Becoming a Russian Oligarch After Rebirth
Chapter 1247 - 1023 NTV Television Station_2

Chapter 1247: Chapter 1023 NTV Television Station_2

However, the Kremlin must have realized the importance of controlling propaganda channels and began to tighten media industry policies through legislation, perhaps even considering future regulations that would directly prohibit private or foreign investment from holding major media channels.

A Bu must have seen this coming, feeling that he couldn’t hold out for long, so he simply sold the business to Wang Ye.

After all, Wang Ye was certainly more capable of holding his own...

Wang Ye was well aware of these issues, but after his takeover, he didn’t need to worry about NTV Television Station being nationalized; after all, no one would want to take the risk of offending him by doing such a thing.

And even if corresponding regulations were enacted, they couldn’t possibly bypass him, the Deputy Speaker of the Duma!

With Wang Ye in charge of the TV station, he wouldn’t do anything too excessive nor would he allow any capital with ulterior motives to invade.

Besides, with his substantial financial strength, the annual investment in the station would surely exceed that of the National TV station, which means he could produce higher quality and more superior programs.

Speaking of financial investment, Wang Ye knew that Russia’s public television station, the largest and most authoritative one controlled by the state, had an annual finance budget that was just over one hundred million US dollars...

For a large-scale television station, this amount of money was really just a drop in the bucket, not to mention high-budget productions, even maintaining the normal operation of the station required careful budgeting!

It’s true that without money, nothing can be done; it’s hard for a clever woman to cook without rice.

The Russian cultural and artistic circles actually have a lot of talent, historically always producing masters, but now there is simply not enough funding, and all talks are empty.

...

The headquarters of NTV is in Moscow, originally the state’s Channel 4 during the Former Soviet Era, which was also the education channel.

However, after privatization, it became a general-interest channel.

In the past years, after A Bu took over, he also invested quite a bit of money and produced some well-received series, so now the ratings are second only to the public broadcaster, ranking second nationwide.

The transfer of ownership of NTV was not publicized, so it did not cause any reaction from society.

But within the TV station’s upper management, notification had been received that, effective immediately, the TV station, including its parent company, now belonged to Chairman Mikhail.

Upon receiving the notice of the change in the TV station’s ownership, Station Chief Xie Liaofu did not look very pleased.

You might think that with Mikhail, the new boss, being wealthier and more willing to invest, in the long term, NTV Television Station might even become the biggest TV station in all of Russia, and he should be happy about that.

But Xie Liaofu’s concerns were not about the development of the TV tower; his primary worry was whether he could retain his position as the station chief...

After all, the practice of a new king bringing his own court has always been common everywhere throughout history.

When a new boss takes over, the first thing they generally do is to replace key positions with their own confidants...

When A Bu was the boss of NTV Television Station, Xie Liaofu enjoyed a very comfortable tenure as the station chief because A Bu generally did not intervene in the station’s affairs. Although the annual budget provided was not much, Xie Liaofu had the final say in all matters concerning the station from top to bottom!

But clearly, with Mikhail taking over as the boss, those good days are probably over...

...

Xie Liaofu was not wrong in his thinking; after Wang Ye acquired the media group, the first thing he did was to have his assistant bring over all the group’s files and he shut himself away for a whole day to study them.

His main focus, naturally, was on NTV Television Station; other things such as magazines and newspapers were not important, as with the development of the Internet, these print media are basically facing the plight of closure, and even Wang Ye couldn’t reverse the trend of the times.

So it’s better to save some worry and, looking ahead, let those magazines and newspapers integrate themselves and fade away...

What he valued most, or rather, the only thing he valued in the acquisition of the media group was NTV Television Station!

Wang Ye understood very well that to run a company successfully, the key was to choose the right leader, that is, the general manager!

If NTV Television Station wanted to rise, then the position of station chief was extremely crucial.

Thus, Wang Ye carefully reviewed the files of Station Chief Xie Liaofu.

According to the records, Xie Liaofu was a very senior media expert who had worked in TV stations for nearly thirty years. He was a high-ranking manager at the public broadcaster and was poached by A Bu with a high salary.

Then he continued to be responsible for the operation of NTV Television Station.

Under his management, NTV had developed quite well over these years.

It had always ranked second nationwide in terms of viewership and coverage...

The first rank was naturally held by the National TV station controlled by the state, which was incomparable, as the public TV station had access to resources beyond the reach of private ones.

...

After reviewing the information and formulating a plan, Wang Ye had his assistant Nova call Xie Liaofu, inviting him to dinner.

The location was naturally set at the usual place, the Turandot Restaurant.

Wang Ye owned a private dining room at the Turandot, which facilitated his invitations to guests for meals and discussions. When he was not using it, the room would not be open to the public.

In this room, Wang Ye had met and negotiated with numerous high-ranking officials and accomplished many significant national matters over drinks!

Inviting Xie Liaofu to meet and chat today also showed that Wang Ye still regarded Xie Liaofu quite highly...

Around six in the evening, Xie Liaofu arrived at the Turandot Restaurant early, driving his own Jaguar.

He was no stranger to this restaurant and would occasionally invite guests to dine here.

However, his mood today was different from usual. Xie Liaofu felt somewhat uneasy, not knowing what situation he would face.

Even though Xie Liaofu had never dealt with the new boss, Mikhail, he was not unfamiliar with him at all!

After all, NTV had made quite a few television programs about Mikhail, including two special interviews.

Based on Xie Liaofu’s understanding of Mikhail, he believed this new boss, though young, was very decisive and clever in handling affairs. Mikhail would ensure the completion of anything he set his mind to.

If this new boss were dissatisfied with him, he wouldn’t even dare to think about resisting...

After all, even a tycoon like Luzhikov had been defeated by Mikhail’s hand. In front of him, a minor figure like himself must be as insignificant as an ant.

Guided by the waiter, Xie Liaofu arrived at Wang Ye’s exclusive dining room, lost in thought as he awaited Wang Ye’s arrival.

He sipped his black tea in between thoughts when the door to the dining room was pushed open; Wang Ye had arrived...

Xie Liaofu quickly put down his tea cup and stood up to greet Wang Ye.

Wang Ye entered with a smile on his face, nodded at Xie Liaofu, and then instructed the waiter to start serving the dishes, as he wanted to chat while dining with Xie Liaofu.

...

"Station Chief Xie Liaofu, I’ve heard from A Bu that NTV has been developing quite steadily under your leadership," Wang Ye said as they sat down.

Xie Liaofu carefully observed Wang Ye’s expression, unable to determine whether the "steady" comment was a compliment or a criticism...

However, he couldn’t discern anything from Wang Ye’s face. Having been in the political arena for several years, Wang Ye had long learned to keep his emotions from showing.

Not to mention a small actor like Xie Liaofu, even top-tier "old foxes" like his father-in-law Grezlov and Vice Speaker Grezlov couldn’t guess Wang Ye’s thoughts from his facial expressions.

Unless Wang Ye intentionally wanted them to have a clue...

After pondering for a moment, Xie Liaofu cautiously smiled and replied, "Chairman Mikhail flatters me, I have only done some basic managerial work. The main reason is that the colleagues at the TV station are very talented, so even with limited funding, we’ve tried our best to maximize our revenue and minimize our costs, producing some pretty good programs."

Wang Ye was rather satisfied with Xie Liaofu’s answer.

Knowing not to take credit or shirk responsibility in front of the boss, and attributing the achievements to his subordinates, that was already the mark of a competent manager.

But if that was all there was to it, it wouldn’t be enough...