Starting from a Bar to Sign Internet Celebrities

Chen Jincheng knew that he had promised Sister Tian he would establish a film and television department. He had even said it live in front of so many people, so it was bound to be a trending topic by tomorrow.

He had to follow through.

Besides, once the film and television division was established, it wouldn’t just be for Tian Xiwei. He could also try to sign other xiaohuas from his previous world, a xiaohua like Zhang Ruonan, for instance.

’I remember in the other world, she debuted in 2016 and signed a three-year newcomer contract. It’s set to expire next February, after which she’ll sign with a new company.’

’It was under that new company’s management that she completely blew up on Tiao Yin.’

’If his Python and Sparrow Swallowing Dragon plan succeeds, his short-form drama platform will be key to competing with Tiao Yin, and the film and television division can serve to support it.’

’The crucial part is that every one of these xiaohuas has the potential to become a top-tier short video influencer and generate a massive amount of buzz.’

’Their fan loyalty and the power they can unleash are on a completely different level from your average female internet celebrity.’

But the difficulties Sister Hong had mentioned were also very real.

That’s why LeTV from his previous world immediately came to mind. This was the perfect time to snap up a bargain.

In his previous world, after Boss Jia fled, LeTV basically vanished from the headlines. Most people assumed it had gone bankrupt and folded completely. In reality, that wasn’t the whole story; some of LeTV’s divisions were still around right up until the time he was transmigrated.

LeTV’s film and television division, for example.

That’s what made him think of this. ’An acquisition would be far faster than building everything from scratch.’

’In his previous world, hadn’t a certain web novel site received an investment from Penguin and then immediately acquired a film production company to launch its own film and television business?’

The only problem was that he wasn’t clear on the specific details of LeTV’s current situation. He would have to go back and do some research to find out.

With that, Chen Jincheng started the car and drove back to his villa.

The moment he got to the villa, he grabbed a laptop, went into his study, and started investigating.

LeTV had originally been a very healthy company with enormous potential.

The reason it ended up in its current state was really a problem with Boss Jia’s own mentality.

His expansion was far too reckless. Every time the company grew, its internal management was never properly sorted out. It would remain in a state of managerial chaos while he pushed for yet another expansion.

Crucially, this expansion was all funded by a chain of secured loans.

To launch a new venture, he would use the previous one as collateral for a loan. Then, to start yet another project, he’d use that new venture as collateral for another loan.

This massive, debt-fueled expansion finally became unsustainable. When one part of the business collapsed, the whole thing came crashing down.

As for why Boss Jia chose such a frantic method of expansion, only he himself would know.

A few months ago, LeTV was broken up and its assets were put up for auction. Its delisted market value was over 9 billion.

The auctioned assets included:

Shimao Gong Project: Auctioned for 2.8 billion, failed to sell.

LeTV Building: Starting bid of 600 million, failed to sell.

LeRong Building: Starting bid of 400 million, failed to sell.

LeTV’s main production and R&D assets: 1 billion, failed to sell.

Le Shi Zhixin equity and shares in other invested companies: 1.2 billion, failed to sell.

LeTV Network’s film and television division assets: 2 billion, failed to sell.

Of all these assets, by the time he was transmigrated, only the LeTV Building and the LeRong Building had actually been sold. The other assets went up for auction multiple times, but no one ever placed a bid.

Two billion for LeTV Network’s film and television assets wasn’t actually expensive.

LeTV Network already had its own user traffic. Furthermore, back when licensing rights weren’t so expensive, it had hoarded the rights to a huge number of classic films and TV shows, such as *Zeng Huan Zhuan*, *Bailu Plain*, *Feather in the Sky*, *Divine Doctor Xilale*, *Detective Di Renjie*, *Star Brother Who Slept Above Me*, and so on.

Many of these were exclusive rights, meaning they could produce their own remakes or adaptations.

Before Boss Jia fled, the film and television division had received a 1 billion capital injection, bringing its valuation to 3 billion. After he left, that 1 billion was withdrawn, so 2 billion was still a break-even price.

But the auction came with a catch: the buyer had to assume the division’s 1 billion in debt.

Having to spend an extra billion was a huge pain, enough to scare off any potential buyers.

In fact, it was the same story for all of LeTV’s assets that failed to sell.

LeTV’s delisted assets were worth just over 9 billion, but its liabilities were close to 30 billion. With so much owed and Boss Jia having fled, the remaining shareholders obviously didn’t want to shoulder the burden. They wanted to pass it on, so they attached clauses to the auctions requiring the buyer to assume all, or at least part, of the debt.

No one else was stupid enough to take that deal.

That’s why all these broken-up assets failed to sell at auction.

Nobody was willing to take a gamble on such a financial mess.

But Chen Jincheng knew something they didn’t: right up until he transmigrated, LeTV’s film and television division was still operating.

What no one could have possibly predicted was that *Zhen Huan’s Story*, *Feather in the Sky*, and *Langya List* would remain incredibly popular right up to the time he transmigrated, generating a substantial income from licensing fees every year.

*The Legend of Zhen Huan* alone brought in over 10 million in licensing fees annually, and the other licenses combined could generate tens of millions more each year.

This was something nobody had anticipated.

After all, no matter how popular a TV show gets, its subsequent revenue stream eventually has an expiration date.

Who could have guessed that these shows would stay popular for so long?

Even more surprisingly, after 2019, LeTV’s film and television division, despite having no boss, somehow managed to invest in a few new shows each year. They even produced more than one hit—like that one starring Lin Gou. He had forgotten what it was called, but anyway, it was a massive success.

Before he transmigrated, he’d even scrolled past a news story in his past life stating that after 2020, the film and television division’s annual profits exceeded 400 million and were still growing each year.

These were outcomes that no one, at this current point in time, could have ever imagined.

The employees at the film and television division were all on edge, with many already looking for an exit strategy, planning to jump ship to other companies.