I'm Really a Superstar

Later that afternoon.

The advertisement revenue details went viral on Weibo.

"200 million RMB, oh my heavens!"

"They sold off everything in just a day?"

"That's what the trademark of 'Zhang Ye' does!"

"Everyone's gone crazy!"

"In the past, if someone told me that the advertising spots and authorizations of a documentary could fetch 200 million, I would definitely have taken that person to be an idiot. But now, it has happened for real!"

"Central TV Documentary Channel has really made a killing this time!"

"Their greatest success was to transfer Zhang Ye over to their department!"

"Those advertising revenues should have been Central TV Department 1's. I wonder what expressions they have on their faces now. After displacing Zhang Ye, this should be the most idiotic move that Central TV Department 1 has taken in the past few decades! They are so idiotic that even though I am not a fan of Zhang Ye's, I can't help but find Central TV Department 1 idiotic!"

"Hahaha!"

...

Indeed, Central TV Department 1's Deputy Director Jiang Yuan did not look too good, especially after he found out about the advertisement revenues of A Bite of China. At that instant, he also felt that he was an idiot! Although the advertisement revenues of Rise to the Dance were about the same as A Bite of China, after some contemplation, how much had been invested back into Rise to the Dance? It was more than 100 million! And what about A Bite of China? They only invested a mere 10 million into the program! An exact sum of 10 million!

Zhang Ye!

It was Zhang Ye again!

Were you invited by Monkey to specially deal with us?[1.]

At that instant, Jiang Yuan suddenly had some regrets. He really should have kept Zhang Ye frozen at Central TV Department 1 and not allowed him to go so that he wouldn't even have the slightest chance to appear on screen or make any more shows. But then again, they couldn't be blamed for not doing so either! Central TV Documentary Channel had the lowest viewership ratings among all the channels and was the worst performing department. If it were any other person in his position, they would also agree that this move was foolproof and that Zhang Ye wouldn't be able to do anything while he was at the documentary channel!

He picked up the phone and called Xu Yipeng.

"Director Xu."

"Director Jiang."

"Can you ensure next week's viewership rating will be good?"

"Don't worry, that won't be a problem."

"Good. You must definitely regain honor for Central TV Department 1!"

"I understand! We're all prepared for it!"

"Very good!"

...

Elsewhere.

Department 14.

Some of the advertisers that came too late had missed out on the entire advertisement deal. A few of them were closely following Zhang Ye around, trying to get something out of him as he moved around in the office.

"Director Zhang, you can't be like this!" a company's representative said.

Another person also said,"We have already cooperated once previously, so we're considered old partners. But now, you just come up and tell us that all the advertisement spots have been sold. How do you expect me to go back and answer to my boss? I have a mission to fulfill this time. My boss and colleagues at the company have already issued the 'military order'!"

Zhang Ye said helplessly,"Everyone, the advertisement spots have really been sold out. Even the spots for the reruns have been taken." He was holding a list in his hand and pointed it out to them."Look at this. We really can't fit any more slots in this. Why would I lie to you guys?"

A female deputy director said,"You have to think of something for us no matter what!"

"That's right, Director Zhang," the others beside her echoed.

"There's really none left." Saying that, Zhang Ye thought for a bit before adding,"If you guys don't mind, there's still a chance for cooperation. You see, we still have a third-tier advertisement package that we can sell, but this would require you to use your own company's resources to handle the promotional advertisements and online or television commercials. We can authorize you to add a message like 'A Bite of China's Recommended Beverage' on your advertisements and commercials. These authorizations aren't expensive either."

Those advertisers looked at each other.

"Alright, I'll take it!"

"We'll also take it!"

"We'll get this since there's no better choices left! Hai."

The reason why this advertisement was sold cheaply was because A Bite of China's program team did not have to handle the promotional resources for them. Instead, the advertisers would have to fork out their own money to buy spots to advertise. Then, they would have to add in the branding of "A Bite of China" into their advertisements and make use of the influence of A Bite of China to raise their brand's reputation and trust. A Bite of China would then be able to gain access to free promotions for the show through their advertisements. This was essentially benefiting from the association with each other.

After the matters at this end were settled, Zhang Ye put up the schedule for A Bite of China's promotions. He called Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and a few others over to tell them,"I've just sold several advertising authorizations which could help us in our promotions as well. I need you guys to get in contact with their people to find out the progress on it and to get the contracts signed too. Oh yes, now that the money is in, our promotional activities should also begin. Let's follow the proposal that we did up previously and double up on it….No, triple up on it and get all the advertisements out there in the public eye!"

Upon hearing this, a lot of the staff were fired up.

Little Wang looked over."Are we finally going to compete head on with Rise to the Dance?"

Tong Fu asked,"Director Zhang, do we have a chance of winning next week?"

Huang Dandan giggled."With Director Zhang around, who are we afraid of?! We're afraid of no one!"

Everyone's confidence was at an unprecedented level. Actually, what they were doing now was already poking a hole in the sky of the television industry!

"Everyone, let's get things moving and just do your job well. We'll let nature take its course for the viewership ratings," Zhang Ye said with a light smile.

...

On the same day, the promotional advertisements of A Bite of China started appearing everywhere!

On the online video hosting sites, media outlets, and Weibo, A Bite of China was everywhere—with money, of course they could promote however they liked and get as much exposure as they wanted. They had already received the payments, which were nearly 20 times the invested amount of their show before tax, so Zhang Ye and his team no longer needed to worry about the costs involved now!

The netizens were exclaiming.

"A Bite of China's promotions are finally beginning!"

"These new promotional advertisements are really pleasing to the eyes!"

"I'm so looking forward to the third episode!"

"Teacher Zhang, we'll always support you!"

"Eh, what is A Bite of China? What's this ad about?"

"Are you dumb, previous poster? Didn't you watch TV last night? Go and search before asking!"

"Uh, it's just a documentary. What's so interesting about it?"

"Hahahaha, my friend above, countless people have uttered those same words as you yesterday. But after last night, no one mentioned them again!"

"Fuck, is it that awesome? I'll go have a look! Are there any videos online of it?"

"Yes, A Bite of China's online video hosting partner has already uploaded the first and second episodes."

More and more people learned of their show through the ads!

...

That night, on seeing A Bite of China's massive promotional activities happening everywhere, the program teams of many television stations felt very uneasy, although there wasn't anything they could do about it either!

In some television station.

In a program team's office.

The supervisor looked at his staff and said,"A documentary like A Bite of China can even produced in such a way and get the top spot in the viewership ratings and advertising revenues. As someone working in the variety show industry, don't you feel embarrassed?"

Everyone smiled wryly but no one said a thing.

"I feel embarrassed!" The supervisor slapped his own face, agitated."I feel extremely embarrassed! We'll put in overtime today. No one is to leave if the recording for this week's episode is not done well!"

At some province.

In a television station.

An executive director of a program team had gathered everyone in a meeting room."Look at this. These are the results of A Bite of China for the past two days. I don't know whether you guys should be ashamed or not, but I'm definitely ashamed and can't afford to lose face like this. If a documentary can even get number 1 in the viewership ratings, then what reason do we have to give for our entertainment interview show not being able to do so? Are there any more reasons to say that documentaries are only for a niche audience?"

"No, Director."

"We will not find excuses anymore."

"Uh, we will work harder and strive to break 0.4% for the viewership ratings before the end of the month."

A Bite of China's incredulous viewership rating had shocked and also inspired many people. Similar scenes were playing out in many television station program teams of the industry.

A documentary presented in a brand new way had challenged people's understanding of documentaries. This was also a delightful phenomenon as a lot of people were excited by it!

Perhaps it was a subconscious reaction.

Perhaps they did not intend to compare.

But without a doubt, to preserve their last bit of honor when faced with the enemy that was a niche program, many television stations and entertainment shows were getting anxious. At this moment, a war broke out between a documentary and all the variety shows in the industry. They did not wish to get trampled under the feet of a documentary, else that would be truly face-smacking for them!!

They did not believe that the viewership ratings for the next episode of A Bite of China would still be that shocking!

Jiang Yuan refused to believe it.

Xu Yipeng refused to believe it.

Chen Ye refused to believe it.

A lot of industry insiders also refused to believe it!

A miraculous comeback of the documentaries? It was more than enough to have let it happen once, but if it continued to dominate the television industry? Then it wouldn't just be a miracle, but a divine act of god!

[1. In reference to Journey to the West, the Red Boy who was subdued by Guanyin, accused her (him) of being sent by the Monkey King to subdue him.]