Episode 183. The situation has been reversed.
The next day after returning from the Netherlands.
Woomyung Kwon, the head of Dflix’s business division, came to see me.
“CEO, SBN has made a proposal to broadcast D Flix’s drama over the air.”
Hearing the self-inflicted bells and whistles from Kwon, I thought for a moment and continued.
“Tell the director of the SBN Drama Bureau that we will see each other.”
“Are you the representative yourself?”
“I’m curious about what he will say, and I think it will be a good opportunity to increase our profits if we use it well.”
“..All right. I will tell you to come find me.”
The director of the SBN drama bureau came to see me.
He greeted me with a slightly stiff face, apparently nervous.
“hello? Representative Kang. I am Hong Dae-soo, director of SBN’s Drama Department.”
“welcome. Chief. Have a seat.”
I opened my mouth to Director Hong, who was sitting across from me.
“You want to air our D-Flix drama?”
“yes. There is a big problem with one of our dramas and we have to end it early. But I don’t have time to produce new dramas, and Dflix has a lot of high-quality dramas, so I want to broadcast one of them to the airwaves.”
haha. It’s fun!
In the future, Godflix, an American OTT service, borrowed dramas from Korean TV stations to attract customers, but now the situation has completely changed.
I burst into laughter and answered him.
“I think the proposal from that side is positive in that we can present our content to a large number of viewers who watch SBN. However, considering our hard work and cost to create this content, we should be paid a reasonable price.”
“That is a reasonable statement. Internally, we have been approved for broadcast fees up to 30 million won per episode.”
Because it was common in the times when drama production cost itself did not exceed 100 million won per episode.
SBN would have thought that giving such an amount as a simple transmission fee was a generous offer.
It wasn’t even worth considering from my point of view.
“Hmm… Chief Hong. Do you know what the production cost per episode of our drama is?”
“..I do not know. Exactly…”
“It’s usually around 5 billion won. 30 million won is less than a tenth of the amount, but I’m not in a hurry, and I can’t get over that amount.”
Director Hong hardened his face and asked.
“Then how much does the president want?”
“It’s a bit difficult to decide just how much, so that’s how you do it.”
“If it’s like this…?”
“First of all, we will not charge the basic transmission fee. Instead, we want to receive a certain percentage of the advertising revenue that we put on the front and back of our drama.”
“..advertising revenue?”
“yes. After all, the advertisement is attached because of our drama. Of course, you have the right to share in advertising revenue.”
Director Hong, who was worried, opened his mouth.
“What do you think of the distribution ratio?”
“It depends on the ratings. If the ratings fall below 10%, we will not receive any distribution. Instead, if it is 10% or more, the distribution ratio is 30%, if it is 20% or more, it is 50%, and if it is 40% or more, I want to go to 70%.”
The higher the viewership, the greater the ad revenue.
If the ratings were over 40%, the revenue would be over 10 billion won.
Even 30% of that would be a sufficient benefit to the broadcaster.
Director Hong widened his eyes as if he was greatly surprised.
“A distribution ratio of 70%?”
He put on an annoyed look.
“..No matter how good Dflix’s drama is, 70% of it is a little…”
“Only when the viewership ratings are over 40%. After all, if the viewership ratings are around that, SBN won’t be a loser, right? Moreover, the fact that our drama is not popular and we will not receive a distribution if the viewership rating falls below 10% means that we will bear all the risks if this experiment fails. If so, wouldn’t it be natural to guarantee that level of success if it succeeded?”
In fact, there was no risk.
Judging from the results accumulated in the Dflix database, I put this condition on because I knew that no matter which drama I picked, the audience rating would be over 20%.
Besides, it was even better because, if our drama went out on the airwaves and became popular, it would automatically advertise for D Flix.
“..Once we go back to the head office, we will talk again and contact you.”
#Netherlands RSML CEO Peter Dubrai has contacted me.
“The board has decided to accept Mr. Kang’s equity investment proposal. However, apart from the proposal, it was said that the EUV facility development would proceed if the first proposal Mr. Kang made, that is, the condition that Damoye pays half of the facility price in advance, is fulfilled.”
“The estimated cost of 20 EUV installations is around 2.1 billion euros. We’re going to give you an advance payment, so we’ll give you a discount of 100 million euros and set it to 2 billion euros. But half of that is 1 billion euros, can you really afford it?”
2 billion euros is about 2.6 trillion Korean won, so 130 billion won per car.
Although this is a high-tech business, it is one of the most expensive equipment for semiconductor processing.
The EUV facility is also a key facility for the 10nm (nanometer) process.
It required high technology to make it, so in the future, it was impossible to buy it without even paying 200 billion won per unit.
“of course. I’ll send you the money within this week!”
It was also cheaper than I thought.
They can also start developing actively because the risk is greatly reduced if they receive the advance payment.
It was nice to send it quickly.
“Five! I’ve heard that Mr. Kang’s cash mobilization power is huge, but it’s not Hanwha, and I thought you could send me 1 billion euros in a week… That’s amazing.”
“Europe is also an important customer for me. We have enough money in the German bank, Komatsubank, so sending a billion is not a big deal.”
At those words, Peter’s voice became more polite.
“Well, since D-Tab is so popular, nothing is impossible. Since Mr. Kang has given us such trust, RSML also promises to do our best to develop EUV facilities. Progress will be shared periodically.”
“haha. I hope to go along well. Mr. the Bright.”
#SBN Broadcasting station head office president’s office.
President Jo Tae-jin received a proposal from Hong Dae-soo, director of the drama department, and looked at him like a crazy person.
“Chief Hong. Are you on my mind now? Do you want to end ‘The Garden of the House’ early and receive the D-Flix drama under these conditions?”
“There is no way. If it doesn’t end early, the ratings for ‘The Garden of That House’ will continue to fall. In such a case, advertisements may not appear at all, and in that case, it would be much better to release a D-flix drama. I bet you, no matter what you release, the ratings will be over 20%.”
Jo Tae-jin asked with a surprised face.
“20%?”
“yes. I’ve watched all the dramas called D-Flix dramas, and I can’t say these things out of my mouth…but there are a lot of really good dramas. If the ratings are not coming out because my expectations are wrong, it is good because I do not have to pay the transmission fee.
At those words, Jo Tae-jin fell into deep thought.
After a while, he opened his mouth.
“Chief Hong. Do you really think the ratings will be over 20%?”
“Even if you take it to a minimum. If we can bring that drama, 40% is not even a dream.”
“That drama?”
“There is a drama called ‘London Lovers’ with Kim Yeon-hee as the lead, and it is the best. From the moment I saw the first episode, I immediately felt that this was a masterpiece.”
Jo Tae-jin, who was worried as he touched his chin, said to Hong Dae-soo.
“Then go and catch that drama. Then, I will grant you this condition.”
Hong Dae-soo laughed.
“All right. president.”
I received a call from Executive Vice President Shin Hyun, who is in charge of World Telecom’s US subsidiary.
“CEO. Finally, the 4G infrastructure construction has been completed in the entire state of California, USA. Starting tomorrow, Bon Mobile, an MVNO operator, will officially service the D Flix plan.”
“okay? Now, we can show a proper counterattack to the four major U.S. carriers. Director Shin, please report the status of subscription to the Dflix plan and the reactions of local consumers to the head office. If there are any small problems, let me know immediately.”
The first episode of the D Flix drama ‘London Lovers’ was aired on #SBN.
And next week.
SBN’s drama bureau chief Hong Dae-soo was called to the president’s office.
As he entered, the president, Tae-Jin Cho, welcomed him with his arms wide open.
“Aigoo, the god of our drama, Director Hong! Come on.”
“The boss too. What are you calling me for?”
“What do you call it, ‘London Lovers’ recorded 40% viewership in just 3 episodes yesterday?”
“Exactly 41.8%.”
Jo Tae-jin raised a thumbs up with an admiring face.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to shoot up to 40%… but it’s also Director Hong.”
The corners of Hong Dae-soo’s mouth went up.
“haha. I have only been in drama for 20 years.”
“okay. The drama is also Director Hong. In fact, there was a brief talk about whether the director might need to be changed at the board meeting because of ‘the garden of the house’, but this incident has taken off.”
“..Is that so? haha.”
Taejin Jo opened his mouth after deep thought.
“Chief Hong. Why not take this opportunity to properly partner with Dflix?”
“Affiliate?”
“There are often cases where the ratings go flat like this one. In that case, wouldn’t it be better to manage the performance of the drama bureau if we formed a partnership so that D-flix’s dramas could be pulled easily?”
Hong Dae-soo nodded his head.
“That’s a good idea. We will talk to Dflix and let you know the progress.”
A conference room at the headquarters of Viewizon, one of the four largest telecommunication companies in the United States.
The sales team executive was briefing the month-end results.
“The share fell 0.5% to 33.8% from 34.3% last month. At least that’s how it is in the United States as a whole, and when it comes to California alone, its share fell 1.9% in just one month from 32.1% to 30.2%. Operating income was also down 4% compared to September, from $890 million to $850 million.”
CEO Thomas Fisher opened his mouth with a firm face.
“Even though we spent more than 200 million dollars on the launch of a combined discount rate plan and subsidies, our market share has decreased.”
“..Last month, the Dflix plan launched by this mobile took a big hit. Of course, customer churn continued, but until September it was tolerable to some extent, but from this month on, the pace has been tremendous. Moreover, this month, World Telecom received a business license from the state of Texas, the second most populous state. It is likely that 4G infrastructure will be installed in Texas soon, but if global telecom continues to expand at this rate, it may take less than two years for it to overtake our share.”
Thomas laughed in surprise.
“Ha…Mr. Kang…You are a very difficult person to deal with…if you refuse to purchase communication equipment, you will not set up a communication company in the United States at all. They come up with a new service called Flix and they make us in trouble.”
Thomas opened his mouth as he looked at the executives who were silently bowing their heads.
“Ralph.”
Ralph, the head of strategic planning, raised his head.
“Please book your flight to Korea with the earliest departure time. I will meet Mr. Kang in person.”
“..All right. Mr Fisher.”
