After 'Clannad' and 'Kaiji' wrapped up, Jing Yu finally let out a rare sigh of relief.
Although he still had another project running, his role in 'Fate/Zero' was Gilgamesh, the golden king, whose screentime in that series was rather limited.
Of course, even though his actual filming was minimal, his scenes were heavy on special effects. Gilgamesh's shots alone accounted for over a third of the entire special effects budget.
The special effects company began post-production based on the reviewed footage sent from Jing Yu's side. Honestly, the staff were under a lot of pressure just seeing Jing Yu's face—they were working overtime every day, polishing his scenes frame by frame.
Meanwhile, the six major TV stations and Yunteng TV were taking turns visiting Jing Yu's BlueStar Media & Film Company to negotiate the broadcast rights for 'Clannad'.
This series had tremendous potential. Even though many people had already watched it online, it still held huge appeal for the six major stations. In fact, the expected ad revenue during the broadcast period alone was likely enough to cover the rights purchase cost.
Cheng Lie handled negotiations.
Although Jing Yu had a long-term partnership with Yunteng TV, that relationship only gave Yunteng TV a slight edge under equal terms—Jing Yu didn't blindly give his works to Yunteng TV.
In the end, the deal for 'Clannad's broadcast rights closed quickly.
It wasn't one of the three top-tier stations, nor was it his longtime partner, Yunteng TV, but Chenghai TV, one of the lower-tier three, that bought the rights for a whopping 50 million.
Frankly, for a show already released on streaming platforms, 20 to 30 million would've been considered a reasonable baseline. But 50 million?
That's enough to fully produce a brand-new in-house series with all the IP rights secured.
Even though 'Clannad' had the potential, internal station factions wouldn't easily approve such an expensive purchase for just broadcasting rights.
That's why Chenghai TV, which made the most aggressive offer, ended up securing the deal with Jing Yu.
Yunteng TV's production department naturally coveted the show. Still, being only a department within the station, their allocated budget was subject to internal politics. Meng Yu had considerable say in how it was spent, but his proposal to spend 50 million on an external series didn't pass higher-level review. Not because they didn't see the potential, but because there wasn't enough personal gain for the executives.
Even if the station as a whole profited more, if the upper ranks didn't get their cut, they weren't interested. So they'd rather designate that money for the spring drama lineup next year than greenlight Meng Yu's request.
There was nothing Meng Yu could do—he could only sigh.
The contract also stipulated that 'Clannad' couldn't be sold to any other TV station within two years for television broadcasting.
Clearly, Chenghai TV wasn't planning to air it just once in the upcoming winter slot—they were likely planning multiple reruns.
A phenomenon-level hit like this would be aired repeatedly. Just like Journey to the West in Jing Yu's previous life, it is still being broadcast after decades. The ratings may not be high, but they certainly wouldn't be low either.
Honestly, Jing Yu had mixed feelings about Chenghai TV.
Back when he first left Jinhui TV, his initial goal had been Chenghai. If they hadn't looked down on 'Hikaru no Go' and demanded he submit a different script, he might've signed a five- or six-year contract with them—and still be working under them today.
Now look—just the two-year broadcast rights for one drama had brought in 50 million.
After obtaining authorization, Chenghai TV acted quickly. With a complete series and existing massive popularity, they simply announced that 'Clannad' would air in their winter slot on Wednesdays and Thursdays, two episodes per night.
That very evening, their official site was flooded by passionate fans. The servers crashed under the traffic, with waves of fans praising the station execs for their wisdom.
Even though 'Clannad' remained hot and fans could easily rewatch it through their own streaming subscriptions…
Still, watching a show on TV hits differently. Like in Jing Yu's previous life, people could stream anything on their phones, yet many still chose to watch it on TV, ads and all. Maybe it was about the atmosphere—you couldn't see or touch it, but knowing thousands of others were watching with you at the same time made it feel less lonely.
Plus, TV broadcasts were perfect for families watching together in the living room. Many 'Clannad' fans were already planning to gather their whole family to watch the show during its run on Chenghai TV.
And so, October began.
Jing Yu had no new series airing this quarter, except for 'Clannad''s rebroadcast on Chenghai TV.
Though other new dramas were airing on various networks…
Qingyun Video, Qiezi Video, and Jixun Video, the three major streaming platforms, had each rolled out five or six new in-house shows. But by early October, the most discussed title on film forums was still 'Clannad'.
Once Chenghai TV began airing it, many fans who couldn't get enough of Season 1's early episodes paid to finish watching the rest online.
That boosted 'Clannad''s pay-per-view average, which had stalled at 18 million per episode. Before mid-October, it climbed past 19 million. By early November, the influx of Chenghai TV viewers pushed it even further.
Even though it was a rebroadcast, many viewers had already seen it last season. Yet 'Clannad' still managed to lift Chenghai TV's ratings from 4.5% at premiere to 6.1% by early November.
The paid streaming numbers also crossed 20 million per episode.
What did that mean?
Last year, around this time, Qingyun Video had around 20 million registered users total. Now, one show alone had over 20 million paid views per episode—and the platform's user base was approaching 60 million.
Not all that growth was due to Jing Yu's works—Qingyun Video's ad investments helped too.
But there was no denying that Jing Yu and his dramas had massively boosted the platform and influenced the competition among the three giants.
Within Great Zhou's entertainment industry, 'Clannad's success brought Jing Yu's reputation and influence to a new level.
As the winter season arrived…
Jing Yu's BlueStar Media & Film Company finally welcomed a wave of major income.
The streaming profits and licensing from '5 Centimeters per Second' alone brought in around 300 million.
Then there was 'Kimi ni Todoke', aired on Yunteng TV. The licensing deal alone was worth tens of millions, and merchandise, DVDs, and overseas licensing earned just as much as '5 Centimeters per Second'.
With just these two titles, the company's account balance soared past 600 million. Considering the initial investment for both was just over 100 million, that was a sixfold return.
One of the highest ROI projects in the industry this year.
And that didn't even include the 50 million from 'Clannad's licensing, or the per-episode revenues from 'Clannad' surpassing 20 million and 'Kaiji' passing 15 million.
Jing Yu had reinvested all prior earnings into the production of 'Fate/Zero', making these past few months financially tight—employees hadn't even received their bonuses.
But by mid-November, the company's books showed nearly 700 million in the bank, with another five to six hundred million in clearly defined incoming revenues from 'Clannad' and 'Kaiji'.
For the first time in five years since arriving in this world, Jing Yu was feeling triumphant.
He wasn't exactly a tycoon, but with 1 billion in assets on paper, he could brag a bit. And the hidden value of his IPs was no small fortune—he could live off the licensing and music royalties alone, pulling in tens of millions annually even without doing anything.
Still, when he thought about how many works he'd made for such a modest return, he couldn't help feeling a little bitter. His earlier works made money, but most of it went to Yunteng TV and Jinhui TV. He only got 10–20% of the profits. It wasn't until he and Cheng Lie struck out on their own that wealth really started piling up.
Now, looking at 'Fate/Zero' again, he didn't think the production cost was excessive—he even considered increasing it.
"Don't even think about it. For a 13-episode show, your budget is already 220 million. Any more and it's overkill," Cheng Lie quickly reminded him.
"Creative types always want to perfect things. Sure, you can edge from 99% to 99.9%, but the cost-effectiveness plummets. You're chasing micro-gains with massive expense."
"I get it," Jing Yu said. "Just a thought—not something I'm set on doing."
"Cash flow is the lifeline for companies like ours with no backing. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Plenty of studios blew their whole budget trying to bet big on a single project, and then collapsed."
'Fate/Zero's budget was already massive—adding more wouldn't increase profits much even if it became a hit.
"Got it," Jing Yu replied quickly, not wanting another lecture.
"Well, since the team's got nothing urgent right now, gather everyone for a dinner, hand out bonuses, and give them a few months off," he pivoted.
"Not playing the workaholic anymore?" Cheng Lie joked.
"Workaholic?" Jing Yu asked.
"It's your new nickname from the fans. After that plot twist in the last episode of 'Clannad', they praised you for being hardworking and serious. Some felt you were unfairly criticized, so they started calling you a role model."
"Fans are so naive," Cheng Lie chuckled.
"They think you're toiling away sleeplessly, making dramas, not knowing you're actually slacking off playing games during work hours. If you really worked like a model employee, you'd be pumping out four or five shows a year."
"Spare me—I'd be dead," Jing Yu laughed.
"Anyway, it's mid-November now, and 'Fate/Zero''s release is near. You said you wanted a week off—I can give you that. Your scenes are mostly wrapped and in post-production."
"So, what're you planning to do with the break?" Cheng Lie asked.
"Go on a trip with my girlfriend," Jing Yu said.
"Life isn't just about filming and writing—it's about spending money too! Otherwise, what am I busting my ass for? To stash my cash in the bank so they can loan it out and make even more off it?" he laughed.
"Your girlfriend's Yu Youqing, right? I've had my suspicions. Only Xia Yining hasn't caught on. But she's been staying home lately since she's not filming, so I guess she hasn't seen anything yet."
Jing Yu didn't dwell on the topic and quickly moved on.