Chapter 50

After returning home, Wang Zixuan sat in the garden and pondered for a while, sketching out the雏形 of a massive mobile internet empire before finally going to bed.

The next day, Wang Zixuan didn't sleep in and got up early to wash up.

After having breakfast at home, Wang Zixuan arrived at Evolution Media Company around eight o'clock.

"Good morning, Mr. Wang."

The receptionist at the company entrance quickly stood up to greet Wang Zixuan and his group.

Wang Zixuan nodded and walked inside.

The receptionist hurriedly made a phone call to notify Chen Zuming.

"Good morning, Mr. Wang."

"Good morning, Mr. Wang."

The employees in the office area also stood up to greet Wang Zixuan as he entered.

Wang Zixuan nodded and smiled, saying, "Everyone, please continue with your work."

Chen Zuming had already come out from the general manager's office to welcome him.

Wang Zixuan and Chen Zuming entered the general manager's office.

Chen Zuming asked, "Boss, would you like coffee or tea?"

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "Tea, please."

Chen Zuming signaled the secretary to make tea and said with a bit of worry, "A few video websites might have made a secret agreement. No company has come yet."

Huh?

Just because you made an agreement, you think I can't take advantage of it?

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "It's fine. If they don't buy, I'll just acquire a video website for fun. I'll set the starting bid at one billion. I'll see if they want to play with me."

"One billion?"

Chen Zuming stared at Wang Zixuan with wide eyes.

Many people now believe that the online copyright of "China's Got Talent" can be sold for tens of millions, which has further accelerated the rising online copyright prices. However, no one has dared to think that an online copyright could be sold for one billion.

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "I think someone will buy it, and it might be more than one company."

Chen Zuming swallowed and asked, "Who do you think will buy it, Boss?"

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "Sohu definitely doesn't want me to play in the video website market. They are pushing for the government to crack down on online piracy, partly to promote industry development and partly to raise the entry barrier, using their financial advantage to eliminate other competitors. Sohu is richer than other video websites, but compared to me, they are far behind. I can easily throw a few billion to crush them."

Chen Zuming was tempted and said, "Boss, why don't you just acquire a video website? With the popularity of 'China's Got Talent,' it could attract tens of millions of users."

Nonsense.

Do you think I really have that much money?

Wang Zixuan shook his head and said, "Video websites don't make much profit and burn a lot of money. It's not interesting."

After chatting for a while, the CEOs of the video companies finally arrived.

Wang Zixuan and Chen Zuming invited the guests to the meeting room.

It didn't take long for the CEOs of the major video websites to arrive, clearly aware of the huge influence of "China's Got Talent."

The chairman of Sohu, Zhang Chaoyang, also personally attended the auction.

Previously, Zhang Chaoyang had visited Wang Zixuan twice for Sohu Weibo, but unfortunately, he left without success.

Wang Zixuan felt a bit embarrassed when he saw Zhang Chaoyang and stood up, smiling, "Mr. Zhang, good morning."

Zhang Chaoyang smiled bitterly and said, "Good morning, Mr. Wang. Your cooperation with Sina has made it difficult for our Weibo strategy."

In his plan, Sohu Weibo was going to heavily promote celebrities and invest heavily in advertising to catch up. He was even willing to give up nearly half of the shares to Wang Zixuan.

Unfortunately, Wang Zixuan ultimately chose to cooperate with Sina.

In terms of popularity, who in China could match Wang Zixuan now?

Sohu's celebrity strategy clearly wouldn't be very effective.

Wang Zixuan smiled apologetically and said, "Almost ten million fans are following. Changing platforms would be troublesome. Mr. Zhang, if you do a good job with Sohu Video, it will definitely be better than Weibo."

Zhang Chaoyang smiled and said, "Then I hope Mr. Wang will support us more."

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "Let me give you a hint. No matter what price you pay for the copyright of 'China's Got Talent,' you will definitely make a profit."

Zhang Chaoyang was amused by Wang Zixuan's words and smiled, "Then I'll try to get the copyright of 'China's Got Talent.'"

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "Great, everyone is here. Let's start the auction for the exclusive online copyright of 'China's Got Talent.' The starting price is one billion."

As soon as he said that, the entire meeting room was stunned.

The CEOs of the video websites looked at each other in surprise.

After the anti-piracy campaign, most small websites had gone bankrupt last year, leaving only a few major websites in the era of burning money to buy legitimate content, but they were all operating at a loss.

This time, "China's Got Talent" became a huge hit, giving them the opportunity to attract a large number of users. However, Wang Zixuan's appetite also made them afraid, so they had privately agreed not to buy if the price exceeded 50 million.

Who would have thought that Wang Zixuan would set the starting price at one billion?

They all knew Wang Zixuan had a big appetite, but no one expected it to be this big.

They looked at each other, and Zhang Chaoyang smiled and said, "Mr. Wang, did you make a mistake?"

Wang Zixuan shook his head and said, "No, I didn't."

The CEO of Youku said indignantly, "Mr. Wang, this price could buy a small video website."

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "If I were to buy, I would choose one of you. But I prefer full ownership. Otherwise, I would have already talked to you. Actually, I really don't want to sell the copyright of 'China's Got Talent.' The audience for 'China's Got Talent' is at least a few hundred million. Putting it on a website could attract tens of millions of users."

The CEOs were relieved when they heard Wang Zixuan's words.

Video websites don't have much technology; they just burn money. Whoever buys more content can attract more users. If Wang Zixuan, this spendthrift, were to enter the market, they would probably go bankrupt immediately.

Chen Zuming said, "Actually, one billion is not much. With the popularity of 'China's Got Talent,' you won't have to worry about advertisers."

Chen Zuming inadvertently spoke the truth.

We all take advantage of each other. We take advantage of you, and you take advantage of the advertisers.

The CEO of LeTV complained, "The price of video website ads can't compare to TV ads."

Wang Zixuan smiled and said, "If it were the same, I would have set the starting price at ten billion. Please consider it, gentlemen. If you all think it's too high, I'll treat you to a meal."

The CEOs looked at each other.

Zhang Chaoyang shrugged and said, "If Mr. Wang really does video, we'll all be out of a job. I'll bid one billion, as a protection fee."

The CEO of Youku gritted his teeth and said, "I'll bid one billion. After all, we are the industry leader."

The CEO of Tudou said, "Although we are the second in the industry, we can't fall behind."

The CEO of LeTV said, "We are planning to go public on the domestic Growth Enterprise Market this year. Could the gentlemen let me benefit from Mr. Wang's predatory tactics to boost our company's valuation?"

The CEOs seemed to be negotiating, but everyone knew they were actually in a tense standoff.

Saying they wouldn't buy if the price exceeded 50 million might have been a way to mislead their competitors.

If no one really bought it, they would likely contact Evolution Media immediately after leaving to snatch "China's Got Talent."

By cracking down on industry piracy, the major players had eliminated the smaller video websites, but their market share was still unstable.

With the current popularity of "China's Got Talent," it could completely change the market landscape.

More importantly, Youku, Tudou, and LeTV were all planning to go public. If their market share changed at this time, it could affect their company valuations by billions.

Being the market leader or the second place in the capital market would make a huge difference.

(Thank you to the reader "Ge Kuang Yu Di" for the 588 RMB tip and "Wutong Liuxu Qing Feiyang" for the 100 RMB tip.)

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