บท 283: Chapter 284: The Revelation
[Chapter 284: The Revelation]
The day after the Federal Trade Commission announced its investigation into Firefly Films and United Talent Agency for alleged monopolistic behavior, Firefly retaliated by filing a lawsuit against Fox Broadcasting Company in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Firefly sought the return of $29 million in advertising revenue owed for Friends, and requested the court to terminate the agreement regarding the broadcast rights for the last four seasons of the show, citing breach of contract by Fox.
Upon hearing the news, Barry Diller and Rupert Murdoch couldn't sit still. Both men called Eric, swearing that the recent events had nothing to do with Fox. They pleaded with Eric to withdraw the lawsuit, promising that they would settle the debts owed to Firefly as soon as Fox completed its financial audits.
Given the situation, Fox was still unwilling to admit involvement in the turmoil. Eric was also reluctant to escalate matters, and he expressed his frustrations to them, explaining that the developments had forced his hand.
As Eric hung up with a cold smile, he recognized that there would surely be some movement from Fox. Although Friends had only aired for one season, it had become a defining show for the network.
Just like in a previous time, when people thought of NBC, Friends came to mind first. After its premiere in 1994, the series brought in over $3 million in ad revenue per episode for NBC. Moreover, featuring such a flagship title allowed NBC to achieve a level of strength that overshadowed ABC and CBS combined for a decade. Ten years later, when Friends concluded, NBC failed to develop new shows to follow in its footsteps, leading to a plummet from first place among major networks, even falling behind Fox, and it remained in decline for years thereafter.
This highlighted the importance of a popular series for a television network. Even though Friends had boosted Fox's standing, the network was still lagging behind the big three and risked falling further behind if they weren't careful. Eric was sure that Fox would not want to lose such a significant show over a mere $29 million debt.
However, Eric wasn't planning to back down. His focus wasn't on the $29 million in advertising revenue but rather on his intention to fight until Fox either compromised or he reclaimed the broadcast rights for the next four seasons of Friends.
Among the seven major studios, Fox had the deepest ties to Firefly, and thus would be the easiest to break through. Eric believed that once Fox began to make concessions, the other studios would follow suit, realizing that Firefly's predicament would lessen. Furthermore, with the potential revenue from Fox's upcoming releases like Home Alone 2 and Sleepless in Seattle, Firefly would have enough resources to sustain itself -- even if the antitrust suit ultimately fell through, Eric wouldn't find himself in dire straits.
In this scenario, if the remaining studios dug in, it would only create an irreconcilable conflict without yielding any benefit. Once they reached this point, Eric decided to play his other cards.
...
"Barry, you guys must hold firm. Remember, if this works out, not only the rights to Friends but the two other shows currently halted by Firefly will also belong to Fox," said Michael Eisner, a bit shaken but determined, on the phone with Barry Diller. After hearing about Firefly's lawsuit against Fox, he realized Eric's strategy and immediately called Barry.
As they discussed, one of Eisner's assistants rushed into the room.
"Mr. Eisner, there's big trouble!"
Eisner raised his eyebrows at the agitated assistant and quickly continued his conversation with Diller before hanging up the phone. "What's happened?"
Out of breath, the assistant replied, "You need to see this. Many networks... they're all airing a video."
Eisner felt a jolt of dread and followed the assistant to a lounge, where several Disney executives had gathered around a television. They were whispering about a program playing on the screen.
Ignoring them, Eisner focused on the television.
On screen, Arnon Carpenter smirked, addressing the camera and the seated young man opposite him. "Mr. Williams, the 'public' you speak of is the most foolish group. How they perceive you depends on how the media controlling the narrative wants them to see you..."
A surge of anger rushed through Eisner, and he grabbed a coffee cup off the table and hurled it at the screen.
Crash!
The television shattered, smoke billowing from the wreckage, and the previously engrossed executives fell silent, startled into inaction.
"That idiot!" Eisner cursed, glaring at the others in the room. "It's working hours; don't you all have jobs to do? Get back to work!"
Faced with Eisner's wrath, no one dared to argue. They kept their heads down and hurried out along the walls.
Once the lounge was empty, Eisner called for his assistant. "Tell that fool to scram -- now! I want him as far away as possible. We can't have anyone finding him."
The assistant nodded warily and left in a hurry.
Following the release of Carpenter's threatening remarks against Eric, the video quickly spread worldwide. The comments about the public being the most gullible ignited outrage among the masses, especially in a society that prided itself on freedom. People realized they had become pawns, and the anger was palpable. There was no questioning the video's authenticity, especially since Firefly had simply aired the clip without rebuttal or assigning blame. The backlash against Eric began to reverse, and media outlets that had previously attacked him were forced to back down, even changing their stance to defend Eric against the various attacks he had faced.
*****
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