Volume 3: Taking Roots 2016 Chapter 762 How about a 10 billion subsidy?
The orderly division among a number of investment institutions also means that this round of financing has been settled, and what remains is to go through the process in black and white.
"It's a pleasure to work with you, Mr. Jay!" Li Chaohui, who was sitting next to Zhou Dongsheng, smiled and extended his hand.
Zhou Dongsheng laughed and extended his hand to shake hands with Li Chaohui with the same bright smile, "Once again, I am honored to be on the same boat with Mr. Li."
"Hey, Mr. Jay, what you said is wrong. We are not on the same boat with me, but with Tengda. I am just an insignificant pawn." Li Zhaohui said with a smile.
pawn?
I'm afraid there is no more appropriate description than this word. Zhou Dongsheng smiled knowingly and then continued: "Yes, with the support of Tengda, I believe that the development of our project will be smoother."
"If Mr. Jay really thinks so, I hope that Mr. Jay can seriously consider what we discussed earlier. In this regard, Tengda's sincerity in cooperation is also real..."
Li Chaohui said meaningfully, and Zhou Dongsheng couldn't help but laugh. Before coming here, the two people who had met once had already met each other in advance.
This is also one of the reasons why they came here together. As for the cooperation mentioned by Li Chaohui, it is not difficult to guess that it is the game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds".
After all, Zhou Dongsheng’s cards are almost clear now. There are only a few projects that Tengda can take a fancy to, from Pinxixi to Mobike, and now to Douyin short video...
This is already their third collaboration, so they have become familiar with each other, especially since there is a huge connection between the two parties and the huge interests behind it.
Therefore, Li Chaohui was also very direct and revealed the fact that Tengda was eyeing the phenomenal IP "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" which is currently popular all over the world.
As long as Zhou Dongsheng is willing to sell part of his shares, no matter what conditions Zhou Dongsheng offers, as long as Tengda can accept them, Li Chaohui can agree to them directly and readily.
After all, the global popularity of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is so great right now, and the value of this phenomenal IP is so high that Tenda is really envious.
In particular, no one knows how big this piece of cake is and how deep the potential for development is better than Tenda, which owns "League of Legends".
Therefore, even if it costs a certain price, Tengda is determined to get involved.
After all, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is now a gold mine that everyone knows about, and it is still generating revenue continuously.
Just like stocks that have been hitting the daily limit for consecutive days in the stock market, if you want to get in on the action and get a piece of the pie, you have to pay more.
After all, in such a hot situation , if you want to get chips, it is definitely not feasible in the secondary market. You can only take the "roundabout way" of the primary market and buy them from other people.
But since they are all gold mines, there is no reason for others to sell them casually, and the only option is to pay a premium.
After all, in the capital market, there are only inappropriate prices, but no sellers who don't want to sell.
Seeing Zhou Dongsheng's vague words, Li Chaohui did not choose to hold on to him. After all, no matter how much Tengda wanted it, it would not be so humble, not to mention that Tengda also had a backup plan.
Although the plan to introduce "H1Z1" into China has been temporarily shelved due to differences in ideas between the two parties, the IP should not be wasted, after all, real money has already been spent.
In order to fill this gap, Tenda had no choice but to "recycle waste" and consider developing this IP into a chicken-eating mobile game!
After all, the conflict between the buyout system and the free strategy only occurs in the PC game market, but there is no such concern at all in the development of mobile games.
For Tencent Games, which has already completely focused on the mobile game market, making efforts in the mobile game market is undoubtedly one of their biggest advantages.
After all, Tenda's accumulated social advantages are like a dimensionality reduction attack on the mobile side, making it invincible.
Zhou Dongsheng naturally knew nothing about this. Although he always adhered to the principle of never eating alone, he would not easily give up the fat meat in his mouth.
He might be able to "take advantage of the tiger" with Tencent for other projects, but for "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds", a cash cow that can make a fortune every day, Zhou Dongsheng would rather be a stingy landlord.
On this point, it is obviously difficult for the two sides to reach a consensus.
Afterwards, the topic of the group naturally returned to the short video industry, and since they had just concluded a multi-billion dollar deal, it was natural that they had to find a place to hold a business banquet.
As the financing issue is settled, as long as Wenxue Network waits for the ammunition to arrive and replenishes it, it will naturally have sufficient firepower to deal with the bombardment from Toutiao.
After all, the saying that all fears come from insufficient firepower also applies to the war of burning money.
After this, Wenxue Network naturally did not choose to hide. The industry has obviously entered a stage where every bit counts, and traffic, gimmicks, and exposure are all crucial.
After all, it is not only necessary to give confidence to investors, but also to give users and creators enough confidence. No one will invest too much energy and time in a platform that is on the verge of collapse.
Just like some websites, although the traffic is huge, the users are always like a pile of loose sand. After using a few tissues, they wave their sleeves and leave, never leaving a trace... cough cough.
So after signing the agreement in black and white, Wenxue Network could not wait to disclose the news to the public. The news spread quickly and attracted widespread attention in the industry.
"According to the information disclosed by Wenxue Network, the company has successfully completed its B round of financing, obtaining US$360 million in financing at the cost of selling 9% of its shares. The investment was led by Tengda Holdings, followed by other investment institutions such as Jinxin Capital.
This also means that Wenxue Network, a company that mainly engages in short video business, has already received a valuation of up to US$4 billion based on its two major short video platforms..."
"From Toutiao's announcement of a '1 billion subsidy for short video creation' plan to Tencent's second move into the short video industry, it is not difficult to see that the short video industry is very likely to become the second largest outlet in the Internet industry after live streaming."
In addition to the attention aroused by the relevant announcement, naturally many people also smelled the smell of gunpowder. From the moment the two sides tore their faces apart, it was obvious that the only outcome was a life-and-death battle.
After all, there is no room for two tigers in one mountain, and the market does not need two short video platforms that are highly similar in terms of positioning and content.
So many people are waiting and watching, even some creators on the TikTok platform are the same. They are very envious of the "1 billion subsidy" plan launched by Toutiao.
Especially seeing a large number of creators flocking to the Ame platform and starting to reap the benefits, the creators on this side are feeling a little uncomfortable.
After all, they have invested a lot of energy in operating this place. If they give up halfway, the sunk cost will be a problem they have to consider.
As for the distribution strategy of trying to please both sides, it is easy to fail if the platform settles the accounts later. Although some people have begun to try, most of them still choose to wait and see.
They are just hoping that the TikTok platform will come up with a corresponding plan to give them some hope, at least they can get a share of the profits, right?
As for the high-end route of taking advertisements for monetization, it still only exists in a small number of top IPs.
However, a major move like this cannot be completed in just a few days, especially when the initiative has been lost, so there is naturally no need to rush to follow up.
After all, compared to the more aggressive Toutiao, it wants to spend money to grab content, users and traffic from other platforms.
Douyin, which already has hundreds of millions of users, will not be easily defeated by its competitors, especially in the area of high-quality content, which cannot be achieved overnight simply by spending money.
Top IPs like [Papi Jiang], [Big Stomach Prince Mi], [Muziqi], etc. on the Douyin platform are the platform’s biggest assets.
If a platform wants to incubate such an IP, the three elements of "time, place and people" are often indispensable, so it is naturally impossible to achieve it overnight.
As for swinging the hoe...that depends on whether Zhou Dongsheng agrees. The contracts for this batch of top IPs are firmly in the hands of Dongsheng Media.
Although there is no wall that cannot be dug, only a hoe that does not work hard, it also depends on whether Toutiao is willing to pay several times the price of liquidated damages.
No matter how wealthy they are, investors ' money does not come from the wind, and it is impossible for Toutiao to spend it without restraint.
The money-burning war is not only about who has more funds, but also about the money-burning skills, and who can convert the least money into the highest return rate.
After Toutiao played the "1 billion subsidy" card, Wenxue Network had already lost the initiative. It was a completely bad idea to rashly follow up after obtaining financing.
After all, Toutiao has already taken the first-mover advantage. If they come to the realization and spend real money to implement the subsidy plan, regardless of whether users will buy into it or not, the effect achieved will inevitably be greatly reduced.
It might even put the opponent on the moral high ground and gain gratitude from users. After all, it was Toutiao that set the precedent, which led to subsequent follow-ups.
By then , we may even get some propaganda such as "Those who carry firewood for the public should not be allowed to freeze to death in the snow and wind". If Toutiao adds a little fuel to the fire, we will be able to easily get excess returns.
They can even turn the tables on the issue of plagiarism, "Didn't you say I plagiarized? Why are you imitating my 1 billion subsidy plan? Forget it, it's for the development of the entire industry, I won't care..."
At this point, the money has been spent and the work has been done, not only is there no effect, but the opponent has also been given a huge advantage for nothing. It is no exaggeration to say that we have lost both the wife and the army.
"Of course, this is just the worst result. If we are lucky, we might still be able to gain something..." Zhou Dongsheng analyzed seriously.
At this time, after completing the financing, as a strategic investor, Zhou Dongsheng naturally discussed the future development direction of the platform with Yang Luyu.
Having no money is a problem, and having money is also a problem.
The money is already in hand, how should we spend it to maximize the benefits?
So, when Yang Luyu briefly mentioned the proposal to follow Toutiao, Zhou Dongsheng drew inferences from it and refuted it. This was the analysis.
Zhou Dongsheng was surprised to find that he had not made no progress at all.
After Zhou Dongsheng's analysis, Yang Luyu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. How could such a careless mistake lead to such a disastrous end? !
It was a close call, he almost ruined his career, luckily he had Zhou Dongsheng as his pillar of support.
Yang Luyu didn't know how many times he had expressed his gratitude for his correct decision, and at the same time, he gave a powerful flattery.
"Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading. If it weren't for Mr. Jay's words awakening me from my dream, I would have regretted it. I wonder what insights Mr. Jay has, I would like to hear in detail."
Yang Luyu put on an expression of humbly asking for advice.
Zhou Dongsheng couldn't help but feel secretly happy. As for this issue, he did have some ideas of his own.
"In fact, Mr. Yang is just too concerned and confused. The authorities are confused. Although Toutiao is coming on strong and should not be underestimated, in the final analysis, it cannot change its attitude as a latecomer."
"He has his advantages, and we naturally have our advantages. Rome was not built in a day, and the same is true for the content.
At present, our advantage in high-quality content may not be as good as that of Kuaishou and Meipai in terms of quantity, but the quality is not much inferior.”
At this point, Yang Luyu also said with a little pride: "Yes, at present, we are indeed leading the way in terms of high-quality content creation, and this is also thanks to the 'contrast challenge' idea proposed by you, Jay Chou."
"To this day, the 'contrast' core of this challenge is still a major mainstream of the platform's content and can be said to never go out of style."
Of course not. Not to mention now, it will not be outdated even in a few years. After all, human beings are inherently perverted. Who can resist the pleasure of a beautiful woman?
Edge? Don’t I know whether she is edged or not? She and I are just strangers who have never met each other! In reality, no one is willing to show me, but she is willing to show me. This is not edged, this is redemption! She just wants a free like, what’s wrong with her!
Ahem, so in the foreseeable future, this kind of challenge craze on the platform can be set off again just by changing the reason, the action and the music, which also means that this content is destined not to become outdated easily.
Although aesthetics can become fatigued, desire cannot.
Zhou Dongsheng nodded and agreed without hesitation, then said: "It is not difficult for us to respond. First, we can win by quantity. Since the other party uses 1 billion subsidies as a gimmick, we can also give him ten times more and give him 10 billion subsidies!"
"We can defeat all opponents with force! We believe that users will naturally turn to us like fence-sitters, but this is obviously just a conciliatory measure to solve the urgent problem."
"It is easy to fall into a vicious cycle of relying solely on subsidies, which is not a good solution."
Zhou Dongsheng paused for a moment, then continued, "Another way is to learn from the foreigners and defeat them. Although the effect may not be seen in the short term, it will give us the capital to have the last laugh in this protracted war."
After hearing Zhou Dongsheng's words of weighing the pros and cons, Yang Luyu nodded thoughtfully, and then couldn't wait to say: "Mr. Zhou means... algorithm?"
"That's right! Algorithms are the foundation of Toutiao and one of the main reasons why its valuation exceeds 10 billion US dollars."
Zhou Dongsheng snapped his fingers. He had to say that Yang Luyu was indeed a smart man and understood things immediately.
"When the two sides are evenly matched, it is clear that the winner cannot be determined by capital alone. The final decision of the outcome still has to be made at the technical level."
