Chapter 63 ITV Digital was sold

that year my daughter went to study in London, and I happened to have a friend who opened a restaurant there, so I finally decided to take my whole family to London so that I could help out in my friend's store and take care of my daughter at the same time.

A month after I arrived in London, one day my old friend told me that a duke was recruiting chefs who were good at cooking Chinese food. The salary was very good and he asked me if I would like to give it a try.

I still remember that on the day of the interview, my friend drove me to the Camden district in London, which is a well-known wealthy area in the whole of England. The housing prices are very high and only the rich or noble live there.

In the living room on the first floor of the villa, I met the Duke. To my surprise, he was a very handsome young man.

What was even more unexpected to me was that after seeing me, the young duke actually spoke very standard and fluent Mandarin.

I think my surprised expression at that time was probably very funny.

In response, the young duke, His Royal Highness Barron Cavendish, smiled at me very kindly and said that he loved Chinese culture so much that he learned Chinese.

After hearing that I was good at cooking Shandong and Cantonese cuisine, he was very happy and said to me:

"I think I must have been a Chinese in my previous life, because I still have a Chinese stomach. So I don't want you to cook the so-called "Chinese food" that is modified according to the British taste, but the authentic Chinese food of you Chinese people."

After I cooked two dishes according to his requirements and he tasted them, he decided to hire me as his Chinese chef.

I never imagined that when I was in my forties, I would go to England and become the chef of a duke. This is probably the most amazing experience in my life so far.

——Excerpt from "I Cook for the Duke in England"

…

"My dear, I don't know why you like to drink this strange...porridge. I always find it hard to accept the black stuff in it."

Listening to Bonnie's words, Barron took a sip of the century egg and lean meat porridge. It was not easy to eat this in England.

He said softly to the girl:

"Some delicacies are not acceptable to everyone, right? But you can try this beef soup dumpling, it tastes really good."

Barron smiled as he watched Bonnie follow the method he taught her, first taking a light bite and then sucking out the fragrant soup. He couldn't help but praise her repeatedly.

He picked up the newspaper on the table and started reading. Since he bought The Independent, this newspaper has become the first thing he read every morning.

He first turned to the serialization of the novel. The first part of "Downton Abbey" was already more than halfway through. He said to Bonnie,

"Honey, I'm afraid we need to speed up the progress and finish the second part of the novel as soon as possible."

"I've already started, but I think it would be more inspiring if it were inside the manor."

"That's not a problem, honey. When I'm done with these two days, we can go back to Chatsworth together."

After stirring the sugar in the soy milk evenly and taking a sip, Bonnie looked at Barron and said:

"There is one thing, dear. My cousin said before that after she read Downton Abbey, she was very interested in the manor in the novel and hoped to visit it with us next time."

"Mrs. Boot? That's no problem, honey. Besides, I have a friend who also said she wants to go, so we can go together."

Barron's eyes were still on the newspaper, and he said calmly,

"You may not have seen her, but Mrs. Booth knows her. She's Ella, the eldest daughter of the Kent family."

"Oh... just friends?"

Sure enough, women are always keen in this regard...

"Of course, at least I consider her a friend. As for her thoughts, taking her with you is a better choice in this regard, isn't it, baby?"

Bonnie smiled when she heard Barron say this.

But at this time, Barron's attention was focused on a report in The Independent:

ITV Digital's television licence went on sale on Wednesday as the failed broadcaster shut down its pay-TV service to one million customers and went into liquidation.

The Independent Television Commission, which regulates the broadcasting industry, is calling for bids for the sale of the licence, which has been split into three parts, and the BBC, the public broadcaster, is one of the strong contenders.

ITV Digital managers halted broadcasts of its BSkyB sports, film and music channel MTV at 0600 GMT.

Only free-to-air channels, including the BBC, were still broadcasting, with messages of apology to viewers displayed on TV screens.

The world's first digital terrestrial television operator gave up its fight for survival on Tuesday after it was unable to raise funds to repay debts or find a buyer. Its 1,500 employees will lose their jobs.

Seeing this, Barron put down the newspaper, looked at Bonnie, and asked,

"Honey, have you heard about ITV's terrestrial digital TV station?"

"Of course, their promotion of terrestrial digital television seems to be struggling. In comparison, Sky's satellite digital television business is going very smoothly."

In the process of television stations converting to digitalization, there are three methods: satellite, cable and terrestrial. Britain is the first country in the world to start trying terrestrial digital television. It has also made special plans for this purpose, and basically completed this plan in 2010. However, it now seems that this attempt, mainly based on ITV Digital, has encountered great difficulties at this stage.

Thinking of this, Barron picked up his phone and dialed the number of Amber Sheehan, general manager of DS Capital's industrial investment department:

"Mr. Sheehan, please help me collect information about the current British television business, including satellite, cable and terrestrial television businesses."

"Okay, Boss..."

Amber hesitated for a moment and asked:

"Have you also seen the report on ITV Digital? The television business... requires a lot of capital."

"I understand this. Everything needs to be investigated before a decision can be made, Mr. Sheen."

…

"You want to buy ITV's channel? Darling."

"It's an opportunity, isn't it?"

"But ITV Digital invested so much money and failed, and the government did not provide them with any funds. If it was purchased by a private party, it would be even less likely to get government support. Even if the BBC was going to take over the terrestrial digital TV business, many people were not optimistic..."

Bonnie's meaning was very clear, that is, satellite TV is still dominated by the UK. In this regard, her BSkyB TV station is the absolute overlord. Although the British government proposed a plan to build a terrestrial satellite TV system in 1998, the past few years have shown from the current situation of ITV Digital that it is not an easy task and the risks are great.

"It's risky, but it also means opportunity, isn't it?"

"Even if you have enough money, what about qualifications and experience? I'm afraid that even if you want to sell ITV Digital, the government will only consider mature TV stations like the BBC that have rich experience in this area, rather than newcomers with no experience."

"This is a problem, but this kind of thing cannot be resolved in one or two days. We just need to take it step by step."