Song Jiayi and Yang Yanni took the elevator down to the second floor of the dormitory.
The multimedia room on the second floor was very large. It was divided into four separate rooms. Each room had a TV, speakers, and karaoke equipment. Three of the rooms played KBS, MBC, and KGS TV programs at night, mainly variety shows and TV series.
KBS, MBC, and KGS were the three major TV stations in South Korea. These three wireless TV stations occupied most of the market share, mainly broadcasting news, variety shows, and TV series. There were also more than 20 cable TV stations, mainly broadcasting imported movies, American TV series, Japanese TV series, late-night adult dramas, and so on.
There were nearly 200 trainees living in the dormitory of SPG Entertainment Company. Not all of these trainees were signed by SPG. Some were trained on behalf of others, but the company treated them equally in management.
For these trainees, watching the programs of the three major TV stations was both a relaxing and a learning process. Through the TV screen, they could get to know many seniors in the circle and familiarize themselves with various variety festivals and TV series.
Everyone could discuss with each other in the multimedia room. Big relief from the pressure brought about by the strict training.
Song Jiayi and Yang Yanni arrived at the room where KGS was playing.
The room was not big. There were five rows of seats in the front and back, which could accommodate 50 to 60 people watching the program at the same time. However, when the two of them arrived, there were only three or four people sitting in the room. It seemed very quiet.
The large LCD TV hanging on the wall was replaying KGS's current affairs program.
Song Jiayi and Yang Yanni greeted the trainees politely and found a seat to sit down.
Song Jiayi said softly, "There are so few people."
Yang Yanni curled her lips and said, "They must have seen the program list. They know that KGS is playing a TV series imported from our country. Naturally, they are not interested. MBC is playing 'The Queen's Power'!"
'The Queen's Power' was a large-scale historical drama produced by MBC. The ratings of the first few episodes had already exceeded 25%. It was very likely to become the first popular drama of the year. Moreover, the leading actors were all famous Korean artists, so naturally, there were many people watching it.
On the other hand, the Korean TV audience was quite xenophobic. They were not very interested in foreign TV series. Even the well-produced, top-notch American TV series were not very popular in Korea. The ratings of cable TV stations were usually below 5%.
As for Chinese dramas, only historical dramas could interest the Korean audience.
What Yang Yanni and Song Jiayi didn't know was that after SPG brought "Autumn in My Heart" in, they had spent a lot of effort on broadcasting it. It was already very difficult for it to get on KGS's screen.
SPG first contacted MBC because SPG had the best relationship with this second-largest TV station in South Korea. However, MBC was not very interested in the samples sent by SPG. The head of MBC's program department even mocked SPG's people, saying that the one billion won they spent would be better spent on charity. At the very least, it would give them a good reputation.
What was the point of buying Hua dramas?
There was nothing new under the sun. The news that SPG had spent a huge sum of money to purchase a Chinese drama series to expand into the China market had already spread throughout the industry. Most people scoffed at SPG's actions, thinking that SPG had made a stupid move in the face of fierce competition from KG and Han Yi.
It wasn't that MBC didn't want it. It was just that they were asking for a very low price, and they wouldn't guarantee a broadcast slot.
Of course, SPG couldn't agree to such conditions, so they tried contacting KBS, which was the Korean broadcasting station. However, KBS rejected them right away, leaving no room for negotiation.
Left with no choice, SPG could only pin their hopes on KGS.
Among the three major TV stations in South Korea, KGS had always been considered to be pro-Chinese. They had aired many Hua dramas and even filmed documentaries like "Koreans in Beijing", so they were relatively more accepting of Hua dramas.
Therefore, SPG was not rejected this time. KGS became interested after watching the samples of "Autumn in My Heart" and negotiated with SPG.
However, KGS knew that SPG had hit a wall with the other two TV stations, so they haggled very hard. In the end, both parties came to an agreement that was similar to the one that Lu Chen had with HaiJin TV back then. The amount of copyright transfer would be decided based on the viewership ratings.
SPG had fought so hard for KGS's broadcast slot.
"Autumn in My Heart" would be aired after KGS's current affairs programs on Friday and Saturday. The broadcast time was 6: 30 pm, and two episodes would be aired first. There would be adjustments based on the viewership ratings.
If the viewership ratings were high, it would be pushed back two hours to primetime. If the viewership ratings were low, it would be pushed back five hours!
This was the best condition that SPG could get. This was the best they could do for this Hua drama. The rest would depend on the performance of "Autumn in My Heart".
Yang Yanni and Song Jiayi had limited information about "Autumn in My Heart". They only knew a little about "Autumn in My Heart" from the internet. They only knew that it was very popular in China.
Of course, the two of them hoped that "Autumn in My Heart" would be a hit in South Korea, but it was unrealistic.
After sitting for about ten minutes, it was almost time for the broadcast. There were only three or four more people in the room.
These Korean interns were probably curious about the Hua drama that their company was representing. Moreover, there were no other popular dramas or variety shows at this time, so they came with the idea of watching something new.
This could be heard from their whispers.
Song Jiayi had been in South Korea for two years, and her Korean was pretty good. Therefore, she could understand what others were saying, so she felt a little uncomfortable.
This discomfort turned into indignation. She could not help but pray in her heart for "Autumn in My Heart", which she had yet to watch. She prayed that it would at least not embarrass itself.
After the current affairs news, the opening scene of "Autumn in My Heart" appeared on the television screen.
This urban romance drama that was imported from China was officially broadcast in South Korea!
Song Jiayi and Yang Yanni were surprised to find that "Autumn in My Heart" did not have any redubbing. It was the original sound with bilingual subtitles.
This made the two of them feel incomparably close. They immediately threw away those messy thoughts and focused on enjoying the show.
They wanted to know what kind of charm this drama that had created a miracle in the country had!
An episode was 45 minutes long. Including the advertisements at the beginning and end, it took about 100 minutes to finish two episodes.
Song Jiayi and Yang Yanni sat there and did not leave for even a minute.
After they finished watching, they felt that this drama was really good. The storyline was unique, the production and images were excellent, and the soundtrack was not inferior to the mainstream dramas in South Korea.
Most importantly, the male and female leads of the first two episodes had not appeared yet, but the two of them were already attracted, and they were looking forward to the following plot.
"It's a very interesting TV series!"
A voice suddenly sounded behind them, giving Song Jiayi and Yang Yanni a shock.
The two of them turned around and saw that there were 20 to 30 people sitting a few rows behind them. They were all trainees like them, and the one who spoke was a Korean girl that they had a good relationship with.
Seeing Song Jiayi and Yang Yanni's shocked expressions, the girl smiled. "I like this story very much. There should be more tomorrow, right? We can come and watch it together then. "
Song Jiayi nodded blankly. "O-Okay."
Suddenly, she had an idea. Pulling Yang Yanni along, she ran to the computer room on the same floor. Then, she swiped her card and went online. She used the local search engine to search for content related to "Autumn in My Heart". Plot, stills, and highlights …
Through the relevant links, Song Jiayi entered the official forum of "Autumn in My Heart".
She was surprised to find that the forum had more than a million followers. It was very popular, and the atmosphere in the forum was also very good. There were many posts discussing the overseas broadcast of "Autumn in My Heart".
Most of these posts were speculations about the ratings, or blessings and wishes.
Through the discussion posts, Song Jiayi found out that the author and male lead of "Autumn in My Heart" had actually made a bold statement about the ratings of the drama in South Korea. If the ratings exceeded 10%, he would give his fans 1,000 South Korean games!
Such a shocking sum left Song Jiayi speechless, and she was even more amazed at Lu Chen's ambition.
A 10% rating!
Although Song Jiayi did not believe that "Autumn in My Heart" could achieve such a result, she was also infected by Lu Chen's lofty aspirations. She could not help but use her own account to post a post on the forum.
[I'm in Seoul, South Korea. I just finished watching "Autumn in My Heart", and it was pretty good.]
There was a time difference of one hour between South Korea and China. It was 8.30 pm here, and it was 7.30 pm in China. It was the peak time for netizens to surf the net, and the forum was very popular.
Therefore, the moment Song Jiayi's post was posted, there were immediately many replies.
However, these replies were not very friendly.
"F * ck, trying to trick replies again. Level 1 smurf!"
"The OP is posting in South Korea, and I'm replying from Planet Namek. Please reply if you receive it!"
"Seoul, South Korea? Isn't Seoul the capital of America? Why is it in South Korea? This doesn't make sense! "
"F * ck off!"
"Is it real or fake? There's no picture, no truth."
"The OP's registered ID is a girl. If it's a real girl, please don't make up stories. Thank you."
"I'm dying of laughter …"
Song Jiayi did not expect such an outcome, and was instantly dumbfounded.
Yang Yanni, who was sitting beside her, saw it and was so angry that she immediately ran to the media room next door to record a short video with her phone.
"Send it up and let them see. I'll slap these people to death!"
After the video was uploaded, there was a huge change in the direction of the post.
"F * ck, it's true!"
"KGS TV Station, I've wronged the OP. Sorry."
"OP, where are you? Why does this place feel weird? Television Station? "
"OP, please take a picture!"
"So many girls, please tell us the truth!"
…
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