I'm Really a Superstar

On this day.

In the morning, Zhang Ye drove to Central TV.

After bringing Chenchen to the Municipal Public Security Bureau to settle some matters, he went off to see Fat Sis to get the Plants vs. Zombies endorsement contract signed. With that, Zhang Ye had finally settled all his affairs and his leave had ended as well. Today, he dressed to the nines and had his hair styled before going back to the office.

In the program team office.

The plaque with the name of The Voice had not been removed from the door yet. Everyone had already started working. However, as there was not much work on their hands, they were all happily chatting away instead.

"Hey, Director Zhang is here!"

"Director Zhang, good morning!"

"How were your two days of rest?"

"I saw on the news that our 'Little Leader' has solved a big case?"

"Chenchen is too clever. When that child grows up, she will definitely do well in life!"

Everyone started chiming in with their thoughts and broke out into laughter after that.

Zhang Ye smiled helplessly as he waved it off. "Don't mention that little kid anymore. She's too naughty."

Zhang Zuo laughed and said, "Chenchen is rather cute. If I had a daughter like her, I would be so happy. I have never seen such a clever and resourceful child before."

"You can have her if you want," Zhang Ye offered to him generously.

Zhang Zuo was startled, then said, "Director Zhang, I wasn't serious."

Everyone laughed.

Then, Ha Qiqi asked, "Boss, are there any updates regarding our new program? What kind of program are we doing? When will we start on the production? We were just discussing this and everyone is quite looking forward to it."

Little Wang said, "That's right, that's right."

Wu Yi laughed excitedly. "We are only waiting for your command and will be going all out alongside you again!"

A female staff member flattered, "With you around to lead us, we are confident in handling any kind of program! We are full of confidence!"

Zhang Ye joked, "I don't even have any confidence myself. The new program should go into production soon. As for what kind of program it is or what requirements it has, the station has not informed me to discuss it yet. We will have to see how it goes and how much of a production budget they are going to allocate us. The proposal for the new program still depends on whether they will be generous with the production budget or not."

As one of the more popular hosts around, he only had a short-term contract with Central TV which lasted a year. With a situation like this, Central TV definitely wouldn't let Zhang Ye idle around for too long. When The Voice finished its broadcast run, they would surely have to get started on the new program as well. It should be happening within these few days now. If it was the typical program production cycle, under normal circumstances Zhang Ye's contract would probably expire once he had completed this new program.

Indeed, when it was almost time for lunch, Deputy Director Jiang Yuan of Central TV Department 1 came over. "Is everyone here?"

"Director Jiang."

"Hello, Director Jiang."

"Director Jiang, are you here to give us our next task?"

Ha Qiqi, Zhang Zuo, and the others said, one after another.

Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "That's right, the funding for the new program has been approved."

When he heard the commotion in the workplace, Zhang Ye came out of his executive director's office. "Director Jiang."

"Little Zhang, the station has already given their go-ahead to your team's performance many times, so I'll skip the platitudes." Jiang Yuan smiled and said, "Your results are apparent to everyone and the station also trusts all of you. We also have great expectations of you, so I have specially applied for more funding from our Director of Central TV Department 1 this time. The production budget is 80 million RMB in total. The management held a quick meeting and approved it almost straightaway. Furthermore, if the program production encounters any uncontrollable factors, this production budget can be increased by up to 10% more. With this kind of funding support, let alone the other channels of Central TV, even our own Department 1 has never had something like this before."

80 million RMB?

They could still up it to 88 million RMB?

When they heard this, all of the program team staff became extremely excited. Central TV Department 1 had indeed invested a lot in them this time. No other program team had ever had such treatment before. But coming back to it, the results of The Voice were there for all to see. A huge production budget brought back an even larger return, so who wouldn't be tempted after seeing that? It was inevitable that they would increase the production budget, because the station knew that as long as Zhang Ye was helming the production, no matter how much money they invested into it, they would still be able to recoup back their initial expenditure. Not only did they not have to worry about the production costs, they would even be able to earn back a huge profit. There were now no more doubts about Zhang Ye's standards in program production!

Zhang Ye said, "Thank you for your trust, director. About that, the title sponsorship fee this time and the allocated—"

"Don't even think about that," Jiang Yuan quickly interrupted. "The title sponsorship fee will not be added into the production budget this time as it will go directly into our station's account. Isn't the production budget of 80 million enough for you to make the program? Even if you were to use it to shoot the second season of The Voice, it should be more than sufficient!"

Zhang Ye said, "Well, alright then."

Jiang Yuan added, "Regarding the new program, the station also has some requirements to ask of you. The first requirement is the title sponsorship fee cannot be less than 80 million."

Zhang Ye felt that this was somewhat difficult to fulfill. "The Voice was a special case. Director Jiang, I cannot guarantee that the new program will also get a title sponsorship fee of close to 100 million, but I will try to fight for at least 50 million."

"Since the station has promised to give you an 80 million RMB production budget, the first thing we want is to guarantee a recoup on that investment. You do not need to be as humble as all of us. Believe in your ability." Jiang Yuan continued, "A tentative target of at least 1.2% in the viewership ratings is the second requirement. The third requirement that management discussed during the meeting was that, even though they feel that singing shows are definitely not doable again in the short term, they want to borrow the momentum generated from that genre and make a similar show. Our goal is still to make a talent show, but as for which type of talent show, we will need you to write up a proposal for the station to go through first. We'll then make the final decision when the time comes."

Zhang Ye replied, "Still doing talent shows?"

Jiang Yuan affirmed, "Yes. For example, a dancing reality show? Or something similar? Of course, this is only our suggestion. Write the actual program proposal first. We'll discuss again on whether it is workable or not."

Zhang Ye could only say, "Sure, I'll think over it first."

After talking for a bit more, Jiang Yuan prepared to go to lunch. "Alright, that's all for now. Oh right, Little Zhang, come by my office after lunch. I have something to discuss with you."

"Sure," Zhang Ye responded.

After Jiang Yuan left, Zhang Ye delegated the problem to the colleagues. "Everybody, give it some thought about what kind of a program is most suitable. Come up with some suggestions. We can have a brainstorming session after that."

Ha Qiqi blinked and said, "Why don't we just go with the dancing reality show idea?"

Zhang Zuo said, "It sounds like it would be a cult program that will lack originality. We can't possibly follow the format of The Voice with the coaches selecting contestants with their backs turned, right? If their backs are turned, they won't even be able to see the poses of the dancers, so how are they going to judge? By listening to the sounds of the dance steps?"

Wu Yi said, "Talent shows really are difficult to make."

A female staff member said, "I'm actually more inclined to doing reality TV shows as the potential for development is greater, but if the station prefers a talent show, then…"

A production budget of 80 million RMB?

A talent show?

The title sponsorship fee and the viewership rating must also be high?

Zhang Ye consolidated the requirements of the station and felt that the difficulty was much greater than before. One after another, popular variety show ideas from his previous world appeared in his head, but in the end, they were rejected in succession by him. For now, he could not think of any suitable program to use.

Which show should they do?

Which show was the most suitable?