Chapter 421: Acquisition Choices

Chapter 421: Chapter 421: Acquisition Choices

Once the reports on all routine projects were finished, Robert shifted the conversation to the company’s highest-level strategic plan: the cable television station acquisition that Irene had already finalized.

This was a core step in Irene’s plan to layout the entire industrial chain and build an in-house content broadcasting platform.

Her intention was to establish her own capital channels, create a production and broadcasting base for original variety shows and television dramas for Echo Pictures, and stop relying solely on theaters and external media channels, thereby achieving a complete closed loop of content production, broadcasting, promotion, and operation.

Combining the team’s recent extensive market research, industry scouting, and asset screening data, Robert gave Irene a comprehensive report on two feasible acquisition strategies and their respective pros and cons.

Currently, there are two mainstream approaches in the industry, the first of which is to acquire non-core assets that are in the process of being divested by top Hollywood cable media giants.

At present, Universal is in the critical preparation stage of a large-scale merger and restructuring.

Internal organizational restructuring, business streamlining, and asset sorting are being pushed forward simultaneously.

Word has already spread in the industry that Universal plans to divest a large number of its local self-operated television stations that have weak profitability, small market share, and do not belong to their core business, in order to concentrate resources on national mainstream channels and high-end media business.

For capital looking to enter the television station sector, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, coming with the backing of a giant, complete qualifications, legitimate licenses, and high industry recognition.

However, Robert also objectively analyzed the fatal shortcomings and drawbacks of these assets.

First, these divested non-core assets are essentially inferior capacity filtered out by the group.

They generally suffer from weak viewership bases, an aging audience, stale programming, and a lack of innovation.

Having relied on the group’s resources for years to survive, they have long since lost the ability to generate their own revenue and operate innovatively.

Second, after the news of the giant’s asset divestiture spread, countless capital entities in the industry have been eyeing them like tigers, leading to extremely fierce market competition, significant premiums, high acquisition costs, and very low cost-effectiveness.

Finally, these affiliated television stations have long operated under the giant’s system, resulting in rigid structures, bloated teams, and cumbersome processes.

The subsequent costs for rectification, restructuring, and team optimization would be extremely high, and adapting them to new variety show and drama creation models would be immensely difficult.

Of course, the advantages of these assets are also very prominent.

Relying on the heritage of a giant like Universal, the broadcasting qualifications are valid nationwide, the industry backing is strong, and the compliance system is complete, so there is no need to spend a lot of time clearing channels or obtaining additional qualifications.

At the same time, the existing audience base is huge; even if viewership is weak, it still has a stable foundation.

After subsequent content revisions and upgrades, it could quickly reignite market interest, with credibility and a starting point far higher than ordinary local stations.

After a complete analysis of the pros and cons of the first plan, Robert took the opportunity to propose the second acquisition strategy he personally recommended: directly and precisely acquiring a secondary or tertiary regional local affiliated television station in North America that covers a moderate population and has stable operations.

Compared to the high threshold, high premiums, and high rectification costs of the giant’s divested assets, the acquisition threshold for secondary or tertiary regional television stations is extremely low, the transaction process is simple, the premium space is small, and most do not have complicated debts or historical disputes, making the risks highly controllable.

More importantly, these television stations that have deeply cultivated local markets have been rooted in regional audiences for years and have already formed mature operating models for routine live broadcasting, program production, and content updates.

They are internally well-equipped, possessing a full set of professional teams for directing, filming, editing, production, and promotion, along with complete hardware equipment and perfect staffing, making them ready-made content production bases.

Robert then listed several high-quality targets that had been initially screened by the team and had a very high degree of suitability; the four local affiliated stations, WVTM, WNCN, WCMH, and WJAR, were all optimal choices.

These types of television stations deeply cultivate local livelihood, lifestyle, and entertainment content.

Their teams have rich practical experience, their operating mechanisms are flexible, and their structures are not as rigid as those of the giant-affiliated stations.

After the acquisition is completed, there is no need for large-scale rectification or restructuring.

They can directly adopt the existing content production mechanisms, broadcasting processes, and operating systems to quickly implement new plans for variety show recording, television drama filming, and original content development, perfectly adapting to Echo Pictures’ transformation needs.

After listening to Robert’s clear, well-reasoned, and comprehensive report, Irene nodded slightly.

After a moment of thought, she asked about her most core concern, which was also her ultimate bottom line for laying out the television station strategy.

"I have one critical question." Irene’s gaze was calm, her tone resolute. "These regional local television stations have a limited native coverage area. Can the variety shows and television dramas they produce achieve broadcasting and distribution across North America or even globally?"

She was not laying out a television station strategy to capture a niche local market or earn regional traffic, but to build a global content output channel for Echo Pictures.

The future self-produced dramas, variety shows, and original content were all aimed at becoming hits across North America, being sold overseas, and entering the global market.

Channels with local limitations did not fit her long-term strategy at all.

Robert immediately gave a precise and determined answer, dispelling Irene’s core concerns.

"It is entirely possible to achieve national and even global broadcasting; it is just that we cannot rely on the television station’s own wireless signal to cover the entire region. We have a mature and compliant solution path. Currently, the North American commercial satellite transmission system is very mature.

The multiple civilian satellite platforms launched in 2004 can stably cover over ten million viewing households across North America, with stable signals, compliant qualifications, and wide coverage.

Besides that, we can sell the full copyrights of our self-produced variety shows and dramas in batches to national cable channels for broadcast, or we can independently connect to satellite transmission and cable linkage systems to complete global content distribution through compliant channels, completely breaking through the regional limitations of local stations."

After getting a satisfactory answer, Irene directly finalized her two core acquisition standards, with clear and non-negotiable bottom lines.

"Then we will lock in this direction. First, it must have a complete and mature production team, hardware equipment, and operating system, capable of quickly implementing variety show and drama production plans without long periods of rectification and adjustment; second, it must have the channel conditions to connect to North American and global content output, capable of achieving global content distribution, not limited to the local market."

"Understood." Robert immediately noted down the core requirements and then added,

"I will screen for the best targets precisely according to these two standards. In addition, Shelly mentioned to me before that Ella Walker at CAA happens to control a large amount of capital and networking resources for local television stations, which is the batch of television station resources for sale that we previously connected with.

Her circle of contacts, capital channels, and industry news are indeed broader and deeper than ours at this stage, and she might be able to help us match with higher-quality targets with better cost-effectiveness and stronger suitability."

Irene raised her eyebrows slightly upon hearing this, her tone carrying a bit of confusion and doubt.

"Okay, find a time to invite her over, and the three of us will meet in person to discuss the resources. It is just that I have never been able to figure out why Ella Walker is so persistent about becoming my co-agent."