Chapter 213: Nobody Owes Anyone Anything

[Chapter 213: Nobody Owes Anyone Anything]

Once Elisabeth closed the door, Murdoch leisurely poured himself another cup of coffee and made a casual gesture toward Eric.

Eric shook his head gently. "It's not a good habit to drink too much coffee at night."

Murdoch chuckled. "You young folks don't know. When you reach my age, you'll have to drink more coffee just to stay alert."

"There are much healthier ways to maintain your energy, you know."

Murdoch didn't want to continue down that path. Instead, he said, "Eric, speaking of which, your first movie 17 Again was in collaboration with Fox. Our partnership has always been quite pleasant, hasn't it?"

"Of course, I never expected it to gross over a hundred million."

Eric shrugged, subtly indicating to Murdoch that his emotional appeal wouldn't work on him.

He indeed owed his entry into Hollywood to the opportunities given by Fox. However, he didn't owe them anything. He had generated more than a hundred million in ticket sales for them. When considering the subsequent revenues from video rentals and television broadcasting rights, the profit would surely surpass one hundred million dollars. Yet, he had only pocketed less than one million for himself. In that sense, he figured Fox had been rather stingy; after the film had finished its run, he didn't even receive a bonus for its box office success. Eric thought this might stem from Fox's own miscalculations; although they had initially declined to benefit from the blockbuster, they would likely take their frustration out on him. It was the same old story. When someone made a mistake they couldn't bear, they often lashed out at others instead of reflecting on their own actions.

As Murdoch tried to get close to Eric, he was quickly rebuffed. Even his usually composed face showed a hint of embarrassment.

"Eric, I heard that other networks have been in contact with you?"

The news about the three major networks reaching out to Eric had made the papers, and even the big names wrote analysis pieces. Most articles expressed skepticism about whether Fox could hold onto the broadcasting rights for the next season.

"Yes, their offers were quite tempting."

Murdoch took a sip of his coffee, feeling somewhat irritated. He realized that the young man sitting in front of him was not so easy to deal with. If he continued with this idle chat, this little guy would surely drag it out with no end in sight.

Putting down his coffee cup, Murdoch decided to get straight to the point. "Eric, how about this: Fox will raise the advertising split for Firefly to 70% in exchange for first-run rights for the next four seasons?"

As long as he secured the rights for the first five seasons, Murdoch believed Fox could solidify its footing in North America over the next five years, thanks to the impact of the hit series. After five seasons, Fox would have the leverage to renegotiate the split based on viewership ratings.

Eric lifted his head to stare at Murdoch. "Mr. Murdoch, is this really the extent of Fox's sincerity?"

"Doesn't this reflect Fox's sincerity?" Murdoch shot back.

Eric quickly shook his head. Under normal circumstances, that split would indeed have been quite generous.

The television industry was different from the film sector. Television networks were not constrained by any antitrust laws, allowing them to produce programming in-house. Consequently, networks typically held a strong position regarding the independent production of TV shows. Most of the time, networks bought broadcasting rights with a fixed payment, and even major players like Warner would only get advertising split shares that topped out at around 40%, often resting around 30%.

But this time was entirely different. For the nascent Fox network, the soaring viewership was merely a starting point; the crucial factor was its potential to rapidly enhance its popularity and cultivate a viewing audience.

"Mr. Murdoch, previously, Fox's average viewership was only a few million, less than one-tenth of the fixed TV audience in North America. Even considering the chance to bring in over 20 million views during broadcasts, finishing this season alone would at least raise Fox's average figures to over 10 million. Given all that, doesn't your opening offer seem rather insincere?"

Murdoch's gaze intensified as he replied, "Eric, you must know that the offer I just made is nearly double what other producers get as splits."

Under the scrutinizing gaze of the media mogul, Eric showed no sign of backing down. Instead, he lightly chuckled. "Mr. Murdoch, I'm sure you've done your research, so you should know that the offers from the three major networks to poach me aren't significantly lower than yours. Someone even calculated that if I aired on a few veteran broadcast networks, the advertising revenue could increase by over 10%. With that 10% boost factored in, it would be roughly equivalent to what Fox is offering. Compared to Fox, collaborating with those established networks would yield far greater benefits."

After finishing his point, Eric once again cupped his coffee, averting his eyes from Murdoch's reaction. He believed that the supposed 70% advertising split was merely a test from Murdoch.

"Eric, let's talk about your terms. What must Fox do to secure the first-run rights for the series?"

*****

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