... okay.]

Supervisor Lian was somewhat embarrassed.

[I understand, I will communicate with them again.]

"Okay, thank you for your help, Supervisor Lian. But if they bring up the issue of exclusive rights again, just refuse them directly. There's no room for negotiation."

[Okay, I understand. I'll continue to contact them.]

After exchanging a few polite words, the two hung up the phone.

Meng Shu was quite at ease with Supervisor Lian's work.

She doesn't make decisions on her own, is very obedient and easy to manage, and her supervisory position gives her a certain amount of influence within the company.

It's so convenient to have him handle some of my work-related needs.

Unfortunately, she works for someone else's company.

But it doesn't matter, as long as it helps him.

Shaking her head, Meng Shu took the USB drive containing the "Dead Space" PowerPoint presentation and walked out, then asked Fang Yuancheng, Xia Nianzhen, and a large group of new employees to come to the conference room for a meeting.

The meeting ended an hour later.

Meng Shu returned to her office and took a sip of water.

He just gave a brief overview of the Dead Space demo and the E3 Expo.

And we asked the art director, Fang Yuancheng, to arrange for colleagues to complete this demo version.

At the same time, the art style and monster designs were explained in a simple way so that they could understand them clearly.

They were also specifically told that although this was not a key project, it was a temporary E3 Expo that should be given priority.

The progress of the VR version of Dark Forest can be slowed down.

Then, I returned to the office and began my work.

Virtual special effects stage plays can be handled entirely by technology companies without any worries.

However, motion capture actors and directors are still needed for stage plays.

He can provide the script, but he can't provide the actors.

Moreover, stage plays differ from film and television dramas in that the direction is different.

The most important aspects of a breathtaking performance are the actors' portrayals and the music.

The most direct and shocking part of Dead Space is the process of the protagonist Isaac being armored. If it could be shown to the audience in a virtual form at E3 Expo, it would be a killer move.

However, the director has not yet been confirmed, and the special effects can only be done after the production team is finalized.

Therefore, he needs to find an experienced stage director.

After thinking about it, he tried contacting the Magic Shadow Studio, which had previously filmed the Mockumentary W-FBC-0087 "The Anomaly Stairwell".

After a few words, the other party said they were willing but unable to help.

Since Magic Shadow Studio mainly shoots commercials, their last attempt at making Mockumentary was already beyond their capabilities.

Furthermore, having absolutely no experience directing stage plays, I was worried I wouldn't be able to handle the project. Therefore, I could only offer a polite apology, indicating that I was powerless to help.

This made Meng Shu sigh and say it was okay.

They then approached Blue Eagle Studio, the company that had previously handled motion capture for "Control Failure".

But after thinking about it, considering the situation of Magic Shadow Studio, he decided not to make the call.

Only now has Mr. Meng realized that he has very few options.

Previously, whenever I had any needs, I would just tell Supervisor Lian, and she would take care of it.

Now that I have to go out and do it myself, I can't even find the way, which is quite embarrassing.

Meng Shu rubbed her temples, took a sip of water, and then picked up her phone to send a WeChat to Supervisor Lian.

[Supervisor Lian, could you recommend a director with stage experience? Not necessarily a very famous one, second or third tier is fine. But they must be easy to communicate with and willing to accept my ideas.]

[They can be younger, not someone with a strong personal style, and someone who can be integrated with the team quickly.]

Meng Shu sent two messages in a row and then breathed a sigh of relief.

At the same time, I was also thinking it was time to hire a secretary to handle these miscellaneous tasks.

The reason we continue to ask Supervisor Lian for help is simply because she can use the name of Infinite Network Entertainment to find almost top-notch resources.

Training someone from within the company would likely take some time. Although there might be limited resources, they would be someone from our own company.

In short, let's take it slow.

As for the secretary

Meng Shu once again recalled the secretary who used to help him with miscellaneous tasks in the original world, namely Sister Zhang, who was over 40 years old.

Although he is old, he is experienced and decisive, making him his best assistant.

If you're looking to hire a secretary, then naturally you need to hire someone like this.

When it comes to work, he doesn't care about looks or age.

He only cares about whether he can do it, whether it's suitable, and whether he has the ability.

That's all.

Soon, Supervisor Lian sent a reply.

[OK.]

Looking at the simple reply, Meng Shu knew that finding a suitable director was very difficult, and she didn't expect her to find someone in a day or two.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Supervisor Lian called.

This time, surprisingly, two pieces of good news were brought.

This means that the stage play director and the Japan side are both okay!

[President Meng, I have two pieces of good news. One concerns virtual technology, and the other concerns the director you asked me to find.]

Upon hearing this, Meng Shu was overjoyed.

Supervisor Lian is quite efficient.

"So fast? You must have worked hard. How did it go?"

Supervisor Lian gave a soft "hmm" and quickly spoke.

[After you rejected C Corp's request yesterday, our head of overseas promotion at Infinite Network Entertainment personally conducted further communication, holding a video conference with the heads of C Corp and H Corp. ]

[After communicating with both companies for about an hour, we finally succeeded. C Corp and H Corp decided to collaborate and provide on-site virtual technology support for this exhibition.]

Supervisor Lian spoke quickly, finishing such a long sentence in one breath.

But he spoke clearly and in an orderly manner, so Meng Shu didn't miss anything.

That's what professionalism is all about.

However, there are definitely requirements for two companies to collaborate.

Supervisor Lian must know this as well.

But she still said it was good news, which means the request shouldn't be too outrageous.

"What are their requirements?"

After hearing this, Supervisor Lian did not answer immediately.

Instead, he picked up something, making a paper-like sound, and then spoke.

[Both companies hope that your next game will be promoted by paying them a certain amount of money, similar to what other companies do.]

[They didn't want to have to pay for it themselves again, like with "Control Failure".]

[They also said it was a pity they misjudged "Skyhill" back then, and hoped to make friends through this incident and enjoy normal cooperation like other companies.]

Upon hearing this, even Meng Shu couldn't help but laugh.

A soft chuckle came from Supervisor Lian's side as well.

Clearly, both C Corp and H Corp in Japan were aware of their situation.

Pre-broadcast access, whether on Danmu Network or other platforms, is not something that mid- to low-level streamers, both domestically and internationally, do for free.

Instead, Infinite Network Entertainment paid them a large sum of money to broadcast it, which is why this pre-broadcast promotion took place.

When Infinite Network Entertainment paid C Corp and H Corp to pre-broadcast "Skyhill," both companies were arrogant and demanded exorbitant prices.

The promotion manager of Infinite Network Entertainment wasn't stupid either. He immediately waved his hand and said, "No matter how many virtual beauties you have, I'll just choose independent virtual streamers."

This move thrilled the mid-to-low-level casual VTubers in Japan. Not only did they get paid, but they could also ride the wave of VR Game to gain massive viewership—a win-win situation!

In particular, some female streamers, on the day of the pre-broadcast, took advantage of the unprecedented VR Game "Skyhill" to make their streams, which were originally low in popularity, soar to new heights. Afterwards, hundreds of simultaneous viewers and large amounts of SC (Super Coins) followed one after another, which was something they never dared to imagine before.

This made both companies extremely envious.

To make up for it, C Corp and H Corp directly funded their own pre-release rights before the release of "Control Failure".

However, it's impossible to do this out-of-pocket expense every time.

Therefore, C Corp and H Corp are now hoping to use this opportunity of providing technical support for the stage play to resume normal collaborative promotion.

In other words, you provide the funding, and we promote it through live streaming.

This is actually understandable, and Meng Shu can understand it.

So he replied with a smile.

"That's fine, I can accept it, as long as they guarantee that there will be no problems throughout the exhibition, and that safety is the top priority."

[We followed up, and both companies assured us that there shouldn't be any problems, considering they've already done so many virtual concerts.]

"That's good, thank you, Supervisor Lian."

"By the way, what's another piece of good news? Have you found a suitable director yet?"

[Yes.]

Supervisor Lian's reply this time was very affirmative.

[I made some inquiries, and there is indeed an experienced stage director who fits your requirements. I'll send you his phone number later; I was originally going to speak to him on your behalf. However, you'll need to discuss the details with him personally.]

"Okay, thank you, you've been a great help."

[You're welcome, President Meng. It's just what I should do.]

Supervisor Lian smiled.

After hanging up the phone, Meng Shu received the director's contact information and a photo of a business card from Supervisor Lian.

The director's surname was Li. Based on the business card, Meng Shu looked up Director Li's resume online.

It was discovered that he was the legal representative of a media company and had directed the famous children's stage play "Starry Sky," as well as the youth open-air stage play "Future Dream Team." Even the large-scale musical "Discipline," which had been performed on foreign stages, was his work.

From this perspective, this stage play director is indeed very capable, even though he hasn't seen any of these stage plays.

Meng Shu smiled, picked up the script, and immediately dialed the number.

This transition will end soon.