After the call ended, Zhou Lu didn’t call back. The price Jiang Xia had proposed was too high; a junior editor for the children’s channel like her couldn’t make that decision. It would have to wait until after it was discussed in a meeting.
However, just as Jiang Xia had predicted, ever since Cat and Mouse began airing, Yu Du TV Station’s viewership ratings had skyrocketed in a short period, and other television stations were all taking notice.
If the station chose not to pursue a second round, there were plenty of other TV stations that wanted to cooperate with Qitian Animation Company. Not to mention, the CCTV Children’s Channel was still eyeing them covetously. Moreover, this was about the exclusive broadcasting rights for the second season of Cat and Mouse.
Even though Jiang Xia had repeatedly said the broadcasting rights were negotiable, a businessman’s nature is to chase profit. Once another TV station made an offer they couldn’t refuse, a verbal promise wouldn’t be worth a damn.
At that point, if the exclusive second-round broadcasting rights were snatched away, Yu Du TV Station’s ratings would likely fall right back to where they were before.
At 7:00 PM, Cat and Mouse aired as scheduled. He turned on the TV and switched to the Yu Du TV Station’s children’s channel. Jiang Xia finally had his wish fulfilled, seeing his own cartoon on television.
The feeling could be described in one word: Awesome!
It was a shame this wasn’t the era of bullet comments; otherwise, the screen would definitely be flooded by a dense wall of red text: "Congratulations on discovering a hidden gem!"
Watching Tom get shattered to pieces by Jerry with a bowling ball, Jiang Xia couldn’t help but think of the children seeing this scene. What kind of joyful laughter would be on their faces?
After a short eight minutes, the first episode ended. Jiang Xia typed the URL for the Yu Du TV Station’s website and, after waiting for about thirty seconds, miraculously managed to get in.
The website hadn’t crashed. It seemed some programmer had worked through the night to expand the server’s capacity.
He curiously searched various online forums and discovered the reviews were absolutely explosive! The show’s popularity was even greater than the day before.
’It must be that the viewers from yesterday felt it wasn’t enough and tuned in on time again today,’ he thought. ’On top of that, there are many new viewers who were roped in by recommendations, as well as the many netizens watching online.’
Without a doubt, today’s ratings were definitely higher than yesterday’s. One could only imagine how sought-after the second-round broadcasting rights for Cat and Mouse would become.
The thought that Yu Du TV Station still wanted to lowball him made Jiang Xia scoff. It was more than a little condescending. How stupid would he have to be to agree to that?
In truth, no matter how high a price Yu Du TV Station offered, Jiang Xia had no intention of selling the exclusive broadcasting rights again.
The strategic goal of the first broadcast round had already been achieved. What he valued most now wasn’t the licensing fee from the TV station, but fame. Only by making Cat and Mouse a household name could his next plan be put into action.
From the looks of it, after the first season was re-run a few times, the second season probably wouldn’t even need any promotion. A large group of die-hard fans would naturally flock to it.
At 7:30 PM, the day’s cartoons finished airing. Jiang Xia silently watched it all and found no mistakes. If there was a flaw, it was that animating on threes wasn’t as silky-smooth as animating on ones, but in an era where everything was watched in 360p, it was more than enough.
He turned off the TV. In the company group chat, a discussion about tonight’s broadcast of Cat and Mouse was already underway.
Jiang Xia: "Everyone watched, right? The popularity of Cat and Mouse is unprecedented right now, so we have to strike while the iron is hot and hurry up with producing the second season."
Wang Ming: "Drawing brings me joy."
Shen Ying: "Qitian Animation is going to become a huge company, right? Right? Right? It definitely will, right?"
Jiang Xia: "Judging by the current momentum, we’ll pretty much be there after we put out a few more seasons of Cat and Mouse."
Shen Ying: "Boss, can I get a little leather whip and lash you all into updating faster? I know you’re already working really hard, but I really can’t wait!"
Jiang Xia: "Please, have a heart."
Wang Ming: "Speaking of which, Old Jiang, how are your storyboards coming along?"
Jiang Xia: "The storyboards for episode 15 are done. Now I’m just waiting to hear from Aunt Li about the temp workers. They should be able to get started in another two days or so."
Wang Ming: "Better to play it safe. The quality of the content is key."
Jiang Xia: "I’m not worried about the quality of the key animation, either. Aunt Li has already agreed to be the art supervisor for those two. If the quality doesn’t meet her standards, she’ll definitely make them redo it."
Wang Ming: "What the hell?! My mom’s so busy, and you actually managed to get her on board! Nice one, Old Jiang. You’re really something else."
Staring at the screen, Jiang Xia’s expression turned strange. He felt that the way Wang Ming phrased that was odd. Why did it sound as if he were the "Old Wang from next door"?
Jiang Xia: "Ahem, it was all for your sake."
Wang Ming: "Don’t give me that. She’s usually not even willing to help me with my own drawings. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about me. I can finish the key animation for an entire episode in seven days, on average. As long as it’s a task you give me, I’ll get it done on time."
Seeing the message from his best bud, Jiang Xia was deeply moved. He wondered if he was exploiting him a bit too much. Once Wang Ming’s probationary period was over, he’d have to give him a raise no matter what.
Lin Yanwan: "I suggest we hold all future employees to Old Wang’s standard."
Jiang Xia: "The lady boss is right."
Wang Ming: "?"
Shen Ying: "Give the kid a break. We have to endure your public displays of affection in person, can’t you at least spare us in the group chat?"
Jiang Xia laughed out loud.
He typed with a smile, "Alright, even though we have a heavy workload, everyone needs to remember to rest. It’s all about work-life balance. Otherwise, if you all collapse from exhaustion, who’s going to make season two? Of course, I’ll say it again: do a good job, and there will be big rewards."
The corners of Lin Yanwan’s lips curved up. ’This guy is dangling a carrot again,’ she thought.
Shen Ying: "Don’t worry, Boss! I’m on standby 24 hours a day!"
Jiang Xia: "Oh, right, Shen Ying. You can start contacting TV stations now. But remember, do not give them a price. For the second broadcast round, we’re only accepting provincial-level stations and above. If the price per episode is less than 5,500, it’s a non-starter."
Shen Ying: "Roger!"
He shut down his computer. Jiang Xia closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair, and gently rubbed his temples with two fingers, letting out a slow breath.
Since his rebirth, everything had been developing in an orderly and positive direction. The massive success of Cat and Mouse was only the beginning.
After the second, third, and even fourth and fifth broadcast rounds, once the show had radiated from provincial TV stations to all the major and minor city-level ones, the name Cat and Mouse would be known in every household. At that point, all he would need was a single opportunity to use some of the marketing mechanisms from his past life to frantically monetize the traffic.
In this life, he was already halfway to achieving his dream from his past life of becoming a famous animation director. If he were a bit more ambitious, developing Qitian Animation Company into a global animation empire didn’t seem impossible, either.
Just then, his phone suddenly rang.
Jiang Xia glanced at the screen and couldn’t help but smile. "Baby, didn’t we agree you weren’t going to disturb me?"
"Hmph, I was just worried a certain someone would work himself to exhaustion!"
She paused. "So... do you want to go out for a walk?"