Chapter 196
Time passed quickly.
The scorching summer faded away, and cool autumn arrived.
In the meantime, Song Jaehyun’s next film, I Can See the Money, finally began shooting in September under intense attention from both the press and the public.
It was his first new film in four years since Kingdom of Crime.
Network Flex’s first Korean original, Kingdom of Blood, also entered pre-production with plans to begin filming the following March.
A massive set began construction in Gyeonggi Province.
Even with everything moving at a frantic pace, the project I devoted the most attention to was still Hanshin Media’s own OTT platform.
We named the new platform New Wave.
It meant a new wave.
It was also the name of the first film company Song Jaehyun and I had created together.
Our goal was to launch New Wave in Korea in the winter of 2018, then expand to at least eighty countries during the first half of 2019.
The technical side of the platform was being handled capably by specialists in their respective fields.
But in the end, what determined an OTT platform’s success was content.
No matter how good the system was, it was useless if there was nothing worth watching.
So I divided our content acquisition strategy into four major tracks and pushed all of them forward at once.
The first was securing our own original content.
Big Picture was already planning to produce four originals timed to New Wave’s launch.
But things weren’t easy.
Big Picture was already overloaded.
There was Song Jaehyun’s I Can See the Money.
Kingdom of Blood.
Dramas already scheduled with YTBS and MBS.
And now four additional projects intended for the New Wave launch.
The company was practically producing everything at once.
To solve Big Picture’s overload, I proposed co-productions with small and mid-sized production companies.
I specifically targeted smaller drama producers struggling under the dominance of the major broadcasters.
They lacked capital.
We needed content.
It was a win-win situation.
“We’ll cover seventy percent of the production budget.”
“Revenue will be split seven to three.”
“In exchange, New Wave gets exclusive release rights for five years after launch.”
The terms were almost identical to the agreement we had signed with Network Flex.
The response was explosive.
Within a month, we signed partnerships with five production companies, and three dramas had already entered production.
“Director, at this pace, I think we can line up at least twenty exclusive titles by the time New Wave launches.”
Kang Jooyoung, now head of the Content Team in Hanshin Media’s OTT Platform Business Department, smiled brightly.
“Twenty isn’t enough.”
“We need to assume we’ll be releasing at least two to five original series every quarter.”
“Oh, and what happened with Japan and Taiwan?”
“Assistant Manager Joo Youngjae is actually flying to Japan tomorrow.”
“And the Taiwanese production company said they’ll come to Korea themselves.”
Since we were positioning New Wave as a global OTT platform, I believed that even if we couldn’t secure American or European originals right away, we at least needed content from East and Southeast Asia.
That was why we had been exploring partnerships with local production companies.
And in that regard, much of what we had learned through Network Flex was proving incredibly useful.
The second track was securing independent film distribution rights.
I personally visited the Jeonju International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival and approached independent directors who were struggling to secure theatrical releases.
“Release it exclusively on New Wave.”
“We’ll give you the lowest distribution fee in the industry.”
For filmmakers who couldn’t even afford proper marketing because of limited budgets, the proposal was like rain after a drought.
And one by one, we began securing independent film distribution rights.
The third track was IP adaptation projects.
Most of the production companies partnered with us were small studios.
At most, they had one or two projects of their own in development.
So we used the exclusive adaptation rights we had secured through New Moon.
Hanshin Media would cover the upfront option fee paid to the original creator.
In exchange, the production company would guarantee the creator a running royalty and be allowed to use the original IP.
The production companies reacted enthusiastically.
Dramas based on webtoons and web novels had recently been gaining momentum.
And since we were offering to cover the upfront source-material fee that would normally burden smaller production companies, more than ten IP agreements were signed within a single month.
Finally, for the fourth track, we signed licensing agreements with MBS and YTBS, broadcasters that had worked with Big Picture for years.
The agreements allowed us to use the IP of every drama for which they held broadcast rights for five years after New Wave’s launch.
That part had been the hardest.
Terrestrial broadcasters and cable channels were conservative.
And since they weren’t desperate for anything from us, they had little reason to hand over licenses easily.
But Big Picture had delivered hit drama after hit drama for them over the years.
Thanks to that history of friendship and trust, we eventually managed to secure the licenses.
While we pushed ahead with the launch of our own OTT platform, 2016 came to an end.
And 2017 began.
Then, one day in March, Song Jaehyun finally completed all filming for I Can See the Money after a six-month shoot.
Not long afterward, a large barbecue restaurant in Gangnam was packed with film industry people, staff, and actors gathered for the wrap party.
“Everyone worked incredibly hard during the shoot!”
Cha Seungjoon, the film’s main producer, raised his glass.
“I Can See the Money! Let’s make it a huge hit!”
Glasses clinked all around the restaurant.
“Director, you really worked hard.”
“Have a drink from me too.”
I quickly filled Song Jaehyun’s empty glass.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
He drank, then looked at me.
“I heard you stopped by the editing room yesterday.”
“Of all times, you came when I was away.”
“There were a few things I wanted to ask you while watching it together.”
“I’ll stop by again soon.”
“By the way, I saw the rough cut.”
“It was really good.”
“Seriously?”
Song Jaehyun looked at me cautiously.
“You’re not just saying that because you’re afraid I’ll get upset, right?”
“Come on, Director.”
“Why would I say that?”
“It was genuinely excellent.”
“I don’t think people will even be able to compare it to Kingdom of Crime.”
I wasn’t exaggerating.
It was the same story as the film I remembered before my regression.
