The space shuttle in the U.S. had crashed, seriously impacting the space sector. It was unrealistic to launch a manned spacecraft again; breakthroughs had to be sought in other areas.
In this situation, the four satellites that NBC needed became crucial. At this point, cost factors took a back seat; restoring customer confidence seemed far more important.
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes, the newly established company has already started soliciting business."
"Wow, they really do need more satellites now."
For smaller TV stations, leasing a port was evidently more cost-effective. Launching a satellite was no easy feat, and the maintenance costs were high.
Today's NBC was running a tight ship; even the production department was gone, along with those responsible for signal transmission.
Everyone believed this was merely a response to concerns about antitrust investigations. It was seen as a necessary action.
However, the leaner NBC seemed even more formidable. Not only were viewership numbers increasing in the U.S., but globally as well.
At this level, the Justice Department had no room to speak. Once culture export was involved, no one would dare bring up antitrust issues.
Be it envy or jealousy, it was all too late. The situation made the loser exceedingly frustrated. The only silver lining was that William White had no overt stance.
Or one could say, as long as you didn't provoke him, this guy was harmless.
In America at that time, television had undoubtedly become an essential appliance. Even with recent price changes, public enthusiasm for purchases showed no signs of waning.
This wasn't just an American trend; televisions were rapidly proliferating around the globe. Now, with satellite TV, the penetration rate would likely be even higher.
Just one dish could solve the problem; it couldn't get any easier. Before, people had to install cable TV.
In fact, by this point, there was no real distinction between cable and wireless; it was all about pay and free options. Essentially, if you bought a decoder card, you could watch for a year. If you didn't want to pay, you could just stick with the free channels.
...
"Sir, we've done the calculations; it seems tough to turn a profit."
"Really? But I want to know why so much international capital is interested in this round of financing?"
"All we can say is that they are buying into expectations." For investment banks, the media industry had changed beyond recognition; past experiences seemed entirely ineffective.
It was thought that NBC's separation of production and broadcasting was just talk; many believed this was merely a tactic from William White. What surprised everyone was that he was clearly serious.
Variety shows and American dramas really went to the highest bidder. Meanwhile, this newly emerged copyright company was sweeping through the film libraries of major studios.
Hollywood had no shortage of movies. Many films never even made it to theaters. These works had become liabilities; now that someone wanted to buy them, they shouldn't go to waste.
If you were serious about setting up a film channel, you HAD to buy those rights. After all, what would you show without a library? NBC's movie channel was fundamentally weak; it lacked a substantial film library.
As for White Films, that was still a new company. Maybe it would be better in ten years, but right now, it lacked confidence.
Kirk Kerkorian of MGM was taking full advantage of the "not caring about selling off the family silver" mentality. Fox was floundering; they were in tough waters too. If junk could be turned into cash, then nothing should be left unsold. Everything was for sale; as long as the price was right, MGM would let it all go.
Launching a few satellites overhead to collect tolls -- that business idea had a grand flair to it. The syndicate was quite frustrated; this was their bread and butter. How had they let someone else jump in first?
Not making money now? Pffft, who cares? Since the user base was growing, raising prices was a must.
Wasn't that how William White's fees were structured?
Otherwise, why would those small companies even bother with satellite TV?
A group finally realized the stakes involved began lamenting; they believed they should have acted differently. William White, that rascal, had been rather reckless; they felt he should have at least made some noise about it.
...
"Make a fuss? Filson, do they really think I need that?" Filson was speechless at the boss's arrogance. However, he had no real counterarguments; while being arrogant was annoying, it was largely a matter of fact.
"They probably figured out the key points; if they had known in advance, they would have probably invested more."
"Ha, my project, William White project, and they dared not study it carefully; is that ignoring me? Well, that's just their bad luck, I guess."
Filson wanted to say that the desert tycoon was blindly trusting, while the wannabes were simply foolish with cash. Ultimately, despite the various reasons, William White's strong credit was the key factor.
Just like those venture capital firms in Silicon Valley, did they really think they were investing in projects?
Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were indeed the exceptions. For someone who hadn't even graduated from college, convincing investors required a monumental effort.
As the first public 2D graphics acceleration card, it was only natural that it drew significant market attention. Even with a hefty price tag, it couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of hardcore gamers. In their eyes, with this card, games like Monopoly would finally have a real visual impact.
However, this time, the White system seemed to have ignored the wannabes. Their graphics card appeared to be a product from Unisys.
"William, is this Unisys even any good?"
"Steve, it might not measure up to those wannabes right now, but I have no choice; the price is just too steep."
"You're selling it for even more; can't you just earn a little less?"
"Easy for you to say; do you think my R&D team doesn't need bonuses? This thing won't see widespread use; if memory prices drop significantly, I'd certainly push for sales."
Jobs just wanted to complain about how this fellow's computers weren't getting cheaper. He had seen the public acceleration card and was worried about selling his own computers.
"I tell you, can't you focus on software? This seems like it's worth more effort."
"Sigh, the prices are outrageous; I can't even sell software with only forty megabytes of hard drive space available!"
"This won't help you; the technology is in IBM's hands. Those guys aren't going to release it any time soon." This wasn't just William White talking nonsense; if not for Seagate's help, those guys would still be dragging their feet. Who knew why they didn't split that stuff up.
If William White were to say, the Big Blue was indeed obstructing the advancement of humanity.
*****
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