Chapter 72: Conversation
Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Conversation
The nine episodes of Cat and Mouse finished amidst peals of laughter. Even Li Weiya had to admit that this children’s cartoon was truly outstanding.
Be it the voice acting or the story, it was vastly different from the cartoons currently airing on TV. It was hard to believe that such an outstanding piece of animation was the work of a recent high school graduate.
"Teacher Li, what do you think?" Jiang Xia asked.
Li Weiya gave a wry smile. "It’s far better than I imagined. In fact, it’s better than many works produced by professional animation studios. I have to admit, I’ve taken a liking to that clever and mischievous little mouse."
Jiang Xia wasn’t surprised by her praise. Even in his past life, Cat and Mouse was a timeless masterpiece in the realm of children’s animation, one that remains unsurpassed to this day.
Now, all he needed was a foot in the door to bring this masterpiece back into the world.
Whether he could soar to fame all came down to this.
"So, Teacher Li, in your opinion, what’s the best way to manage Cat and Mouse?" Jiang Xia asked sincerely.
"Do you have to air it on television?" Li Weiya frowned. "With the quality of Cat and Mouse, getting it on TV won’t be difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’ll make money."
"Please go on, Teacher Li."
"You should know that animation is measured in frames, but the costs are far more complex. You have employee salaries, equipment investment, daily company overhead, marketing and promotional fees, and so on. However, when you sell an animation to a TV station, they pay you by the minute, and the rates aren’t very high."
Jiang Xia nodded. As someone in the industry, this was no secret to him.
Furthermore, TV stations are also tiered. The biggest player is the CCTV Children’s Channel, which naturally offers the highest prices for acquiring animation.
In this era, the acquisition price for a typical animated show ranged from 500 to 1,000 yuan per minute. Local stations paid even less—some as low as ten-something yuan per minute.
’If you were to judge by the standards of animation in later years, where a single episode could easily cost hundreds of thousands of yuan, you’d be lucky just to break even selling to a TV station. Making a profit? Dream on!’
"You should try partnering with the biggest video streaming sites. The returns might be better than selling to TV stations," Li Weiya suggested.
Jiang Xia smiled. If this were the highly developed internet landscape of the future, he would’ve become a content creator without a second thought, monetizing his work through a subscription model.
But at this point in time, many domestic websites hadn’t yet figured out how to properly monetize their traffic. After all, even the future-famous B Station got its start with pirated content. It didn’t start licensing and acquiring anime until after 2014.
He didn’t have the capital to work just for passion. At the moment, only TV stations could bring him immediate, substantial profits.
TV stations didn’t pay much—perhaps only one or two thousand yuan per episode on average—but that was just for the first-run broadcast rights.
If the show’s ratings continued to climb during its time slot, the station might buy the second and third seasons for a higher price.
After seeing the results, other local TV stations would immediately follow suit. If dozens of stations across the country were broadcasting it simultaneously, the revenue would be substantial.
Once Cat and Mouse became a massive hit, other business opportunities would come flooding in: toy sales, DVD sales, video games, merchandise. That revenue stream would be the real prize.
"Online streaming is undoubtedly the way of the future, Teacher Li, but the time isn’t right. In our country, television is still the primary medium for people to get information about the outside world," Jiang Xia said calmly.
Li Weiya was a little surprised; she hadn’t expected him to have such a clear view of the situation. After all, even her own company was just starting to explore how to monetize video content online, and they hadn’t made any headway yet.
"So you’ve still decided to sell Cat and Mouse to a TV station?"
Jiang Xia nodded. "That’s right. At the end of the day, the target audience for Cat and Mouse is children. As long as you win them over, you win over the adults."
"You’re absolutely right. As long as the kids love it, the ratings won’t be low," Li Weiya agreed wholeheartedly.
"Then, Teacher Li, which TV station do you think I should approach first? And what do you think would be a suitable price?" he asked, finally getting to the real purpose of his visit.
"The first choice is, of course, the CCTV Children’s Channel," Li Weiya said without hesitation. "The Children’s Channel has deep pockets and offers the highest prices. If Cat and Mouse takes off on the Children’s Channel, it won’t be long before it’s a nationwide sensation. But..."
"But competition for the CCTV Children’s Channel is incredibly fierce. Countless animation companies are fighting tooth and nail for a spot. And even if you manage to sign a contract, you’ll likely have to wait in a long queue for a broadcast slot," Jiang Xia finished for her.
"That’s right."
Li Weiya nodded with a gratified expression. It was clear that Jiang Xia hadn’t started an animation company on a whim; he had done his homework.
For a company owner, having foresight is crucial for the company’s long-term survival.
"The next best choice is the local TV stations," she continued. "The acquisition price per episode might not be high, but local governments offer subsidies and preferential policies to support local businesses. The two combined aren’t a bad deal, and it would also be easier to get it on the air."
Jiang Xia’s eyes lit up at her suggestion. ’How could I have forgotten about the government’s animation subsidy policies?’
’He recalled an industry insider from his past life revealing that many unscrupulous animation companies, unable to produce quality work, would simply pad out their runtime. They would "sell" their shows to TV stations at rock-bottom prices—sometimes even paying the station to take it—just so they could rely on government subsidies to survive. Even by doing this, they could still make a killing.’
"In my opinion, if you’re going to sell to a TV station in Yu Du, a price of 300 yuan per minute would be very good. If negotiations go well, 500 isn’t impossible."
Li Weiya looked at him with a half-smile. "Speaking of which, your production cost for Cat and Mouse must not have been very high, right?"
A small studio of just a few people had painstakingly drawn every single keyframe while they were still in school. Then Jiang Xia had edited it all into a finished product by himself. In terms of cost, it was practically zero.
Jiang Xia gave an awkward laugh. "Mm, it really wasn’t high. To be honest with you, Ah Ming’s current salary only meets the minimum wage in Yu Du. After his probation period, his salary will only be 2,500."
Li Weiya didn’t mind. In her eyes, it was a good thing for her son to be starting a business with a young, visionary boss. Such an experience was something money couldn’t buy.
Besides, his salary was 2,500 now, but that didn’t mean it would be 2,500 forever. Once the company grew, his salary and benefits would increase exponentially.
She had a feeling that once Cat and Mouse was on TV, it would become a nationwide sensation in the shortest time imaginable.
...
(Another Chapter coming in a bit, I’ll do my best to have it up before 12.)