Two months passed in a blur.
The final quarter of the calendar year had begun and it was the time when the competition between channels was quite fierce. The viewership battle between top tv channels was at the red hot stage. However, it didn't have much impact on MusixZ TV.
They were small potatoes compared to the behemoths battling it out during prime time. Their channel was relatively new and they didn't have much of a regular audience base to make an impact. Moreover, their target audience and genre were a bit niche.
This meant that Liam was left to his own devices, without anyone poking their nose into his business. Even though MusixZ's performance improved, it wasn't eye-catching enough for others in the company to take notice.
After the last board meeting, the Board of Directors had noticed the uptick in performance. Combined with his old man's lobbying for more budget allocation for the channel, MusixZ had come into the view of others in the network. They took notice not because of the increase in ratings and viewerships. They took notice because of who was at the helm.
For good or bad, Liam's name had brought MusixZ into the board's eyes. But, they were all waiting for something major to happen before making a decision about the channel. Naturally, the increase in budget didn't happen. The proposal was shot down. Even his old man wasn't able to push the proposal through as it was the decisive year end struggle for viewership. The network had bigger issues to solve.
Still, Liam's old man came through with an additional 2 Million Anks in funding for the channel from his personal allocation. To Liam, who was spending money like water, it was just barely enough to file his teeth.
Liam still had to depend on MusixZ's own performance to balance the sheets. With year end nearing, it was even more important for him to find that one big break. If not, the operation funds will not be enough to make ends meet.
Liam wasn't concerned too much. He knew that his old man would never allow such a situation to occur. Even if he failed, he would be able to make ends meet somehow.
But, that didn't make him relaxed
Rather, it was a point of pride for him. He didn't want to go before the board and beg for extra funds after things became dire. If that happens, those old men will hold this over his head for years. So, he definitely wanted to avoid such a scenario.
However, reality was a cruel mistress.
These last two months have not been smooth sailing for him. For the month of July, MusixZ failed to break even just like he predicted. With three new shows starting and no music festival or other one off events to save his ass, MusixZ's financial performance fell to the bottom once again.
But, the same couldn't be said for their ratings and viewership. Both saw a sharp increase in their values bringing more confidence to the entire office and Liam in particular. The overall ratings finally breached the much-awaited 5 ratings mark. The viewership was also very good.
The introduction of new version MVs for rock and pop songs really brought in a lot of viewers, causing ecstasy across the company. This caused the ratings and viewership to soar to new heights.
Meanwhile, the three new programs that were supposed to be launched face some issues. Rumor Roundup didn't have any issues apart from Liam being dissatisfied with the girls chosen for the program. He didn't feel they would attract much viewership. But, he let it go because he had other major issues to wrangle with.
Christine was in her element with the show. She showed astute judgement regarding which rumor was worthy and which wasn't. Her experience also guided her in navigating a potential litigation minefield filled program in a more steady manner. Liam was very satisfied with her performance.
The Party Hoppers program that Lilith hosted almost ran into big trouble. Rosa, in her ignorance and inexperience, had failed to acquire audio broadcast rights for the songs that were being used during the parties in the program.
No one knew if it would cause big issues down the line, but they weren't willing to take the chance. After all, music labels often treat such things as free exposure and let it go. But, if the program became a hit, then they would have been in big trouble as the vultures would start to circle.
Luckily, Evan noticed it at the last moment and used his connections to successfully acquire the rights. So, that was solved quickly. However, those few days were quite hectic for everyone in the office. Liam was constantly in a bad mood.
Was he disappointed with Rosa's carelessness? Obviously. But, he also understood that part of the blame lay with him. So, he only scolded Rosa for a bit and moved on. Still, that served as a good reminder for everyone to be on their toes.
If he was willing to blast Rosa, then no one dared to say that he would forgive others. It lit a fire under the seats of everyone. No one dared to slack off after that. Liam's lips couldn't help but curl seeing that.
While the first two weekly programs were aired without a hitch, the same couldn't be said for the third one.
Roadsters ran into trouble every step of the way. Finding suitable pairs was far more headache inducing than Liam expected it to be. Evan was run ragged during that time. Liam later realized that he should have outsourced the work to some casting agency. But, what was done was done.
Liam realized that trying to keep everything in-house wasn't working well. He quickly understood that professional people were needed to do professional work. Moreover, with Evan being run ragged, the work in the channel also stagnated. There was nothing that could be done about that.
So, Liam decisively removed Evan from the project and asked him to concentrate on his other responsibilities. He decided to find some external help to get this show on the road. His first impulse was to look for Dave.
But, Dave's production company was already stretched thin trying to make MVs for rock, pop, and rap genres. This made things tricky. Dave frankly admitted that it was hard for him. Thus the project was delayed for a while.
Meanwhile, those who were hired saw the delay and decided to back out from the project. There was nothing Liam could do. The major reason for the delay was that the channel didn't have necessary funds in reserve to bull through with it.
This was a wake-up call for Liam.
Liam wrangled with indecision on whether to shelve the project for now or not. In the end, he gritted his teeth and decided to go ahead with it. He had known it was going to be tough. But, knowing and experiencing things were different.
After he made his decision, Liam decisively set up a personal production studio and used his own funds to hire personnel for the studio. Thus Ascent Production House was established. This was a major step towards his dream to climb to the top.
With him sitting at the top of a TV channel, he was confident in bringing in regular work for the studio. So, the studio's sustenance wasn't an issue. He also had enough reserve funds to keep the studio running for a year or two.
Moreover, instead of giving all his creative talents to the channel, he could use this chance to get some experience in running a production studio and train people for his future entry into the film industry.
Also, this gave him a bit of leeway with company finances. He could delay payment for his personal studio if things turned dire. It was his fallback option, he left for himself.
After outsourcing the production of Roadies to his personal studio, things picked up quickly. With proper professionals taking over, he was able to concentrate back on his own work. By then, August was well into its third week. So, he decided to launch this new weekly program in September and promptly forgot about the entire thing.
In the last two weeks of August, Liam and Peter used the increased ratings and viewership metrics to try and renegotiate the ad deals they had going. But, it didn't work. The ad deals they had dealt with quarterly numbers. They didn't care about the rising popularity of the channel. They only cared about the data and the corresponding ad rates.
Moreover, they were raking in profits, so Liam wasn't able to convince them at all. No one was stupid enough to do such a thing. Liam knew the possibility was slim, but still wanted to try. In the end, it was all in vain. If they wanted to renegotiate ad contracts, they can only do so in September and implement from October.
Thus, everything hinged on the performance of the channel in September. So, September became a crucial month and everyone knew it as well.
The pressure was on.