Chapter 216: Stirring Trouble
Chapter 216: Stirring Trouble
A minute that would normally pass in the blink of an eye felt unusually long to Murdoch.
Originally, Murdoch had hoped that the young man before him would calm down on his own. But very quickly, as each number popped out of Eric’s mouth, Murdoch himself found it increasingly impossible to remain calm.
He began rapidly calculating the gains and losses involved.
Eric was right. If Fox Television lost Friends this time, then it would miss its best—and possibly only—chance to rise.
If Fox lost Friends but could still quietly lie low and continue developing steadily, that would not have been too terrible. However, after the ratings miracle created by Friends, the three established television networks had all realized the threat Fox Television posed to their positions. They would definitely not allow a Fox Television Network that had lost Friends to continue developing peacefully.
Having struggled through the media industry for decades, Murdoch had seen every variety of scheming, deception, and brutal competition.
Back when he left Australia to build his career in Britain, during his most difficult period, his competitors had retaliated against him by any means possible simply because he was an outsider. Even the personal safety of his family had been threatened. A group of kidnappers had once mistakenly abducted the wife of a News Corporation executive, thinking she was Murdoch’s wife. When they discovered they had kidnapped the wrong person, the poor woman was murdered.
Now he had come to America, and Murdoch believed the competition within North America’s industry would not be any gentler than Britain’s.
In less than thirty seconds, countless thoughts had already run through Murdoch’s mind.
Meanwhile, Eric, seated across from him, still stared at the watch in his hand, continuing the countdown unhurriedly.
“9… 8… 7… 6…”
In the final few seconds, Murdoch finally let out a soft sigh and lightly waved his hand.
“Eric, stop counting. I agree.”
Hearing Murdoch’s words, Eric paused slightly. Then, as if driven by inertia, he slowly finished counting the remaining few numbers before finally lifting his head.
Of course, he had never truly lost control in youthful anger just now.
As a mentally mature middle-aged man, although Murdoch’s threats toward him were far more despicable than his own threat of taking away Friends, he would never actually make some irrational move over it.
He had been gambling.
He was betting there was more than a seventy percent chance Murdoch would agree, because Fox Television needed Friends too badly.
Naturally, he had also considered what would happen if Murdoch truly refused.
In reality, even if negotiations had completely collapsed, it would not have mattered much.
Eric was certain that once the one-minute countdown truly ended and he stormed out, Murdoch would still come looking for him again. After all, according to Eric’s original plan, he never truly intended to completely sever cooperation with Fox Television. After Fox showed goodwill several more times, he would naturally half-reluctantly agree to reopen negotiations.
But if things happened that way, Fox would definitely realize his true bottom line from his actions.
At that point, he would never again have any chance of obtaining 10% of Fox Television Network’s shares.
Actually, judging from Murdoch’s attitude after hearing his condition, Eric himself had thought there was no possibility he could obtain 10% of Fox Television’s shares.
But Murdoch had foolishly threatened him using his women after hearing that Eric might transfer Friends to ABC, and that gave him the perfect excuse to explode.
A hot-blooded youth flying into a rage for the sake of women.
Wasn’t that perfectly reasonable for someone young, arrogant, and prematurely successful like him?
Since the chances of obtaining 10% of the shares had already been extremely slim, Eric simply gambled along with the situation.
In the end, Murdoch did not dare take the risk.
He feared that if Eric truly left in anger, he might not even leave any room for negotiation and would directly sever cooperation with Fox Television and transfer Friends to ABC.
Once the worst possible outcome occurred, there would be no way to salvage the situation.
Therefore, Eric had won the gamble.
Even though Murdoch had nodded in agreement, Eric showed no joy whatsoever. He merely calmly picked up the coffee pot before him and poured himself another cup before leisurely savoring it while waiting for Murdoch to speak first.
Murdoch’s eyesight for reading people could not be called anything less than sharp. From Eric’s calm actions, he quickly realized that he had likely been tricked just now.
Take it back.
That was Murdoch’s first thought.
However, even if Eric might have merely pretended to be angry to threaten him earlier, if Murdoch immediately reneged now, then Eric might truly storm off for real.
Having fought through the media industry for more than thirty years, how could Murdoch possibly accept being played by a mere brat?
Since he could not openly turn hostile immediately, Murdoch naturally had to minimize his losses as much as possible.
“Eric, I can give you 10% of Fox Television Network’s shares. But you should also understand that if you took this television series and negotiated identical terms with the three major networks, they might throw you straight out of their offices.
“So Friends alone is still far from enough. You’ll need to… hmm…”
Murdoch pondered briefly before continuing:
“You’ll need to provide Fox with two more outstanding television series. Of course, I know it’s difficult to reach the level of Friends, so as long as the average ratings of those two shows can reach fifteen million viewers, I’ll agree to transfer the shares to you.”
Upon hearing this condition, Eric almost laughed out loud.
If Murdoch had proposed other conditions, he might actually have been troubled. But if the subject was high-rated American television dramas, forget two—even twenty would not be difficult. If he thoroughly dug through the corners of his memory, he could easily pull them out one after another.
The American dramas with terrible ratings in his previous life had not even been translated by subtitle groups, so the ones that made their way domestically were mostly high-rated, high-quality series.
However, Eric also caught another issue in Murdoch’s words.
Murdoch had clearly implied that only after Eric provided Fox with two additional high-rated dramas would he transfer the shares.
How could that possibly happen?
Eric was absolutely certain that if he first handed over three television dramas to Fox, then after the results came out, Murdoch would probably shamelessly refuse to hand over any shares at all.
Because by then, the three shows would already have aired, and Fox would already have cultivated a large stable audience through those high ratings.
The next step would be obvious:
Once the millstone had done its work, kill the donkey. Once the rabbit died, cook the hunting dog.
“Mr. Murdoch, I can provide Fox with two more programs, and ratings above fifteen million viewers won’t be a problem because I just so happen to have several good ideas. However, I dislike playing word games.
“Today is the eighth. The next broadcast of Friends airs on the tenth. If Fox Television hasn’t demonstrated preliminary sincerity regarding the transfer of shares before tomorrow night, then I can’t guarantee what may happen.”
After speaking, Eric made as if to stand.
If Eric had only said the latter half of those words, Murdoch might have let him leave. But after hearing Eric mention that he “just happened to have several good ideas,” Murdoch became tempted again.
The condition of two television programs averaging more than fifteen million viewers had originally been proposed precisely because he wanted to sabotage the promise he had just made.
Among all North American television networks combined, there were not even ten American dramas each year capable of averaging more than fifteen million viewers. Most of them were continuations of old hit series.
For a completely new American drama to achieve such numbers was even harder.
That was precisely why Friends surpassing thirty million viewers right from its premiere had caused such an enormous sensation.
Therefore, when he saw Eric preparing to leave, Murdoch quickly waved to stop him.
“Wait, Eric. How could I possibly be playing word games with you? You should believe me. Since I already agreed to your condition, I definitely won’t go back on it. So let’s sit down and talk properly, all right? Tell me about your… ideas?”
I’d believe you when pigs fly.
Eric inwardly cursed.
Originally, he already no longer wanted to continue talking. Sparring against an old fox like Murdoch was simply too mentally exhausting. A slight lapse in attention could send him falling into another pit.
But after hearing Murdoch’s question, Eric still could not help sitting back down.
“Actually, this is what I’m thinking, Mr. Murdoch. I can provide two television dramas, but if you want to increase a network’s influence, television dramas alone definitely aren’t enough.
“Besides giving Fox another television drama different from Friends, I also plan to create a variety show for Fox Television. I guarantee that if this variety show is operated properly, average ratings exceeding twenty million viewers won’t be a problem.”
Murdoch’s heart jumped slightly.
“Eric, can you explain the concept of this… variety show?”
Eric smiled and shook his head.
“Mr. Murdoch, I already said earlier that before the tenth, I hope to see Fox Television’s preliminary share transfer proposal. Before that, there’s no need to discuss anything else.”
“But if you refuse to reveal anything, how do I know whether what you’re saying is true?” Murdoch pressed.
Eric irritably rubbed his palms together lightly before reminding him:
“Mr. Murdoch, don’t forget. Your agreement to transfer Fox Television shares to me is entirely because of Friends. It has nothing to do with those additional two television programs. So your only option is to trust me.”
“How about this, Eric? I can transfer the shares to you first. But there must be a condition attached. Let’s say one year. Within one year, if you fail to fulfill your promise that both television programs will exceed an average of fifteen million viewers, then for each one that fails to meet the target, you return 5% of the shares. What do you think?”
Eric sneered.
“Mr. Murdoch, ratings fraud is a hundred times easier than box office fraud. When the time comes, won’t Fox simply say whatever numbers it wants? Do you really think I’d agree to that?”