Chapter 126: Winning Hearts

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Perhaps to the audience, it was simply the discovery of an entertaining show.

The program was interesting enough that they were willing to spend some time watching it.

It was as simple as that!

But to those in the industry, the excitement was beyond words.

Ever since its premiere, The Voice of Huaxia had seen its ratings climb steadily, sweeping everything before it!

After only two episodes, it had surpassed the all-time ratings record for variety shows.

Such results were almost unbelievable!

Ji Lin was so excited that he could barely speak.

What did a new record mean?

It meant they had become the holders of the highest ratings record in the history of Huaxia variety shows.

At least for a long time to come, few would be able to surpass that figure.

It also meant that they had become a towering mountain looming over every television station in the country.

A mountain waiting for others to cross in the future!

Many of the people involved in the program were about to experience the most glorious moment of their careers.

It would also become the greatest achievement they could boast of when seeking employment later on.

To put it precisely, this was an identity—a distinction!

Even Su Chen could not help feeling stirred at that moment.

Although he had never insisted that the program had to become a runaway success, actually managing to make such a resounding debut still gave him a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

But it was not over yet!

Su Chen sat at the table, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the chair rail as he waited for the final results.

Half an hour later, the ratings surpassed 4.4 percent.

An hour later, they suddenly reached 4.6 percent.

The numbers continued rising until the second episode ended, when they finally began to level off.

The peak ratings for the second episode of The Voice of Huaxia reached 4.7 percent.

That figure left everyone numb. They could do little more than passively accept the reality.

At the same time, many people understood that, barring any accidents, Southern Zhejiang Satellite TV might become the leader of the domestic variety-show industry for years to come!

As the person ultimately responsible for the project, Zhou Qi had reaped enormous rewards.

As deputy director of Zhejiang Provincial Television, he had always been in charge of the variety-show division.

However, because of the industry-wide downturn in recent years, there had been little he could do.

Several projects he had invested in during the early stages had produced only mediocre results.

But now, he had proven himself.

The Voice of Huaxia had not only broken the industry ratings record and won prestige and value for Zhejiang Provincial Television, but had also brought it new hope.

Its advertising revenue had also far exceeded expectations.

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Because it was a new program, the negotiations with the first batch of sponsors had not produced particularly favorable terms. Aside from Jittering Vision serving as the title sponsor, there were two other sponsors, bringing in roughly one hundred million in total revenue.

That was nowhere near enough to cover the investment.

But after the first episode aired, numerous companies proactively expressed their desire to sponsor The Voice of Huaxia.

Some were powerful national corporations that offered more than one hundred million outright.

After careful selection, four sponsors were signed in the second round, with contracts totaling 420 million.

Including the first batch of sponsors, The Voice of Huaxia had generated a total of 520 million in title-sponsorship and sponsorship revenue.

Adding the advertising revenue from the same time slot, the total would likely exceed 550 million.

That return on investment was absolutely at the ceiling of the variety-show industry.

According to Zhejiang Provincial Television’s contract terms, sponsors would first pay an advance of 30 percent after signing.

Therefore, by the end of the second episode, Zhejiang Provincial Television had received a total of 165 million.

Based on the agreed division, Thousand Oaks Media was entitled to a profit of 99 million.

“Boss, Finance just received a payment of 99 million.”

“We don’t know what it’s for, so they asked me to call and check with you.”

Zhejiang Provincial Television acted quickly. As soon as it received the advance payments from the second batch of sponsors, it immediately transferred the money to Su Chen’s Thousand Oaks Media without the slightest delay.

Su Chen was not surprised.

After all, anyone would have paid promptly in the face of results like these.

“I know. It’s the thirty-percent advance payment from the television station.”

“Have Finance record it properly.”

Su Chen gave the instructions.

During the early stages, he had personally handled much of the communication with the television station, so he still had to relay many matters to Bai Shu.

“All right!”

Bai Shu was about to hang up when Su Chen suddenly remembered something.

“Wait…”

“Have Finance set aside a bonus pool. Hmm…”

He fell silent in thought for a moment before continuing.

“Set aside roughly five percent of the money received so far. Just make an initial provision.”

“I’ll have General Manager Ji draw up a bonus-allocation plan.”

“Everyone has worked hard during this period. We need to motivate them and let them see some immediate returns.”

“Once all the payments have been received, we’ll settle the bonus pool at five percent of the actual profits.”

Bai Shu nodded in agreement.

After finishing his conversation with Bai Shu, Su Chen immediately contacted Ji Lin and asked him to provide a bonus-allocation ratio as soon as possible.

Whew!

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After arranging everything on both sides, Su Chen let out a long breath.

It was almost done!

He had now put the overall workflow in order and begun transferring the miscellaneous tasks at hand to Bai Shu and Ji Lin.

After a little more time passed, he would be able to withdraw completely.

Then he could turn his attention to other matters.

Ji Lin worked quickly. That very evening, he completed the bonus-allocation plan.

Su Chen looked it over. Aside from a few management positions, most of the bonuses were calculated as a fixed proportion of each employee’s salary.

There was no significant difference between them.

Su Chen shook his head.

Ji Lin’s approach had a problem!

It might be fine at the beginning, but if things continued this way, disharmony would inevitably arise within the team.

In any case, Su Chen had to offer a reminder.

“As for the bonus distribution, we’ll let it go this time.”

“But before you draw up the next plan, I want you to establish a complete performance-evaluation system.”

“Bonuses should be allocated according to each person’s performance.”

“Not distributed evenly as they are now, with everyone receiving the same proportion.”

“This isn’t about preserving personal relationships. On the contrary, it will create even greater hidden dangers for the team!”

Ji Lin nodded sheepishly and hurriedly admitted his mistake.

“I did handle this poorly. I’ll establish a complete set of standards afterward.”

He paused, then decided to offer an explanation.

“Actually, the team used to have performance-evaluation standards. But later, when we had no specific projects and everyone’s work became scattered, we stopped following the old standards.”

“This project was also on a tight schedule, so I hadn’t yet…”

Su Chen nodded.

“It isn’t a major issue. You’ll still be the one managing the team.”

“I won’t interfere. I only happened to notice it, so I thought I’d remind you.”

“You can decide the specific implementation and details yourself.”

“Also, I’ll arrange for Finance to distribute the bonuses tomorrow morning.”

“Set aside some time to inform everyone.”

Ji Lin immediately understood what Su Chen meant.

“All right, Boss. Don’t worry.”

He was quite skilled at painting an inspiring vision and winning people’s loyalty.

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