Chapter 200 - WebTV’s Invitation for Zhang Ye! (2/2)

Choose a time that I want it to be broadcasted at?

Zhang Ye thought to himself that with such good treatment, could there be a catch? So he replied, “President Wei, are you asking me to create another program like ‘Lecture Room’?” Although Beijing Television Station had already fired him, he still had some old friends and an old leader there. Hu Fei had treated him quite well and he was the one who recruited him into the television station despite objections. Zhang Ye would never create a similar program to compete with Hu Fei, Xiao Lu and the others.

Victoria replied with an answer that made him feel a.s.sured, “You are thinking too much. I am not intending for you to compete with your old employer. Besides, ‘Lecture Room’ might be a good program, but its audience demographics is older. Even though some younger people watched it, most of those viewers were above the age of 25. If you put such a program on WebTV, it will never work. We have an audience that are in their teens to thirties. This group of people are the main force for WebTV.”

Zhang Ye nodded, “So it’s like this.”

“Mr Zhang, you can think it over first. But you should be able to feel my sincerity. I really would like you to join us and develop together with us. Oh right, maybe I need to tell you this first. Our company is based in Shanghai, so you might need to settle down here, We do not have a recording studio over in Beijing at the moment.” Victoria said.

“OK, I will give it some consideration.”

“Alright, then I hope to have good news from you, hur hur.”

“Thank you for the invitation, I will seriously consider it.”

After hanging up, Zhang Ye’s phone rang again. This time, it was Hu Fei.

“Little Zhang.” Hu Fei asked, “Just now a friend of mine called to ask for your phone number, I think that a WebTV company would like you to join them? Have you replied yet?”

Zhang Ye said immediately, “Not yet, I was just about to ask you for your opinion. Is the WebTV industry any good?”

“You are a media worker, but you don’t know about WebTV?” Hu Fei said annoyingly. But he still explained, “It’s actually just a broadcast that is done over the internet, but their programs are richer. There are variety programs, news programs and even kids’ programs… ”

Over in Zhang Ye’s previous world, WebTV was still an industry in its infancy. It was not really WebTV per se, it was just an online portal to the television station’s programs. It was just putting the resources and programs of a television station onto the internet so that everyone could view it. But upon hearing Hu Fei’s explanation, Zhang Ye understood that this world’s WebTV was different. It was a lot more matured than his previous world’s. This was the true form of a WebTV station. It was similar to television in that they had a program list for the day, it was only delivered over the internet. Its programs were premiere broadcasts and they were not repeated broadcasts from television stations. The advertising model and operating structure were also very advanced and they were administered by the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of The People’s Republic of China (SARFT).

“Then, do you think I should go?” Zhang Ye asked for his views.

Hu Fei said, “That will depend on yourself. Right now, no traditional television station would dare to recruit you. WebTV might be the only way for you. There are pros and cons to joining them. The pros are that the audience base is bigger as there are many netizens. For a really good program, a single episode can have a viewers.h.i.+p of a few million. With that, it is already much higher than you being at our Arts Channel speaking about the Three Kingdoms. The cons are that there is too much content on the internet, unlike television which only has a few channels and people switch on their TVs just to watch television programs. The internet is different because people do not necessarily choose to watch WebTV when they are online. Some like to watch movies, some watch animations, some choose to read novels, some watch short clips. Therefore, a successful WebTV program would need to stand out. They do not only compete with other WebTV programs, they also compete with other internet content. The pressure is huge so it is not easy to stand out.”

Zhang Ye had some thoughts.

Hu Fei laughed, “But who does not know about Little Zhang’s capabilities? Other people might not stand out in this vast ocean even if they had forever to do so, but you are different. I believe that you can do it!”

“Thanks, Brother Hu.”

“Make your own decision.”

“Sure, I will think about it again.”

After the conversation ended, Zhang Ye was lying on his bed and ma.s.saging his temple. He had a headache. There were pros and cons, should he go or not?

A dilemma!

It was really hard to decide!

A celebrity was not someone that people should be so envious of. On the surface, it looked really easy. But in reality, only they themselves knew how difficult it was. A wrong step would end careers. Every step could only be taken after careful consideration!

How carefully do they have to consider? Just look at Zhang Ye and you would understand!

Do you know why Zhang Ye always scratches his head?

Do you know why Zhang Ye always has his hands on his head?

Do you know why Zhang Ye always puts his hands through his hair at night unable to sleep?

That’s right! It’s because he was plagued by dandruff issues!

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