In 2014, Yu Dong, president of Bona Films, predicted at the Shanghai Film Festival that all film and television companies would work for BAT (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent) in the future.
This prophecy was widely discussed at the time, reflecting the strong control of Internet companies over the film and television industry at the time.
However, ten years later, in 2024, Tencent Video CEO Sun Zhonghuai proposed a new cooperation model in his speech during the Shanghai TV Festival: transforming the relationship between Tencent Video and film and television companies from an "employment" relationship to a partnership of "risk sharing and revenue sharing".
The proposal sparked heated discussions inside and outside the industry and marked a profound change in the relationship between video platforms and film and television companies.
This speech is not only a declaration of Tencent Video's future strategy, but also a profound reflection and redefinition of the production relationship of the entire industry. Through the introduction of dynamic VAM and posteriori incentive mechanisms, Sun Zhonghuai hopes to completely change the shortcomings in the production process of drama series, stimulate the joint creativity of production companies and platforms, and win the recognition and support of users in the fierce market competition.
In 10 years, how did a film and television company change from a worker to a partner?
01
"One wins, one loses"
The core of Sun Zhonghuai's speech is to establish a closer cooperative relationship with the drama production company, that is, from the original procurement logic of "fixed price, buy and leave" to the co-creation model of "dynamic VAM and posteriori incentive".
This shift means that the production company is responsible not only for the quality of the episodes, but also for the final broadcast effect, thus sharing the revenue with the platform.
In the past, due to the abundant funds, video websites controlled the absolute right to speak, and put film and television companies in the role of workers. However, with the intensification of market competition and the change of user needs, video sites can no longer bear all the risks alone.
In order to remain invincible in the fierce market competition, video websites must work hand in hand with film and television companies to face market uncertainties. This change in the mode of cooperation is actually a direct reflection of the market environment and economic pressures.
The advantage of this new model is that the interests of the production company are tied to the final result of the series, incentivizing them to put more effort and resources into producing a quality work. In the original model, in order to obtain higher ratings and pricing, production companies often pay more attention to the satisfaction of key people on the platform than the quality of the work itself. This kind of "employment" relationship can easily lead to the game between the production company and the video platform, which is inefficient, and ultimately affects the quality and broadcast effect of the series.
It is reported that some copyright companies and production companies have reached this pricing model based on the dynamic gambling of the final broadcast results with Tencent Video. There are even some copyright companies that will take the initiative to seek to sign a "guaranteed + incentive based on broadcast results" contract with the platform.
As Sun himself puts it, "Our goal is to push the industry in a more direct-to-consumer direction, rewarding creators who are truly professional and encouraging our own producers and willing partners to grow together." Make big money for long-term builders who really love the industry. ”
02
Internal reform to reduce costs and increase efficiency
In addition to the adjustment of the cooperation model with external production companies, Tencent Video has also carried out a series of internal reforms.
The production team within the platform plays an important role in the production process of the series, and if their interests are decoupled from the results of the series, there will often be a situation where they do not seek merit but no fault. In order to solve this problem, Tencent Video promotes the transformation and upgrading of the producer's remuneration mechanism, linking the producer's income with the final quality of the work.
This mechanism is designed to stimulate the creativity and productivity of producers, pushing them to pay more attention to the quality of the work and the needs of users in the production process of the series, so as to produce more popular episodes.
Regarding internal reform, Sun Zhonghuai also mentioned the rotation mechanism of the future drama studio.
It's a top-down rollout of successful experiences. Starting in September 2022, the overall rotation of the general manager level has been carried out for the first time in charge of the core managers of Tencent Video. Within a year after the rotation, on the basis of inheriting the original advantages, the new person in charge drove all business lines of Tencent Video to come up with some new ways of playing, and a series of popular content appeared in various sectors such as drama variety animation and so on.
In terms of single dramas, Tencent Video is full of surprises this year. From "Flowers" and "Ice Hunting" at the beginning of the year, to "Walking with the Phoenix" and "Chenghuan Ji", and then to "Celebrating More Than Years 2", which has just been broadcast, and the popular "Story of Rose", the limelight is unparalleled for a while.
03
The way the long video industry plays has changed
However, Sun Zhonghuai also pointed out in his speech that although Tencent Video has achieved good performance in drama in recent years, in the face of competition from the peak of user time and the diversification of entertainment forms, the overall growth space of the drama market has been limited.
Therefore, in addition to the innovation of internal and external cooperation models and the adjustment of the benefit distribution mechanism, Tencent Video is also controlling costs more strictly to meet the challenges of the drama market. Among them, Sun Zhonghuai mentioned a key point, when making decisions on a project, in addition to the evaluation of ROC (project return on investment), more consideration will be given to the average cost of a single UV.
This shows that the long video industry is increasingly relying on direct payment from users.
In order to achieve sustainable growth, Tencent Video must respond to the core needs of users: to produce high-quality works that users love more effectively. Users are willing to pay for good content, but if there is no quality work, they will also leave without hesitation. The future of Tencent Video is not only to improve production efficiency and quality, but also to win the recognition and support of users in the fierce market competition.
Here I have to mention the "Tencent Video OpenDay" project that has just passed its first birthday.
Since its debut in May last year, OpenDay has become a regular monthly celebration between Tencent Video and its users' "spiritual shareholders", gradually forming a recognizable and mature IP brand. The platform reached a consensus with users, and users look forward to getting more drama variety materials on the 9th of each month, learning about the latest developments of Tencent Video, or rushing to the offline market to have a face-to-face conversation with the editor-in-chief of Tencent Video and the main creator of the drama series. Through the grasp of high-quality IP, cultivate users' brand loyalty and emotional connection in addition to content supply, and seek to increase the income of a single member.
In general, the reform of the cooperation model proposed by Sun Zhonghuai is an important exploration of Tencent Video in the field of drama production. The transformation from an "employment" relationship to a "partnership" relationship not only helps to improve the quality and broadcast effect of dramas, but also provides new ideas for the sustainable development of the drama industry.
Despite the challenges encountered in the process of reform, through the mechanism of risk sharing and revenue sharing, Tencent Video and production companies can work more closely together to meet market challenges and produce more high-quality dramas that users love. Only in this way can we stand out in the fierce market competition and win the recognition and support of the audience.
Source: Media Circle - Media Headlines
Author: Hang Cha
Editor: Deng Rumeng
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