Chapter 775: Spring TV Lineup

[Chapter 775: Spring TV Lineup]

In comparison to the bustling Golden Globe Awards in January, Eric's main focus was on the Sundance Film Festival, which had been gaining momentum over the past few years.

David Fincher's movie, Se7en, made its first public appearance at Sundance, kicking off the promotional work for the film ahead of its Easter release. Brad Pitt was continuing his role as Agent Mulder in The X-Files, with the film's leading man being the rising star Matthew McConaughey. Eric was not a big fan of McConaughey, always finding his looks a bit too frivolous. However, it turned out that this image suited the character of David Smith, who was characterized as young, impetuous, and hot-headed. In the end, McConaughey was confirmed for the role. Aside from Matthew McConaughey and Diane Kruger, whom Eric had cast in the lead role, the other two supporting roles were unchanged, featuring Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey.

Se7en elevated the crime genre to unprecedented heights with its intricately shocking plot, unlike the slasher films that had been saturating the market and wearing out audiences. The different temperaments of the three male characters -- impatient, steady, and unhinged -- left a deep impression on the media and critics. After its Sundance debut, the film sparked strong reactions.

...

"Most serial killer films end up resorting to the cliche of a Holmes-like character solving everything. Se7en, with its premise of having the criminals reveal themselves and continue their madness, is undoubtedly groundbreaking. The film's conclusion is shocking, set in a perpetually rainy, gloomy city that conveys a gothic, dark religious atmosphere that subtly echoes the theme of the 'seven deadly sins.'"

"Compared to the disjointed and mediocre Alien 3, Se7en is unequivocally a transformative work for director David Fincher."

"Kevin Spacey delivers a phenomenal performance in his brief screen time, portraying a genius, cold, and mad killer so convincingly that it inevitably recalls Anthony Hopkins' role in The Silence of the Lambs. Matthew McConaughey and Morgan Freeman also contributed remarkable performances. Furthermore, while many criticized the frequent invasions of Hollywood by Victoria's Secret supermodels, Diane Kruger managed to achieve a passing grade with her performance. After all, we can't expect too much from these stunning beauties with their perfect figures, can we?"

...

Despite some critical voices, the acclaim for Se7en far outweighed the few negative reviews in the media, with discussions surrounding the film quickly spreading throughout North America after its release.

Although the Sundance Film Festival promoted independent films, over years of development, it had begun to compromise with major Hollywood studios for better survival.

Amidst the chaotic field of 17 nominated films for the jury prize, more than a third came from the seven major studios or their subsidiaries. Se7en unsurprisingly landed a nomination and, with New Line's support, successfully secured the jury prize, marking a strong start for its promotional efforts.

...

As January faded away and the holiday spirit gradually dissipated, life returned to a normal pace, and the film market entered a quiet spring season. The total box office in Hollywood dropped from a New Year high of $170 million to around $60 million. Consequently, by February, the spring TV lineup began to unfold.

With Se7en's strong showing at Sundance kicking things off, New Line's other action film, Rumble in the Bronx, also began its promotional push for the April Easter release. Meanwhile, Firefly Group's ABC, A&E, Disney Channel, and ESPN started to roll out their brand new spring programming.

Among them, ESPN, which had just signed a $9 billion broadcasting rights deal with the NFL, was one of the most watched entities, along with Lifetime, a channel under A&E, which focused on urban elite fashion women.

Before last winter's hiatus, Lifetime's reality shows, America's Next Top Model and Project Runway, achieved astounding viewership numbers in their final episodes, surpassing 6 million viewers each. The first season's finale of America's Next Top Model even reached an impressive 6.8 million viewers, with ratings nearing 4.0. Compared to most cable channels, these figures were truly remarkable.

With the phenomenal ratings brought on by these two reality shows, Lifetime's subscriber numbers surged from just over 3 million at the beginning of 1995 to around 76 million currently. Major cable operators were preparing for Lifetime's upcoming contract negotiations in April and May, where price increases were expected.

Industry forecasts predicted that as long as Lifetime's spring programming maintained the average quality of the previous fall season, they could negotiate average subscriber fees of over 25 cents. This alone would generate more than $200 million in subscription revenue for Lifetime each year, surpassing the previous year's industry valuation of under $150 million. Additionally, with the popularity of Lifetime's programming, the revenues from advertising, syndication of hit shows, and DVD sales were expected to far exceed the straightforward subscription revenue. Analysts on Wall Street had already raised their valuation of Lifetime to $1.1 billion.

While Lifetime's viewers may not be preoccupied with industry data, their interest in the channel's two flagship reality shows remained strong.

The second season of America's Next Top Model wouldn't premiere until early March, and the new drama, Sex and the City, would also not air until the end of February.

However, with New York Fashion Week approaching, the first season finale of Project Runway didn't conclude entirely; instead, the finals were to be held during Fashion Week in New York.

After the winter hiatus, the three finalists, emerging from the intense eliminations, showcased their final pieces at Bryant Park in Manhattan, all under the watchful eyes of the public.

To garner even more attention before the finals aired, Project Runway produced two special episodes, airing two weeks before and after Fashion Week. Though there were no competition segments as in previous episodes, the return of all the popular reality contestants focused more on reflecting on last year's show and contestant interviews. Nevertheless, the two special episodes still garnered over 500,000 viewers, reinforcing Project Runway's immense popularity to the media and the industry.

Though Linda invited Eric to appear as a special guest during the final taping of Project Runway, Eric had to rush back to Los Angeles after America Online's IPO.

...

The preliminary budget for Casino Royale had already been drafted, and the film's international locations and casting calls for key supporting roles were underway, all requiring Eric's involvement.

Simultaneously, Firefly, MGM, and Fox began negotiating the creation of a paid cable channel.

In the original timeline, HBO dominated over 90% of the cable market, sometimes reporting profits nearing $2 billion. Such profitable figures could have secured it a spot among the Fortune 500 even many years later. While various media companies had tried multiple times to catch up with HBO's market position, HBO's monopolistic hold on the market persisted due to its excellent operational strategies.

Eric recalled that 20th Century Fox even attempted to acquire HBO at one point but ultimately failed.

However, the American cable television market was just beginning to burst into the mainstream, having long simmered since the 1980s. HBO, having gained some scale, was still far from its later glowing status, which presented opportunities for other cable channels to emerge.

....

On a fresh weekday morning, Eric made his way to Playa Vista, meeting at a cafe within the studio with Katzenberg for breakfast, discussing the current work progress.

"We've roughly singled out a few targets, the most suitable being a cable channel owned by Tele-Communications, which currently has about 1.5 million users and primarily airs classic films. Although the subscriber count is low, with Tele-Communications's 40 million user base, as long as we can provide enough quality film content, subscriber growth should be rapid."

Katzenberg reported on the cable channel details, sipping his coffee before continuing, "However, Tele-Communications is reluctant to let go of full control of the channel. They wish to retain 20% ownership. I believe if we finalize the acquisition, we should be able to negotiate down to 10%. After all, without our content, Tele-Communications' cable channel wouldn't thrive."

Tele-Communications, Comcast, and Time Warner were considered the three giants of traditional cable television. Beyond that, there were many smaller cable operators and emerging satellite TV providers in North America. Even News Corporation had cable operations, though mainly focused in Europe and Australia.

In the early 80s, to address antitrust concerns, cable operators were forbidden from owning television networks. But as media regulations relaxed, these restrictions were progressively lifted. After Barry Diller left Fox, he operated the QVC shopping channel, which was jointly funded by Tele-Communications and Comcast.

Post-millennium, the leading cable operator switched from Tele-Communications to Comcast, though Eric was unsure of the reasons, he could guess that Tele-Communications either went bankrupt after the internet bubble burst like many tech companies, or it had been acquired. If it were the latter, Comcast would logically be the buyer.

"Let's aim to push it down to below 10%, and at the same time, we should negotiate for additional favorable channel resources from Tele-Communications," Eric suggested after contemplating.

From the outset, he never intended to exclusively control the channel. Maintaining a stake with the operator would enable them to provide more resources and convenience for the channel's expansion. Additionally, although Katzenberg suggested excluding Fox from the partnership, Eric chose not to follow this advice.

If it was purely about North America, there was indeed no need to include Fox. Firefly and MGM could already provide sufficient programming for the channel.

However, looking long-term, the international media resources held by News Corporation could facilitate the cable channel's easier entry into international markets. Just as Firefly's partnership with the Disney Channel allowed them to smoothly penetrate the European and Australian television markets using Sky Media's resources.

By the end of last year, following the breakout success of America's Next Top Model and Project Runway, Firefly had also initiated collaboration discussions with News Corporation about bringing the Lifetime channel to overseas markets. News Corporation's Australian channel had even bought the production rights for the Australian version of America's Next Top Model.

Even disregarding Eric's relationship with Elisabeth, including Fox in this collaboration would undoubtedly be more beneficial than detrimental.

After discussing the cable channel matters, the two finished their breakfasts leisurely. Eric handed a prepared document to Katzenberg, saying, "This is some information I've recently had Kelly gather on IMAX and 3D film technologies. Take a look at it and feel free to share it with Frank and the others."

Katzenberg was somewhat unfamiliar with the concept of IMAX but understood the basics of 3D technology. He accepted the material and remarked, "Eric, do you plan to produce a 3D film?"

Eric shook his head, responding, "Not at the moment. Please check the material first. According to Firefly's future production strategy, we aim to follow a high-quality route for big productions. Most of these effects-driven films focus heavily on visual experiences; just imagine how we could enhance our competitiveness by incorporating 3D technology. This could allow us to increase ticket prices on top of the 2D experience. The audience has grown in recent years, and the global film market has expanded, but saturation is inevitable. At that point, 3D technology might be a crucial gateway for maintaining continuous growth. IMAX technology is similarly significant; I'm not sure if there are any IMAX theaters in Los Angeles, but you can look into that and experience it first-hand."

Katzenberg listened carefully and earnestly nodded, declaring, "I'll review the material as soon as possible and have the strategic planning department conduct an assessment."

*****

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