The Film And TV Giants In The Cracks: When The "Renovation Period" Meets The Platform'S "High-Risk Period"

Copy the bottom or retreat, this is a problem in the winter of film and television industry. Of course, the premise is to live.

"We saw more than 200 movie companies, and finally chose to send Ciwen. In May this year, we formally talked about some formalities. Up to now, that is, half a year has limited time. In the long run, the film and television market is still going well. " At the end of 12 2019, Wu Weidong, chairman of Ciwen media, told reporters on twenty-first Century economic report.

In February of that year, in order to solve the problem of equity pledge, the founder of Ciwen and Zhong Jun took the 15.05% stake in the total share capital of the listed company to 13 yuan / share and the total sum of 929 million yuan to the investment of Hua Zhang. Hua Zhang is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jiangxi publishing group of Jiangxi province. Since then, the real controller of Ciwen media has become the Jiangxi provincial government, and has been transformed from a private listed company into a state-owned mixed ownership listed company. Ma Zhongjun and his wife retained 9.74% of the shareholding and changed from the largest shareholder to the second largest shareholder.

Hua's acquisition of Tzu Wen's film and television industry is not a good node. Since last year, the film and television industry is in a relatively high regulatory environment, and the economy is in a downward stage. Among them, the film and television industry is the most affected by regulation.

In the long run, the film and television market is still good. - Song Wenhui photo

In the first three quarters of 2019, the overall revenue of the film and television industry was 67 billion 900 million yuan, up from -12% year-on-year. In the three quarter, the industry's overall revenue was 22 billion 400 million, up from -14%. In the subdivision industry, the film and TV industry is still the biggest decline, with 5 billion 100 million of TV drama revenues, down 45% from the same period last year. Subdivision to Ciwen, the first three quarters of business income of 851 million yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 36.03%, net profit of 8989.12, representing a decrease of 63.38% over the same period last year.

Wu Weidong, deputy general manager of Jiangxi publishing group, general manager of Hua Zhang and chairman of Ciwen, has a busy schedule. "Time is broken." He couldn't help feeling.

The investment of Hua Zhang is in an adverse position, which brings a critical cash flow to Ciwen. "In 2020, the company is expected to have more than 2 billion yuan of capital investment, in addition to its own funds, before the bank also has credit lines. After joining the new controlling shareholder, it can also directly cut the credit line from the Jiangxi publishing group, and now has a 300 million quota. In addition, because the capital investment of film and television projects is carried out in stages according to the progress of the project, it is not a one-time investment. According to the company's financial status, the funds can meet the next year's project production. In the early December 2019, investor relations activities revealed that Ciwen said.

"Cash flow is particularly important in the current node, and many companies can't do it." Another film and television listed company executives told reporters on twenty-first Century economic report.

Besides, at this juncture, the whole industry is faced with a choice. After celebrating the "on-demand" controversy, the "Qing Yu" of the fire encountered widespread piracy and tested the patience of the video platform. At present, the video platform is the biggest gold player in the industry. "With the content control continuing, the platform has to bear the high royalties on the one hand. It has not been revealed as advertising. It also faces short video impact and has cost of capital pressure. Video platform funding is the biggest risk next year. The foregoing high pipes.

On the other hand, executives of many film and television listed companies and well-known writers in the industry all confirmed to the economic news reporters in twenty-first Century that the "ancient decree" continued. Specifically, since December 2019, every platform drama, fantasy and other types of film and television dramas are limited to one line per month.

In this case, the film and television giants are flocking to reality themes and themes. "The theme of the theme can be guaranteed to broadcast, and the TV channel can be sold." Many industry executives have reached a consensus on this issue.

At the same time, in the industry fluctuation period, the understanding of policy has become the core competitiveness of various film and television companies. "Recently, a lot of efforts have been made in studying policy trends and communicating with decision makers". Many core industry reporters have described similar situations to reporters.

Of course, there's good news. With the "anti-corruption" and "rectification cyclone", the cost dropped significantly. "Comprehensive project cost reduction potential can reach 3." Head of the film and television company told the twenty-first Century business reporter. This statement has been endorsed by many people in the industry, and even thought that the cost reduction is more extensive.

Dramatic changes will accelerate the transformation of film and television giants.

Fundamentals

"Ciwen is basically stable." Many industry insiders told reporters.

Robust cash flow is the main indicator. 2 billion capital investment is an important engine in the cold winter.

"We have never thought that Tzu Wen lost his creative ability and management ability, like a dormant fish. It should be activated, so we can give support to capital in the future and give support to certain operations." Wu Weidong said.

"Ciwen is registered in Jiaxing City, Zhejiang province. Although it is now registered by Jiangxi Publishing Group subsidiary company, it can not provide loans to Jiangxi bank in theory. But the long payoff cycle of the film and television industry requires a lot of capital to maintain its operation. Based on this, the Jiangxi publishing group came forward to facilitate the credit support of Jiangxi local banks and Jiaxing local banks. Wu Weidong gave examples to the media about the help of "state power" to Ciwen.

"As chairman of the board, I mainly manage strategy and layout Ciwen will come down in the future. Ma chief (Ma Zhongjun) is responsible for creating and giving full play to his strengths. We (Hua Zhang investment) are strategic investors. Wu Weidong explained the division of Ciwen. Prior to this, Ma Zhongjun also made similar statements on the twenty-first Century economic news reporter.

Another giant, Hua CE film and television, has also been cautious about cash flow. Financial reports show that in the first three quarters of 2019, the net operating cash flow of China strategy was 345 million yuan, up 160.32% over the same period last year, and the latest account was 3 billion 389 million yuan, up 148.71% from the same period last year. In addition, in October of that year, China launched a convertible bond scheme to raise the total amount of not more than 1 billion 800 million yuan, most of which was used for film and television production projects, the remaining part was used for IT transformation system construction and supplementary working capital. In the first three quarters of the year, Hua policy achieved a business income of 1 billion 310 million yuan, down 63.43% from the same period last year, and net profit of 24 million 244 thousand and 100 yuan, down 93.18% from the same period last year.

"Hua CE is the thinking of industrial operation. Indeed, executives have missed the high cash points, but their minds are used in business and are relatively conservative. They do not blindly invest in storytelling, but also increase their ability to resist risks. Like Huayi Brothers, executives sell stocks when they sell at market capitalization of $8 billion. Under normal circumstances, a company with a market capitalization of 90 billion yuan should have a net profit of 3 billion to 4 billion 500 million, but Huayi certainly can not do it and break it 1 billion. Cash is also a rational choice. " There are market participants to the twenty-first Century economic report reporter analysis.

In the low industry, cash flow is even more important. "Financing difficulties have not been fundamentally alleviated, and many companies have been dragged to death." A number of listed companies expressed this view.

At the same time, the film and television magnates, who have been granted financial support, are turning to reality. For example, the 2020 film list released by the major film and television companies is basically a realistic theme. The drama "small sacrifice", "thirty only" and "fox hunting" will be launched by lemon Meng film. They are all modern themes. In addition to the ancient drama of "Fei" and "Jinxiu Nan Ge", Hua Tze's film and TV plays are mainly urban themes such as "ordinary glory", "family name" and "you are my city camp". In 2019, the main theme of Hua CE was the diplomatic style and youth inspirational drama "dear, loving". The former received encouraging comments from the people's daily, and the market responded well when the latter was broadcast. "Our works insist on transmitting positive energy, which is also the result of market changes." Zhao Yifang, President of Hua CE film and television, told reporters on twenty-first Century economic report.

Earlier, another founder of the film and television company revealed that in view of the very short window period, he had given up the costume drama. "2021 and 2022 are important nodes, and there will be corresponding content bias. The window period is too short. We have abandoned the ancient costume. It takes five months to seven months for a large ancient costume to be prepared, and a suitable big coffee actor is expected. Even if it starts in November, it will take at least 4 to 5 months. It will be two months before lifting the ban. It's too short. " He said.

Of course, under strict control, costume drama is also looking for a new way out, and direct going to sea is one of the directions. In December 31, 2019, Yu Zheng was producer of entertainment films, and the Qing Dynasty costumes "Jin Zhi Yu Ye", specially produced by Wu Jinyan and Nie Yuan, were on the line of Netflix. Judging from the plot, the play is regarded as the "Great Jubilee" before the big bang.

Yu Zheng stressed to the twenty-first Century economic report reporter that he would not give up the costume drama. "We believe that winter will be over." But he also admitted that the price of costume dramas was obvious. Recently, Yu Zheng is also active in Youku, entertainment video and Galaxy cool Entertainment Co produced "acting school".

In the winter of the industry, nor did it bring good news, for example, the overall cost of the project dropped significantly. "In the first half and before, the actors pay 80 million to 120 million yuan, and now it is 10 million to 50 million." In August 2019, Iqiyi founder Gong Yu said at the earnings call conference.

The executives of the listed companies told reporters that behind the actor's cost of falling down is "strong supervision". Why didn't Di Ali Gerba shoot for 9 months, not because he didn't shoot, because he refused to lower the price. For producers, if an artist exceeds the standard income, a notification letter will be broadcast. Other famous artists will adapt to the current situation.

It is worth mentioning that "regulation" has been subdivided into industry chain. "When the director of the Ming Dynasty 1566 Jiajing and Hai Rui" made the martial art of heaven and earth, Zhang Li really represented the industry impetuosity to the extreme. Now everyone is coming back. In the long run, it is a good thing. " He said.

On the other hand, in twenty-first Century, economic news reporters also learned from many platforms and film and television companies that Youwei's former president, Yang Wei Dong, was shocked by the economic problems after being investigated. Video websites increasingly tend to make collective decisions, and the whole industry is moving towards "normalization".

Sensitive relationship

As the monopoly video giant gradually grasps the market dominance, the biggest proposition in the business mode of the film and television company, which is still dominated by the to B mode, lies in the game with the video platform.

"We can choose more in front of us." On the earnings call conference, Gong Yu did not deny that the content cost would be further controlled as the platform's discourse power increased. This is the meat of the film company.

But there are still variables. The executives of the listed companies said that the video platform is experiencing a slowdown in revenue and expansion of losses. This is the most dangerous moment.

The three quarterly report in 2019 showed that Iqiyi's revenue in the third quarter was 7 billion 400 million yuan, the operating loss was 2 billion 830 million yuan, and the net loss was 3 billion 670 million yuan; Tencent media advertising revenue was 3 billion 700 million yuan, down 28% from the same period last year, and the ratio decreased by 17%. The reason is that the uncertainty of the content broadcast resulted in the decline of video advertising investment earnings, and the net profit of the mango hypermedia in the three quarter of the three quarter was 171 million yuan, down by 28.8% compared to the same period.

Under the pressure of operation, one of the options of the video platform is to raise membership fees. "We have done some user surveys. The price of the Chinese market is about 1/5 of the price of the US platform, and even the unit price of Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia is higher than ours. No country is less than US $two a month. Our pricing may be too low. " In November 2019, Yang Xianghua, President of Iqiyi group and overseas business group, told reporters on twenty-first Century economic report.

He admits that Iqiyi is considering the rise in membership fees and does not rule out the first price increase, but there is no timetable. "How much more is needed, or more in-depth study is needed. For Iqiyi, there may be some consensus in the industry. No one is willing to act on the three big competitions. Then Iqiyi can do it first, or it can be tried. As time goes on, people will gradually realize this problem, and there will be some common understanding in price, so there is always one thing to do first, and whoever does it first does not matter. Yang Xianghua introduced.

The premise of the video platform membership fee increase is the exclusive content of the continuous big bang, which becomes the driving force for the film and television company in the near future. "Head project still makes money." Become the industry consensus.

"The network platform plus TV stations, which can deliver more than ten million episodes to the market, still exist in the market, and all platforms are willing to spend money on the pursuit and competition of high-quality head content. We will not give up. " Zhao Bin, deputy general manager of Ciwen media.

But the increasing proportion of homemade plays on the video platform seems to be the fate of the film giant. "We will pay more attention to and develop original and homemade content. We need to pay attention to the initial goal of obtaining the investment cost of content cost and control the next year's content cost below 70%." In November 2019, Iqiyi chief financial officer Wang Xiaodong made a statement at the earnings call conference. He also revealed that the content cost revenue is expected to be controlled between 70% and 80% this year.

The movie giant looks confident about the platform's homemade drama. "Disassembling the core financial statements of the video platform, you will find that their actual investment in the homemade drama and customized drama is very low. Homemade custom drama has appeared. But there are two kinds of explosions. One kind of investment is basically the same as the external purchase price, and the second one is to follow suit. It's hard to shoot well. " The listed company executives said.

Ma Zhongjun also believes that due to the reasons for the mechanism, it is difficult for the video platform to produce good plays. As long as there is a monopoly, it will produce inertia. The assessment method is different, the structure is different, and the film and television industry needs freedom. "

To solve this problem fundamentally, we need to break the monopoly of video platforms. Questmobile data show that at the end of 6 2019, the "Internet Department" Iqiyi, Tencent video and Youku MAU reached 556 million, 553 million and 415 million respectively, and DAU reached 117 million, 113 million and 80 million 250 thousand respectively, occupying most of the market share, while the "radio and Television Department" Mango TV MAU and DAU were 122 million and 24 million 890 thousand, respectively.

In an interview with the economic report reporters in twenty-first Century, executives of many film and television listed companies called for the Chinese version of the paramount act to fall. "Broadcasting and television departments still need to separate production and broadcasting. Internet Co should not be excluded." The head of the foregoing film and television company said so.

Of course, families are also looking for a long chain market that is detached from mere production. In December 2019, the Ciwen media announced that it signed the strategic cooperation framework agreement with the Qing control branch Chuang Chi Yun. The two sides will effectively integrate high-quality resources and work together to create an industrial innovation park with "culture + technology" as the core, and build a cultural and creative industry system focusing on film and television, games, animation, culture, technology, education and related derivatives.

"Qingkeke Chuang Chi Yun relies on Tsinghua University, which has great Tsinghua brand influence and tries to combine it. The long chain realisation mode is still under consideration. " Wu Weidong revealed.

Hua's semi annual report shows that it will participate extensively in cross industry resource integration and cooperation, expand content derivation value and new business mode, and deeply connect with many industries and business fields such as fashion, tourism, short video, and so on, and develop multiple realizable potentials such as integrated marketing, authorization, electricity supplier, derivatives and artiste broker.

"My energy is mainly in the strategic planning of Hua strategy. Paying attention to content, large shareholders are also promoting the layout of the long chain market, such as creative education and education. We are building our own ecosystem, not just film and television companies. Zhao Yifang, founder of Hua CE film and television.