Later that afternoon.
It was time to knock off at Central TV.
Fu Sihong had gone home, but Zhang Ye did not leave. He got the others to stay behind and called them to an empty recording studio. This was the new program venue that Central TV Department 1 had approved for them. It was not a small area and was used for the recording of a talent show that had ended a few days ago. Some of the things had not been completely dismantled yet and a lightbox sign for the talent show could still be seen lying in a corner. Zhang Ye was very satisfied with the size of the venue. A large organization like Central TV had no lack of venues. But it was different from the satellite channels, where some programs needed two or even three program teams to share the same venue. Central TV's specialty was that it had a large area, good policies, and a lot of people.
"I'm afraid that it will be too rushed tomorrow, so I'm going to talk about the tasks today. That's why I'll be delaying everyone's knock off time by about ten minutes." Zhang Ye said, "Has the funding been approved?"
Ha Qiqi nodded and said, "It's approved. 20 million."
Zhang Ye nodded and pointed to the surroundings. "This is our venue. The station is still taking care of us by giving us the largest recording studio. I won't say too much about the slogan since it's useless to say too much. In the end, we still have to put it into action. As I'm not too familiar with everyone's job scope and capabilities, I'll just assign the tasks directly. Whoever is in charge of this area or feels that they have the ability to complete it, just let me know."
"OK."
"No problem."
"Just give the instructions, Director Zhang."
Everyone listened carefully.
Zhang Ye said, "These tasks will affect the progress of the program's production, so everyone must do it well. The first thing is the website. Our new program will need to have a separate webpage on Central TV Department 1's official website, or a standalone website. It will be responsible for promoting and publishing the latest news about our program. As a public platform, we can also launch an audience poll at any time in the future to allow the audience to participate in the talent show. So the importance of this goes without saying. I would like two people to be in charge of this content and communicate with Central TV's official website to get the website set up properly."
A female editor said, "Let me do it. This is my profession."
A young male editor looked around and raised his hand. "Count me in as well. I used to work for the official website and know quite a lot of people. I can get them to do it for us first so that we can cut in line."
Zhang Ye said, "Alright, then I'll have to trouble you guys."
The female and male editors said in unison, "You're welcome."
Zhang Ye continued, "The next task is to handle the preliminary auditions. Sister Qi, you'll be in charge of that. First, we'll request for some promotional resources from the station, such as television and online advertising spots. Then, we'll send out our registration numbers and registration methods. After that, we'll adjust the timing and have the applicants come in waves for the preliminary auditions. Although the actual auditions will be recorded and broadcasted, we still have to do some preliminary auditions to pick out the contestants who fit the theme of our show."
Ha Qiqi replied, "Alright, leave this to me."
Zhang Ye gave her a heads-up. "You will probably have the toughest and most important part of the job. As for the manpower allocation, you can transfer more people to go with you."
Ha Qiqi smiled and said, "Alright, it just so happens that the production team will be recruiting newcomers tomorrow."
"After that, it's time to set up the venue and set up the equipment." Zhang Ye looked at Zhang Zuo and said, "Brother Zhang, can you help us with this?"
Assistant Director Zhang Zuo said, "Sure, do you have any requests?"
Zhang Ye said, "How about our Central TV Department 1's own sound system and other supporting equipment?"
Zhang Zuo blinked a few times and said, "That will definitely be very good. At the very least, it won't be worse than the ones from the satellite channels. Most of the equipment will be professional grade, with some of them being the best in the world and newly installed last year. Some of the older equipment will also be the more high-end ones in the country, so there won't be any problems."
Zhang Ye shook his head when he heard that. "That won't do. The stage of our new show will depend on the sound. When I hear that the majority of the show is not bad, I feel that it's just average. I've always had a principle when it comes to making shows. Either we don't do it, or we do it to be the best in the industry. That's why when it comes to the equipment, we only want the best, especially when it comes to the sound system. There cannot be any flaws in it. If Central TV has it, we will borrow it. If not, we will rent it. If they can't get it, we will buy it ourselves!"
Zhang Zuo was startled. "Buy it ourselves?"
Ha Qiqi also said nervously, "We don't have enough money."
Zhang Ye did not understand the market in this area either. "How much does it cost?"
"You might not understand." Zhang Zuo said, "If it's really the best brand new equipment in the country, then it will cost at least 10 million RMB from top to bottom, from inside to outside. And this is only a conservative estimate since we can borrow a lot of the other equipment from the station. This kind of equipment is too expensive. If it's a good one, we might not even be able to afford it with tens of millions of RMB. Besides, it's also a little more troublesome to handle. Perhaps because it's a new set of equipment, our staff still have to familiarize themselves with it. The station only allocated 20 million RMB to our program team, so …"
Zhang Ye frowned. In a situation where they could borrow most of the top equipment from Central TV, the rest of the equipment that Central TV did not have would cost more than 10 million RMB??
It was expensive!
It was so fucking expensive!
However, Zhang Ye said firmly, "Borrow it first. If it doesn't work, then we'll buy it!"
Zhang Zuo said, "Then we won't have the money to do anything else?"
Zhang Ye said, "The equipment must be prepared beforehand, so everything depends on you guys. For the props and equipment, we must get the best at all costs. You guys don't have to worry about the money. I'll think of something on my side and fill in the gaps later."
"Alright, I understand." Zhang Zuo was reassured. Since Zhang Ye said he had a way, Zhang Zuo didn't care anymore. "I'll communicate with the equipment department tonight and come up with a list. For the equipment that Central TV does not have, I'll get our station's equipment procurement staff to help inquire about the price."
Zhang Ye nodded. "Alright, that's about all the tasks for now. Everyone, go home and have a good rest. We're going to have a tough battle starting tomorrow."
Wu Yi said in surprise, "Director Zhang."
"Yes?" Zhang Ye was not used to people calling him that yet.
Wu Yi said, "Are there only these few tasks? As for the script for the promotional video … "
Zhang Ye said, "Oh, I'll handle that."
Wu Yi said in surprise, "About inviting the coaches to join us …"
Zhang Ye said, "I'll contact them about that."
Wu Yi was stunned again. "Then the advertising message …"
Zhang Ye said, "I'll write it when the website is ready."
Wu Yi said, "Then can't we also get the advertising franchisees and title sponsors to …"
Zhang Ye said, "I'll be the one looking for them."
"Ah?" Ha Qiqi was embarrassed. "How can you do it alone? The workload is too much. Why don't you share some of it with me? I still have some spare capacity on my side. "
The other program team staff were also fighting to help Zhang Ye share the workload.
But Zhang Ye waved it off. "There's no need. We'll talk about it later."
Some of the more important and troublesome tasks were taken care of by Zhang Ye himself. Even though he was now the executive director, Zhang Ye did not shirk his responsibilities and leave everything to others. Oh, when others work themselves to the bone, you just sit in your office and drink tea leisurely? Of course Zhang Ye would not do such a thing. Besides, to put it bluntly, this fellow was someone who could not sit still. With The Voice of China about to be released, he was also very eager to try it out. Even if you asked him to stay idle, he wouldn't be able to do so. He was a well-known workaholic!
The meeting was adjourned.
Some of the people got off work, while others stayed behind to work overtime. For example, the two assistant directors, Zhang Zuo and Ha Qiqi, seeing that Zhang Ye was not hesitant, they couldn't back out either. They were talking about 0.8% of the nationwide viewership ratings. With such a huge knife hanging over their heads, the pressure on them was too great. They could only go all out!
Zhang Ye did not work overtime because Chenchen was still at the television station. He could stay up late, but Chenchen couldn't. As such, he left Ha Qiqi with a simple advertising message for the audition and brought Chenchen home for dinner.
… …
On the same night.
A promotional advertisement for a new show appeared on Central TV Department 1's official website.
"Central TV Department 1 has teamed up with Zhang Ye to register for a large-scale singing talent show!"
Below was the program introduction: Regardless of looks, height, age, or occupation, as long as you have a good voice, as long as you have a passion for music, then come and register. What are you waiting for?
Registration phone number 1: 4008XXXXX.
Registration phone number 2: 4008XXXXX.
Contact person: The Voice of China's program team.
The placement of this advertisement was actually not very good. After all, it was not a television advertisement. However, it was this inconspicuous advertisement for the show that caused an uproar on the Internet. In just a short minute after the advertisement was released, there were already screenshots and a topic being started on Weibo!
"Heavens! Zhang Ye has a new show! "
"Oh my god! This is way too fast! "
"Yeah, isn't this Zhang Ye's first fucking day at Central TV Department 1? Why is there news of a new show when he's only just started working in the morning? What kind of efficiency is this! Teacher Zhang is indeed the famous' fast shooter 'in the industry. Whether it's making a show or an advertisement, there's only one word to describe him — fast! "
"But why is it a singing talent show?"
"Zhang Ye is going to make another singing show?"
"Damn, I even predicted that he would make a reality show! How can it be a singing talent show? How can it be a singing talent show! It's completely different from what I expected! "
"The Voice of China? What a lousy name! "
"F * * k, is this really Zhang Ye's new show?"
As the topic heated up, countless netizens rushed over to watch!
Even many of the television station industry insiders were paying close attention to it!
A verified Weibo account from Beihe Province's television station said, "Regardless of looks? Regardless of occupation? Regardless of age? Can a talent show be made in such a way? What's the highlight? It might sound like a novel idea, but if it's really made into a talent show, it would be very difficult for many people to watch it. It would only become a niche show with a little bit of reputation and a viewership rating that wouldn't exceed 0.4%! "
Another industry insider said, "To be honest, I'm quite disappointed. After watching Do You Remember that Zhang Ye planned, I was still looking forward to his new show and hoped that Zhang Ye could come up with something innovative, just like his Zhang Ye's Talk Show and Do You Remember. But what does The Voice of China mean? Regardless of looks or age? Isn't this just a gimmick? It's impossible that any television station would dare to go against the rules of the market for talent shows. That's why this show will still end up being a traditional singing talent show. It won't be any different from other singing shows. I really don't get it. There are so many singing talent shows these days, with four or five of them being broadcast every month. Everyone is already sick of watching them and the low viewership ratings are well known to all, so why would Zhang Ye still dare to jump into this pit? "
A third industry insider said, "I don't understand either. He could have made a good show like Do You Remember that is full of new ideas and sincerity, so why would Zhang Ye not take the easy road and instead choose to cross the narrow bridge that so many people are fighting for? If that's the case, why did he sell Do You Remember in the first place? He could have just kept it for himself. "
Someone raised a doubt, "With Zhang Ye's experience, he couldn't possibly not know about this. Could it really be like what the show's introduction said, that he wants to make a talent show that only listens to the contestants' voices?"
"That's impossible!"
"Right, no one would dare to do that."
"If it's really a talent show that only listens to the contestants' voices, who would still watch it? That's even worse, right? "
Most of the people in the television industry had a very pessimistic attitude. Their reactions were similar to those of Central TV Department 1.
The netizens' attitudes were also very divided. Zhang Ye's hardcore fans were all supporting him without any hesitation.
"Supporting Teacher Zhang!"
"Zhang Ye's production can't go wrong!"
"Haha, I'm looking forward to Teacher Zhang's new show!"
"Experience tells us that we should never doubt any of Teacher Zhang's decisions. Otherwise, when the dust settles, you'll find that your face is already swollen!"
"Right, although I also don't understand what's so special about The Voice of China, I will still support Teacher Zhang unconditionally. There's no need to say anything else, I'll be watching it on time. Teacher Zhang's show will definitely be good to watch. Teacher Zhang has never disappointed us before, in the past, now, and in the future!"
"Well said!"
"Zhang Ye's fan club has gathered!"
"Let's help Teacher Zhang promote and forward it!"
However, the other netizens were not optimistic about it.
"A talent show that only listens to the contestants' voices? That's too niche! "
"That's right. If it's an extremely ugly person who's 1.4 meters tall, no matter how well he sings, no one would like him, right? Who would want to watch that? If anyone wants to watch, it should be the pretty girls! "
"I agree. Just listening to his voice isn't reliable at all, right?"
"Although I also admit that a singer's voice is the most important, looks are also very important. After all, he's a public figure, so he has to be likable, right?"
"Is Zhang Ye trying to subvert the traditional singing talent show industry again?"
"I agree with what the industry insiders said just now. Just listening to his voice is probably just a gimmick to scare people and confuse everyone. It's actually still the same old thing."
"Then there's even less to watch."
"Yeah, there are too many singing talent shows these days!"
"What is Zhang Ye doing? What is Central TV Department 1 doing? "
"Zhang Ye is indeed Zhang Ye! The way he does things has always left people scratching their heads! "
A small banner advertisement on Central TV's website had caused such a huge stir on the Internet. The only person who could do this was probably Zhang Ye. This fellow's name represented controversy. No matter how famous he was or how successful he was, just because of his personality of thinking what others did not dare to do, he was destined to be accompanied by controversy. There was no helping it, this was the entertainment industry!
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