Chapter 87: The Highest Price
Chapter 87: Chapter 87: The Highest Price
Zhou Lu fell silent for a moment. She had to admit, the young man had a point.
Ten episodes of animation, at most, would only cost tens of thousands of yuan. For a TV station, that was a drop in the bucket.
She looked into Jiang Xia’s eyes and asked, "Boss Jiang, do you plan to continue making Cat and Mouse?"
"Of course. The greatest advantage of an episodic series is that you don’t have to worry about the plot falling apart. There’s no grand finale, so you can make it for as long as you want."
Jiang Xia paused, placed his hands on the table, and rested his chin on his interlocked fingers. He said slowly, "And in my plans, Cat and Mouse is at least a massive, several-hundred-episode series. It’s just that for now, we’re limited by our production capacity, so we can only take it slow."
Hearing the grand promises he was making, Zhou Lu didn’t comment. For now, a story spanning several hundred episodes was a distant prospect. Many long-running animated series had failed midway because the animation companies weren’t profitable.
The TV station only cared about current ratings.
As a chief editor for the children’s channel, she had encountered countless animation companies that talked a big game during negotiations only to deliver subpar work later.
To scam government subsidies, those guys would stoop to anything.
"So if the ratings are good after the show airs, and Boss Jiang produces more episodes, will you choose to continue working with our station?" She looked into Jiang Xia’s eyes, saying word by word, "I’m talking about the exclusive first-run broadcast rights."
Jiang Xia nodded lightly. "Of course. If that’s what’s needed, Yu Du TV Station will be my first choice."
Hearing this promise, Zhou Lu breathed a small sigh of relief.
"Then name your price, Boss Jiang." She put on her professional smile again. "How much do you think Cat and Mouse is worth?"
Jiang Xia slowly held up one finger.
"One hundred per minute?" Zhou Lu raised an eyebrow.
"No, one thousand."
One thousand per minute. Based on the average length of a Cat and Mouse episode, seven and a half minutes, that would be 7,500 yuan.
Zhou Lu rejected it almost without thinking. "Boss Jiang, while the quality of Cat and Mouse is indeed excellent, no local TV station could possibly agree to that price. Even the CCTV Children’s Channel would find it too high."
"Then what price do you think is appropriate?" Jiang Xia said with a smile, silently kicking the ball back into her court.
Zhou Lu was taken aback. She suddenly felt that the young man before her was an old fox in disguise; his negotiation skills were quite high.
She thought about the bottom line the station had given her, then lowered it even further. "Three hundred per minute."
Jiang Xia shook his head as well. "Chief Zhou, that price is too low. Others might haggle it down by half, but you’ve slashed it by seventy percent. I can’t even pay my employees’ salaries with that. To be honest, several other local TV stations have contacted me, and the prices they offered were much higher."
"Then why did your company choose us?"
"Simple. Because I’m from Mountain City."
He chuckled. "How about this? I don’t feel like haggling back and forth like we’re at a wet market. Let’s be decisive. One price: four thousand per episode."
Zhou Lu furrowed her brow. This price was still higher than the station’s bottom line. Calculated by the minute, it came out to be between 500 and 550 yuan.
"Boss Jiang, I can’t make the final decision on this price. I need to discuss it with the station again." As she spoke, she stepped out of the meeting room once more.
"Ah Xia, my guess is that five hundred per minute is their psychological price point, but since your offer isn’t much higher, they want to think it over," Li Weiya said after a moment’s thought.
"I think so too."
A short while later, Zhou Lu walked back into the meeting room, all smiles. "Boss Jiang, the station has agreed to your offer. But to be honest, this is the highest price we’ve paid for a show this year."
"You probably only agreed because the number of episodes is relatively small, right?" Jiang Xia said with a laugh.
Zhou Lu didn’t hide it, nodding with a smile. "Yes. But mainly, the station’s management is very optimistic about Cat and Mouse. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have agreed."
She took out a pre-prepared standard contract and handed it over, pointing out the relevant clauses and explaining them to Jiang Xia one by one. This included the animated trailer and scheduling Cat and Mouse to officially air during the evening prime time slot on June 30th.
The summer slot with the highest ratings, combined with a recent animation hit—this combination might just bring Yu Du TV Station a small ratings peak.
Jiang Xia read it carefully, then passed it to Li Weiya for her to read. Neither of them found any hidden traps. The contract they were signing only covered the first twelve episodes; any future collaboration would be negotiated later.
Notably, during the exclusive first-run broadcast period, Jiang Xia could not sell Cat and Mouse to any other TV station.
"Boss Jiang, if you don’t see any problems with the contract, please sign it," Zhou Lu said with a slight smile.
"Alright."
He reviewed it carefully one last time, signed everything, and finally, both parties stamped the signature line with their company seals. With that, the contract was effective.
"Boss Jiang, it’s a pleasure doing business with you." Zhou Lu stood up and shook his hand.
"The pleasure is mine. I look forward to working with your station again in the future."
"I hope Cat and Mouse becomes a huge hit."
"Hahaha, and I wish you a huge surge in ratings during its run."
The two exchanged a knowing smile.
"Boss Jiang, would you like me to show you two around the TV station?"
"No, thank you. I only have ten episodes of Cat and Mouse finished, so I still owe you two. I have to get back and work overtime," Jiang Xia said, shaking his head.
Zhou Lu chuckled. "In that case, I won’t see you out. Take care, you two."
She suddenly remembered something. "Oh, by the way, Boss Jiang, my son also loves Cat and Mouse. He said it’s really funny."
"It’s my honor to have children enjoy it."
Watching the two of them step into the elevator, Zhou Lu was momentarily lost in thought.
’An eighteen-year-old animation producer... truly exceptional.’
◇
Jiang Xia and Li Weiya walked out of the TV station building, and both let out a sigh of relief in unison.
"Aunt Li, how did I do back there? Not too bad, right?"
She gave him a thumbs-up. "Not just ’not too bad,’ you completely controlled the pace of the negotiation. Four thousand yuan per episode! If it performs well, the acquisition price for future episodes will only go up. Other TV stations will surely be contacting you soon. It’s no exaggeration to say, Ah Xia, you’re about to get rich."
Jiang Xia just smiled without saying anything. He knew perfectly well that this was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the true value of Cat and Mouse.
"Speaking of which, where did you learn all those negotiation skills? They don’t teach that in school."
"Ever since I was little, all the elders said I was an eloquent extrovert, born to be a leader," Jiang Xia said cheekily.
"So, you’re saying you were born with it?"
"Hahaha, maybe."
"Aunt Li, are you hungry? Let’s go get something to eat. My treat today!"
Having successfully sold the first-run broadcast rights for Cat and Mouse, Jiang Xia was in an excellent mood. It wasn’t about the 48,000 yuan, but about the fact that Qitian Animation Company’s reputation would finally be established when Cat and Mouse aired.
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