London felt wonderful to Zucker.
The air quality in the early morning was only so-so, but there was none of the foggy scenery you saw in the movies. Zucker, Victor, and Candy had arrived in London at around ten the previous evening, so they hadn't gone to the BBC. Instead, they'd checked into a hotel arranged for them—a five-star hotel, no less.
Talk about luxury!
That was right. The BBC gave Zucker the impression that it had money—a lot of money!
It wasn't just that they'd put Zucker and his two companions up in a five-star hotel. Even the Wald Pictures employees who'd come over ten days earlier to make contact were staying at the same hotel, and the BBC was covering all the costs.
"The BBC really has money. At this rate, it'd be ridiculous not to take them for all they're worth."
After getting up, Zucker looked at the elegant, lavish breakfast and couldn't help sighing to Victor and Candy. The breakfast was simply incredible. Zucker hadn't eaten one this expensive in either of his two lifetimes.
Victor smiled. "Boss, it's true the BBC has money, but the main reason is that we're American citizens."
Candy cut herself a piece of bread and chimed in. "That's right. Their ancestors were once powerful, after all. They've always had a natural sense of superiority toward Americans. Covering our hotel bill is just a way for them to show off their financial muscle."
The three of them enjoyed the food while discussing the upcoming rights deal.
Before long, the Wald Pictures employee who'd arrived in Britain ten days earlier came to see Zucker.
"Boss, did you sleep well last night?"
Her name was Martha Hopkins. She was forty, a middle-aged woman, and the manager of Wald Pictures' legal and accounting departments. She was a very capable woman.
"Very well. It was perfect. I don't even want to go back to Los Angeles," Zucker joked.
"Oh! If you put it that way, Boss, all our employees are going to lose a good boss," Martha said with a smile.
"Hahaha! Martha, I've always said you're the funniest person at the company."
Zucker was always generous with praise for his employees. It didn't cost him anything, after all.
The four of them finished their sumptuous breakfast in high spirits.
At nine that morning, Zucker and the others arrived at the BBC on time to negotiate the rights to Teletubbies with the people in charge of the show.
The initial negotiations went smoothly, and the atmosphere was friendly. But when it came to the final price for the rights, the two sides had a major disagreement.
The BBC's position was that it wanted the perpetual rights to Teletubbies in exchange for a one-time payment of £1.5 million. The contract wouldn't include any share of the profits from merchandise or advertising.
In other words, once Zucker took the £1.5 million, he'd have nothing more to do with Teletubbies.
How could Zucker accept that?
Teletubbies hadn't cost much to produce—at most, £5–7 million. The main thing it needed was the BBC's broadcasting platform.
Once Teletubbies aired, it immediately dominated the ratings on Britain's children's channels. Never mind the advertising revenue; the annual sales of related books and toys alone were astonishing. Later, the television rights were sold throughout Europe and the rest of the world, bringing in more than £200 million from licensing fees alone.
With such a huge and tempting prize in front of him, how could Zucker settle for just £1.5 million?
They were really taking the piss!
Wasn't that infuriating?
"Mr. Wald, you should understand that we're the BBC. We're not afraid of a lawsuit. We can simply broadcast the show once production is complete," the BBC's representative said slowly.
His meaning was clear.
You'd accept the offer whether you liked it or not.
They could always fight it out in court.
International lawsuits were extremely complicated and dragged on for ages, costing a fortune. Even if Zucker won in the end, he might not get much money out of it.
"Heh!"
Zucker looked at the BBC representative and sneered. "Yes, you're not afraid of a lawsuit, but neither are we. And I have money, too. You may not know this, but just a few days ago, I made over eight million dollars on the stock market in a single day."
"Uh..."
The BBC negotiators were struck speechless.
They'd known nothing about this beforehand. After all, they were "arrogant" Brits, while Wald Pictures was just a second-rate Hollywood company. The two sides weren't remotely in the same league.
"Ahem... Gentlemen, let me add something. My client, Mr. Zucker Wald, is a wealthy American citizen who doesn't hesitate to spend money. He's young and rich, and he can be impulsive. Yes, you can bypass our rights and force the show onto your platform, but I doubt your company wants to face a media storm before Teletubbies even airs."
Candy was Candy. His words were devastating.
A media storm!
Zucker could absolutely stir one up!
Although the American and British governments cooperated often, their people looked down on one another.
The Brits thought, "America used to be our colony, our territory. What do you have to brag about?"
The Americans thought, "We're the world's leading power. You Brits are yesterday's news. What do you have to be proud of?"
There was no need to say more. If Zucker was willing to spend the money, he could absolutely whip up a media storm. That was a prospect the proud John Bull couldn't bear.
The negotiations went much more smoothly from then on. They only had to work out the profit shares for merchandise and the sublicensing of the rights.
The BBC representatives were now willing to share the profits with Wald Pictures for three reasons. First, they'd seen Zucker's financial resources.
Second, they didn't want to face a lawsuit or a media storm.
Third, and most importantly, although they saw a bright future for Teletubbies, they weren't time travelers and had no idea that the profits it would bring in would far exceed their expectations.
Over the next few days, they held several more rounds of talks.
At last, they reached an agreement.
The contract terms were as follows: 1. The BBC would pay £1 million upfront as a rights fee.
2. For sublicensing the rights, including the subsequent sale of television rights to other regions or countries, Zucker's Wald Pictures would receive 10% of the licensing fees.
3. For the Teletubbies DVD and video market, Zucker would also receive a 15% share of the profits.
4. For merchandise licensing—including, but not limited to, toys, spoons, clothing, and books—he would receive an 8% share of the profits from eighteen categories of licensed products.
And so on.
Overall, both the BBC and Zucker were satisfied with the licensing agreement.
After the deal was done, Zucker wanted to ask about Harry Potter, but it hadn't gone on sale yet. Besides, there was no time. The company had a mountain of work waiting for him and the others.
London International Airport.
Zucker and the others waited for their flight in the departure lounge.
"Jonathan Nolan, you get back here! Mom said you have to listen to me about everything once we get to England."
A deep voice, tinged with anger and exasperation, reached Zucker's ears.
Airports were always crowded and noisy, so Zucker paid it no attention.
But!
When he turned to look, he was stunned to see that he'd actually met the two young men speaking before.
In his previous life!
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