Chapter 731 - 367: My Only Fear is They Can’t Afford to Play

Chapter 731: Chapter 367: My Only Fear is They Can’t Afford to Play

At the end of 2018, Penguin Film and Television had yet to surpass iQiyi Film and Television in terms of popularity. However, its aggressive momentum made it clear to many that it would soon become the industry leader.

This would mark another huge victory for the Penguin Group in yet another sector.

At Penguin Headquarters, the management team had gathered in a conference room. The main purpose of the meeting was to map out the next round of competitive strategies against iQiyi.

After the meeting concluded, the executive in charge, Huang Zhen, spoke up. "By the way, the Second Life Star Film and Television Network launched today. Its predecessor was LeTV Film and Television. While it’s no real threat, we’re on the verge of defeating iQiyi. Let’s try to avoid any spoilers showing up."

"So, whatever moves Er Shi Film and Television makes, we shut them down. Especially when they try to acquire content—we need to block them completely."

Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television’s tactic of giving away a free quarter of membership was a good one, but without compelling content to back it up, it would become a joke.

If you don’t have any content that makes me want to watch, what do I need a membership for?

Therefore, as long as they kept a close eye on Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television’s moves in this area, they could completely shut Second-Life Star down.

It wasn’t just Penguin Film and Television; iQiyi Film and Television felt the same way. They also knew that Second-Life Star’s biggest weakness was its lack of content.

By blocking Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television’s content acquisitions, they could ensure the platform had no prospects for growth. The company wouldn’t last six months before having to declare bankruptcy.

Clearly, the two streaming platforms with the highest daily active users had simultaneously made the same decision regarding Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television.

When two masters are fighting, any small fry that tries to get close and take advantage will be the first to get crushed by both sides.

Unless it could be like Uku, which had essentially given up on the main competition to lie low and focus on dramas from Xiangjiang, thereby avoiding a direct confrontation and being ignored by both giants.

...

「Half a day passed. Coastal City.」

Chen Jincheng sat at his computer. He reached a hand under the desk, stroking Li Lixing’s soft hair.

She was still sore, so she was taking care of him in a special way.

He’d also just received the latest update from Sun Ji: another two million free memberships had been claimed.

Everything was going according to his plan.

Next, he had to consider the development of the Second Life Star Film and Television Network. The better the streaming service developed, the greater its power would be when it came to supporting short-form dramas.

’When the time comes, I’ll just have to set up a dedicated page for short-form dramas on the site.’

That way, once *Python and Sparrow Swallowing Dragon* became a success, he could integrate it with Kuaishou, effectively combining the different parts of his pan-entertainment industry chain.

’At that point, even if I can’t beat Tiao Yin, I can at least compete. After all, my pan-entertainment industry chain will be broader than Tiao Yin’s in some respects.’

Some might wonder, if his streaming platform could reach the level of iQiyi, why would he still bother with a short-form drama platform?

To offer some data: before he traveled through time, iQiyi’s US stock market value was 2.5 billion USD.

The largest short-form drama platform, however, could reach a market value of ten billion USD. The reason for this was that the "payment stickiness" was on a completely different level. Many people who would hesitate to spend 30 yuan a month on an iQiyi membership would, when hooked on a short-form drama, impulsively spend hundreds of yuan in one go.

Furthermore, the demographic that binge-watches shows on streaming platforms is quite limited. Short-form dramas, on the other hand, are truly for all ages; even fifty-year-old men and women can be found scrolling through them on their phones.

There’s also the enormous gap in related industries. Costumes, makeup, and props alone represent a massive sector. One only had to look at the profits from Second-Life Star’s Hanfu line to understand. Even if other apparel couldn’t compete with Hanfu once the costuming for short-form dramas took off, the financial interests in this sector were still absolutely immense.

Then there were the commercial activities for short-form drama actors, advertisements, merchandise, and so on.

However, all of this was predicated on everything going smoothly.

But future developments wouldn’t necessarily unfold exactly as he imagined.

Right now, the most important thing was to develop Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television and formulate the next phase of his plan.

Under normal circumstances, it would be virtually impossible to surpass Penguin Film and Television and iQiyi starting from the foundation of the LeTV Film and Television Network, even with the traffic he had attracted from *Oops! I’m Surrounded by Beauties!* ℯ

That was because a streaming platform’s most important asset is its content; content is the greatest driving force for attracting users.

This included hit TV series and films, high-quality variety shows, anime, and more.

Moreover, these three categories were the largest and the most effective at convincing people to buy a membership.

Normally, it would be impossible to beat the two major streaming platforms by relying on this alone. After all, predicting whether a show would become a hit was a matter of experience, and no one could be certain their judgment was always right.

Even Penguin and iQiyi had backed plenty of flops.

So, no one could compete with the two streaming giants. They could even engage in price wars that were impossible to match. Uku’s decision to just lie low and stay out of it was the best proof of this.

Chen Jincheng, however, was different. Although many shows and movies from his past life didn’t exist in this world, many did—especially the blockbuster hits. The viewership of a single one of those hits was equivalent to a dozen other shows combined.

After all, some shows might garner a hundred million views, while a true blockbuster could surpass ten billion.

’The difference is staggering.’

Coincidentally, one of the shows he had invested in, *Go Go Squid!*, had reached that level. Along with other major hits, it could provide a continuous stream of popularity for Er Shi Xingchen Film and Television.