Hollywood Road

The information mainly comes from the analysis department of CAA and the consulting company hired by Robert LLP. The latter collects more gossips, while the former attaches great importance to Netflix, a newly emerging Hollywood distributor, and has established in the past two years A dedicated database with very detailed data.

These are all conducive to Murphy to make his own judgment.

In any case, Murphy will certainly be cautious in this kind of project that involves tens of millions of dollars. Although he is rich now, he will not be stupid enough to throw tens of millions of dollars for fun.

Hidden in the study at home, Murphy spent a whole day looking through various materials about Netflix, and gradually understood why Reed Hastings did this.

Combining many sources of information and analysis, it is not difficult for him to see that Netflix's needs for content production can only be described as very eager.

In Hollywood, labels with broad distribution channels occupy more upstream positions in the industry chain than content producers. However, channel supporters like Netflix want to join the industry of downstream content producers, which are both active choices and compelling. s reason.

A company whose purpose is to chase commercial profits suddenly wants to fight for cooperation by giving up large profits. Anyone will be naturally wary, especially the business giants like Reed Hastings who have been fighting all the way. Underestimate, if Murphy is not sure about the situation, he will definitely not respond at will.

Nowadays, the entertainment industry operators represented by the film industry are exploring ways to become bigger and stronger. Whether it is building a large entertainment ecosystem or laying out a pan-entertainment industry chain, the pace of business expansion and structural transformation and upgrading is becoming faster and faster. And firm.

In the current environment of market competition where entertainment knows no borders and industries have no borders, it is Netflix's strategic plan to integrate and build its own entire industry chain, and enrich profit points and profit models.

For commercial companies, the best industry is a monopoly. Monopoly means pricing power and producer surplus. Although it is not necessarily a good thing for social welfare, it is definitely better for profit.

But does Netflix now have pricing power? Murphy read the information and came to a very clear conclusion: Netflix did not!

For a long time, Netflix has not dared to increase the price, because to a large extent she eliminated Blockbuster based on the price advantage. Netflix even gave some users a lifetime commitment, guaranteeing $7.99 a month to remain unchanged. This grandfather clause, dubbed by many, refers to maintaining the validity of the old contract for some users.

On the other hand, since it is not able to produce content like the six major Hollywood companies, Netflix has no advantage to downstream content producers. They also have no pricing power. Instead, the content copyright fees that need to be paid increase year by year. If you don't embark on the road of production, Netflix will fall into a life-threatening cycle where users cannot increase prices and require increasing costs.

To break this endless loop, we can only rely on price increases. If we want to increase prices without losing users, we can only cultivate user stickiness in content, so self-made content becomes almost the easiest export.

Therefore, it is not difficult for Murphy to find out that Chen Netflix will embark on the path of no return to self-made content.

From these points of view, he also understands why Netflix and Reed Hastings came to work with him instead of other directors or production companies.

Murphy Stanton is a well-known brand in Hollywood. Since the beginning of the 21st century, it has been synonymous with high-quality works and high profits. Even today, every film that Stanton Studios has invested in and produced has been It is easier to achieve profitability. Murphy's own films are not only profitable, but also have a lot of praise...

On the other hand, on Netflix, the streaming media + original content model is not only what they want to do. According to the information Murphy has obtained, many companies are instigating plans in this area, and the industry’s threshold is actually not high, and powerful companies are basically It means you can do it if you do it.

From the information provided by CAA, Murphy saw that Netflix's rivals in the online film and television service business can get out of a mighty line by lining up: Amazon launches Prime.Video.streaming, Walt Disney, 21st Century Fox and Comcast These media giants jointly launched Hulu and Hulu.Plus, HBO launched HBO.Now and HBO.Go, Disney launched Sling.TV, Google has YouTube.Red, and plans to launch YouTube.Unplugged next year for TV.streaming and Facebook. I am also recruiting troops to find media companies to find celebrities and internet celebrities. Wal-Mart, which is not in touch with the media, has acquired Vudu. Even Apple, which is playing in the sand next to it, is eye-catching. Just colluded directly with HBO for HBO.Now.

Yes, Netflix is ​​still the well-deserved industry leader in the business of providing online film and television services; but what is choking is that its **** is stuck with a nest of leaders in other industries that are too powerful.

Although there is a slang term for Netflix in North America, called Netflix.and.chill, which means "look at Netflix and make an appointment with pao", Netflix dare not take a wrong step. There are so many big guys on the butt, Netflix takes a wrong step. It may be overwhelming.

"That's why they chose you."

Bill Rossis, who came to Wave Manor, said to Murphy, “Because you are the guarantee of success, even if Netflix loses profits, it can further increase user stickiness and attract more users through word-of-mouth content. Many new users!"

For film and television production, Netflix is ​​just a new recruit.

Murphy closed the information in front of him and said with certainty, "Although filming is not the only way out for Netflix, it is the easiest way."

Faced with such fierce business competition, it is no wonder that Reed Hastings offered such generous terms.

So in the final analysis, if you want to compete for users, you must have excellent content. Those technologies and data are all false, and others can imitate them if they want to imitate them.

For Netflix to continue to roll down the snowball of rapid development, it must have the best original content, and must have the ability to increase prices, or even double the price. It cannot be expected that the global market will have much potential.

In the current international political environment, it is more difficult for the cultural and film industry to fully penetrate the global market than to reach the sky. For example, a supermarket on the other side of the Pacific that can be coveted by any company, Netflix can only surrender, so Netflix is ​​better off. The way is to rely on high-quality content to attract customer resources in the market that can enter.

After reading Netflix's information carefully, it is not difficult for Murphy to find that subscription fees are the only income of Netflix's streaming media service, so maintaining the growth of the number of users is the most direct goal.

How can we achieve this goal? Launching a particularly good program makes people feel that it is indispensable, and on the other hand, it helps them to enjoy Netflix's services more easily.

But why do people have to choose to watch it on Netflix?

Murphy and Bill Rossis exchanged opinions, and the common answer was "single broadcast and original."

Originality is also for exclusive broadcast, at least for the first few years, only broadcast on its own platform. These programs make people feel that they must not watch. Of course, on the other hand, successful original dramas can also advertise for Netflix and improve the company. In the end, the increase in the number of new users will be a matter of course.

"Netflix wants to vigorously develop the series, not only because of the advantages of the series." Bill Rossis said to Murphy with certainty, "but also because it must have exclusive broadcasting rights!"

Bill Rossis further analyzed Murphy, "Now that the competition of streaming media sites is fierce, the cost of broadcasting rights is also rising. Netflix's purchase of "Mad Men" content costs close to 100 million U.S. dollars, and the average single episode cost is as high as several hundred. Tens of thousands of dollars, and other big hit dramas such as "Doctor House" and "Gossip Girl" are also expensive for exclusive broadcasts."

Murphy nodded slightly, Netflix's cooperation is indeed very sincere.

"And such exclusive broadcasting rights are only the second round of broadcasting rights." Bill Rossis continued, "For episodes that are being broadcast on TV stations, Netflix can usually only go online after the TV station ends."

"So," Murphy has figured out Netflix's intentions, "is it actually more cost-effective to make your own series?"

Bill Rossis nodded solemnly, "Exactly! This is not only my analysis, but the conclusion of CAA."

When it comes to the investment of tens of millions of dollars by super clients, let alone Murphy, the brokerage company behind him is very cautious, and everything must be determined before action.

Business investment is not about the other party saying that I will not cheat you, so it will not cheat you. Murphy has done so much, but it is just the most basic understanding before investment and cooperation.

If you don't even know a company, you rush up to cooperate with people in a hurry. That is not a dare to act, but your head is flooded.

Confirming that Netflix has the sincerity to cooperate, rather than digging a trap, Murphy believes that the two sides can begin formal negotiations.

"So, Bill." He ordered directly, "Next week you will give Reed Hastings an answer. After Gale goes to Boston to sign an agreement with the Boston Globe, formal negotiations will begin."

Bill Rossis reminded, "What about the episodes?"

"I will sort out a story outline as soon as possible." Murphy thought for a while and said, "As long as Stanton Studios negotiates with Netflix to reach an agreement, they can immediately hire a screenwriter to write the script."

He added, "I will be the producer and Paul will be the director. I have communicated with Paul before."

"I know how to talk." Bill Rossis, who has rich experience in this area, stood up and said goodbye, "Then let's stop here today. I will go back to the Death Star Building and do some preparations."

Murphy waved his hand, and when Bill Roses walked to the door, he remembered another thing and said, "Bill, don't forget to come to my engagement party with Gale on Saturday night."

Bill Rossis turned around and said, "I will come on time."

There are very few unspoken news in Hollywood, not to mention that Murphy did not intend to keep it secret at all. The matter of his engagement with Gal Gadot has been widely circulated in the circle.