Chapter 151: Are You Kidding Me?

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Hearing Chen Qi’s unconventional approach to finding a title sponsor, Qian Dafu was a bit taken aback.

After processing it, he looked at Chen Qi with amusement and asked, “Are you serious?”

Chen Qi nodded. “Of course.”

Qian Dafu chuckled, giving him a meaningful look before falling silent.

Over the years, Kuku Mobile had sponsored numerous shows, but this was the first time he’d encountered someone guaranteeing viewership ratings as a condition.

Most other TV stations competed for naming rights through bidding, with the highest bidder winning.

While these stations might offer a predicted rating during bidding, they never guaranteed it.

Unless it was a well-established program with proven market success, predicted ratings for new shows always had some exaggeration.

As for how well the sponsored show would ultimately perform, it depended entirely on their own judgment and luck.

If the show became a hit, they’d earn big; if it flopped, they had to accept the loss.

In essence, sponsoring a new program was always somewhat of a gamble.

But if they sponsored Chen Qi’s program now, it seemed to carry no risk.

As a major advertiser frequently placing ads on various TV stations, Qian Dafu was fairly clear about the concept of ratings.

A show averaging no less than 1% viewership with an 80 million sponsorship fee wasn’t too expensive.

During his silence, Chen Qi added something that shocked him even more.

He said this program would have only one title sponsor.

“Are you joking?” Qian Dafu gasped sharply, staring at him in disbelief.

Only one advertiser?

A program starting at a 1% rating with just one advertiser?

What kind of joke is this?

If it were because no one else wanted to sponsor, that might be understandable, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

If he announced a guaranteed rating no lower than 1%, advertisers would be clamoring to throw money at them—no exaggeration.

Qian Dafu was stunned.

He stared blankly at Chen Qi, unable to wrap his mind around it.

He’d never heard of a program having only one advertiser before!

“I’m not joking.” Seeing Qian Dafu’s reaction, Chen Qi couldn’t help but smile.

“Why?” Qian Dafu looked at him, utterly baffled.

He just couldn’t figure it out.

This was like going against money itself!

Who in their right mind would go against money?

“The schedule’s too tight. There’s no time to look for more,” Chen Qi replied dismissively.

“...” Qian Dafu was speechless.

I’m the general manager of a big company, you know? Do you think I’d believe such a weak excuse you don’t even believe yourself?

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Who are you trying to fool?!

But since Chen Qi was unwilling to elaborate, he didn’t press further.

He wasn’t really curious about the outcome—just found it incredible.

With the new generation entering society, they were already changing the established rules through their actions.

There was a saying online: the new generation was reshaping the world into what they liked.

He believed Chen Qi, a young man with strong ideas, was just like that.

Perhaps Chen Qi simply didn’t want his show to be filled with endless advertisements.

And indeed, that was his intent.

He was trying to change the world.

He had researched variety shows on Earth, which were similar—full of advertisements, product placements, and no boundaries.

To put it bluntly, if a show had too few advertisers, it might even be embarrassing!

He didn’t want that.

He refused to follow the unwritten industry rules.

If he did, how could he earn “destruction points”? How could he unlock the next folder?

More importantly, as a former viewer, he was utterly fed up with programs that shoved advertisements down viewers’ throats.

If not for the regulatory crackdown on Earth, shows and films might have taken product placement to even more outrageous extremes!

He disagreed with becoming like that.

He didn’t want to live as something he once despised.

One title sponsor was enough; earning a little less didn’t matter.

“Alright, I’m investing in your ad!” After a brief moment’s consideration, Qian Dafu quickly made up his mind.

Naming rights for 80 million on a show starting at 1% viewership? Not a loss.

If it didn’t reach that, the fee would be fully refunded—still not a loss.

Either way, it was a sure profit; only a fool would refuse.

As for Chen Qi’s special request for full payment upon contract signing, he also accepted willingly.

Chen Qi had offered such favorable terms; they owed him some concessions.

After agreeing on the cooperation intention, they spent nearly two hours discussing detailed arrangements.

Finally, having settled key details, they arranged to sign the contract the next day.

After parting ways with Qian Dafu, Chen Qi took a taxi straight back to his rented apartment.

Sitting in the taxi, he exhaled deeply.

The biggest worry—the funding—was resolved; now his focus could fully be on the program.

...

The next day.

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Chen Qi arrived at the TV station with Su Xiaoxiao, Qi Qi, and Zhang Yichi.

Since there wasn’t much to do in the studio, he decided to bring them along to see the world.

The main task now was setting up the venue.

Arranging and debugging various equipment was a considerable challenge for the inexperienced Chen Qi.

He learned as he went, striving to understand each piece’s function.

He even shamelessly wandered into other shows’ recording sites to observe.

Seeing Chen Qi act like he knew nothing, the TV station staff—already skeptical about the show—almost lost their minds.

They were close to tears!

Could this show even work?

They didn’t want their names linked to a disastrously bad show.

It would be humiliating.

But given Chen Qi seemed to hold significant authority over this program, the relatively younger staff dared not say much.

Despite their despair, since this was arranged by the station chief, they had to proceed—even if the show turned out to be unprecedentedly terrible.

That moment filled them with an inexplicable anxiety about their futures.

Perhaps due to their youth, many unconsciously wore that worry on their faces.

Chen Qi noticed.

But knowing their pessimism, he had no intention to explain.

If explanations worked, the world wouldn’t be so full of conflicts.

Well, he’d leave it to time; after all, it was just over half a month.

Around eleven o’clock, a man in a suit and glasses entered his studio.

He appeared to be in his fifties, walking around and looking around like a leader inspecting the site.

“That’s the deputy director,” a TV staff member whispered to Chen Qi, seeing his confusion.

“Deputy director?” Chen Qi’s eye twitched slightly.

There were only two deputy directors at Jingcheng Satellite TV.

Obviously, this was the one competing with Deputy Director Wang.

What was he here for?

Chen Qi composed his expression and quickly walked over to greet him.