บท 154: Chapter 154: My TV Station
With the approval from the relevant authorities, William White secured his first round of funding, making NBC welcome its new owner at last.
"Barry, I don't have any short-term profit requirements, but I want you to quickly reorganize the resources. Also, we need to keep expanding the cable network."
"Alright, boss, give me three months."
"That's fine. I have plenty of patience and won't interfere with your day-to-day affairs. Follow the same guidelines as the newspaper -- report facts except for race and religion, even if it's negative news about me. Don't worry too much about it."
Barry Diller smiled and nodded. His thoughts were similar. He just didn't expect the boss to be so familiar with running a TV station and not someone who could be easily fooled.
"Although I want to separate production and broadcasting, that's not feasible in the short term. The Simpsons will produce animated shows, and there are two other projects. Get someone to implement them soon. Rest assured, if the viewership is less than ten million, I'll invest an additional fifty million."
"Haha, I'd rather see the ratings go through the roof. With a ten-million viewership, you'd earn more than fifty million anyway."
"Alright, carry on. You don't need to prepare an office for me here. A meeting room will do for now."
"Boss, isn't that inappropriate?"
"Haha, you'll get used to it. I don't have an office in most of my companies. The current environment isn't great, so let's endure some tough years. NBC should have its own building in a few years."
...
William White and his associates left, leaving all of Hollywood dazed. What did Paramount do to offend him? How did he end up taking two vice presidents?
Only Paramount's boss knew there was no conflict with White Films. He simply had his eye on those two guys, and the list was provided by the think tank. William White was just very supportive of it.
The public didn't know, but the Jewish financial groups were actually pleased with this. They didn't want to lose their propaganda channels.
It seems William White knows the game very well. He has many Jewish people in his think tank, and it's the same with his media company.
So long as you don't provoke him first, he'll play nicely. But if you step on his toes, you better watch out.
...
The project William White handed to Barry Diller was quite simple. It was a sitcom called Friends.
[T/N: The sitcom was supposed to be called Happy Hotel which is based on iPartment, a Chinese sitcom. I wanted to go with That '70s Show or Mad About You, but in the end, decided to use Friends, which is most similar that I could think of.]
The boss left after casually saying it should at least reach ten million. If it were a movie script, Barry Diller wouldn't doubt it. Rumor has it that even Lucas offered five million but couldn't get a script.
Whether that's true or not, five million for a movie script is a recognized price in Hollywood.
As for television?
Well, no matter what, playing under the boss's banner will always find supporters.
Oh, a sitcom? Seems like it's not unfounded. He knows NBC's situation very well. If you give them a big production, they can't handle it.
Barry Diller might not be able to write a script, but he knows a good script when he sees one. Clearly, Friends is that kind of script. If you can't tell it's good within ten minutes, you're definitely not a qualified TV person.
"Linda, notify the production department for a meeting."
"Okay, boss, I'll let them know right away."
"The variety department should join too, and make it quick."
"Okay."
...
It's said that new leaders bring three changes. The heads of the two departments were on edge, wondering if this was a warning or they were about to be axed. It was terrifying. Losing a job now might mean ending up homeless.
New project? Immediately? Right now?
Well, since it's not a purge, let's get started quickly. As long as there's work to do, there won't be major problems in the short term.
What's so special about this project? They haven't even figured out the personnel, yet they're already meddling in actual work. Sigh, who knows if it's reliable.
"Hey, this is interesting. Who wrote this script?" The subordinate muttered, their facial expressions shifting from initial indifference to final shock, almost like the face-changing performance in Chinese opera.
"Boss, who wrote this project?"
"Hmm, any issues?"
"Too many issues, boss. This project proposal is excellent. We need to get the person who wrote it here to continue. If we don't, it'll be a huge loss for us."
Barry Diller barely stopped himself from spitting out his coffee. Bring the boss back? You sure got guts.
"Cough, no need. It's Mr. William White's project. Set up the team; he'll review it. Don't say I didn't warn you -- if you mess it up, pack your bags and leave."
So, is there really such a thing as a genius?
To the NBC staff, William White was just a rich guy who seemed to make good movies. Whether he could run a TV station, well, who knows?
Luckily, he employed competent people. This current CEO was reliable. If he wasn't, they would have been worried about running the company well. If it were sold again, who knows if their positions would be secure.
And now? What were they seeing?
He's got a real knack for this. This project proposal could be considered professional-level. The most interesting part is that it's a small investment. If done right, it'll be quite profitable.
Much like his earlier movies, you look at it now, and films even blow up buildings. Isn't it supposed to be fake? But this guy really did it. That's just unbelievable.
They knew NBC's situation well. There's no way they'd handle a big production without crumbling. Now they're barely breaking even. If the boss played for quick gains, he might wreck the company.
*****
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