Chapter 314 - 311: Qitian Animation’s Two Moves

Chapter 314: Chapter 311: Qitian Animation’s Two Moves

Jiang Xia had a relatively clear memory of the timeline. In June 2010, Apple Inc. officially launched the iPhone 4, and from then on, the world entered the age of smartphones.

The development of mobile internet technology became even more rapid. Traditional television began to gradually fade from the stage, while computers and mobile phones played increasingly important roles in people’s daily lives.

In the next few years, major video websites and live-streaming platforms would rise one after another. The survival space for television stations would be further squeezed. It could be said that the future would be an era where traffic is king.

Jiang Xia naturally wouldn’t pass up this visibly huge piece of the pie.

Entering the scene at this point in time was the perfect opportunity to preemptively capture the market and develop a die-hard following.

"Is that the website you had me hire senior programmers to develop?" Li Weiya asked.

"Yes," Jiang Xia said with a nod and a smile. "Although it’s still in the testing phase, the basic functions are more or less all implemented."

The layout of the closed beta version was similar to B Station as he remembered it—very simple and clear. The only drawback was that the site didn’t have much content yet, just some pirated foreign videos. It was basically just a framework.

However, the core bullet screen comment feature was already usable. When the time came, all they needed to do was bring in a batch of films, TV series, or high-quality animated works, and they could open it to the public.

Plus, with the exclusive broadcast of Slam Dunk, he believed they could quickly accumulate an initial fanbase.

"What about Cat and Mouse? Will that be put on the website too?"

"Of course," Jiang Xia said affirmatively. "Except for the newest episodes, all the previous ones will be put up there for free viewing."

This move was something of a backstab to the television stations that had already bought the rights to Cat and Mouse, but the impact wouldn’t be that significant.

At the end of the day, Cat and Mouse was different from Slam Dunk. It was essentially a children’s cartoon. Many children and parents who didn’t know how to use computers could only watch it on TV.

As for those who were able to get online, they could log onto the website to watch anytime. This move would also greatly enhance user stickiness.

Watching Jiang Xia’s confident expression, Li Weiya felt a strange sense of gratification well up inside her.

’It’s clear Jiang Xia is very ambitious,’ she thought. ’From animation to toys, and now to a video website, he’s playing a grand game of chess.’

’Once successful, the three would form a kind of closed loop: using high-quality, exclusive animation to attract an audience; the video website focusing on cultivating user stickiness; and his father-in-law’s toy factory providing merchandise sales.’

’The synergy of the three could greatly increase the work’s influence. This is also an indispensable step for Jiang Xia in building a top-tier animation IP.’

After his daily tour checking on the work progress of the various project teams, he threw himself back into drawing the storyboards for Slam Dunk.

The remaining days passed by slowly. On January 23rd, Qitian Animation officially released the trailer for Slam Dunk, causing quite a stir on major platforms.

After all, it was a company that had gotten its start making children’s animation. Many people were skeptical whether they could pull off a hot-blooded anime with such a strong art style. They felt that if the company had this much free time, they would be better off increasing the production capacity for Cat and Mouse. One season every two months was simply too long; an episode every two days would be more like it.

However, many people were also drawn in by the high-quality trailer for Slam Dunk. The intense basketball showdowns, the exquisite visuals, and the distinctive character designs made people wonder what kind of work Qitian Animation would deliver.

After all, sports-themed anime on the market were pitifully few and far between, a niche within a niche. One wrong move and it could become a flop condemned by countless netizens, even ruining the hard-earned reputation of Cat and Mouse.

Jiang Xia, naturally, paid no mind to the various disparaging comments online.

’This was the most influential sports anime from my previous life,’ he thought. ’One that could even spur the vigorous development of the entire sport of basketball. What other anime has achieved such an honor?’

’I can even imagine how many people will be religiously waiting for the weekly updates once Slam Dunk officially begins its weekly serialization on my own video website.’

’Those who are so dismissive now will likely just end up eating their words, becoming die-hard fans of Slam Dunk.’

And so, after a day of heated discussion, Qitian Animation, in cooperation with the Sichuan and Chongqing television stations, released a trailer for the Si Chuan dialect version of Cat and Mouse.

It was the same familiar animation, but this time it had dialogue. The names "Fengcheche" and "Fake Experienced" entered the public consciousness for the first time.

Hearing the catchy local accent and hilarious dubbing, many people became interested. They were eager to see what, in the official view, Tom and Jerry were actually thinking during their love-hate antics.

As a result, the dialect version went viral. Cat and Mouse already had fans all over the country, and now they all flocked to the Sichuan and Chongqing TV stations, pushing the ratings to a new high.

After the back-to-back broadcast of two episodes that day, the entire internet was imitating how Fake Experienced spoke. All sorts of subtitled screenshots flew across various chat platforms. Many people even tagged Qitian Animation Company, asking when a dialect version for their own region would be released.

Seeing this, television stations in other provinces, including the CCTV Children’s Channel, were dying of envy. But there was nothing they could do. The dialect version was tailor-made for the local stations, possessing a large base audience and many jokes that only locals would understand. Buying the rights rashly would only result in losses that outweighed the gains.

Originally, Yu Du TV Station had been resentful about losing the premiere rights for the third season of Cat and Mouse, but as soon as the Si Chuan dialect version was released, all that resentment vanished.

This was like a form of disguised exclusive broadcasting rights. As long as no other dialect versions appeared in the short term, the popularity generated by the Si Chuan dialect version alone would be enough to maintain high ratings for a long time.

Zhou Lu even called Li Weiya overnight, hoping to sign a long-term contract with Qitian Animation Company, including but not limited to the Si Chuan dialect versions of future episodes.

Jiang Xia readily agreed to this.

He had used minimal resources to produce a local version and received a hefty licensing fee, while the TV station had also gained extremely high ratings. It was a win-win situation.

Everyone felt like they came out ahead.

"Director Jiang, I’d like to talk to you about the new animation trailer your company just released," the Chief Editor of the CCTV Children’s Channel suddenly called to inquire.

"Chief Editor Guo, it’s obvious that Slam Dunk is a hot-blooded sports anime. If you can accept broadcasting only one episode per week, at a price per episode of no less than 100,000, then we can continue this discussion," Jiang Xia said very bluntly.

The person on the other end of the line sounded like they had suddenly choked, and a few coughs could be heard.

"Uh... Director Jiang, I was just asking casually. Please don’t take it to heart. Let’s talk again someday when Slam Dunk has finished its run."

"Haha, it’s fine."

Jiang Xia had already anticipated Chief Editor Guo’s reaction.

Domestic television stations generally didn’t pick up weekly anime. They needed at least one or two episodes per day to ensure viewer stickiness, which was how they maintained ratings.

So, when he heard Jiang Xia say it would only be one new episode per week, with a price tag as high as 100,000 per episode, the Chief Editor of the CCTV Children’s Channel rejected it without a second thought.