Competition for Broadcasting Rights

"I have already contacted the Bayerischer Hofbank in Germany, Barron's, and have been working with them. So far, the results are good..."

  Barron once again visited Bernie Elkston's home, with a glass of wine in hand, and Bernie eloquently introduced to Barron his efforts to purchase shares in SLEC:

  "Gribkovsky is my biggest gain this time. He is the person in charge of Bayerischer Hofbank's handling of SLEC shares. You have to believe me, Barron. Many times, we have to use more wisdom..."

  "I believe you have been very good at this, Mr. Elkstone."

  Barron took the opportunity to praise the other person slightly, which made Bernie smile even more.

  "Yes, you just need to know that we are determined to acquire the shares of Bayerischer Bank, and the price will be very suitable. Of course, I need to remind you that it will cost a little extra, but it is definitely worth it."

  "I understand, Mr. Elkstone, just go ahead and do it, Pioneer Sports will be responsible for paying the bill."

  Sure enough, Bernie was still carrying out his plan according to the ideas of the original time and space.

  Barron was happy to see this happen. After all, he only had to pay the money in the end. Even if someone investigated the matter in the end, it would not be his fault...

  This is not to say that Bernie is some kind of internationalist fighter; he is just acting in his own interests.

  It's a bit of a pity that Barron didn't see Tamarin today. She had already gone to school. When they talked on the phone before, the girl said that she would return to London before Christmas to reunite with Barron.

  "By the way, Barron, I know you also have a TV station. Are you interested in the broadcasting rights of the F1 race in England?"

  "Of course, but our sports channel is being planned and I will get the broadcasting rights if possible."

  The broadcasting rights of F1 events were originally in the hands of the BBC. Later, at the end of the last century, Bernie was dissatisfied with the BBC's broadcasting method of F1 events - they would never broadcast the entire race, but would choose to broadcast a few events. This was contrary to Bernie's idea of ​​letting F1 be seen by as many people as possible.

  It was also dissatisfied with the BBC's bid for F1 broadcasting rights.

  Therefore, in the end, he found another British television broadcasting giant, ITV, and they sold the broadcasting rights of the F1 race to ITV in early 1996. The price at that time was much higher than the "pitiful" income of less than 1 million pounds per year earlier.

  The contract with ITV will expire at the beginning of next year, and the broadcasting rights for F1 events in the UK will be renegotiated.

  At present, Sky TV holds the broadcasting rights for the Premier League and other events, and it is unlikely that it will offer too high a price for the F1 broadcasting rights.

  The BBC may be ITV's competitor, but compared with ITV, the BBC has a lot of event broadcasting rights, so it will not be willing to bid too high.

  For Bernie, it is natural that he hopes that the price of the broadcasting rights for F1 events will be as high as possible.

  Baron happens to own SDTV now, and he will also buy SLEC, the commercial operation company of the F1 event. Therefore, Bernie certainly hopes that he can come forward and bid with ITV for the British broadcasting rights of the F1 event.

  Barron remembers that in the original time and space, ITV would still get the UK broadcasting rights for the F1 event next year, and their bid was 25 million pounds for 5 years.

  This is equivalent to only 5 million pounds a year, which is similar to the broadcasting price of F1 events in other regions, such as China.  

  However, compared with the Premier League, the price of 5 million pounds a year is indeed too low.

  You should know that as early as 2000, the total price that Sky TV paid for the broadcasting rights for the Premier League games for the next three years was as high as 1.11 billion pounds, equivalent to nearly 350 million pounds a year. The price of the F1 event broadcasting rights is just a fraction of theirs.

  Next year, the price of the broadcasting rights for the Premier League will be even more expensive!

  Of course, the reason why Sky is willing to pay such a high price to obtain the broadcasting rights for the Premier League is that many fans can bring paid users to Sky TV.

  The influence of F1 in Britain is naturally not as great as that of the Premier League, but Bernie also hopes to raise the price a bit. Only with competition can such an effect be achieved.

  Currently, OFCOM has allowed the Freeview platform to launch paid services and paid channels. Currently, the paid channels of BBC and ITV are also connected to the Freeview platform.

  Summit Media is not to be outdone and is preparing to try to launch its own paid channel. Its current plan is to launch a paid SDTV sports channel. However, if it wants to attract paying users, it naturally needs to have popular live events. Although they do not currently have the ability to intervene in the Premier League broadcasting rights, they can also consider other events, including F1 events.

  If the price is 25 million pounds for 5 years, which is equivalent to 5 million pounds a year, it is quite cost-effective, so Barron does not mind joining the competition.

  …

  "Your Highness, the partnership plan we are currently implementing in China is very successful. Currently, more than 30 cooperative manufacturers have entered our supply catalog. They are connected to our quality control system and produce our own brand products..."

  Argos CEO Nathan Ellington reported to Barron's:

  "We have invested in most of these manufacturers to help them improve their production technology and manufacturing processes, and hold different proportions of their shares. There are more than a dozen manufacturers on the inspection list, and we will gradually increase the number of our partners in the future."

  Currently, Argos is not only increasing the number of stores in the UK and Ireland, but also has been conquering the French market after entering this year. With their highly cost-effective products, they have established a firm foothold in the Paris area and will continue to open new stores of various sizes.

  The most gratifying thing is that online ordering on Argos' official website has become an important sales channel for Argos. Currently, the turnover through online ordering has accounted for more than 20% of Argos' total sales, and this proportion is still increasing.

  The reason why Barron's is concerned about Argos' production in China is because he plans to acquire Primark with Argos as the main body.

  After all, both of them focus on "affordability" and their product image is quite similar.

  In addition, the Chinese OEM production model developed by Argos can also be promoted in Primark.

  In fact, this kind of OEM production model is not as simple as finding a factory to produce when there are certain requirements for quality.

  This involves the complex management of an entire quality system, which is also the cooperation model that Argos previously used in its home country. Transplanting this model to China has also consumed a lot of time and effort, and it has only now achieved initial success.

  However, given the number of products sold by Argos, the supply catalog of this partner program probably requires hundreds or even thousands of manufacturers. At present, it is just the beginning of building a foundation, and there is still a lot to be improved.

  However, once this foundation is laid, Primark will be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort by replicating it in the field of clothing production.

  For example, areas such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang have many clothing production factories. After being acquired, Primark can use this system to complete OEM cooperation in China.