Chapter 1316: An unprecedented sponsorship for the Spring Festival Gala?

Translator: Legge Editor: Legge

Later that morning.

Zhang Ye officially took control of the Spring Festival Gala production team.

The people on the production team gradually reported on their work progress.

The operating expenses.

The personnel.

The stage.

The list of acts.

The time of the first approval session.

All kinds of difficult issues were waiting to be solved!

All kinds of difficulties were waiting to be overcome!

But after that motivating speech by Zhang Ye, a lot of the production team staff were feeling motivated and pumped up. They no longer had that worrisome look they had when they first met Zhang Ye, nor was there the crushing anxiety and pressure from their work that had stalled. Some of them immediately got down to work, some of them rekindled their spirits, and some of them were full of energy!

That's right!

Who says that the Spring Festival Gala is kaput?

Who determined such a thing?

…

In the Spring Festival Gala's executive director office.

Zhang Ye was announcing the team appointments. "Sister Ha, you'll be the assistant director."

Ha Qiqi nodded firmly. "Alright!"

Zhang Ye said, "Brother Zuo, you too."

Zhang Zuo said, "No problem."

Zhang Ye said, "Little Wang, you will continue to be my assistant."

"As you command, Director Zhang," Little Wang said obediently.

The team that he brought along were assigned to roles in the production team. For the next two months, there wouldn't be a need to staff too many people at the studio since Zhang Ye would not be taking any other jobs for the time being. The core of his team could all be of use here in the Spring Festival Gala production team instead, so he brought them along with him. Ha Qiqi and Zhang Zuo were both originally from Central TV and were directors themselves. Putting aside their skill level, at least they had been working together with him long enough to have a good mutual understanding of each other. They understood his temper well and were familiar with his working style too. This was also where Zhang Ye needed them as he would require them to communicate his work assignments to the rest of the team.

Tong Fu said excitedly, "Director Zhang, what will we be doing this time? Just tell us your instructions!"

Little Wang also said with enthusiasm, "We will surely execute this year's Spring Festival Gala beautifully and let everyone know how strong our team is!"

Zhang Zuo laughed and said, "Right, let's shock them all!"

Ha Qiqi said, "Our names will be forever immortalized."

Hearing that, Zhang Ye was startled. "Immortalized? How?"

Ha Qiqi said, "By making sure that the Spring Festival Gala does well of course."

Zhang Ye was taken aback. "How are we going to make sure it does well?"

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"Ah?"

"How would we know?"

"Didn't you say it yourself earlier?"

"You said that the Spring Festival Gala was timeless!"

However, Zhang Ye's reply nearly made Ha Qiqi and the others faint on the spot. He said, "It's not like I'm God or something. In all the past years of the Spring Festival Gala, did you guys think that the executive directors were amateurs? That none of them had any true skill? For a problem that cannot be solved even after so many years of hard work by people like them, how do you expect me to suddenly solve it the moment I arrive? How is that possible! Aren't you guys too naïve?"

Us? Naïve?

The group of them vomited blood!

Ha Qiqi said, "But we weren't the ones who claimed that!"

Tong Fu said, "Director Zhang! You were the one who said it yourself!"

Zhang Ye stared at them and said, "I was just sweet talking them and you believed me?"

Little Wang said, "Ah?"

Zhang Zuo said, "Sweet talk?"

Everyone was baffled!

Damn! So you were just talking big?

So you didn't actually have a plan at all?

Aiyo, why are the words coming out of your mouth so unreliable? We thought that you were really brimming with confidence!

Soon after, the few of them left with a sense of uncertainty, leaving Zhang Ye alone in the office to go through some documents with an unceasing headache and a frown on his face. A plan? Like he would have a plan! That solemn speech he gave earlier was purely to reassure the team and increase their morale so that their fighting spirit could be raised. What was a speech? To put it plainly, a speech was just a tool used to fool people. The words Zhang Ye had said did not even sound convincing to himself. He didn't have any confidence that he could make the Spring Festival Gala good. He could only take it one step at a time and solve whatever difficulties that laid ahead of them.

The funding issue!

This was the most pressing matter to address!

It was also the biggest issue that had to be resolved first!

As everyone knows, the Spring Festival Gala does not actually pay an appearance fee to its performers. It was unlike those variety shows on the local and satellite channels where an invitation for a bigger name celebrity to join a show could cost up to tens of millions of yuan. Even a small-timer could cost them several million yuan to invite. This was what a joining fee was, and even an interview would have to pay a celebrity some money. But this wasn't necessary for the Central TV Spring Festival Gala. On this stage, the celebrities were basically made available like cabbages in a market. Zhang Ye could choose from any celebrity from all over the country and it wouldn't cost a thing!

Pay them?

That would be overthinking things!

All they needed to provide them with were two boxed meals a day!

They could make claims for their train rides to get here, but not if it was a business class ticket!

Claiming the expenses for a plane ticket would only be limited to an economy class seat, while first-class seats were out of the question!

You could count yourself lucky if they paid you 2,000 yuan for the appearance fee. Even if they only paid you 350 yuan, you would have to accept it. To them, the performers were all treated the same and there was no preferential treatment given to the bigger names.

So by all rights, since they didn't have to spend any money on appearance fees, they shouldn't be lacking money. But as it stood, it was the exact opposite. They lacked money, and they lacked it by too much. Why did Li Ke quit from his role? It was simply because he couldn't carry on working anymore. Without money, without a budget, they weren't even able to get the stage set up. Unless they continued using the same old stage from the previous years and made slight modifications to it while adding some new equipment, there was just no funding available to get them a bigger one. Regarding that stage, Zhang Ye also knew about it. Other than it being a very large venue, the equipment facilities and technology supporting it were lacking by a lot compared to the variety show stages used on the local and satellite channels. This was supposed to be Central TV's Spring Festival Gala! It was the biggest gala in the world. But why was its stage not even comparable to that of a randomly picked variety show? How could it be like that? So of course it would be a wonder if the audience liked watching the gala! Therefore, this problem with the funding was a matter that Zhang Ye definitely had to solve!

He started running through the figures!

…

At the deputy station head office of Central TV.

"Station Head Hong."

"Hi, Boss Zhang."

"Can you all come up with a bit more money for the Spring Festival Gala's budget?"

"Aiyo, you're making things difficult for us that way."

"It's only at 80 million RMB. What is that enough for us to spend on?"

"This was the figure approved by the higher-ups. The budget for the Spring Festival Gala would have to be run past them first."

"But, Old Hong, this is really too little!"

"I also know that this isn't a large sum, but it has always been this figure for all the past galas. If we increase it, it won't make it past the audits. Besides, we also can't come up with that kind of money."

"Why can't you come up with that kind of money? Old Hong, don't you play dumb with me. It's not like I've never done a show at Central TV before. A budget of 100 to 200 million should be child's play!"

"That's because variety show can generate profits back for us. If we invest 200 million RMB into it, we can still earn that back later on. But the Spring Festival Gala does not earn any money for us. However much we put into it would mean the same amount has been spent. If you want 80 million or 100 million, we are still able to take that out of our pockets. But any more and it won't be up for discussion at all."

…

At the audit office 1 .

In the chief's office.

"Chief Qian 2 ."

"Yo, Director Zhang?"

"Can you please approve an increase to the Spring Festival Gala's budget?"

"It's already at the limit."

"But it's not enough at all. It's definitely not going to work out."

"How about this, Director Zhang? I have also known Chief Wu for a long time now, so I will definitely give face to you regarding this matter. I will personally give the green light and increase your budget by another 20 million to make it a total of 100 million RMB. You can source it directly from Central TV, but any more and I can't do anything about it. I don't have the authority to do so either."

"That's too little!"

"How much do you need then?"

"At least 800 million!"

"Whoa! That's impossible. Don't talk about Central TV or us, which organization out there would be able to cough up that kind of money!"

…

No approval!

No money!

They couldn't dispense that sum at all!

After going around for an entire day to seven or eight departments and meeting with their heads, the answer from everyone was the same.

In the office of the Spring Festival Gala production team.

There was chattering.

"Director, this is what the situation is right now."

"Director Li also wanted to have a higher budget to work with to solve the issue with the stage, but he wasn't successful in getting it at the end."

"Your influence is already massive since you've managed to get another 20 million RMB. Director Li went around for so many days but wasn't even given an additional 1 million to work with!"

"There isn't any more time left. If we can't get more, let's just make do with this amount."

"Director, the leaders are already pressing us to quickly start work!"

"Hai, this is always how it ends up every year."

Everyone was giving suggestions.

But Zhang Ye was still very stubborn. "This amount of money isn't even enough to feed the birds! So what are we starting work for? As long as the money does not come in, I won't be moving a single plank! It's either I don't do it, or I'll do it to the best of my ability!"

This is the Spring Festival Gala we're talking about, alright?

The stage is too important!

It's the most crucial issue of crucial issues. We can't be sloppy about it!

You all can't come up with the money? Alright then! I'll think of a way myself!

Zhang Ye had already come to a decision. He immediately went to look for the leaders of the Spring Festival Gala's organizing committee to convene an emergency meeting.

In the conference room.

The executives were all very anxious.

"Director Zhang, has work started yet?"

"Please quickly get the stage set up."

"There isn't much time left."

But Zhang Ye said, "I can't do anything if there's no money."

The audit office's leader said, "There's no one who can cough up the money that you want."

Zhang Ye nodded. "I know the money issue is very troublesome. But have any of you given it any thought before? About why the Spring Festival Gala is getting worse with each passing year? The funding is actually one of the main reasons for it. With the rapid pace of technological development, many of the television stations have upgraded their equipment. But us? We're still stuck in a time where we're still using the most traditional stage and set designs. This sort of backwardness directly leads to the viewership ratings dropping. The world around us is advancing, so the Spring Festival Gala must also change with the times. We have been dragging our feet for too long year after year, and there's no time anymore. If we don't introduce the changes now, the Spring Festival Gala is finished for sure!"

"But what about the money?" the chief from the audit office said.

A leader from the Ministry of Culture said, "What suggestions do you have?"

Zhang Ye looked at everyone and said, "I have a proposal here that, as long as it's approved, will ensure that money will no longer be an issue. Not only will the funding issue be resolved, but we will also be able to upgrade the stage into a world-class one. On top of that, mass profits could be generated too. And by that, I mean that the profits will keep rolling in year after year. At that time, everyone will no longer have to worry about the issue of funding anymore, and the stage will only get bigger with each passing year!"

Everyone was stunned. "What proposal is that?"

Zhang Ye handed out over a dozen copies of documents to them.

When the executives on the organizing committee flipped through them, all of them inhaled sharply!

The people from the SARFT were shocked!

The people from the audit office were shocked!

The people from the Ministry of Culture were shocked!

Advertisements!

Oh my god!

He was actually thinking about getting advertising sponsorships!

In Zhang Ye's previous world, the Central TV Spring Festival Gala already had a standardized mode of operation. However, in this world, the Spring Festival Gala had still not been introduced to the advertising format. Ever since the first gala, there had never been any appearance of an advertisement in it, never! So, when the executives saw this proposal, they were all very shocked. They were shocked by Zhang Ye's out of this world courage!

You actually dared to think of something like that?

In the entire country, only you would dare to think up of something like this!

This was a big deal. It was a huge deal!

"But there's no such precedent!"

"I know."

"Have you thought about the consequences?"

"I've considered them."

"Do you know how big of a controversy this will cause?"

"I know."

"What if something goes wrong because of this?"

"I will take full responsibility for it!"

"So you're serious about this then?"

"Yes, I'm serious about it!"

Zhang Ye had a determined look in his eyes!

The Spring Festival Gala's organizing committee executives all looked at one another!

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Audit_Office_(China)

2. This Qian surname is also the word for money.

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