November 5th, Monday.
Pei Qian came to the office as usual, planning to quickly review the work reports from various departments while paying special attention to the recent recruitment situation.
With the influence of that small booklet, would the newly recruited employees be somewhat different?
Of course, Pei Qian knew this thinking might be overly optimistic, but there was nothing wrong with expecting some changes.
Besides, Wu Bin had returned after being scolded, and it was unclear how much reflection he had done.
It would be best if the thinking of the human resources department could be fundamentally corrected, but if not… he would have to come up with other methods.
Pei Qian began pondering how to rectify everyone’s understanding of the Tenda spirit and correct the misaligned direction.
However, this matter couldn’t be rushed, as excessive force might cause even more severe misalignment.
The specific approach would require long-term planning.
As he was pondering, there came a knock at the door.
Pei Qian looked up and was surprised to see it was Zhao Xuming.
“Hmm?”
Pei Qian couldn’t help but be somewhat astonished.
He knew very well that Zhao Xuming was the type who preferred to minimize his presence. When reporting work or asking for guidance, he usually sent Eric to the frontlines, rarely making appearances himself.
And this report was clearly not a routine matter.
It was quite rare for him to take the initiative to come in person under these circumstances.
Zhao Xuming was visibly uncomfortable. This was his first one-on-one work report to Mr. Pei since joining Tenda, so he was inevitably nervous.
Previously, Eric had always been present, bearing the pressure while he comfortably played a supporting role in the background.
But now, having to face Mr. Pei directly, his heart was pounding, afraid of saying something wrong and being caught by Mr. Pei.
“What’s the matter?” Pei Qian asked.
Zhao Xuming nodded: “Mr. Pei, regarding the broadcasting plan for the GOG Global Invitational, I’ve already sent it to your email but haven’t received a reply. So I wanted to come and ask if you find this plan feasible?”
Pei Qian was completely confused.
Global Finals?
Broadcasting plan?
Oh, right, looking at the timing, it was indeed time for the Global Invitational.
Pei Qian truly hadn’t been paying attention to these matters because he had too many departments to oversee and couldn’t keep up with everything.
Of course, strictly speaking, if Pei Qian really wanted to squeeze out time to understand the situation of all departments, he could manage it.
But he didn’t want to do that.
Because it was too exhausting!
His goal was simply to lose some money, so why work himself to death?
If he worked himself sick, wouldn’t that be a complete loss?
So from the beginning, Pei Qian had been striving to build independence for each department, allowing them to continue operating normally even without his instructions.
Even when department heads made mistakes, Pei Qian never criticized them but instead offered great praise.
Pei Qian’s idea of the optimal state was for department heads to boldly take risks without consulting him on every matter, while strictly following his requirements when he wanted to intervene.
Over time, the various departments had grown accustomed to arranging work without Mr. Pei’s instructions.
They couldn’t just wait for Mr. Pei’s approval before doing anything—that wouldn’t make them department heads but mere mouthpieces.
Now, Pei Qian’s initial goal had been achieved, though with considerable deviation from his original expectations…
Pei Qian briefly checked his previous emails on the computer and discovered that preparations for the GOG Second Global Invitational had begun long ago, mainly handled by Zhang Yuan’s Esports Division with some support from Min Jingchao’s team.
After Eric and Zhao Xuming joined Tenda Group, some work naturally shifted to them.
By this point, all major decisions had long been made, with only some final details requiring approval.
There was too much content, making his head hurt, so Pei Qian simply stopped looking.
It would be more convenient to let Zhao Xuming report directly.
“How are things with the Global Invitational? I haven’t been following it closely, so give me a brief overview first,” Pei Qian said matter-of-factly.
Zhao Xuming was somewhat surprised.
What?
Mr. Pei hasn’t been paying attention to this matter at all?
That’s not right—wasn’t Mr. Pei supposed to be all-seeing and all-hearing, with comprehensive knowledge of everything happening throughout Tenda Group?
Moreover, this was the GOG Global Invitational, directly determining the competitive landscape between GOG and ioi next year. How could Mr. Pei not be paying attention to such a significant matter?
Something didn’t seem right.
Oh, now he understood.
There could only be two possibilities: one was that Mr. Pei considered the GOG Global Invitational a guaranteed win, with complete confidence, so he didn’t need to pay much attention and should focus on other departments that deserved more attention, thus only having a rough understanding without delving deeply.
The other possibility was that Mr. Pei knew Zhao had just taken over and wanted to test his grasp of the work, particularly using this opportunity to hear his understanding of GOG’s esports business.
Of these two possibilities, the latter seemed more likely, or perhaps it was a combination of both.
Zhao Xuming didn’t dare to be careless.
When Mr. Pei said he wasn’t paying attention, that didn’t necessarily mean he truly wasn’t; when Mr. Pei asked for a brief overview, it certainly wouldn’t end with just a brief overview.
After some consideration, he said: “Mr. Pei, as I understand it, the GOG Second Global Invitational is clearly a key element in consolidating and further expanding our market share.”
“The Esports Division evidently places great importance on this as well, so this year’s Global Invitational is no longer about holding our ground but choosing to take the initiative: moving from Jingzhou, the venue of the first tournament, to Europe.”
“This time, we’ll be holding matches in three European cities: group stages in Paris, elimination rounds in London, and the finals in Berlin.”
“This Global Invitational is being held at the strong request and with the substantial support of local operators. The Esports Division has been fully involved in planning and preliminary preparations, which should deliver a feast for global players!”
“Coincidentally, Finger Corporation has also set the venue for the ioi World Finals in Europe, indicating that both sides consider the European market essential territory.”
“I believe the Esports Division’s decision is absolutely correct! It also lays a solid foundation for GOG’s further expansion into overseas markets.”
“GOG’s primary goal now is to consolidate the domestic market while accelerating expansion into foreign markets, striving to quickly capture global MOBA game market share and achieve complete victory!”
Zhao Xuming briefly introduced the GOG Second Global Invitational, adding some of his own understanding.
In his view, they had clearly reached the stage of full strategic counterattack.
GOG and ioi had engaged in a protracted tug-of-war lasting over a year. Although ioi, backed by Dayark Group and starting from a high position, had remained resilient despite successive heavy blows, it was now showing clear signs of decline.
Given Mr. Pei’s ruthlessness, he would never miss such a rare opportunity, which is why they should “pursue the defeated enemy with remaining strength” and determine the outcome in one battle.
Of course, Mr. Pei might not have been involved in setting the actual rules for the Global Invitational, but he surely set the general direction.
The Esports Division and Min Jingchao’s team must have developed this Global Invitational plan under Mr. Pei’s general guidance.
After speaking, Zhao Xuming anxiously looked at Mr. Pei.
He wasn’t sure if he had spoken correctly, if his perspective was high-level enough, or if he had overlooked anything.
Pei Qian fell silent.
Hosting the competition in Europe sounded good at first hearing.
After all, holding it abroad should cost more money.
The first Global Invitational was held in Jingzhou, in the same venue as the GPL regular season—how much could that cost?
Going to Europe would definitely require renting large sports arenas, which would cost considerably more.
However, the key issue was that, according to Zhao Xuming, this Global Invitational was being held “at the strong request and with the substantial support of local operators.”
GOG’s foreign servers all operated in partnership with local operators, typically powerful ones in their respective regions.
Since European operators were strongly requesting and substantially supporting this event, it indicated that the competition would not only be grand but likely more beneficial than harmful!
European operators naturally hoped to host mega-events like the Global Invitational on their home turf, which would have enormous significance for GOG’s further expansion in the European market.
When the time came, promotional materials would be spread everywhere, attracting countless new European players.
What concerned Pei Qian even more was Zhao Xuming’s choice of words.
Particularly the phrase “complete victory” made Pei Qian somewhat uncomfortable.
They couldn’t achieve complete victory!
How was this complete victory? It was clearly a case of “when the lips are gone, the teeth feel cold”!
If ioi disappeared, who would be left to prevent GOG from making money?
Thinking about this, Pei Qian felt a massive headache, as if seeing a death countdown.
After a moment of silence, Pei Qian knew there weren’t many good options at this point, since these plans had been in preparation for several months and couldn’t be changed without appropriate justification.
“Hmm, I understand.”
“Now, tell me about your question—what broadcasting plan?”
Pei Qian decided not to dwell on the details of the Global Invitational; whatever form it took would have to do.
Finger Corporation wasn’t stupid either; their ioi World Finals would likely be organized with similar effort, so the difference shouldn’t be too great.
Zhao Xuming was somewhat confused. Was Mr. Pei satisfied or dissatisfied with what he had just said?
Had he expressed Mr. Pei’s perfect answer?
Probably not, otherwise Mr. Pei would have at least nodded or praised him a bit.
But there probably weren’t any major issues either, or Mr. Pei would have corrected him.
In other words, no big problems, but nothing outstanding either.
Fine, that was more or less what he was aiming for anyway.
Zhao Xuming didn’t dwell on this matter. For him, being adequate was sufficient; the key to the middle path was neither standing out nor taking the blame.
“Since Eric and I have just taken over GOG’s work, and Eric is more familiar with European operations, I’ve let him handle the Global Invitational.”
“Following your previous requirements, I’ve also taken on more work, mainly related to domestic operations and promotion.”
“For this GOG Global Invitational, several streaming platforms are competing for exclusive domestic broadcasting rights. Among them, YaiYai Live and Wolf Fang Live are offering the most money, with figures trending toward the hundred-million mark.”
“So there are three options for domestic broadcasting rights: The first is to select either YaiYai Live or Wolf Fang Live for exclusive broadcasting, which could exceed a hundred million yuan.”
“The second is to sell broadcasting rights to several platforms, charging each around thirty to forty million, with the total possibly being similar.”
“The third considers Rabbit Tail Live’s situation—if you want to convert more users to Rabbit Tail Live, we could forgo selling the exclusive rights and have our own platform broadcast exclusively. The question is whether it can handle such high traffic volumes.”
“Also, Rabbit Tail Live is different from other streaming platforms; you can’t just open it and watch. You need to spend a certain amount of time in the learning section first. If we make it exclusive, would this cause backlash? That’s a concern.”
Zhao Xuming definitely wouldn’t make such decisions on his own, as they involved Rabbit Tail Live.
What if Mr. Pei wanted to use this opportunity to promote Rabbit Tail Live, but he sold the exclusive rights to other streaming platforms? Wouldn’t that disrupt Mr. Pei’s overall plan?
Even with a hundred times more courage, Zhao Xuming wouldn’t dare make this decision alone.
If Mr. Pei hadn’t continuously failed to reply to emails, and if time weren’t so pressing, he wouldn’t have taken the initiative to ask in person.
It was only because Zhao Xuming was truly desperate that he acted in a way so contrary to his personality.
Pei Qian fell silent again.
These three options all hit him to the core…
Were the exclusive broadcasting rights for the GOG Global Finals already this expensive?
Pei Qian’s memory was still fixated on the GPL Spring Tournament broadcasting rights price, which was around 12 million yuan per platform, but that was for broadcasting, not exclusive rights.
The GOG Global Invitational far surpassed the GPL Spring Tournament in both scale and attention, and YaiYai Live and Wolf Fang Live were survivors among many streaming platforms after several rounds of financing—they weren’t short on money.
To further expand their influence, these two streaming platforms were determined to secure major events like the GOG Global Invitational.
Getting exclusive rights would be best, but at minimum, they would want broadcasting rights.
They weren’t very sensitive to price either; even if it were expensive, they would likely still buy.
After all, if you didn’t buy it, but others did, wouldn’t that suggest your platform was short on funds and about to collapse?
It was similar to many wealthy businesspeople—even if the economic situation was poor this year, they still needed to maintain appearances, otherwise, it would send a negative message to the outside world.
Pei Qian quickly calculated that whether selling exclusive or broadcasting rights, if these two platforms competed on price, the numbers would be substantial!
Zhao Xuming had proposed a third option: don’t sell at all and let Rabbit Tail Live broadcast exclusively.
This sounded like a fairly good plan since it would definitely invite criticism.
Additionally, to handle such high traffic volumes, they would need to spend a lot of money to increase the platform’s bandwidth.
However, the problem was that Rabbit Tail Live was doing quite well now, and Pei Qian was satisfied with it.
If the Global Finals were forced to boost Rabbit Tail Live, wouldn’t that be a double loss?
This was truly a dilemma.