March 3rd, Saturday…
In the conference room of Long Yu Corporation, Eric and Chen Yufeng shook hands warmly.
“I wish us a happy cooperation!”
Both parties had finalized the details of the contract and signed it officially. From this moment on, both parties had officially reached an agreement to promote ICL.
Strictly speaking, this was Eric’s first time working with Boss Pei.
He did not expect the cooperation between the two parties to be so smooth and pleasant!
Boss Pei was not as calculative and bargaining as many partners. Instead, he was very generous. Chen Yufeng was also very friendly during the entire negotiation process. The atmosphere in the conference room was quite harmonious.
He could not feel Boss Pei’s impression of ‘devising strategies and being calculative’ at all. He also could not feel that both parties were arch-enemies and competitors. The entire cooperation process could be said to be smooth and natural.
This was something that Eric had not expected.
The reason why the contract was signed so quickly was mainly because the ICL league was in a rush.
Eric and Zhao Xuming had arranged for the opening battle to officially begin next Saturday, which was March 10th. There were two or three exhibition competitions to be tested before next Saturday.
During this week, Long Yu Corporation and Bunny Tail Live-Stream had to do a round of publicity and preheat to ensure the popularity of the ICL league.
There might be far fewer teams in ICL league than in the GPL, but ICL league would be playing a double loop BO3, and the GPL would play a single-cycle BO3. There was not much difference in the number of competitions on both sides.
The ICL league would start two months later than GPL, so the schedule was tight.
It was also because of this that Eric and Zhao Xuming did not want to spend too much time negotiating with other live-stream platforms. That gave Bunny Tail Live-stream a chance to take advantage of the situation.
However, no matter what, the contract for cooperation had been signed and the competition schedule had been set. In the short term, other live-stream platforms would probably not think about ICL’s broadcasting rights.
Next, he had to see how well the ICL league’s publicity was going.
…
At the same time, Pei Qian, who was drinking coffee in Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, received the news that Bunny Tail Live-Stream had signed a contract with Finger Games and officially obtained exclusive broadcast rights for the ICL league.
“Yes, nothing went wrong. Very good!”
Pei Qian was overjoyed.
That was because he felt that he would definitely lose a lot of money if he bought the exclusive broadcasting rights of the ICL league. The pressure on this cycle would be greatly reduced if he spent this money.
As for whether the ICL league could become popular after obtaining the exclusive broadcast rights…
Pei Qian did not really care.
If he made it popular, it would mean that IOI’s local server would be pulled back from the cliff. It could continue to pose a threat to GOG and he could continue to burn money for GOG. If it could not become popular, it would mean that the money he spent on exclusive broadcasting rights would be wasted.
No matter how he thought about it, it was not a loss!
Pei Qian realized that the operation this time could be said to be a perfect hedge against risk. He would not make a profit no matter what the situation was. He could not help but feel a little proud of his handiwork.
At that moment, the phone on the table rang.
He picked it up and saw that it was Zhang Yuan.
“Hm?”
Pei Qian instinctively frowned.
Today was Saturday!
Why couldn’t he wait until Monday to talk? Why did he have to work on Saturday? Zhang Yuan was the person-in-charge of Tengda Corporation’s department, but he had no awareness of this. How disappointing!
Pei Qian picked up the phone. “Why did you call me on Saturday? Go back and collect your overtime pay. Speak if there’s anything else.”
Zhang Yuan seemed to be used to it. In any case, he would definitely be given overtime pay if he called Boss Pei over the weekend.
He was not very surprised as he said, “Boss Pei, I’m really sorry. I didn’t want to disturb you today. However, I have something I have been thinking about which I have to report to you as soon as possible.”
“Should GOG’s overseas league be established?”
“GPL has been in full swing for two months now, and there has been no news of GOG’s professional league in other regions. Many foreign clubs can’t wait any longer.”
“What’s more, we have to plan how to distribute the league slots in the various regions and how to arrange the competition system. After all, we don’t have the experience of organizing competitions in other regions. Therefore, these problems… have to be decided by Boss Pei.”
“That way, I can directly arrange for them to work on it directly on Monday.”
Pei Qian finally realized this problem.
That’s right, GOG’s overseas league should be held!
At the moment, GOG’s influence overseas was basically the same as IOI’s. It had a small advantage. At the same time, IOI was organizing the ICL, the leagues in the other competition zones were also being organized. GOG had the same influence, but the league in the overseas competition zones had not made any moves. It was indeed not right.
Pei Qian was not anxious, but the overseas clubs and audience were!
The domestic GOG team was stronger than them in the eyes of these clubs. They were already ahead of them now that the GPL had started their war.
What’s more, GOG was a very popular game. The qualifiers were something that the clubs that pursued results and exposure were also very eager for.
As the person-in-charge of the E-Sports Industry, Zhang Yuan obviously had to take care of all of these. That was why he called on Saturday, wanting to ask Boss Pei for his opinion and get it done as soon as possible.
Pei Qian pondered for a moment. This matter was not easy to deal with.
On the surface, organizing an overseas league looked like a good thing. He could spend more money after all. However, from GPL’s experience, things did not seem that simple.
Pei Qian had made a huge profit from the GPL!
Just selling the slots alone had sold for a sky-high price. The results were still profitable even if Pei Qian racked his brains to distribute most of the money later on.
Quota, sponsorship fees, advertising effect on GOG and Tengda Corporation…
All of these made Pei Qian extremely anxious and miserable.
If he were to organize an overseas league, what would he do if it all happened again?
Therefore, he had to learn his lesson this time.
Pei Qian had a rough idea, but he still had to listen to Zhang Yuan’s opinion to verify if his idea was correct.
“What do you think we should do about the overseas league?” Pei Qian asked.
Zhang Yuan had obviously considered this question. He would answer truthfully since Boss Pei was asking.
“I think that the current GPL model has been proven to be very successful. The overseas league must continue the GPL model!”
“Actually, there are only two choices in organizing an overseas league. The first is to take on everything ourselves. We’ll open a branch company overseas and take full responsibility for the preparations for the various overseas leagues. We’ll also hold on to the quota and sponsorship. The second is to cooperate with the local games companies and let them be in charge of the operations and planning of the overseas league. We’ll authorize them.”
“Of course, I’m still leaning towards the first option.”
“That’s because if we choose the second option, on the one hand, we might not be able to find a reliable overseas company. It would be very troublesome if we meet lousy partners. On the other hand, whether it’s the money for the slots or sponsorship, we have to share it with them. It’s equivalent to our income decreasing.”
Pei Qian nodded subtly.
Indeed, Zhang Yuan had the same thoughts as him. However, everyone was thinking in a different direction.
It might seem a good idea to take on all of them. Opening a branch overseas could attract more employees and spend more money, but in the long term, it could also lead to very serious consequences.
What if the employees of these overseas subsidiaries were on steroids and made the overseas league especially successful? At the same time, they could better promote GOG overseas. Then, they would be able to sell their spots and sponsors at sky-high prices. Then, they would be able to monopolize everything…
Wouldn’t that be spiraling into the sky?
On the other hand, the second plan was good news for Pei Qian whether he met a lousy teammate or shared money with other companies.
The GPL was already so successful. He could not fall into a pit twice, right? It was time to change his thinking.
Pei Qian said, “Yes, I think what you said makes sense. Let’s do it by the second method!”
“Go to the various competition zones and discuss cooperation with other overseas companies. Let them be in charge of the preparations for the overseas league.”
Zhang Yuan was stunned. “Huh?
However, he quickly reacted. He was used to Boss Pei doing the opposite after all.
“Alright, Boss Pei. However, there’s another problem. If we want to collaborate with foreign companies, should we look for bigger and more famous companies? Or should we look for small and unknown companies?”
This question stumped Pei Qian again.
Another dilemma!
After some consideration, Pei Qian said, “Choose small companies.”
Obviously, big companies were famous and powerful. It was more likely that they would be able to do well in GOG’s overseas league. Small companies did not have much strength, so it was more likely that they would produce lousy partners.
Zhang Yuan did not ask further since Boss Pei had already given him a clear choice. Instead, he said, “Alright, Boss Pei. I’ll arrange these things on Monday.”
