[Chapter 958: The Rising Popularity]
E! Entertainment, formerly co-owned by several cable television operators including Warner Cable, Comcast, and Tele-Communications Inc., boasted a subscriber base nearing 50 million, surpassing even Lifetime TV's initial viewership figures.
However, the major stakeholders mainly relied on channel advantages to bundle E! Entertainment into their cable packages. Consequently, the management, being under the control of the original shareholders, had always neglected the development of original programming. E! Entertainment had very few original shows to offer, with the only notable series being the documentary series E! True Hollywood Story, which chronicled the rise and various scandals of Hollywood legends. Beyond that, the original E! Entertainment barely had a budget to buy external programming for airing.
Given these circumstances, it was unsurprising that E! Entertainment had little presence in viewers' minds. Before being acquired by MGM, the network had received a meager 7-cent subscriber share per user from operators, much lower than the industry standard average of 15 cents earned by basic cable channels.
Such long-standing disadvantages could not be turned around overnight. After MGM took over E! Entertainment, neither Eric nor the MGM management had any intentions of forcing rapid growth; instead they planned to pursue steady, methodical development.
Hence, the budget for Beverly Girls was a mere $5 million, which paled in comparison to the earlier successes of America's Next Top Model and Project Runway. Marketing efforts largely relied on the newly emerging internet media.
...
On February 17, after two months of ongoing small-scale promotion since the end of the previous year, Beverly Girls officially debuted at 8 PM during prime time on E! Entertainment.
Ultimately, the first episode of Beverly Girls averaged 1.12 million viewers, with a peak of 1.37 million, achieving a rating of 0.7.
These results aligned with expectations. As long as the average viewership for the first season hovered around 1 million, the reality show would continue to be produced.
However, soon after its debut, the buzz and word-of-mouth surrounding Beverly Girls exploded.
Much like previous shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Survivor, which kicked off the competitive reality show trend, Beverly Girls, which fully showcased the personal lives of its lead stars, also represented a significant innovation.
After the show aired, many media outlets criticized the apparent flaunting of wealth depicted in this reality series. Some reviewers suggested that the show contained excessive performance elements. Nonetheless, combined with the recently rising internet media platforms, the fashionable and trendy Beverly Girls quickly became a hot topic among young people.
On the Yahoo forums dedicated to Beverly Girls, viewers expressed admiration for Deborah Hall's bold sexiness, praised Kristen Hayman's cool vibe, critiqued Sophia Carter for being too pretentious, and found Carly Vitlock's morning shout of "Good morning, L.A." from the peak of Beverly Hills inspiring.
The image of the "panty ponytail" originated from the Czech film Men in Hope. The formerly obscure Eastern European actress Vica Kerekes achieved internet fame simply from that one shot. In America's thriving entertainment culture, the influence of that previously borrowed image vastly exceeded its original impact.
In just a few days, a dynamic GIF of Deborah Hall sporting an underwear ponytail at Kristen Hayman's bar became one of the most viral images online. It even sparked discussions about Beverly Girls: "Did you see that panty ponytail picture from Beverly Girls?"
Due to the vast array of discussions generated by these elements, even though only one episode aired, every detail within the 45 minutes became a hot topic for online users.
Given the severe lack of programming on E! Entertainment, MGM had little chance of quickly introducing suitable shows. So, since Beverly Girls gained traction, E! Entertainment reran the first episode three times over the following week during daytime and late-night slots, accumulating an impressive combined viewership of over 2.7 million for the three re-airings.
When the second episode aired, the average viewership for Beverly Girls jumped to 2.63 million, peaking at 2.95 million, with a rating of 2.1. Compared to the first episode, all statistics more than doubled.
...
The second episode of Beverly Girls aired on February 24, followed closely by Desperate Housewives, which premiered on the Brvao channel under Rainbow Media on February 26.
Though Desperate Housewives was placed on Brvao, a channel with far less popularity than public television, Eric didn't feel it was a loss and was nonetheless very optimistic about the show's prospects.
After all, even paid cable shows could climb the ratings charts, and the potential audience on basic cable couldn't possibly be overlooked. Historically, The Walking Dead had surged on AMC, a basic cable channel not significantly stronger than Brvao, leading it to achieve massive viewership success.
Thus, under Eric's guidance, the production and marketing budgets for Desperate Housewives far exceeded those of Beverly Girls. Although it only produced thirteen episodes in the first season, the overall budget reached $26 million.
Two months before the show aired, MGM launched numerous print ads across major women's magazines, and as the premiere date approached, the various housewives actors appeared on popular talk shows like The Late Show with David Letterman to promote the series. By the time it aired, Desperate Housewives had already garnered considerable buzz.
Simultaneously, Desperate Housewives also employed the twin-episode format often used for new shows.
Under Eric's influence and with the original screenwriters at the helm, the show's striking suspense created by Mary Alice Young's suicide and the vivid character portrayals of the housewives in Wisteria Lane captured audiences' attention.
Once it premiered, the series received overwhelmingly positive reviews. Many media outlets noted that placing such an outstanding show on a basic cable channel like Brvao was a waste, arguing it could easily land on any of the big four networks. Such sentiment only increased the curiosity around Desperate Housewives.
In stark contrast to Beverly Girls, which had a conventional launch, Desperate Housewives kicked off with an average viewership of 4.16 million and a peak audience of 4.73 million, achieving a ratings score of 3.4. These figures surpassed many public cable shows that were considered moderately successful.
Though it could never replicate the widespread influence and rich profits seen on the big four networks, based on the current viewership ratings, Desperate Housewives could recover its costs and yield considerable profit. Moreover, with its expanding renown and influence, Eric remained confident that this show could create a viewing phenomenon for cable.
Also, with the encouragement of Desperate Housewives, Brvao would successfully establish itself as a dedicated women's channel, which was Eric's primary focus and the ultimate goal of placing Desperate Housewives on Brvao -- creating a basic cable channel specifically targeting housewives.
Through Clinton's National Information Superhighway initiative, the past few years marked a crucial period in the widespread penetration of American cable television.
However, most cable channel operators had yet to realize that a brand new era was dawning. Brvao had already gained a competitive edge with audience recognition and corresponding market share, ensuring its future position in basic cable would be unshakeable.
...
Nearly six months had passed since MGM acquired two television channels. During this time, Amy Pascal and the MGM management team continually adjusted and rectified various issues at both channels. The successive successes of Beverly Girls and Desperate Housewives were closely tied to the management's efforts.
Now, with the triumphs of Beverly Girls and Desperate Housewives, the operations of both channels officially opened up. MGM successfully crossed its first step into the television industry, and celebrations were certainly in order.
The celebratory party was arranged at Drew's mansion in Trousdale. Even though it was a Saturday and Eric had much work to do with Iron Man about to start production, he managed to leave the office at Playa Vista Firefly Film City around dusk. By the time he arrived in Beverly Hills, it was already 7:40 PM, and the party had long begun.
Recently, the news that Eric would star as Tony Stark in Iron Man spread gradually, thanks to intentional and unintentional hints dropped by Firefly Group.
Iron Man was set to officially start production the following Monday, and at the press conference held on Friday, Eric neither attended nor did Firefly announce the lead role definitively. As a media group, Firefly internally knew the accurate news but clearly was not poised to leak details.
Additionally, the attention-seeking Larry Ellison specifically claimed he would have a significant role in Iron Man, using vague phrasing that seemed to imply he was the main character, in the process promoting his Oracle Group.
These ambiguous statements only fueled media speculation. Coupled with recent discussions about Eric's wealth, Iron Man became a hot topic.
...
As the latest edition of Forbes was preparing to release a new list of wealthy individuals, the discussions surrounding Eric's financial situation increased significantly. Several major financial media outlets preemptively published their own billionaire lists, similar to the parade of precursors seen before the Oscars.
Though the data from different media varied, they all shared a clear consensus: Eric Williams was poised to be at the top in the United States and possibly the world, with a net worth surpassing $100 billion.
The gap between a regular billionaire and a multi-billionaire with 100 billion was unknown to many, especially since Eric was the first and only one to reach that mark.
Nevertheless, it didn't stop many media outlets from drawing comparisons to America's most influential families of the early 20th century -- Morgan and Rockefeller.
At their peak, the Morgan and Rockefeller families controlled nearly every aspect of America, and this isn't an exaggeration.
In Hollywood, during the early 20th century, the major film studios were fundamentally subsidiaries of the Morgan and Rockefeller conglomerates.
Today's General Electric, General Motors, and any company with "general" as a prefix trace back to the initial enterprises under the Morgan group. JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley still remain financial giants on Wall Street.
Comparatively, while the Morgans dominated the finance sector, the Rockefellers held a vast majority of the energy and mining industries, effectively controlling the economic lifeblood of America.
ExxonMobil, established by the Rockefeller family, remains the largest oil company worldwide, facing no direct competitors in the U.S. Many countries with liberalized energy sectors see ExxonMobil's influence behind their oil industries.
Few would deny that with the dawn of the information age, the world is undergoing a technological revolution.
In this transformation, the rise of the information industry stands out as the most remarkable, being the most accessible and widely disseminated of foundational industries compared to high-tech fields like genetic or nuclear technologies.
Though Eric Williams emerged from Hollywood, he, unbeknownst to many, had invested heavily in numerous companies within the information technology realm.
Under the Firefly banner, companies such as Cisco, Yahoo, and America Online, alongside Qualcomm and Sprint in the communications sector, hold crucial positions across the industry.
Although these industries had yet to develop to the extent of becoming the primary economic lifeline, it was evident that at the current growth rate, once humanity fully transitioned into the information age, the companies under Eric Williams' purview would significantly influence the development of information industries in America and globally.
Indeed, Eric Williams could become the "John Rockefeller" of the information era. Perhaps even more daunting, this time there was no "J.P. Morgan" to contend with; not even Bill Gates, who became the second richest globally by wielding Microsoft, could compare to Firefly Investments' influence across the entire information industry.
As discussions continued, some media even called for federal intervention to curb the further expansion of Firefly Investments to prevent the emergence of a monopoly. However, such actions would hardly impact Firefly's growth.
...
At Drew's mansion in Trousdale,
As Eric's car entered the driveway, a group of people gathered to welcome him.
Eric shared a quick embrace with Drew before greeting Amy Pascal and her husband, along with a few unfamiliar faces who Drew introduced one by one.
After exchanging pleasantries, Drew, affectionately linking her arm with Eric's, walked towards the courtyard amidst the crowd, playfully saying, "Eric, I thought you weren't coming!"
Hearing the laughter in agreement from those around, Eric chuckled, "You know I've been really busy lately."
Kris Jenner, eagerly approaching Eric, asked, "Eric, we've heard some rumors -- are you really going to play Tony Stark?"
"That's a secret for now. Feel free to guess boldly," Eric replied with a smile, shaking his head. Admitting it publicly in front of so many would inevitably let the cat out of the bag.
"I doubt it's likely, isn't Eric directing his new movie later this year?" said John Calley, the president of MGM. "But Eric, why is Firefly keeping silent about the lead in Iron Man? Is it possible that Oracle's Larry Ellison is taking on that role?"
Eric remained silent, while others immediately chimed in, laughing, "That's even less believable."
As everyone chatted casually, they soon arrived at the party set up on the lawn in the backyard. Drew had a penchant for hosting lively, large-scale parties, and the gathering had already amassed one to two hundred people. Upon Eric's arrival, a buzz echoed through the crowd.
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