Chapter 14

"Here are the top three listenership ratings." Zhao Guozhou was very pleased and praised, "I want to give special recognition to the 'Midnight Ghost Stories' team, especially Xiao Zhang. For a late-night program to rank in the top three on its first day is unprecedented in the station. It's almost historic. I looked at the program's listenership curve, and the highest and lowest ratings have remained relatively stable, staying high from midnight. This shows that the audience really approves of the content. Also, due to the surge of 'Midnight Ghost Stories,' it has also boosted the overall listenership of our cultural radio. Come on, everyone, let's give Xiao Zhang some applause, and I hope he continues to work hard!"

Clap, clap, clap.

Everyone responded and clapped.

Tian Bin, however, remained motionless, still unable to accept this fact!

Zhang Ye clasped his hands together and shook them, politely saying, "It's all thanks to the leadership and everyone's support. It's not just my achievement."

'Talk of the World' had a listenership of 3.17%.

'Daily Entertainment' had a listenership of 2.29%.

'Midnight Ghost Stories' had a listenership of 0.98%.

'Daily Laughter' had a listenership of 0.92%.

'People's Radio News Summary (Rebroadcast)' had a listenership of 0.89%.

Sixth place... seventh place... the listenership ratings were very close.

The last place this time was 'Old and Young Storytelling,' which had long been the lowest-rated program, with a listenership of only 0.27%.

After Zhao Guozhou finished reading the results and summarized yesterday's performance, he let everyone start their tasks for the day.

Zhang Ye sat down and got busy. On the surface, he seemed very low-key, but inside, he was bursting with pride. If it weren't for so many colleagues around, he would have been grinning from ear to ear. After calming down, he also analyzed the reasons for the sudden popularity of the program. The most important factor might be the market environment. Ghost stories and supernatural novels were still in their early stages in this world, with very few good works. There were only about four or five notable ones, and in Zhang Ye's view, the quality of these top supernatural works was average. The market demand was insatiable. Now, Zhang Ye brought a groundbreaking tomb-raiding novel, a mature work that had already been tested in his original world. The key was that this work was a radio exclusive, an original creation, and there were no novels available on the market, making it a unique offering. Therefore, achieving such astonishing results was both unexpected and reasonable.

In the morning, the recording schedule was set.

Female assistant Xiao Fang found Zhang Ye with the list and smiled sweetly, "Teacher Zhang, it's time to record the evening program. You're scheduled in Studio 7 from 10:00 PM to 11:30 PM, and the latest you should finish is by 11:40 PM, as there are other programs to be recorded afterward. In the afternoon, Studio 8 will be much more available. If you have the energy to record a few more episodes, I can help you apply for recording time? The maximum approved time is three hours."

Zhang Ye thought about it, "Sure, thank you. Apply for as much time as possible. I'll try to record three episodes today." Taking advantage of his good physical and mental state, he wanted to prepare several episodes in advance to avoid rushing later. Besides, the most important thing in their industry was the voice condition. If he happened to catch a cold, it would definitely affect the broadcast quality, so he needed to prepare well in advance.

"Alright." Xiao Fang blinked, "Shall I help you organize your script?"

Zhang Ye waved his hand, "No, I don't need a script. I can record directly."

No script again? Xiao Fang couldn't help but look up to him. The surrounding colleagues were also quite impressed. Regardless of how good the new Teacher Zhang's creative ability was, his ability to broadcast live without a script was unmatched in the entire Beijing Radio Station. Even the hosts of talk shows, who emphasized improvisation, had outlines, punchlines, and scripts prepared in advance, let alone for story novels!

Tian Bin looked at Zhang Ye with envy, thinking, "Look at you showing off. Just because you did well on the first day, I don't believe you can maintain such high ratings for the next few episodes. The station's promotion was so strong, so the first day's ratings were bound to be good. Tian Bin had also broadcast a novel last year, ranking ninth on the first day, but the ratings dropped sharply in the following days, eventually becoming the perennial last place. This was the market rule for such late-night niche programs, a curse that no one could escape for years!"

"Wait until tomorrow and the day after! I'll see you cry then!"

Tian Bin was confident in his judgment!

Other colleagues in the cultural radio, including Zhao Guozhou, also had similar doubts. The first day's performance might have been partly due to luck. After all, it was a late-night program, and the late-night slot after midnight had the fewest listeners. Staying in third place was definitely unsustainable, and dropping out of the top ten in the following days was normal.

However, the development of events once again stunned everyone!

The second episode of 'Ghost Blows the Lamp' was broadcast, and the listenership did indeed drop, as even the best things can't please everyone. Some listeners who contributed to the first episode's ratings dropped off, but the program only fell to sixth place overall. Then, the third episode of 'Ghost Blows the Lamp' saw another surge, returning to the third position. Clearly, while a small part of the audience left, a larger part of new listeners joined in!

The radio transmitted Zhang Ye's deep voice, "Underground, a 'golden' wooden tower, built with thousands of giant logs, stood tall. The tower was dotted with countless red flashes. With the help of these faint flashes, the base of the wooden tower was nearly 200 meters wide, constructed with mud and stone. The tower, made of thousand-year-old cypress wood, had nine levels, each filled with dried skeletons in peculiar ancient costumes, both male and female, young and old. Each log was inscribed with Tibetan secret texts. Is this a tomb? Who built it underground on such a grand scale?"

Many listeners in the city were on the edge of their seats, listening to the radio with bated breath!

At home, Zhang Ye was also listening to his program, tuning in to the radio and checking the listeners' comments and reviews online, enjoying himself.

"Finished! I won't be able to sleep tonight again!"

"Me too, this part is so gripping!"

"Is it necessary to leave us hanging like this? Why did it end here today?"

"Strongly request more! This is not letting us sleep peacefully!"

The listeners' feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with posters ranging from old to young, male to female, covering a wide age range, almost making it suitable for all ages!

About ten minutes after this episode ended, Zhang Ye saw a big V's evaluation on Weibo. The certification read: "CCTV famous program producer Hu Fei," with over 600,000 followers. He posted, "Yesterday, a director from the station recommended a late-night radio program called 'Midnight Ghost Stories' to me, saying the novel was amazing. I was skeptical at first, but after listening to five episodes, I was left with nothing but admiration and a sense of relief. I've read many supernatural novels, but none have impressed me as much as this one. China needs such excellent works."

Fans were quick to forward and comment.

"'Midnight Ghost Stories'? I haven't heard of it. Is it that good?"

"Teacher Hu said he was impressed, so it must be very good!"

"Haha, even Teacher Hu recommends it? It seems everyone has the same taste. I've been listening to 'Ghost Blows the Lamp' since the first episode, and I can't stop!"

After reading this, Zhang Ye felt very gratified. This was the highest praise he could receive!

...

The next day.

The listenership ratings for 'Midnight Ghost Stories' over the past few days were released!

First episode: 0.98%

Second episode: 0.69%

Third episode: 1.01%

Fourth episode: 1.14%

Fifth episode: 1.27%

After nearly a week of broadcasts, Zhang Ye's program was still in third place, with a significant gap from the second place 'Daily Entertainment,' but it had firmly secured the third position, pressing down the fourth place, and the listenership was increasing day by day, indicating that the program had not yet reached its peak and had the potential to rise further!

When this rating list was released, many skeptics, including Tian Bin, were silenced!

A miracle had been created! The listenership of 'Midnight Ghost Stories' was beyond everyone's expectations!

Colleagues expressed their amazement and admiration. This sudden rise of a late-night program was unexpected!

Even the staff from the traffic, music, and news frequencies knew about Zhang Ye! In such a small place, nothing could be hidden.

"Hey, Ali."

"Old Meng? What's up?"

"I heard your cultural radio got a new talent? He managed to pull the late-night program's listenership to the top three, rivaling the prime-time programs. Is that true?"

"Uh, yes, it's true."

"Wow, that's amazing, really amazing."

"Have you heard 'Ghost Blows the Lamp'? If you listen, you won't be surprised. It's a great work, and it has opened a new category of tomb-raiding novels, making it a pioneering work! You can't imagine how crazy the audience's letters have been, with nearly a hundred letters a day!"

"Really? I'll have to listen to it then!"

Zhang Ye happened to hear the two people at the end of the corridor discussing him and smiled. He realized that he had firmly established himself in the radio station. 'Midnight Ghost Stories' had become a star program for the cultural radio, continuously contributing to the station's listenership, and Zhang Ye, as the host, would naturally benefit from this!