Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 55 Britain is such a small place

The taxi had its heater on, causing a layer of condensation to form on the windows.

Ren Pingsheng rubbed the car window with the back of his hand, glanced at the Oriental Pearl Tower that was passing by, and knew that there were still twenty minutes until Dragon TV.

He leaned back in his chair and mentally reviewed the things he needed to discuss that day.

The station wants to hire more people, and the root of the problem is still money.

More celebrities mean more leverage for attracting investment.

It seems that even with P&G's title sponsorship, they are still not comfortable with a foreign program.

This is easy to understand, even reasonable, and their desire to intervene in the competition format confirms this.

However, the so-called "eliminating those that are not suitable for broadcast" is actually a euphemism. After translation, the real meaning is "only broadcasting what they deem suitable".

The taxi stopped in front of Shanghai TV station, where Yang Yuancao was already waiting. Next to her stood a man in a down jacket, wearing black-rimmed glasses and sporting a wolf tail. He looked about seven or eight years older than Ren Pingsheng.

"Director Ren, let me introduce you. This is Jin Lei, the director in charge of the variety show segment at the station."

Jin Lei.

Dongdong from "Red Apple Paradise" became the chief director of Future Talent Show, and later, the helmsman of Canxing.

Jin Lei extended his hand, "I've heard so much about Director Ren, it's an honor to meet you."

Ren Pingsheng shook hands with him, "Director Jin, you're too kind."

The three entered the building, waited in the corridor for a while, and were then led into a conference room.

The room was small, with several cups of tea steaming on a long table.

The deputy director, surnamed Chen, was in his early fifties and sat in the main seat. "Director Ren is young and promising. Even an old guy like me has heard about the online works he has produced."

Chen Tai, maintaining a haughty demeanor, made small talk, "I heard from General Manager Yang that you also have expertise in variety shows?"

"Mr. Chen, you flatter me," Ren Pingsheng said as he sat down opposite him. "Today, it's mainly about General Manager Yang's business; I'm just running errands."

Yang Yuancao continued, "Director Ren is our consultant for this project. He gave me some ideas before, which I found valuable, so I invited him to come and talk to me in person."

Small talk is just that kind of superficial thing.

The group chatted back and forth, and when Jin Lei saw that things had gotten a bit too long, he took over the conversation.

"There are some things that the leaders can't say directly, so I'll say it. I'm sure everyone understands what the station means, but there are too many rules on the British side. Both sides have good intentions, but it's just stuck and we can't move forward."

Ren Pingsheng moved his teacup to the side. "Let me be frank. The copyright holder won't budge on the three judges, but there are other ways for you to get them."

Chen Tai raised his eyebrows, his gaze drawn over.

"Three plus one," Ren Pingsheng gestured, "three judges plus one observer. This person doesn't participate in the judging process, but can interact with the contestants and judges after the performance and control the pace of the event."

"Will they recognize this fourth person?"

"We can talk about it, since he's not a judge. As long as he doesn't appear in the same shot as the three judges during the recording, it won't damage Fremantle's IP identity and decision-making mechanism."

Deputy Director Chen held his teacup without saying a word, but moved forward a little.

Ren Pingsheng continued, "As for the name, I suggest 'P&G Dream Assistance Officer.' You can directly use this to negotiate a premium with P&G."

Chen Tai twirled the teacup halfway in his hand, but instead of responding to the conversation, he sighed.

"Director Ren makes a lot of sense, but you should understand that things like advertising and attracting investment are minor matters. The station doesn't care about these things. In the end, it's all about content control."

He put down his teacup, interlaced his fingers on the table, and said, "If we're going to broadcast this program, we have to be responsible to the audience and to the people of the whole country. You're letting the station hand over a program aimed at the world to foreigners... sigh."

The words weren't fully spoken, but the meaning was crystal clear.

Yang Yuancao sat beside her, her lips moved slightly, but she didn't dare to interrupt.

"Director Chen, let's not beat around the bush," Ren Pingsheng leaned back in his chair, his tone unchanged, "It's normal for the station to want to keep control of the programs."

Several people looked over at the same time.

"But that's just you being blinded by your own perspective."

Chen Tai frowned slightly.

"To gain control over a program, you don't need the copyright holder's consent at all."

"No consent needed?" Chen Tai's voice suddenly rose. "Do you know that if we change things without the British's approval, what kind of international disputes will arise at this crucial moment of the World Expo? Who can bear the responsibility for that?"

Ren Pingsheng was not intimidated by his questioning.

"Chen Tai, the UK insists on copying the original version because they believe it's absolutely correct. But how big is the UK? At most, they only get around ten thousand registrations per season. What about us? The number of registrations from the Yangtze River Delta region alone could crush their entire country."

"Moreover, this is a pre-recorded program. The auditions, preliminary rounds, and semi-finals are all pre-recorded before being broadcast, which leaves a lot of room for manipulation."

Jin Lei couldn't hold back any longer, "How exactly do you mean it?"

"With tens of thousands of people signing up, do you think the copyright holders can control every single audition, even if they wanted to?"

Ren Pingsheng spread his hands, "The station can send people to various cities in advance to find those talented people with stories to tell, encourage them to participate, and inject the Chinese dream you want into the program."

He glanced at Chen Tai.

"On the surface, the program flow is entirely in accordance with the copyright holder's requirements, but in reality..."

He paused for a moment.

"You can arrange what kind of content the station wants to broadcast long ago."

That's very insightful.

Chen Tai's expression changed for a moment, but he quickly suppressed it. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and neither said it was good nor bad.

Yang Yuancao sat next to her, her mind buzzing.

Jin Lei was stunned for a while before he reacted to Chen Tai's cough. "Director Ren... based on your thinking, I think that even if we don't do what you said, from a production point of view, having more people means we can sift out enough stories, and the selection of materials is already a layer of control."

"Yes," Ren Pingsheng continued, "I was referring to the most extreme case. In reality, the station has enough options just from the contestants who come on their own."

He leaned back in his chair. "In short, what the station wants is to have complete control, without having to have any direct conflict with the British side."

Chen Tai put down his teacup and finally spoke, "Director Ren's idea is very interesting."

He still didn't say anything, but in this situation, his meaning was clear.

The next hour was dominated by Jin Lei's discussion of the program.

He raised several production-related questions, and to his surprise, Ren Pingsheng responded to each one in a very specific way, rather than just giving general answers.

How to package the contestants' stories, how to manage the pacing of the show, and what type of contestants are most likely to go viral...

Jin Lei became increasingly restless as they talked, and eventually pulled his chair next to Ren Pingsheng.

But after Ren Pingsheng made a few key points, he consciously slowed down the pace.

Tell only half the story, leave the other half unsaid, and stop short of revealing the whole point.

The sincerity that should be shown has been shown, but the trump cards that should be kept hidden must not be revealed.

Chen Tai noticed this and smoothed things over, saying, "Shall we stop here for now? We'll need to trouble Director Ren with Fremantle this afternoon."

Everyone stood up, shook hands, and said, "Then, would you leaders like to join me in a little skit this afternoon?"

Chen Tai chuckled and waved his hand, "Jin Lei, you'll have full cooperation with what happens this afternoon."

Jin Lei nodded, "Let's go, Director Ren, President Yang, let me show you around our staff cafeteria."

The three of them walked downstairs together. Ren Pingsheng casually asked, "By the way, Director Jin, does your station have someone named Yan Min?"

Jin Lei thought for a moment, "Yan Min? Never heard of her. I know almost everyone in the variety show department at the station, there's no one like her. Is she a friend of Director Ren?"

Ren Pingsheng shrugged. "No, I've heard he's a very interesting person, and I'd like to get to know him."