Heads Up Hollywood

"The Grinch" was the runner-up at the North American box office last year, reaching $260 million, second only to "Spider-Man."

It can also be seen from the broadcast situation of Starz TV station that "The Grinch" is indeed more concerned than "X-Men".

Of course, a lot of credit is still due to "Band of Brothers".

Today is already September 3rd, and there are still 6 days left before the world premiere of "Band of Brothers"!

In the previous life, this summer, starting from June, HBO created a wave of subscription peaks with the four consecutive broadcasts of "Six Feet Under", "Charlie's Angels", "The Perfect Storm", and "Band of Brothers"!

From 7.5 million to 15 million!

In this life, Tang En replaced "Charlie's Angels" with the more influential "X-Men", and "The Perfect Storm" with the more popular "The Grinch".

What will happen?

The future is known.

But from the current point of view, the momentum is very good!

In the first two days of September, the STA TV network added 1.16 million new users. This result is gratifying enough!

In other words, STA now has 6.56 million subscribers, surpassing SHO and becoming the professional cable TV network with the second largest number of subscribers in the United States!

Only 1 million less than HBO!

Tang En snatched the report form from Isla Fisher, took a closer look, and found that among the 1.16 million new subscribers, 1.15 million had chosen the 3-month package of $23.99 instead of More favorable half-year packages and annual packages.

It can be seen that most of the new users are still skeptical about the STA TV network. They just want to subscribe for a 3-month trial first, mainly to watch "Band of Brothers".

"Band of Brothers" has a total of 10 episodes. If you buy a full set of DVD discs, the price will reach $100! In comparison, it is more cost-effective to subscribe to TV channels.

"A big event can be expected!"

Tang En read the report once and looked excited.

Isla Fisher said happily: "Twain, did we win again?"

Tang En laughed heartily a few times, and was very satisfied with the "we". He stepped forward and hugged her suddenly, and kissed her red lips.

Isla Fisher pushed him, a little shy, "There are still people!"

Kevin Feige smiled and got up quickly, "Boss, I already have an idea for the project of "The Punisher", so I'll go back and prepare it. Oh, by the way, congratulations in advance for the popularity of our TV station!"

...

Is TV ratings on fire?

The answer to the mystery has not yet been revealed.

However, since September, it can be said that good news has been reported frequently!

Comcast obviously also knew the attitude of Tang En Pictures, and would fax over the latest data every day before leaving get off work.

On September 3, there were 470,000 new installed users in the United States, and 520,000 new subscribers!

On September 4th, 620,000 new installed users and 540,000 new subscribers!

Only 4 days into September, the STA TV network has been unstoppable, like a rocket, and the number of subscribers has soared, first surpassing SHO, and then defeating HBO!

It has become a veritable professional cable TV network with the largest subscribers in North America!

Of course, HBO also has more than 5 million subscribers in overseas markets.

In terms of volume, STA still lags behind HBO as a whole.

However, "Band of Brothers" only premiered on September 9th!

5 days left on STA TV Network!

With the current crazy growth of STA, no one can see where the end is.

On September 5, Comcast adjusted its operating policy because the ratio of installed users to subscribers of the STA TV network was too low and the operating loss was too large. On this day, the number of installed users of STA TV network decreased by 1.2 million, but the number of subscribers increased by 650,000!

On September 6, the number of new installed users was 3.74 million, and the number of subscribers was 570,000!

Friday, September 7.

Comcast did not send the report to Dunn Films immediately, but held a celebration party to pay respects to Dunn, Bill McNick, West Cotton, Tosca Musk, and Chris Albrew. The senior executives of Dunn Films and STA Television Network such as Kerter sent invitations.

Dunn brought Penelope Cruz to attend.

The old Roberts who had retired to the second line also showed up in person, shook hands with Tang En cordially, and congratulated the young man.

However, he was old and his energy was far inferior to that of Lei Shidong. After shaking hands with everyone one by one, he chose to leave and handed over the task of hospitality to his son, who is Comcast’s current chairman and CEO Brian. roberts.

Brian Roberts, born in 1959, was named "the most scholarly and urbane entrepreneur in the media industry" by Forbes. What is even more legendary is that this guy used to be an athlete. He represented the US team in college and won a silver medal in squash.

Since 1990, he took over Comcast from his father, and then launched a series of exemplary acquisitions, which seems to have the posture of the American "Murdoch".

Especially this year, he defeated Time Warner, Disney and Cox Communications, and successfully acquired AT\u0026T's cable business.

After the completion of the merger, Comcast's market share is close to 30%, twice that of AOL Time Warner, and it is about to trigger anti-monopoly clauses. It is the unshakable number one cable TV operator in the United States.

However, having a huge number of users cannot satisfy his appetite.

His ambition is very lofty, he wants to become a big man like Murdoch and Redstone, and he wants to build Comcast into a media empire covering all channels!

"Twain, your strategic design is perfect and unexpected!" Holding a glass of champagne, Brian Roberts walked up to Dunn after a brief greeting with Bill McNick.

Tang En said helplessly: "Bryan, shouldn't you tell me the latest news about STA now? We are all waiting for the result."

Brian Roberts said with a smile: "Let me keep it a secret, I will go to the stage in a while and announce the good news in a high-profile way!"

"oh?"

Tang En's face was shocked and his eyes lit up.

Such a high-profile... Could it be said that it is good news with enough surprises?

Probably!

Today is Friday. According to the normal work habits of Laomei, the operators do not go to work on weekends.

Therefore, if home users want to watch "Band of Brothers" on Sunday, they will definitely subscribe on this day and rush to open Starz TV station, so as not to affect the premiere of the series due to the operator's rest on weekends.

It's the low season of the film market, and such a war masterpiece can just fill the entertainment gap this weekend.

Of course, many families do not know that in order to promote the development of STA, Comcast has also arranged staff to work overtime on weekends during this period to provide home users with installation and subscription services.

Seeing Tang En's expression, Brian Roberts smiled slightly, "Let's talk about something else."

Tang En took a deep look at him, and suddenly felt that today's party is not as simple as a celebration. This guy obviously has ulterior motives, so he asked calmly, "Okay, what are you interested in?"

"Like... content."

"content?"

Tang En frowned slightly.

Today's Hollywood film companies, in order to find bigger and wider channels, are actively moving closer to big media groups, but Brian Roberts proposed content, and his vision is high enough!

Brian Roberts said bluntly: "Twain, I have summed up your success. The core is the content! Movies rely on films such as "Spiderman" and "Unsinkable", while TV... also has "Six Feet Under" and " Band of Brothers. This is the right choice. In the media industry, no matter how novel the media method is or how broad the distribution channels are, it is the content rather than the method that ultimately attracts the audience. In the fierce competition, only recognized and popular excellent content can attract a large audience."

"Hehe, Bryan, you summed it up really well." Tang En's heart tightened a little, and he stared into his eyes, "You don't mean that you have taken a fancy to my company and want to acquire Tang En Pictures?"

"Ah?" Brian Roberts was startled, and then laughed, "Twain, you really know how to joke! Besides, even if I intend to acquire, would you sell it? The rate of return is so high, the debt ratio is so low, and the prospect is so good Good quality business, if it were to bid, Comcast would have no chance at all."

Tang En breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "Yes, Tang En Pictures is good at content, but having content does not mean dominating. Content must have a proper way of dissemination if it is to reach the audience. Distribution channels are important in the media industry chain. The status is becoming more and more important. The new round of media mergers is to make the most suitable content broadcast in the most suitable form.”

"You're so good!"

Brian Roberts sighed.

Seeing the light in his eyes, Tang En narrowed his eyes slightly, remembering something.

This Brian Roberts has a big appetite!

In his previous life, he led Comcast to buy Disney for US$66 billion. After being rejected, he bought NBC Universal Group instead. This is not enough. Comcast also bought shares of MGM, and is thinking of spending $45 billion to acquire Time Warner, and thinking of buying the assets of 20th Century Fox for $60 billion...

When Time Warner, News Corporation, and Viacom are gradually declining, and Disney is in full swing, the only media company that is qualified to compete is Comcast!

Now, Comcast has become the largest cable TV operating group in the United States. If it continues to grow on this road, it will be subject to anti-monopoly investigations and must find new development space.

Judging from his tone, it is obvious that he has developed an interest in Hollywood.

Sure enough, Brian Roberts quickly confirmed Tang En's guess, "As you said, the new round of media mergers is to make the most suitable content broadcast in the most suitable form!"

Tang En couldn't help laughing, shaking his head frequently, "Bryan, it's not that you haven't thought about buying Tang En Pictures, but because Tang En Pictures doesn't have distribution channels yet, you don't like it!"

Brian Roberts' face turned pale, "Only you can manage Tang En Pictures well, no one else can!"

"Okay." Tang En shrugged, "I already understand what you mean, you want...to enter Hollywood?"