Although Pei Qian basically never watched IOI matches and wasn’t particularly interested in IOI, since this was an opportunity to spend money, he couldn’t pass it up!

From the current situation, it seemed that ICL’s broadcasting rights hadn’t been settled yet.

Why hadn’t they been settled?

Obviously because they were expensive.

Finger Corporation and Longyu Group clearly couldn’t accept selling ICL’s broadcasting rights too cheaply. On one hand, it was a face issue; on the other hand, it was because they had very high expectations for the future of the ICL league.

But the various streaming platforms weren’t stupid either. They felt that the current popularity of the ICL league was all artificial—it was burned into existence with money. Spending a large sum to buy broadcasting rights would likely result in a loss, so they definitely wanted to drive the price down.

Of course, the “Breaking Out of the Cocoon Without Becoming a Butterfly” video’s critical blow at this crucial moment had greatly increased the bargaining chips for these streaming platforms.

But the problems troubling other streaming platforms didn’t exist for Pei Qian.

ICL’s popularity was artificial? Spending big money to buy broadcasting rights would definitely lead to a loss?

That was exactly what he wanted!

Pei Qian now most needed projects with artificially inflated popularity that would inevitably lose money!

Moreover, IOI was GOG’s direct competitor. Spending big money to buy ICL’s broadcasting rights was equivalent to funding the enemy, which also aligned perfectly with Pei Qian’s expectation of supporting IOI and suppressing GOG a bit.

Rabbit Tail Streaming was positioned as a knowledge-based streaming platform. Currently, its content was mainly focused on livestreams from young scholars and lecturers, which wasn’t compatible with something like ICL broadcasts.

In short, buying ICL’s broadcasting rights would first burn money, second fund the enemy, and third cause some negative impact on Rabbit Tail Streaming—simply perfect!

Even more boldly, instead of buying broadcasting rights, they could directly buy exclusive broadcasting rights.

Exclusive livestreaming!

This way, they would definitely spend even more money.

The more Pei Qian thought about it, the more suitable it seemed. He immediately decided to make a trip to Rabbit Tail Streaming to meet with Old Ma and Chen Yufeng to finalize this matter.

…

More than half an hour later, Pei Qian arrived at Rabbit Tail Streaming’s office area.

After this period of development, Rabbit Tail Streaming’s staff had grown significantly, and everyone was busy working intensely.

After all, Rabbit Tail Streaming had just officially launched not long ago and was still in a period of vigorous development. There were many new features that needed to be developed and many daily affairs that needed to be handled.

Many people were staring at their screens, busy with their own work, and didn’t even notice Mr. Pei quietly walking past them.

Seeing this work atmosphere at Rabbit Tail Streaming, Pei Qian felt very worried, but he was also helpless.

Although Rabbit Tail Streaming was still just burning money without earning anything so far, seeing these employees so full of motivation made Pei Qian feel there was always a hidden danger.

But he didn’t have any good solutions either. This was a chronic disease of the entire Tenda Group, not something that could be cured overnight.

He could only hope that Old Ma, as a leader, could have some effect!

Pei Qian found Ma Yang and Chen Yufeng and called them to the meeting room.

“Brother Qian, do you have any instructions?” Ma Yang was still as energetic as usual.

Pei Qian nodded: “Yes, I plan to buy the exclusive broadcasting rights for the ICL league for Rabbit Tail Streaming. I’m here to inform you.”

A confused expression appeared on Ma Yang’s long face: “What’s ICL?”

Chen Yufeng, however, was greatly alarmed: “Mr. Pei, this absolutely cannot be done!”

“I’ve been following the ICL broadcasting rights issue recently. Currently, several major streaming platforms like Wolf Fang Streaming and ZZ Streaming are all negotiating with Zhao Xuming. According to rumors, Zhao Xuming’s side is asking for 11 million yuan, with a current bottom price of 9 million yuan.”

“This price is obviously inflated, and none of the major streaming platforms accept it. They hope to get ICL’s broadcasting rights for around 7 million yuan, so both sides are currently at an impasse.”

“If we want to buy exclusive broadcasting rights, that would be even more expensive! If they sell broadcasting rights, Zhao Xuming can sell to at least three or four streaming platforms, with an expected price of around 30-40 million yuan. If we want exclusive rights, we would definitely have to pay even more than that!”

“Moreover, we’re competitors with Finger Corporation. How could Zhao Xuming possibly sell the broadcasting rights to us…”

The more Chen Yufeng analyzed, the more absurd he found this matter.

Mr. Pei already had GPL’s broadcasting rights in his own hands, which he could give away freely, but he didn’t plan to let Rabbit Tail Streaming broadcast GPL at all.

Not using the free, better, in-house league, but instead spending a large sum to buy the competitor’s league?

What kind of game was this?

It was completely incomprehensible.

Pei Qian had anticipated Chen Yufeng’s reaction and couldn’t help but smile slightly: “It’s okay, I’ll give Erik a call. We’ll definitely be able to buy it.”

It wasn’t that he felt he had any special relationship with Erik; it was mainly that he was quite confident in the power of his money.

Erik won’t sell? Easy solution—just add more money.

In the business world, there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies, only permanent interests.

Tenda Group was Finger Corporation’s competitor, with a deep-seated grudge… so he’d have to add more money!

Pei Qian believed that as long as his price and the accompanying promotional support were sincere enough, Erik would definitely be moved.

Seeing Mr. Pei’s confident expression, Chen Yufeng had nothing more to say.

Since Mr. Pei was so certain, he must have already arranged a backup plan.

What else was there to say? Just watch Mr. Pei operate.

Moreover, Chen Yufeng felt that Finger Corporation and Longyu Group would absolutely not sell ICL’s exclusive broadcasting rights to Tenda. Mr. Pei’s phone call would most likely be met with a rejection.

Pei Qian didn’t beat around the bush. He had Erik’s contact information on his phone and directly made a video call.

After a long time, Erik finally answered.

Obviously, Erik had no expectation whatsoever of Mr. Pei contacting him proactively. For a moment, he didn’t know how to react and hesitated for a while before picking up.

Erik’s image appeared on the phone screen. He seemed to be in his own office.

Erik’s expression was quite interesting. He was clearly racking his brains to come up with an appropriate opening greeting, but felt that any greeting would be a bit awkward.

Pei Qian didn’t waste words with him either and directly got to the point: “Director Erik, long time no see. I’m contacting you today to discuss the matter of ICL’s broadcasting rights.”

Erik was stunned for a moment, and a shocked expression appeared on his face.

You have the nerve to talk to me about ICL broadcasting rights?

It was because of your promotional video that not only did I have to spend an extra 20-30 million yuan, but the broadcasting rights price negotiated with other streaming platforms has also significantly decreased. We still haven’t reached an agreement until now!

Erik’s current feeling was like someone who had been severely beaten and then the attacker came to the hospital to express fake concern.

He was both angry and confused, not knowing how to react for a moment.

Pei Qian continued: “I heard you haven’t reached an agreement with various streaming platforms? Must be troubling, right? To be frank, Rabbit Tail Streaming wants to buy ICL’s exclusive broadcasting rights. Director Erik, please name your price.”

Erik was a bit dazed.

Mr. Pei wants to buy ICL’s broadcasting rights? No, exclusive broadcasting rights?

This one-word difference means the price would differ by several times!

And what exactly was Mr. Pei up to? Looking at his confident demeanor, why did he feel so certain that I would sell to him?

Erik couldn’t understand what Mr. Pei was thinking at all.

But since Mr. Pei had asked, he might as well quote a relatively high price to scare him off.

Erik thought carefully.

After these days of haggling, Erik knew clearly that selling the broadcasting rights for 11 million yuan was basically impossible. 9 million was a more ideal price point, but also difficult. It would be good if they could sell for around 8 million in the end.

And given the current situation, only three or four platforms were genuinely interested in ICL’s broadcasting rights. The final selling price would be around 24 million yuan at the low end and about 32 million at the high end.

Those other platforms, although they appeared interested on the surface, were actually not very determined. They might give up if the price was just a bit higher, so they couldn’t be counted on at all.

So for exclusive broadcasting rights, setting the price at around 35 million yuan was already quite high. Mr. Pei, being so careful with money, probably wouldn’t agree.

Erik replied: “Mr. Pei wants to buy exclusive rights? No problem. Fixed price of 35 million yuan. If Mr. Pei accepts this price…”

Pei Qian immediately agreed: “35 million? No problem.”

Actually, Pei Qian had expected 40 million yuan, so he was surprised that Erik’s quoted price was even lower than his expectation. He instantly felt like he’d gained something.

Erik’s second half of the sentence was stuck in his throat. Looking at the phone screen, he fell into silence.

Mr. Pei agreed so readily???

Judging from Erik and Zhao Xuming’s haggling with various streaming platforms these past few days, 35 million for exclusive broadcasting rights was definitely not low.

Yet Mr. Pei agreed without even thinking about it?

After ruling out the possibility that Mr. Pei was deliberately making fun of him, Erik really couldn’t figure out why.

Could it be… that there was some conspiracy behind this?

Or was there some unique value to the ICL league that he hadn’t discovered, other streaming platforms hadn’t discovered, but only Mr. Pei had discovered?

Mr. Pei’s readiness to agree actually left Erik unable to respond.

He couldn’t just finalize the contract right then and there, could he?

Erik absolutely did not want to sell ICL’s exclusive broadcasting rights to Mr. Pei. He was very worried that Mr. Pei would pull some trick and get one over on him.

But he was the one who had quoted the price, and Mr. Pei had already agreed. It didn’t seem appropriate to change his mind and refuse to sell at this point.

Erik quickly added a few conditions: “35 million is just the basic price. We also have many additional conditions. For example, you must ensure stable streaming without any disconnections or lag; you must utilize all of the platform’s promotional resources to promote ICL; the penalty for unilateral termination cannot be set too high.”

Erik wasn’t stupid. What if, after Mr. Pei bought ICL league’s exclusive broadcasting rights, he deliberately caused trouble, making Rabbit Tail Streaming very laggy and severely affecting the viewing experience?

If Mr. Pei traded Rabbit Tail Streaming for ICL league in a one-for-one extreme exchange, Mr. Pei would definitely come out ahead.

So Erik also proposed some rather harsh conditions, especially the last one, to stipulate the amount of the penalty. This way, even if there were problems later and they had to forcibly breach the contract, the loss would be controlled within an acceptable range.

Pei Qian nodded again: “No problem, we accept all these conditions.”

Erik was clearly overthinking.

If Pei Qian were to pull tricks and ruin the ICL league, wouldn’t that make GOG even more dominant? Wouldn’t Tenda earn even more?

Of course, he needed to properly broadcast ICL, help the Chinese server IOI get on its feet, and let Erik see hope, so they could continue to compete in burning money!

So Pei Qian accepted all these conditions.

Erik froze.

On the phone screen, Erik didn’t move at all, not even blinking.

Pei Qian thought his phone had frozen and asked: “Director Erik? Can you hear me?”

After a long while, Erik finally responded: “I can hear you.”

He never expected that Mr. Pei would agree to his price without a second thought and accept all his conditions without question!

If it were any other company instead of Tenda, Erik would have happily signed the contract with them by now.

But specifically with Tenda, with Mr. Pei, Erik needed a reason that could convince himself.

After considering for a long time, Erik said: “Mr. Pei, could you tell me why you want to buy ICL’s exclusive broadcasting rights? If you can give a sufficiently convincing reason, and if the contract is detailed enough, then I can consider it.”

Pei Qian immediately answered with the excuse he had already prepared: “Of course it’s because I want to promote Rabbit Tail Streaming.”

“Livestreaming is obviously one of the future trends. Currently, Rabbit Tail Streaming doesn’t have many exclusively owned content advantages compared to other streaming platforms. Buying ICL’s exclusive broadcasting rights is the first step for Rabbit Tail Streaming to challenge those established streaming platforms.”

This statement was complete nonsense, but it sounded extremely reasonable to Erik.

Erik asked: “Then why don’t you broadcast GPL on Rabbit Tail Streaming?”

“Uh…” Pei Qian stumbled for a moment.

Erik’s meaning was, if you want to expand Rabbit Tail Streaming, why don’t you put your own good resources on it? Why buy from me instead?

Very suspicious motivation!

But Pei Qian quickly recovered: “Currently, Rabbit Tail Streaming has just launched, and its architecture isn’t particularly stable yet. GPL’s broadcast has already been scheduled and will be up soon.”

You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. In order to eliminate Erik’s doubts and successfully buy ICL league’s exclusive broadcasting rights, he had no choice but to arrange for GPL’s broadcast on Rabbit Tail Streaming.

Erik nodded slightly, and the doubtful expression in his eyes finally diminished.

Since Mr. Pei was also putting the GPL league on Rabbit Tail Streaming, then there should be no major issues.

If Rabbit Tail Streaming didn’t have enough bandwidth and experienced lag, GPL’s broadcast would also be affected.

Moreover, when signing the contract, they could make a series of detailed agreements. If any problems arose, Erik could immediately terminate the cooperation.

If the fault was on Mr. Pei’s side, then Erik could partially refund according to the contract and naturally terminate the agreement; if the fault was on his side, the penalty would be set relatively low, allowing for timely damage control.

Erik considered carefully once more and found that he was actually tempted.

Undeniably, the conditions offered by Mr. Pei were much more generous than those from other streaming platforms.

These past few days, Erik and Zhao Xuming had been haggling and negotiating with these streaming platforms, already feeling extremely frustrated.

If they gave up this cooperation opportunity with Mr. Pei, who knew how long they would have to continue haggling with those streaming platforms? And the final price would probably not be as good as selling to Mr. Pei.

Although Mr. Pei’s motivation for buying ICL’s exclusive broadcasting rights seemed somewhat forced, it was still plausible. Because even if Mr. Pei didn’t buy it, ICL would still find a platform to broadcast, and it would still have the popularity it deserved; if Mr. Pei bought the exclusive rights, it would instead create popularity for Rabbit Tail Streaming, making it a win-win situation.

The logic flowed smoothly, and the motivation was reasonable.

Thinking of this, Erik nodded: “Well, Mr. Pei, let me discuss with Director Zhao and our legal department to draft a detailed contract, and then we can further discuss the cooperation details. If Mr. Pei is genuinely interested in cooperation, then there’s no need for us to give up a win-win opportunity due to our positions.”

Pei Qian smiled slightly: “Good, then I’ll await your good news.”

After hanging up the video call, Pei Qian looked at Chen Yufeng: “It’s done. Have the legal department study the contract.”

Chen Yufeng was somewhat dumbfounded.

It was settled just like that?

With just a few words, Mr. Pei had convinced their archenemy Erik to sell ICL’s exclusive broadcasting rights to us?

Although the price seemed somewhat inflated and not very cost-effective, if Mr. Pei thought it was worth it, then it must be worth it.

Chen Yufeng didn’t dare say anything more and immediately nodded: “Yes, Mr. Pei, I’ll arrange it right away!”