Volume 4: White Devil Chapter 161 BT TV's Program Ideas
“Who can tell me what is the dream of a TV person?”
On the rooftop terrace on the third floor of BT TV headquarters, Tommy turned around, leaned his back against the railing, took the cup of coffee handed to him by Sophia, looked gently at the four white men and women who were within his sight, and asked a question.
The four people looked at each other, some seemed to want to speak but stopped, some shrugged, in short, no one answered the question.
After waiting for dozens of seconds and no one answered, Tommy laughed and said, "Congratulations to everyone for giving the correct answer. If any of you were going to talk to me about your bullshit dreams, I would have asked Sophia to tell him how to complete the resignation procedures faster."
"I know some of you graduated from USC, UC, or something like that, majoring in media, television production, etc., so you should realize what a bargain you got." Tommy sighed and spread his hands helplessly to the crowd:
"My black friend, Mr. Wolf Tucker, spent nearly a year to build BT TV station for me from scratch, including public relations, various approvals, management systems, market analysis, audience surveys, etc. Let's put it this way, except for his shortcoming of having a dream, he is simply impeccable. So, I used my dreamy program production ideas in exchange for his help in building BT TV station. Now , the precious legacy he left behind will be handed over to you, my black friends, and he has done the most difficult preliminary work for you."
"I think if I communicate with you one by one, it will show that I value you more." He paused and raised his head again: "Let me introduce myself, Tommy Hawke, the owner of this TV station, so who goes first?"
"Rick, Rick Luther, Mr. Mark Warren told me that I would be the senior vice president of programming for this TV station." A white man with reddish-brown curly hair, who looked to be about 30 years old, took the initiative to say after seeing that no one else was going to speak first: "I used to be the production director of the Living Color Adult Entertainment Company."
"Sophia, go chat with the other three about the weather and other topics, and give me and Mr. Luther some space to talk alone." After Tommy finished speaking to Sophia, he looked at Rick Luther:
"I read all your information on the flight back to California. It left a deep impression on me. You majored in film and television production at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. You are a natural talent for programming film and television programs. It's just that your former stupid boss and alumnus didn't recognize your talent."
…
"The days when customers could pay for our movies just by having men and women perform in front of the camera are over, and the industry has entered another period of transformation where the fittest will survive," Rick Luther told Steve Hill, the owner of Living Color:
"The golden age of short films has passed. A few simple scenes and actors can no longer make customers want to spend money to buy a movie. The emergence of home video recorders is impacting this fragile industry. Look at how cheap Japanese video recorders are. Almost everyone can afford one. They can just set up a video recorder at home and shoot their own short film. What's the difference? The same simple scenes, the same poses and movements. Why buy ours?"
Steve Hill looked at the project plan for this year that Rick Luther had given him. "So, you're going to persuade me to let our company increase costs like Hollywood film companies and make movies with real storylines?"
"That's right. We want to attract customers with factors other than physical ones. We will reduce production but improve quality. We used to be able to release seven movies a week, but now I think that maybe we can slow down and complete one movie a month. We can use a high-quality small movie to prove the difference between Living Colorful and those small film companies that have no aspirations." Rick sat opposite Steve and said seriously.
Steve glanced at the words on the plan: "This is not the Terminator. It's labeled as science fiction? A short film with a science fiction theme? Are you crazy? Can't you just let your team continue to shoot beaches and villas?"
"'Terminator' is a good movie. It has been three years since its first release, and there are still many second-run theaters showing this movie, and the videotapes of this movie are still hot items in video rental stores. When I watched this movie, I had a question: what would it be like if a robot used his metal golf club to have sex with a woman? I guess I'm not the only one who is curious, there must be other people who are curious too." Rick said confidently when he heard his boss ask.
He believed that his idea would definitely make the company's new movie a big hit. Who could refuse an adult version of "Terminator"?
"Snow White and the Seven Black Men", "The Last Man in the World", "1VS100 Physical Challenge"..." The boss read the plan Rick handed to him with a painful look on his face, then stared at Rick and said:
"You are not trying to prove the company, but to bury it. Snow White may not cause trouble for the company, but the copyright company of "Terminator" and "1VS100 Intelligence Challenge" can make us spit out all the money we have worked hard to earn in the past few years, and we may eventually go bankrupt and close down."
"Everything seems to be plausible. There will be no characters that the other party has copyrights for. We just need to let the audience understand. There is no need to point it out. We will not give the other party any chance to cause trouble for us. I will avoid all risks." Rick heard the boss's concerns and immediately said:
"Otherwise, if we continue to make those simple movies without any plot, we will be eliminated by the market sooner or later."
"You know what? You're eliminated first." The boss threw his plan back to Rick like it was trash: "I'll give you a long vacation. You can use this time to prepare a new plan for me, or use it to find a new job. We are a small movie in the San Fernando Valley, not a big movie in Hollywood. We only focus on the body."
"Maybe your company will close down before my vacation is over." Rick picked up the plan, sighed, finally pulled out the chair, stood up and walked out.
…
"You haven't seen the previous program scheduling plans for BT TV, right?" Tommy asked Rick.
Rick Luther shook his head and stroked his shaggy red hair with his hand. "I only know that this TV station wants to attract black viewers. I know nothing else. No one talked to me about any program production or anything like that."
"Good, because the previous plans were useless. I designed about thirty programs, all of which were... rubbish that Wolf Tucker liked. He is black, but he is not strictly speaking a black man." Tommy took a sip of coffee and said frankly:
"But I hope you have read the dozen or so survey data that Wolf Tucker and his team completed for BT in the early stage."
"BT TV previously launched 17 TV program surveys targeting the majority of low-income black people in California. I have seen all the data." Rick nodded: "Those surveys were done very well."
"Why else do you think I pay them?" Tommy said as a matter of course when he heard Rick's praise for the survey data, and then asked back, "What do you want to say?"
"The lower-class black people prefer programs that satisfy their voyeurism and desire for performance. All the survey data actually point to these two points in the end." Rick rubbed his chin lightly with his hand, thought for a moment, and then said to Tommy:
"In fact, humans are born with a desire to peek into other people's private lives. However, due to self-discipline, morality, or even a good education, people from other classes can suppress and control this desire, except for the lower classes. If they were self-disciplined, they would not fall to the lower class, so their desire to peek into other people's private lives is the strongest. If they want to see, we show them these things to satisfy their desires and show them things that they cannot see in reality but often fantasize about."
"I agree with that." Tommy nodded with satisfaction.
To be honest, when Mark showed him this guy's information for the first time, he was immediately satisfied with Rick. First, he was a professional, having graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in film and television production. Second, it was the 1980s, and short films were not as exaggerated as they were in later generations, but this guy had already thought of improving short films to avoid monotony and audience aesthetic fatigue. This showed that he had his own judgment of the market and would not follow the crowd. He knew what kind of programs to produce to adapt to the market. Regardless of whether his programs could really adapt, the fact that he was good at thinking about this made him much better than many rigid industry practitioners.
Rick continued, "The second is the desire to show off. What do lower-class black men and women care about? A hairstyle that makes others admire it, cheap but beautiful clothes, shiny shoes. If they have any of the three things I mentioned, believe me, they will be willing to show off to everyone in the hope of winning everyone's jealous eyes and gaining great satisfaction."
"And their greed is totally disproportionate to their status. The lower the level, the greedier they are. In fact, when I read the survey data Miss O'Connor gave me, I couldn't help but have a guess, and now I just want to confirm it." Rick looked at Tommy and asked tentatively.
Tommy put down his coffee cup and asked him, "What's the problem?"
"Has BT TV never thought about targeting all black groups? Those high-income, middle-class blacks are not our audience at all. In other words, BT TV only focuses on the lower-class blacks who have the largest group base." Rick looked directly at Tommy and expressed his inner guess.
Tommy nodded slightly and said calmly, "I don't deny it. Because the number of black people in other classes is too small, they are not the main audience. Considering the ratings, it is indeed the case."
"Because I think the desire to voyeurize and show off will make those black people from wealthy families dislike the style of our TV station." Rick scratched his hair and said to Tommy, "Most black people from wealthy families will subconsciously avoid watching programs that are popular with lower-class black people. I learned about this problem from my black classmates when I was in college."
Tommy nodded. "Based on your conclusions about the voyeurism, desire for performance, and greed of the lower-class black community , do you have anything to say about the TV station's program production and arrangement? Let's chat casually. We have plenty of time anyway."
"Use the Prime Time Restriction Regulations to gain a firm foothold in prime time. Although there are 24 hours in a day, we only have one hour of opportunity." Rick said in a firm tone: "Every independent TV station that wants to grab some ratings and a group of regular users starts with this precious hour."
The "Prime Time Limitation Regulation" that Rick mentioned is a regulation on the television industry formulated by the Federal Communications Commission in 1970 in order to restrict the three major television networks. This regulation stipulates that during the two prime time periods every night, namely 7:30-8:00 p.m. Pacific Time and 10:30-11:00 p.m. Eastern Time (one hour earlier), all television stations affiliated with American television networks are not allowed to broadcast the parent company's programs during these two time periods, and must fill the time with self-produced or separately purchased programs. Even if a wonderful American drama produced by the parent company has not been finished, at this time point, it must be forced to switch to a self-produced program and wait until the prime time is over before continuing to broadcast the American drama.
This law was established to prevent large-scale television networks from completely monopolizing the television industry. Otherwise, large-scale television networks such as ABC and CBS could produce a drama with a large investment and broadcast it simultaneously on dozens of subordinate television stations across the United States, leaving no room for independent television stations to survive. Therefore, this law exists to provide these small independent television stations in the United States with a chance to compete. Although the opportunities are limited and there is only one precious hour, as long as they are willing to produce wonderful homemade programs, they can use this hour to make the audience remember the name of their own TV station.
"We have one chance from 7:30 to 8 o'clock, and one chance from 10:30 to 11 o'clock at night. I think it's better to design a performance program for the first chance, and a bolder voyeuristic program for the second chance, step by step."
Seeing that Tommy didn't respond, Rick continued, "Let me give you an example. We can design an indoor reality show called "Hair Wars" or some other name. We can find black hairstylists in California, and then let low-income black people sign up for the show. The hairstylists will help design their hairstyles, and the audience will rate and select the coolest hairstyle. Then the hairstylist and his model partner will be given a bonus. This is a combination of performance desire and greed. Black people will be willing to learn from our show what is a cool hairstyle, and they will also sign up enthusiastically. After all, as long as they are selected, they can get a free opportunity to have their hair designed by a hairstylist, and more importantly, they can appear on TV."
"I said you're a genius at programming. That's right. Good ideas can give people room to think creatively." Tommy thought seriously after hearing Rick's words:
"According to your idea, I think a slight change might have a better effect. For example, how about changing your idea to a showdown between black hairstylists on the East and West Coasts? We create conflicts, expand them, attract attention, increase ratings, and even continue to derive other showdowns, such as a showdown between tattoo artists and singers. If there is a good idea, I think there must be an independent TV station on the East Coast willing to talk to us about the broadcasting rights of the program on the East Coast, or even jointly host it. Think about it, the two TV stations may seem to support each other, but in fact they are working together to divide the advertising fees, and even collect fees from those hairstylists, tattoo artists, and singers. When the program is well-known enough, they want to appear on the program and represent the East Coast or the West Coast, and they need to pay us a sum of money."
"Joining in regional confrontation is obviously more attractive, but it may cause some off-field conflicts. I mean the black street gang problems on the East and West Coasts..." Rick said to Tommy.
Tommy said calmly, "That's a public security issue. What does it have to do with us? We are just making a show that is attractive enough."
"That's right. We shouldn't be thinking about this issue. If you think this idea is good, I can prepare the preliminary work including the plan, team, budget, etc. according to this idea." Rick saw that Tommy didn't care and didn't say anything more.
Tommy picked up a cigarette, lit one, and looked at Rick. "Actually, I'm thinking, wouldn't it be better to produce and broadcast a program that satisfies voyeurism in the first prime time? For example... a program called "Me and All My Children's Moms"? Of course, the name can be adjusted, but the general idea is this: we find a well-known black rapper or actor or NBA star who became rich overnight. He has many women, and many children born to him by different women. We show the lifestyle of this successful black man with women and children. The theme seems to promote family affection, but in fact, we design a script for him. I want black audiences to see his life and understand that if black people have money, their lives are too comfortable, with groups of beautiful women, garages full of luxury cars, and no problem raising a dozen children..."
"Why put it in the first time slot? It sounds like there's nothing wrong with the second time slot." Rick didn't comment on the idea of the program, but curiously asked Tommy why he put it in the first prime time slot.
Tommy blew out a puff of smoke and said to Rick, "Do you know what kind of program I'm going to produce in the second time slot? A science program. The name may be "The Universal Gun Modifier" or "The First Gun in Life". I'll find a few owners of gun stores in California and tell the audience how to modify guns, where to buy cheap guns, how to recycle scrapped weapons, and so on."
"Although popular science programs about firearms are indeed very common, your program arrangement... this is an arrangement that only a devil could come up with..." Rick couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard Tommy's words:
"You are telling the lower-class black people how wonderful life is after having money, with dozens of women lining up to give birth to your children and obey you in everything, and then you tell them how to get money quickly... Is there any benefit to the TV station if the number of black robberies increases?"
"Of course it won't do any good to the TV station. It will only benefit the banks. Rich black people will deposit their money in banks to avoid being robbed." Tommy looked at Rick innocently:
"Listen, I made this suggestion because I feel that we can't just sell entertainment. We also need some popular science programs to help black friends gain knowledge and change their destiny."
Rick looked at his boss, who was much younger than him, and said weakly, "You have redefined the three phrases of helping black people, gaining knowledge, and changing their fate. I even doubt whether the black TV station you founded is to provide entertainment programs for black people or to treat black people as entertainment programs."
"Speaking of this, I've also realized this problem. It seems that the entertainment flavor is too strong. We still need some humanistic care in it. I've thought of a program idea that's warm and full of humanistic care." Tommy seemed to suddenly remember an idea and said to Rick.
Rick looked at Tommy suspiciously. After just a short contact, he felt that his boss might not know what humanistic care is. "What idea?"
Tommy rubbed his hands excitedly. "We will arrange private detectives to help black children from single-parent families find their fathers who are stranded in various corners of the United States. We will follow them throughout the process. I want to see the bright smiles of the children and their mothers, and see their fathers shed tears of emotion."
"Are you sure those tears the father shed were of emotion?" Rick asked, looking desperately at his boss's face with an obviously excited smile.
Tommy said to Rick: "It doesn't matter if he is touched or not, the child and his mother will thank us anyway, and the audience can also gloat in front of the TV."
"So, what's the name of this show that scares all black men who don't take protective measures?" Rick nodded woodenly and asked.
Tommy said the name of the show: "It's a show exclusively for black people, 'Searching for Daddy America'."
