The Tyrant Billionaire

"The progress on acquiring film sources isn't great. We've only bought films from small companies and some documentaries. Our criteria are strict; we won't take bad films. Big film companies don't want to sell good films, especially award winning ones. They say these movies can still make money in theaters, and selling them to TV for free broadcast means they can't make money anymore."

"So far, we've only bought 35 movies and 62 documentaries, averaging $2,800 each, all movies unlikely to be shown in theaters again."

Hardy calculated. These movies and documentaries already cost nearly $300,000. Running a TV station was indeed costly.

He understood the film companies thinking. Old movies rarely made money from re-releases, except for classics like "Gone with the Wind," "Casablanca," or "Waterloo Bridge."

"Are we ready for the broadcast?" Hardy asked.

"Yes, boss, we're ready. Just tell us the start date, and ABC will be on air," Fox said.

Hardy thought that three days later was good.

It was Saturday, a day when families were home watching TV.

Fox and Irina agreed with that.

...

The next day.

New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and other major newspapers ran a front page ad: "ABC Broadcasting Company Officially Re-broadcasts."

A program schedule was attached below.

People were surprised to find that ABC's schedule was full day, from 8 am to 12 am.

Other national TV stations only had five hours of programming daily.

8:00 am "Morning News." 12:00 pm "Noon News." 8:00 pm, "Irina Tonight Show." 9:30 pm, the movie "The Magnificent Seven," ending at midnight.

This TV schedule shocked countless Americans. The program names suggested high quality shows, and they even included last year's hit movie "The Magnificent Seven."

ABC airing such a film showed how much they had invested.

People exclaimed, "Oh my god, since changing owners, how much money has ABC Broadcasting put into these programs? TV is free, will the new owner go bankrupt?"

"I heard the buyer is the boss of HD Security. He should be able to handle it. I hope he does, so we can watch good shows."

The senior executives of NBC and CBS also paid attention to ABC's advertisements. After all, they are the only three TV stations in the United States that can cover the entire country.

NBC Broadcasting's president laughed after reading the schedule. "Producing so many programs, that Mr. Hardy must have invested a lot. An outsider doesn't know how costly TV production is. Now they have no advertising revenue at all. They rely entirely on their own money.

I bet they can't last more than a month."

"President, should we also add more programs?" asked a vice president.

The president shook his head. "Our ad revenue just balanced with our program costs. The chairman at the last board meeting aimed to make the TV station profitable in the second half of the year. The board won't approve any spending on new shows."

"But now ABC is going to broadcast 16 hours a day, which will definitely attract a large number of viewers and cause our ratings to drop.

"No rush. Blue Network was just an empty shell. I doubt they can pull off much in a short time. Let's wait and see."

CBS Broadcasting also paid close attention to ABC's re-broadcast, especially ABC's full day schedule, which was seen as a challenge. The high level meeting concluded they should wait and see.

After all, sustaining a TV station's ratings involves more than airtime; it's about viewership. With ABC's massive investment, if they mess up, their ratings won't rise, and they won't get ad revenue. The owner might not last long.

Just wait and watch the show for now.

...

September 18th.

Today is the official relaunch day of ABC TV.

There have been consecutive days of advertisements in the newspapers beforehand.

Especially the new series of programs listed in the schedule, which have indeed attracted many people waiting to watch.

At eight in the morning.

Accompanied by an inspiring music score, the new ABC TV station logo and promotional animation appeared on the screen, and the scene shifted to the broadcasting studio.

Two hosts, a handsome man and a beautiful woman, sat behind a desk, smiling and greeting the audience before starting to report today's morning news.

With ABC's launch, the ones paying the most attention are NBC and CBS. At this moment, the executives of both stations are gathered in their respective broadcasting rooms, watching ABC's program.

In fact, other industry insiders are also watching, such as MGM's Mayer, Paramount's boss, the president of RKO, Warner Brothers and all those who are considering entering the TV industry are very focused on this ABC broadcast.

NBC, being ABC's former parent company, harbors a sense of disdain towards ABC. As the news is broadcast, they make relaxed jokes.

"These two young announcers look good, but their broadcasting skills are quite average."

"The news program isn't anything new. I believe our audience still trusts our shows."

On the other hand, CBS's executives are not underestimating ABC.

"Did you notice? These two announcers use more conversational tones and phrases, which makes it easier for the audience to accept."

"They seem very relaxed, sometimes even making a joke or two, unlike our rigid news broadcasts."

After the news ended, there was a five minute Barbie doll commercial featuring a group of little girls playing with Barbie dolls, dressing them up, and role playing various scenarios. Despite being an advertisement, it was very well made.

Following the commercial was the program "Estee Lauder Teaches You Makeup," featuring Mrs. Estee Lauder herself on screen.

A subtitle introduced her:

"Skin care expert, cosmetics research expert, Estee Lauder president, Mrs. Estee Lauder."

This program was primarily aimed at women or housewives.

Women love beauty, but most have never systematically learned how to apply makeup and some learned a bit from friends, while others are purely self taught.

Now, with someone teaching them how to apply makeup step by step, women are naturally willing to watch such a program.

Mrs. Estee Lauder sat beside two female models, both without any makeup. As she applied makeup to one of them, she explained various makeup techniques and the use of different cosmetics.