In the 48 hours before the release of the micro-whale, Li Ruigang just finished watching a script on a plane returning from Shanghai to the United States. After leaving the plane, he met with an O2O company and quickly finalized an investment. After completing all this, he came to the Shanghai Pudong Riverside hotel and was ready to welcome the evening micro whale television conference and the flood of media.
From the United States to China, the Internet is reshaping the television industry. From temples to rivers and lakes, Li Ruigang is also changing his identity. The outside world regards the micro-whale as a professional new node for this media tycoon, but this is more likely to be a collective successor Li Ruigang has accumulated over the past few years. In the words of Li Ruigang, “Microwhale TV is a platform-based project, not a single product line. It needs to manage users, connect with upstream resources, maintain user needs, and form a complete management chain on content, services, technology, and products, and continue. Operation."
As a distribution platform with ecosystem properties, Micro Whale is the core link of the Chinese Culture Industry Fund (hereinafter referred to as “CMCâ€) that opened up the previously invested industries from the bottom.
“A lot of content investment has the possibility of landing, forming a closed loop on its own realizable platform. When users continue to accumulate and have good coverage of home entertainment terminals, the value-added space is very large. This is in contrast to the single point of investment we did before. Not the same.†Li Ruigang told Phoenix Technology.
As early as four years ago, Li Ruigang had already started thinking about doing Internet TV. On the one hand, however, the hardware terminal requires high technical reserve and capital accumulation. On the other hand, the market environment and user acceptance at the time are not mature. Li Ruigang waited more than two years before he entered the landing stage. The original general manager of Pepsi, and his former Li Huaiyu, began to polish products.
Li Ruigang is different from Li Ruigang. Li Huaiyu is a thorough technical man. In the early years, he led the team of Jackies to successfully pilot IPTV business in many places. It is a key figure in advancing the integration of three screens (computer screen, TV screen, and mobile phone screen). It managed tens of millions of charges in the era of default “Internet content is freeâ€. user.
“The outside world thinks that our team is the content background. In fact, we have accumulated a lot of experience in the design and technology side.†Li Ruigang said, “We want to find the team, immediately know where the team's people are, and know where to dig people. Solve the problems of parts and components and manage the supply chain."
Among the hundreds of employees of the Little Whale, the number of employees from the original Shanghai Wenguang is less than 10. The team's core responsible person also includes former New Weekly executive editor Feng Xincheng, original Google TV director Wang Wenyi, Wang Zhengxian who won the Red Dot Award at many times (RedDot), and former Nokia S60 design director Zhang Li.
Li Ruigang resigned from Shanghai Oriental Media Group Co., Ltd. (SMG, formerly Shanghai Media Group) in all positions. His current identity is the chairman of Chinese culture, and he also serves as the chairman of the board in the investment projects of Chinese culture in micro-whales.
"Content, investment, I'm doing it now. It's not a leap or change. The content is our housekeeping skill, the original three investment directions of Chinese culture, and the team has done a good job," Li Ruigang said. The significance is that it links the Chinese cultural industry from the bottom structure."
The content behind the capital Empire
Looking at the source of copyright content of the micro-whale, this is undoubtedly a capital victory. Among the shareholders of micro-whales, with the exception of the Central People's Broadcasting Station as a licensee, the major shareholders CMC, Alibaba, and Tencent all have copyright rich mines.
According to information disclosed by the media, CMC has invested in content companies including Time Warner (which owns resources such as CNN, HBO, and Warner Bros. Pictures), TVB (has a large number of Hong Kong plays and Hong Kong-based movie rights), and Can Xing (“China Good Voiceâ€). 》 "China Good Songs" "Masked Song King" producer, has a large number of variety shows copyright, IMAX China (IMAX theater business and film copyright), Caixin Media (finance TV program copyright), sports power (Football China team competition in public procurement signal production services, the mainland territory of television rights, copyright and new media outside the whole media rights), Shengli Shi home (owned ice Artistry Festival, Beijing run, professional boxing match, China squash Open, motor racing and golf tournament ), Oriental DreamWorks (including animation resources such as "Kung Fu Panda", "Dragon Master", "Penguin of Madagascar"), Meike International (Hong Kong listed company, has a lot of sports resources).
Together with Alibaba Group (formerly Youku Tudou), Ali Pictures, and Tencent Video, Ali has captured most of the Internet video.
In contrast, LeTV has a large amount of sound, but not a large one; Xiaomi TV, which is known as the "one billion US dollars for content alliance," has also been unable to attack Tencent for a long time. Previously, the battle between the contents of the two had made a lot of noises.
Regarding whether or not to join the content war situation, Li Huaiyu used a rather rude saying: "Have you seen Michelin chefs and McDonald's chefs' tearing up' cooking? We have done television for 20 years, and we are not in one dimension at all. ."
Even in the mode, he also refused to micro whale mode and millet music as a simple analogy: "Now the Internet TV industry is still in a very early stage, similar to 67 years ago, smart phones, smart phone and then further integration of the mobile Internet, However, it has not yet formed an integration. TVs are now undergoing a thorough Internetization process and many models will be available."
This kind of internetization does not only stop at the content: “The use of the Internet to restructure the television industry, including production design, production and processing of content, sales channels, after-sales services, etc., is not just the software and distribution system of the TV itself. ."
The contents of the micro-whales are self-manufactured and will also purchase copyrights; adopting a tiered model, the popular buyout and advertising sharing models on the market are all possible; and the future content companies will not be excluded from all-round cooperation including equity investment. .
At this stage, most of the exclusive content that Microwhale focuses on is related to live broadcasting, including sports and film and television programs. “Exclusive content is definitely the focus of the future, but it needs a process.†Li Ruigang said, “As a platform, the content structure is certainly multi-layered. Some of the underlying content is shared by the market, but some high-end exclusive content will certainly have competition. At present, video exclusive content has a very good effect on stimulating user payments."
Rich, but not self-willed, Li Ruigang does not agree with the video site blindly burn money. "The cost of exclusive content is very high. It has a certain relevance to the size of the user. It should be money burning for a long time, but it will increase user awareness. Therefore, the efficiency of burning money and user awareness There must be a balance."
"I don't want to repeat myself"
Li Ruigang returned to the previous week in the United States, and the United States cable TV industry was in a turmoil. Disney’s chairman announced that its profits exceeded expectations in the quarter, but at the same time, Disney’s online users, especially the most profitable game network channels, had fewer than a million users.
After the data burst, Wall Street shook and Disney, Warner, Fox and other stocks fell.
“When these traditional media organizations are seen as bearish, Internet TV Netflix is ​​still surging. This is reality. The prospects and trends of Internet TV are not only in China but in the world. We must face him, greet him and embrace him.†said Li Ruigang. .
Four years ago, he had an insight into this trend and became increasingly determined. “Some people asked me if this is a second venture? I would like to say that in my career, I have been continuously making business, I don’t want to repeat myself, and I don’t want to repeat others.â€
Li Ruigang once had a “two in two out†system and served as deputy director of the Chief Compilation Office of the Shanghai Municipal Radio and Television Bureau, deputy secretary general of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and director of the General Office of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee. He took the lead in the controversy of “the crime of radio and television†and dominated the separation of production and broadcasting. Its SMG President was appointed to the establishment of the Chinese Cultural Industry Fund, investment across the media, mobile Internet and lifestyle.
“I also invest in media outside the borders, investment in the cross-border entertainment industry, including companies that watch TV dramas, mobile internet, and lifestyles. There are also a lot of consumer products and offline lifestyles.†Li Ruigang disclosed to Phoenix Technology. On the side of the Huangpu River, the "dream center" of large-scale metropolitan cultural agglomerations funded by its fund will soon be completed.
Wei Wuhui, a professor at Jiaotong University, appraised him as "a typical Gaofushuai venture." “The years of accumulated political connections, sophisticated capitalism, and in-depth bone marrow video genes start at 2 billion yuan and even pull Tencent Ali together to invest in shares.â€
Today, Li Ruigang's status is unquestionable. At the micro whale conference, many Internet and media representatives came to join us. In the video, DreamWorks Animation CEO
Jeffrey Kasenberg stated that the micro-whale is an "extraordinary television." Young people using micro-whales are "extraordinary generations." Kasemburger is a partner in the CMC "Oriental DreamWorks" project.
An insider who is close to Li Ruigang said: “Uncle Li is a person who is very particular about details. He used to do a good voice in China and he will go to the scene to look at every detail. He can do a big investment. , can also be meticulous products."
There is capital, resources, teams, and endurance, but it is still only time to be able to judge whether he is successful.
Li Ruigang never hides his ambitions: micro-whale TV is just the beginning, followed by smart home, and ultimately hopes to become "a leader in the Internet home lifestyle."
At the same time, he has an extremely sober understanding of the new generation. Born in 1969, he positioned the microwhales as TVs for the 80s, 90s, and even younger generations. On the list of content partners, they included the station B, which was considered to be a sub-cultural concentration camp; the price of bare metal for 3,799 yuan. There is sincerity; in the channel, micro-whales start with the Tmall flagship store, and offline stores only serve as display rather than sales channels.
"In this era, every single individual can integrate a great force through the Internet. What is a microwhale? A microwhale is a great whale that is 80, 90, and younger, but tiny but can grow in the future. "We are a proud generation." Li Ruigang said, "We hope to grow with the new generation."