Chapter 144: Negotiations with the Television Station

Over half an hour later, approaching 12:30 PM, Chen Qi and Zhao Qingqing arrived at a restaurant that looked quite impressive.

The Vice President of Beijing Satellite TV had not yet arrived.

On the way, Chen Qi had briefly asked Zhao Qingqing for information about this Vice President. She was a woman in her early fifties who had reportedly been with Beijing Satellite TV for nearly twenty years.

Beyond these basics, Zhao Qingqing revealed a crucial piece of information: the President of Beijing Satellite TV was set to retire in the second half of the year, and this Vice President—whose surname was Wang—had a strong chance of being promoted. She already possessed the necessary connections and resources; what she urgently needed now was to produce some eye-catching results in the near future.

If she could deliver a standout success soon to silence her competitors, the presidential position would be all but hers.

After hearing Zhao Qingqing’s introduction, Chen Qi had an epiphany; he finally understood why she had recommended Beijing Satellite TV to him. Given Vice President Wang’s personal situation, the probability of them successfully collaborating was indeed relatively high—provided that his show could truly reach a certain level of quality.

Just as Zhao Qingqing finished ordering a few signature dishes, Vice President Wang arrived.

With her short hair, she looked incredibly energetic and much younger than her actual age. Seeing her arrival, Zhao Qingqing quickly stood up to make introductions.

"This is Vice President Wang of Beijing Satellite TV."
"Vice President Wang, this is Chen Qi."

Zhao Qingqing had already shared Chen Qi’s basic background over the phone. She had already mentioned his projects like *Unexpected*, the song *To You*, and the public service announcement and Kuku mobile commercial that had previously aired on CCTV, so there was no need for further introductions.

"Hello, Vice President Wang. I’m Chen Qi," Chen Qi greeted her politely.
"Hello, hello," Vice President Wang said with a smile, extending her hand to shake his. She appeared to be quite amiable.

After the three of them were seated, the waiter began serving the dishes. Perhaps because time was tight, Vice President Wang brought up the show immediately after the food was served.

"Director Chen, I’d like to know what kind of program this is," she said, politely addressing him as "Director Chen."

She had heard from Zhao Qingqing over the phone that it was a music program, but she didn’t know the format. To be honest, she had felt no interest when she heard "music program." The only reason she had agreed to this meeting was the startling information Zhao Qingqing had shared about Chen Qi. She had done some research afterward, which piqued her interest in this young man.

Hearing her question, Chen Qi paused for two seconds before saying, "This is a program that I guarantee will achieve an average viewership rating of at least 1%."

He struck at the heart of the matter immediately. *You want a brilliant result? Then I will give you a brilliant scorecard!* An average rating of 1% should be enough to capture her interest. Moreover, 1% was merely the starting point.

"What did you say?" As expected, Vice President Wang was visibly stunned by the figure. An average rating of 1%? Was he joking?

Not only her, but Zhao Qingqing, who was sitting nearby, was also shocked. She looked at Chen Qi with a mixture of surprise and disbelief—her expression couldn't have been more stunned.

She never imagined he would open with such an intimidating claim. Honestly, even though she had organized the meeting and was helping Chen Qi with great enthusiasm, she had been skeptical about whether he could actually reach a deal with the television station. After all, it was a music program, and convincing a station to produce or air such a show was incredibly difficult.

Yet, she hadn’t expected Chen Qi to lead with something as powerful as a "nuclear option." With terms that were almost risk-free, the television station would have to be out of its mind to refuse. She had been secretly wondering how Chen Qi would negotiate with the station, but this exceeded all expectations.

"Director Chen, do you realize what a 1% rating means?" Once she regained her composure, Vice President Wang’s expression turned solemn.

An average rating of 1% meant a program that could cause a sensation across the country. Such a show, even if not a massive blockbuster, would definitely stir up intense discussion nationwide. Come to think of it, Beijing Satellite TV had never had a program reach that height. While they were ranked in the top five among domestic satellite stations, they always hovered at the bottom of that group, with a significant gap between them and the top four. Given this context, one could imagine how shocked she was by the data.

"I know," Chen Qi nodded seriously. He certainly knew what an average rating of 1% meant. In fact, he was being very conservative with that number. Had he not been so unfamiliar with this world, he might have quoted an even higher figure.

"..." Seeing that Chen Qi didn’t seem to be joking, Vice President Wang became stern. She looked at him with a complex expression, not knowing what to say. She hadn't expected the negotiation to begin this way, and she certainly hadn't expected this young man to be so bold.

"I guarantee that the average viewership rating of this show will not be lower than 1%. This can be written into the contract. If the final figures don't reach this level, I will compensate you for your losses. Whatever you spent to purchase this show, I will pay you back in full," Chen Qi said slowly.

After being rejected by *Simple Video*, he didn't have the patience for a slow negotiation. He was playing his trump card. If he couldn't close the deal with this, then it simply meant he wasn't fated to work with this station.

"..." Vice President Wang stared at him, completely uncomposed. In her decades in the television industry, this was the first time she had encountered someone so arrogant.

Zhao Qingqing, sitting beside them, was equally stunned. She stared at Chen Qi as if she were seeing him for the first time. No one knew the massive impact she had felt in those short two minutes. She knew Chen Qi was confident in the show, but she hadn't expected this degree of confidence. Guaranteeing a 1% average rating, writing it into the contract, and offering massive compensation? If she didn't know him a little better, she would have thought he had lost his mind.

She had heard of and seen plenty of "betting agreements," but this was the first time she had seen someone raise the bar for themselves so high.

Perhaps stunned by his words, Vice President Wang remained silent for a long time, lost in thought. The small private room fell quiet.

After a while, Vice President Wang exhaled a long breath and asked with a solemn expression, "Director Chen, are you serious?"

Chen Qi nodded without speaking.

Vice President Wang nodded heavily, quickly making up her mind. She was very interested in Chen Qi’s proposal. Whether from the station’s perspective or her own, this collaboration could be described as entirely beneficial with no drawbacks.

"What are your conditions?" she asked.

Hearing this, Chen Qi breathed a sigh of relief. He knew the deal with Beijing Satellite TV was essentially done.

"I have three conditions, and these three must be written into the contract," he said.

"Go ahead." Vice President Wang took out pen and paper from her bag.

"First, your station needs to help me assemble a production team, providing the necessary personnel and basic equipment."

"That’s no problem," Vice President Wang agreed immediately. If their station had anything, it was plenty of staff and equipment.

"Second, I need you to provide a studio space, and this space must be for my exclusive use. You cannot reclaim it until the show concludes."

"That’s also no problem," she nodded again. Aside from staff and equipment, they certainly had plenty of studio space.

Chen Qi nodded and stated his final condition: The copyright for the show must belong to him. Furthermore, he required total creative control. Simply put, how the show was arranged, produced, and who was invited to participate would be entirely up to him; the station was not to interfere in any aspect of the production.

"No problem!" After a brief moment of consideration, Vice President Wang agreed quite readily. Since the creative concept and core content were provided by him, it was only fair that the copyright belonged to him. As for the creative control, that was even easier to understand—since he had made the bold claim of a 1% rating, she had no reason to refuse. If he was to guarantee the ratings, he certainly had to be the one calling the shots. Otherwise, how could he possibly guarantee the results?

"And what about the form of the collaboration?" she asked.

"It doesn’t matter to me. It depends on you. Whatever is most convenient for you works for me," Chen Qi said. "If you are interested in investing in the production together, we can split the profits based on our investment ratios. But if you feel that a direct purchase is purer and easier, I am fine with that as well."

Hearing this, Vice President Wang let out a sigh of relief. As a Vice President, she could push past opposition to force the purchase of a show she believed had huge potential, but persuading the station to invest additional funds was not an easy task. The process would be cumbersome, and the outcome uncertain. Chen Qi’s offer to allow a direct purchase saved her a lot of trouble.

She immediately settled on the direct purchase option.

Following that, they discussed further details of the collaboration. This conversation lasted for nearly two hours. Vice President Wang, who was originally pressed for time, simply pushed back her subsequent work.

Everything else went smoothly. Vice President Wang was able to accept the pricing and advertising sponsorship terms proposed by Chen Qi, but when they reached the topic of the broadcast time slot, a problem arose.