I’m in Hollywood Chapter 696: Of course, to make money

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The Ministry of Information is a complete department operated by ABC. It is responsible for the production of all news sections of ABCTV Network. The profit rate of news programs has always been very low. Only CNN has broken this rule in recent years. However, the news department But it is the most important media communication channel of a media group. This national tool for controlling Lun is definitely not a simple measure of profit. Even if it is a loss-making operation, several Major TV Network will not easily abolish its news programs.

Katzenberg Speaking of the "Nightline" late-night news column, Eric did not just slam the profit margin between "Nightline" and the late-night show of NBC and CBS, but asked cautiously: "What is the contradiction between Robert and the Department of Public Information Chairman David Westin, and also, if" The Late Night Show with David Letterman "is introduced, what should" Nightline "do?"

Katzenberg replied: "This matter is mainly because David is worried that once" Nightline "is abolished, it will become the fuse of the Headquarters compressed news department. In addition to" Nightline ", the Ministry of Information has several other low-view ratings. News programs. If all of these programs are abolished, the number of employees and budget of the Ministry of Information will be compressed by at least 30%. The news department has always been a complete system, so it is difficult for the management of the department to accept that the original stable state was suddenly broken. . Regarding "Nightline", Robert's plan is to postpone this news program for an hour and put it after the late night show. "

"The idea of ​​delaying an hour is really bad. It would be better to cancel it directly. If I am David, I will probably fall out with Robert," Eric shook his head and smiled. The original broadcast time of "Nightline" It was 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, delayed by one hour, and placed in the early hours of the morning, it completely entered the garbage period of TV Station. After thinking about it for a moment, Eric said: "You personally call David Westin to talk about this matter, don't drag it down and intensify the conflict. . That ’s my promise. Headquarters will not make any large-scale adjustments to the Department of Public Information. Even if Nightline is canceled, the Department of Public Information will not lay off employees on a large scale. "

Katzenberg asked: "What about the extra employees?"

Eric thought for a while, and said: "Now there are two major professional news stations in the industry: Fox News and CNN. Professional news stations need to be scaled up to be profitable. The reason why Fox news can quickly rise is also dependent on The entire News Corp has media resources all over the world. We do n’t have any advantage at this point, so we will not be an ABC news channel. However, there is no professional news website on the Internet. I think we can start from this aspect. ABC ’s news department Although it cannot support a 24-hour news channel, it is more than enough to set up a professional news website. "

Katzenberg wondered: "Eric, isn't Yahoo a news website?"

Eric shook his head and said: "Yahoo's positioning is a comprehensive information platform website. The news section is only a small part of Yahoo's business. Yahoo will produce part of the content, but most of the information comes from the entire Internet media. It is equivalent to a company. 'Internet supermarket' that distributes content from other websites. "

Katzenberg nodded, seemingly incomprehensible, and made up his mind to go back and study the relevant information.

Eric also said: "The Internet is likely to be the main media communication channel in the future, so let David Westin pay attention to this matter. If you encounter any problems in website construction, you can contact Yahoo for help. Ted Turner When CNN was established, many people felt that CNN had no profit prospects at all, so they gave the latecomer the cake that should belong to a few Major TV Networks. The situation is very similar to that of that year, and almost no one noticed professional news on the Internet. The potential of the website, ABC enters the market early. Maybe it can reach the height of CNN in reality. "

Eric is very clear about the later Internet environment. Compared with search engines, e-commerce and other fields, news sites do not have much profit prospects. What is more important is that they can be used as online public relations tools. This is also what Eric values ​​most, but he will not say it clearly at this time, otherwise, the news department will definitely not develop business in this field.

The most important purpose of Eric to make this suggestion is to provide another direction for the development of the news department, and to resolve the internal conflicts caused by the adjustment of the business department such as "Nightline". But Katzenberg was a little excited because of Eric's suggestion. At this time, the Internet wave has begun to rise. As the head of a media group, Katzenberg is also increasingly exposed to relevant information, creating news channels to compete with CNN in reality. Katzenberg knows that ABC absolutely has no such strength, but if it can seize the opportunity, It is also a very fulfilling thing to create a professional news website on the Internet that is as good as the CNN status in reality.

"Eric, if this is the case, I will take the time to personally take charge of the ABC News website. With this business, David should not be troubled anymore, and the adjustment of" Nightline "can be carried out smoothly."

Feeling the ambition of Katzenberg, Eric is not good for him, and his thoughts turned, saying: "It ’s better to have Firefly can set up another subsidiary to be responsible for the affairs of the news website, so as to facilitate the listing and financing in the coming years And so on. "

Katzenberg wondered: "Eric, why go public, haven't you always opposed listing?"

Listing, of course, to make money.

Under normal circumstances, the profitability prospects of news websites are uncertain, and it is almost impossible to raise funds separately.

But in the coming years, it will be different. With the rise of the Internet wave, any Internet concept company will be sought after by investors. Eric does not expect much operating income from the ABC news website, but if it does not take advantage of the Internet bubble, it will take advantage of the financial market A great deal, I'm so sorry for the prophetic advantage of my reborn.

This kind of thinking cannot be said directly to Katzenberg. Eric does not want to talk nonsense, but just says: "Jeffrey, I ca n’t explain it to you now, and you will understand it in a few years."

This kind of Katzenberg from Eric is not the first time I encountered it. Later, it often proved that Eric was right, so I no longer questioned, but continued to ask Eric what specific thoughts about the establishment of a news website.

It wasn't until the sunset sunk into the sea level outside the glass curtain wall that Katzenberg and Kelly resigned and left together.

Eric looked at the time, and at night there was a "Saving Private Ryan" Oscar PR reception, so he went upstairs and changed a suit, and hurriedly left Malibu to Beverly Hills Manor. (To be continued.)