Chapter 20: Successful Sale and Schedule Confirmed

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The progress on Zhou Qizhong’s end was faster than Chen Mo had anticipated. By the third day, Zhou had already called to invite Chen Mo over to discuss matters regarding Meteor Shower.

In the reception room of Blueberry TV Broadcasting Building, Hangcheng.

Chen Mo and Zhou Qizhong sat facing each other.

“The station has held a meeting and plans to acquire your drama. We have two proposals,” Zhou Qizhong said with a smile.

Chen Mo nodded, “What are the two proposals?”

“The first is the standard one. We only purchase the first broadcast rights, at 150,000 yuan per episode.” Zhou Qizhong watched Chen Mo’s reaction carefully.

Unfortunately, Chen Mo’s expression revealed nothing.

The price was indeed low—a real bargain. Chen Mo didn’t rush to bargain but asked, “And the other option?”

“The second is to buy out the full TV broadcast rights, at 500,000 yuan per episode!” Zhou Qizhong paused before continuing.

Meteor Shower had thirty-six episodes. At that price, the first-run rights alone wouldn’t cover costs. While the buyout would make some profit, the price was hardly satisfying.

Clearly, Zhou Qizhong had researched the production costs and set the prices very tightly.

Although Chen Mo’s production cost was around 6 million yuan, that figure excluded the million yuan he paid for authorization rights and his director’s fee.

Thus, the first-run price of 150,000 yuan per episode barely broke even.

This was understandable; after all, Chen Mo was a rookie director, and being lowballed was normal.

Still, since it was a business transaction, there was room to negotiate.

Zhou Qizhong wouldn’t expect Chen Mo to accept such an offer immediately. Bargaining was natural—starting high and settling on a price.

Talks of profit-sharing or advertising revenue were out of the question for now; Chen Mo wasn’t qualified for that yet.

“Director Zhou, I believe you’ve seen the quality of this drama. Otherwise, you wouldn’t consider buying it. But this price isn’t very sincere,” Chen Mo finally spoke.

“No, no, this price is fair. Your drama lacks big stars, and we have to invest more in promotion. This price reflects the fact that the show was decently produced,” Zhou Qizhong shook his head repeatedly.

What followed was a fierce debate: Chen Mo highlighted the drama’s strengths, while Zhou Qizhong pointed out its weaknesses.

In essence, it was a tough negotiation. One tried to belittle Meteor Shower as worthless, the other tried to elevate it as if it would instantly become the nation’s top-rated show once aired.

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Of course, this all assumed Blueberry TV genuinely wanted the drama, and Chen Mo had no other options.

After over an hour, they finally reached an agreement.

A full buyout of TV broadcast rights at 1 million yuan per episode.

It wasn’t that Chen Mo wasn’t aware that selling only the first-run rights might yield more profit. But Zhou Qizhong was adamant that there would be no deal without the buyout.

His reasoning was that the show’s cast lacked star power, so the station had to invest heavily in promotion. If it were only for the first run, the return on those investments would be insufficient.

The reality was that Chen Mo wanted to earn from subsequent reruns, but Blueberry TV wanted to secure that revenue as well.

Chen Mo hesitated, realizing that if he sold the first-run rights at 200,000 yuan per episode, the prices for later reruns would likely remain low due to competition. Although he could sell them separately, the payment cycle would be extended.

It might not even be more profitable than the buyout.

In fact, Blueberry TV’s offer was quite generous. For them, especially for Zhou Qizhong, it was a gamble—betting on a completely new, cross-disciplinary director like Chen Mo.

Since the drama required heavy promotion, Chen Mo eventually agreed.

Zhou Qizhong also mentioned that if Chen Mo chose to deal directly with a distribution company they designated, the price could rise to 1.2 million yuan per episode.

Chen Mo declined.

The reason was simple: dealing directly with Blueberry TV guaranteed payment unless he completely failed or the relationship soured.

With a distribution company, there was no guarantee of final payment; they could easily withhold funds.

There might also be shady dealings he preferred to avoid.

Chen Mo also made an additional demand: half the payment up front, with the remainder paid immediately after the first broadcast run.

At first, Zhou Qizhong was reluctant, but Chen Mo’s appeals—even invoking the respected Mr. Li Bin—persuaded him.

TV dramas aren’t easy to produce, and production companies have less bargaining power than TV stations, especially for a fledgling director like Chen Mo. It’s better to secure the deal early.

In Chen Mo’s previous life, he had often heard of TV stations delaying payments for years, sometimes never paying in one’s lifetime.

Of course, when ratings met expectations, stations were usually more generous.

After that, their discussions became less tense and naturally shifted to promotion plans.

“I have a suggestion. We could invite the male and female leads from Treasure Island’s Meteor Garden to appear on a show with the leads from our new mainland version of Meteor Shower. I believe the comparison would generate excellent buzz,” Chen Mo proposed.

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Hearing this, Zhou Qizhong’s eyes lit up.

For Blueberry TV, inviting the stars from Meteor Garden wouldn’t cost much in appearance fees, yet it would fully rekindle viewers’ memories of that drama.

Comparing the two versions directly would have an immediate promotional impact.

Of course, this was based on confidence in the new version’s cast.

As for confidence, Zhou Qizhong, having acquired Meteor Shower, naturally hoped it would be a hit. The more popular, the better—it would reflect well on him.

Chen Mo entrusted the legal work of the deal to the Hongjing Law Firm. Although their fees were high, they were worth it.

After signing the contract, Chen Mo immediately posted the good news in the Meteor Shower production team’s group chat.

“@everyone: Meteor Shower is confirmed to premiere on Blueberry Satellite TV’s Huaguo Blue Theater on August 9, 2010! Main cast, please pay attention to Blueberry TV’s promotional notices and keep your schedules open!”

The cast was ecstatic upon seeing the announcement.

“Wow, Director Chen is so efficient!”

“Already finalized? Director’s amazing!”

“Got it, Director’s amazing!”

“...”

The lead actors were naturally thrilled. After all, they were the main cast of a remake of Meteor Garden, a phenomenon idol drama.

Though none were newcomers, roles like this were rare for them.

Though idol dramas have been criticized later on, one cannot deny that when such dramas become hits, the lead actors rise to stardom overnight.

At this time, idol dramas hadn’t yet become over-saturated, especially airing on a platform like Blueberry TV.

Chen Mo shared more good news.

“I’ve coordinated with Blueberry TV. They will invite the main cast of Meteor Garden to appear with you on a program for promotion. Prepare well—new faces replacing the old generation; don’t get overshadowed.”