novelnext Chapter 1509 I'm so nervous
Chapter 1509 I'm so nervous
Chapter 1509 I'm so nervous
"What exactly does 50 new paying users mean?"
When Jiang Donghan mentioned this number in the Netflix conference room, the anticipation and nervousness in his eyes were obvious. Although he smiled and agreed, he had no real idea of what it meant.
He could intuitively understand the difference between high and low viewership ratings, but he never quite grasped what the number of paid subscribers for streaming media actually meant.
But to be honest, he's not very sensitive to this number.
"This brings us to some of the metrics and models Netflix uses to measure the popularity of its shows."
Chi Kyung-won didn't know, but his manager did. Choi Ji-chang had clearly done his research, as he said while driving:
“The evaluation criteria for streaming platforms like Netflix are completely different from those for traditional television broadcasting of dramas.”
“Traditional TV dramas generally use viewership ratings as the core indicator, supplemented by data such as social media discussion, trending topics, and number of topics to judge whether a drama is popular enough.”
“But Netflix is different; its evaluation system is more focused on global data and user retention.”
Cui Zhichang paused for a moment, then continued to explain in detail:
"First, there's the third-party cross-platform popularity rating. Netflix often uses data from Parrot Analytics, which is a very authoritative platform. It integrates global streaming viewership, social media discussion volume, blog mentions, image sharing, and even short video dissemination data, and generates a comprehensive popularity value through a proprietary model to determine the global influence of the series."
"Then there are Nielsen's first-week and first-day viewership estimates. Nielsen has been trying to sample and calculate Netflix's viewership since 2017. For example, the second season of Money Heist had an estimated viewership of three million in the United States on its first day, which is already a very good figure."
"Another factor is the level of discussion on social media. You must be familiar with this, Kyungwon. The number of trending topics on Korean websites and overseas social media platforms are important indicators."
"Finally, there's Google's annual search ranking, which directly reflects the public's interest in the series."
"However, these data are ultimately only supplementary and can only be used as a reference."
Cui Zhichang changed the subject, his tone becoming serious: "The only data that Netflix truly values, especially Peninsula Netflix, is the number of paid subscribers."
"The local OTT market, or streaming service market, is already quite crowded and highly competitive. SK Telecom's oksusu is the largest streaming platform in the country, with approximately 280 million paid subscribers."
“POOQ, a joint venture launched by the three major television networks SBS, KBS, and MBC in 2015, has over 90 paid subscribers, almost reaching one million.”
He glanced at Chi Jingyuan in the rearview mirror and asked with a smile, "Jingyuan, guess how many paid subscribers Netflix has in mainland China right now?"
Chi Jingyuan thought for a moment, pondered for a moment, and tentatively asked, "Hmm, 60? Or 70?"
The number one spot is almost three million, so even if Netflix is at its worst... it can't be that much worse, right?
"Ha ha……"
Cui Zhichang chuckled, slowly shook his head, and gave his answer, "The precise data I got from inside Netflix is 400,000, to be more precise, 480,000, just a little short of 500,000."
"So little?"
Chi Jingyuan's eyes widened slightly, quite surprised.
Even knowing that Netflix isn't doing well right now, it's still far too few compared to the top two platforms.
This is Netflix, a global behemoth.
"In that case, it's all thanks to director Bong Joon-ho's 'Okja' last year."
Choi Ji-chang sighed and continued, "Since its launch in Peninsula, Netflix has been lukewarm at best, with a pitifully small number of paid subscribers. They have to compete with established local rivals like Oksusu and POOQ, while also battling the deeply ingrained television viewing habits in Peninsula."
"Our peninsula has the highest television penetration rate in the world, and cable TV fees are particularly low. Users currently have no incentive or habit of switching to paid streaming platforms."
“Until early 2017, Netflix only had a little over 50,000 paid subscribers in China, and it almost withdrew from the Peninsula market.”
“It wasn’t until June 2017, when director Bong Joon-ho’s film ‘Okja’ was exclusively released on Netflix, that they were truly saved. The film brought in more than 300,000 new subscribers within two weeks, with the number of local subscribers in the Korean Peninsula increasing from 90,000 to 250,000. It was an absolute phenomenon.”
"But that's a movie, not a TV series."
"However, while movies may have a higher status in general, when it comes to attracting customers for streaming platforms, no matter how influential movies are, they can't compare to the long-tail effect of long-running TV series."
"Tsk."
Chi Jingyuan clicked his tongue, somewhat speechless.
Netflix's development in the peninsula has been entirely reliant on the single series "Okja," otherwise it wouldn't be qualified to compete with local platforms.
"Now you know what kind of number 50 new additions are, right?"
Cui Zhichang glanced at the rearview mirror, his expression grave, and gestured with his lips.
"Wouldn't that double the number of existing paying users?"
Chi Jingyuan's lips twitched slightly. Even though he had high hopes for "The Spy," he still felt the pressure at this moment.
He shook his head, looked out the window, and, recalling the expectant looks on Jiang Donghan and the others' faces when they were on Netflix, muttered something under his breath:
"You really think highly of me."
Despite the immense influence of "Okja," the number of paying users in the domestic market only increased by about 200,000.
How much did "Okja" cost? Ji Kyung-won remembers it was almost 60 million US dollars.
How much did it cost to make "The Spy"?
Of course, the cost and influence of movies and TV series are not on the same level yet, but the cost difference is too great.
Even if... 500,000 is too ideal, Chi Jingyuan is still somewhat confident that he can reach 200,000 to 300,000 even if he doesn't reach that number.
Thinking about it this way, he suddenly felt a bit cheated.
I should have asked Netflix for more money.
……
"Ding~"
The vibration of his phone interrupted Chi Jingyuan's thoughts. He picked up his phone and saw that it was a text message from Zhou Ziyu.
Upon opening it, there was a photo inside... a photo of a dog.
The photo shows a round, white Samoyed with fluffy fur, tilting its head to look at the camera, looking adorable.
The text message was simple, tinged with excitement: "Look how cute this dog is~"
You could tell from her tone that Chou Tzu-yu was quite cheerful.
Last year, after Chi Kyung-won took Chou Tzu-yu to a stray dog center to volunteer for a day and donated a large sum of money, perhaps to express his gratitude or because he didn't want to lose this support and sponsor, the staff at the rescue center proactively exchanged Chou Tzu-yu's contact information and would often send her updates and photos of the dogs at the center.
Chi Kyung-won thought these things were meaningless, but Chou Tzu-yu liked them very much. Every time she saw the dogs' living environment improve because of their donations, she would be genuinely happy, and her mood would improve for several days.
If that were all, Ji Jingyuan would actually be quite happy. But the most frustrating thing is that Zhou Ziyu would often forward the photos of dogs that the center sent her to him, talk a lot on her own, and then ask for his opinion.
I'm so annoying.
"..."
Chi Jingyuan stared at the Samoyed in the photo and remained silent for a few seconds.
How come this dog is so fat? It's round and chubby, with all its flesh piled up, looking chubby. Apart from its obsequious smile, it doesn't have any of the liveliness a Samoyed should have.
Did those billions of won donated in the past just get eaten up by this lazy dog?
"Too fat."
Chi Kyung-won spoke the truth.
A few seconds later, Chou Tzu-yu replied to the text message with concern: "I also think so. I'll talk to the caregiver later and urge Mumu to lose weight."
So this fat dog's name is Mumu?
Why don't you call yourself Momo?
The dog photo was just a starting point for Chou Tzu-yu to begin the conversation; she quickly moved on to other things.
She began to tell Ji Kyung-won about her comeback schedule over the past two days in great detail, including getting up at four o'clock today to get her hair and makeup done, and how a certain Ms. Lim Na-yeon, who wished to remain anonymous, even fell asleep while getting her hair and makeup done and almost collapsed on the dressing table.
They ran into so-and-so at the TV station this morning. The PD was very nice during rehearsal, but she and Dahyun each made a mistake once.
She had mixed noodles and salad for lunch, but she didn't have much of an appetite and only ate a little. On her way back, she ran into her junior group, StayKids, who were also there to promote their music. However, she wasn't very familiar with the members of StayKids, but Nayeon and Sana Minatozaki seemed to know them well and chatted with them for a long time...
Text messages kept coming in, like a little megaphone beeping and chattering about the trivial things that had happened since I returned these past two days, though they were a bit long-winded...
But Ji Kyung-won seemed quite happy watching it.
"Ding~"
The text message paused for a few seconds, and then another new text message came in, accompanied by another photo.
When Chi Jingyuan opened it, his lips twitched violently.
It turned out to be a selfie that Chou Tzu-yu took of her own feet.
The photo was taken from a slightly low angle, clearly showing her wearing a pair of white open-toed princess sandals adorned with delicate pearl decorations. Her feet weren't particularly small or petite, but they were well-shaped, with plump, full toes and a light fleshy hue. Her nails were painted a light apricot color, making her quite eye-catching.
Perhaps due to her height advantage, her feet are perfectly shaped, unlike many idols who wear high heels all year round, who have deformed or squeezed toes. Her feet have smooth lines and exude a natural, untouched feel.
Chi Jingyuan blinked.
It's...not bad looking, right?
"You're crazy, why are you posting pictures of your feet if you have nothing better to do?"
But Chi Jingyuan didn't praise her; instead, he cursed her, his tone carrying a hint of disdain.
"Does it look good?"
Chou Tzu-yu, however, had long since figured out Mr. Chi's nature, so she wasn't annoyed at all. Instead, she asked him with a smile.
Chi Jingyuan looked at the screen and gave a helpless smile.
Who said this black girl is stupid? This black girl is shrewd~ Chi Jingyuan could tell at a glance that her occasional little quirk had been discovered.
He replied with two words that didn't quite come to mind: "Let me hug you~"
"Hehe~" Chou Tzu-yu's reply was clearly smug.
"Dare you shoot a little higher? We're about to be exposed."
Chi Jingyuan wouldn't tolerate her.
"So what if I take a picture from above? ...But I'm not showing it to you."
One teased the other, the other acted coquettishly, and they chatted quite happily.
"By the way, how are Park Jihyo and Kang Daniel doing?"
After chatting for a while, Chi Jingyuan suddenly remembered what he had heard before and took the initiative to send a text message.
"The company confiscated Jihyo's phone for a week, then gave her two more scoldings and made her break up with him. Kang Daniel seems to be under a lot of pressure too."
"But Jihyo unnie seems very stubborn; she just doesn't want to, and she's argued with the company several times... But I'll let you in on a secret: Jihyo unnie told us privately, 'Even if we have to break up, it can't be now.'"
"Jihyo unnie was actually quite well-regarded at the company. Later, PD Park Jin-young said a couple of things, it seemed that the dating ban was indeed coming soon and she was about to make a comeback, so the company didn't talk about it much anymore."
Chou Tzu-yu recounted the events in detail.
"So you're saying these two are still dating and haven't broken up?"
After reading the entire text message, Chi Jingyuan raised an eyebrow and summarized.
"On the surface, I still don't understand why Jihyo unnie did this... I think it's probably more about saving face."
Immediately afterwards, Chou Tzu-yu sent another text message, her tone somewhat tentative: "By the way, I heard you're going to participate in this season of 'Produce 101'?"
"correct."
Chi Jingyuan responded directly.
This news has already spread within the industry, and the production team will officially promote it in the next couple of days, so it's not surprising that Chou Tzu-yu has heard about it.
"Will there be many beautiful female trainees?"
"Of course, I've looked at the information, and it's all pretty good."
Upon hearing this, Chi Jingyuan sensed the hint of scheming in Zhou Ziyu's tone and immediately perked up: "Oh, and let me tell you, there's another girl in the group who looks a lot like you. Didn't I tell you before? I even had her film my music video."
"I did say that... but it doesn't sound like it at all."
"How can it not look like it? I think it looks exactly like it."
"..."
"And she's prettier than you."
"Not as good-looking as me."
"And even fairer than you."
"I'm not dark-skinned either."
"And she has a better figure than you."
I don't believe it.
"You'll see for yourself when the time comes." Seeing the increasingly shorter replies, Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but chuckle.
"Then she's not Chou Tzu-yu!"
Sure enough, the black woman finally snapped.
"Is Chou Tzu-yu amazing?" Chi Kyung-won retorted.
"That's too much! I'm not talking to you anymore, you're so annoying."
Looking at the defiant text message, Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Normally, Chou Tzu-yu doesn't care much about these little tricks, but when someone mentions that they 'look a lot like her,' she clearly becomes unbalanced and a little jealous.
Thinking of Zhou Ziyu's sullen expression on the other end of the phone, Chi Jingyuan shook his head and chuckled to himself.
"They really do look alike!"
…………
Sunrise and sunset, and another night passed until April 12th.
In the early hours of the morning, when the sky was still pitch black, Ji Kyung-won had already gotten out of bed, washed up, and gotten into his van to head towards Gyeonggi Province.
Today is the first day of filming for "Produce 48". Because it is the first time, there are a lot of things to do and many things need to be worked out. The head PD gave us a heads-up beforehand that we might have to film for 20 to 24 hours straight today.
However, Ji Kyung-won was not in any particular situation. Although the filming took a long time, he was always able to find time to rest in between.
Just as his van left the apartment, the CJ E&M production center, located in a mountainous area of Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province, was already brightly lit.
This is Mnet's most frequently used recording base, which has multiple large studios and was also one of the main filming locations for the first two seasons of "Produce 101".
This space is nearly 800 square meters with a ceiling height of over 15 meters, resembling a huge, hollowed-out box.
Two weeks ago, this place was empty, but thanks to the continuous work of the staff, a sophisticated and professional venue has already been set up.
Now, dozens or even hundreds of staff members are busy inside, moving around like ants, carrying out the final assembly and debugging.
The backstage area of the studio, however, presents a completely different scene.
In contrast to the spacious and bustling studio, the backstage corridors were narrow and long, with monotonous gray walls and dark carpets on the floor, which slightly mitigated the noise of footsteps. Every few meters, a fluorescent light emitted a low hum.
The backstage waiting room was divided into several distinct areas. Trainees from the Peninsula and trainees from Japan were separated and arranged in different areas, so as not to interfere with each other, but there was a subtle sense of competition between them.
But regardless of which area of the waiting room, it was bustling with noise and activity. Every trainee was busy with makeup artists and stylists, making final preparations before the recording.
The most tedious and demanding part of filming a large-scale reality show like this is doing the makeup and styling for the trainees. This season of "Produce 48" has a total of 96 trainees, and creating exquisite looks for all of them in just a few hours is definitely a challenging task.
The styling team provided by the production team alone could not complete this task. Therefore, a considerable number of stylists were specially sent by various talent agencies.
Firstly, it's to style their trainees well and ensure good camera work; secondly, it's also a way to help the production team and earn some extra pay.
For today's recording and makeup, most of the trainees arrived at the production center as early as 2 a.m. Although it was still past 4 a.m., the waiting room was already brightly lit and bustling like daytime.
Some people close their eyes and let the makeup artist apply their foundation; some practice their self-introduction expressions repeatedly in front of the mirror; some look down at dance videos on their phones, silently reciting the rhythm.
"Can you take a look at this movement for me? I feel like something's not right."
"Your nails... wow, they look so beautiful! Where did you get them done?"
In the waiting room, various sounds mingled together, and the air was filled with the mixed scents of hairspray, foundation, lipstick, and various perfumes—sometimes strong, yet exuding a youthful and vibrant energy.
"Ahhh, I'm so nervous!"
On one side of the waiting room, Ahn Yoo-jin clenched his fists and pressed them against his chest, bouncing around like a frantic puppy, muttering something so fast that it was hard to understand, his face full of undisguised tension and excitement.
A little while later, she approached the stylist who was applying makeup to other trainees, raised her round face, her eyes full of worry, and asked urgently, "Unnie, can you help me check if my eyelashes are crooked?"
"No." The stylist, who was applying makeup to someone, glanced at her and said calmly.
Then she looked away and added, "But if you keep moving like that, it will really go crooked."
"what……"
Ahn Yoo-jin froze instantly and stood up obediently.
But before she could even hold it in for ten seconds, her brows furrowed again: "But I'm so nervous! My heart is beating so fast! Wonyoung, feel it if you don't believe me..."
"Let me touch it~"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuanying, who was standing next to her, reached out and placed her hand on An Youzhen's chest. After pretending to feel it for a few seconds, she nodded seriously.
"That's pretty fast~"
“Right?” Ahn Yu-jin nodded repeatedly, as if she had received approval.
"But is it because you're nervous about recording the show soon...?"
Zhang Yuanying, standing next to her, blinked her big, round eyes, her pupils rolling around twice:
"Or will I see it soon... nervous?"