Enlight Media's net profit has increased more than threefold in 5 years. Wang Changtian's small goal is Disney

"Now that Enlight Media has taken the first step and the second step has just begun, Enlight Media will become a 'full content + all-channel' entertainment group in the future, like Disney. We still have a long way to go." Wang changtian

"In this industry, even a small matter can stir up a big topic." This was the first topic that Wang Changtian, chairman of Enlight Media, talked about after taking his seat. On October 11, the excitement during the National Day holiday had not yet dissipated. The reporter met Wang Changtian in a teahouse on the Second Ring Road in Beijing City.

This head of a film and television company who was born in the media still maintains some habits of a media person and asks reporters questions from time to time during the interview.

When talking about the old topic of channels and content, Wang Changtian said that content does not need to compromise with channels. After all,"head content" is always scarce.

In Wang Changtian's mind, a "three-step" roadmap has already been clearly planned,"Now that Enlight Media has taken the first step, and the second step has just begun, Enlight Media will become a 'full content + omni-channel' entertainment group in the future., like Disney. We still have a long way to go."

China's "Sixth National Congress" is taking shape

during the National Day period, and the issue of box office water injection has once again returned to everyone's attention. In the past two years, some people in the film and television industry believe that "channels are king" and whoever has a movie theater will have the advantage.

In 2016,"I am Not Pan Jinlian" was released, but the box office was not very good. Director Feng Xiaogang personally went to the scene to "tear up" the Wanda Theater Line, saying that its schedule was squeezed. Since then, for every movie released, the theater's schedule share has become the focus of attention.

But in Wang Changtian's view, this view over-amplifies the theater's right to speak. "China does not have a 'Paramount bill'. This does not mean that theaters and content parties can expand indefinitely. The number one theater line currently ranks first has a market share of only 13%. Although he squeezed hard, how big will it affect the box office of a film? It can only be said that the producer has its own theater line, so the cost will be lower."

Talking about the relationship between content and channels, Wang Changtian bluntly said,"Looking at the American entertainment market, how strong the producers of the 'Big Six' are, the strength of China's channels is only temporary, because channels can be copied, but good content cannot be copied. Every time technology advances, new channels will be created and old channels will be eliminated. Channels will be very strong in the early stages of formation. As we walk, there will be no shortage of channels. China's 'Sixth National Congress' is also taking shape."

Wang Changtian didn't seem to care much about the restrictions on movie scheduling in theaters. "On the one hand, the proportion of box office revenue of a movie in the entire industry will decline in the long run. The proportion in the United States is about 30%, China is about 70%-80% now, and it is a reasonable level to drop to 50% in the future. On the other hand, theaters are not completely irreplaceable. At present, the ticket sales volume of ticketing platforms reaches 80%. If a theater loses the services of the ticketing platform, it will definitely have a great impact on its box office."

So, Enlight Media's plan is to use Cat's Eye as a ticketing platform to hedge the theater's right to speak?

After listening to the reporter's question, Wang Changtian smiled and did not answer directly,"The cat's eye is the cat's eye of China's film industry, not the light's own cat's eye. Cat's Eye has the opportunity and ability to maintain the film industry."

At the same time, Wang Changtian also said that Cat's Eye has always been developed independently. Although there is no specific timetable, Cat's Eye tends to be listed independently in the future.

Net profit has increased more than threefold in five years

. In fact, during the 2017 National Day holiday, the box office of "Sewing Machine Band" produced by Enlight Media was not ideal. According to Cat's Eye Professional APP data, as of October 15,"Sewing Machine Band" has been released for 17 days and achieved box office revenue of 352 million yuan, ranking fourth in the same period of film competition, and the box office gap between the first place "Shame Iron Fist" reached 1.5 billion yuan.

Some commentators in the industry believe that there is not much difference in their standards for the same comedy genre. They originally thought that "Sewing Machine Band" and "Shame Iron Fist" could compete head-on, but they didn't expect the box office gap to be so big.

Wang Changtian frankly admitted that "Sewing Machine Band" did not meet expectations."Dapeng's previous work" Pancake Man "was so good at the box office that it consumed his popularity in advance, which led to the unsatisfactory box office this time." He believes that when investors inspect a company, they should focus on the long-term trend, see whether profits are getting higher and higher, and whether the company is getting better and better."If you follow such a company, you will not suffer losses. The short-term success or failure of a movie and the box office volume are all temporary fluctuations."

In August 2011, Enlight Media went public, achieving a total operating income of 698 million yuan and a net profit of 176 million yuan that year. Looking back at last year's performance, in 2016, Enlight Media achieved total operating income of 1.731 billion yuan and net profit of 741 million yuan. In five years, revenue increased by 148%, and net profit increased by 321%.

Nowadays, Light is still a "small company" and there is still a lot of room for development in the future. "In terms of market value, the market value of media and entertainment groups in the United States is at least about US$50 billion. In contrast, there are very few domestic entertainment companies with a market value of 50 billion yuan." Wang Changtian believes that there is unlimited space for China's film and television industry in the future.

In

the past two years, the stock prices of listed companies in the cultural media industry have continued to decline at the top of the box office for three consecutive years. "We can't influence the general trend, but we can be ourselves." Wang Changtian said.

Around 2012, Wang Changtian realized in time that the TV market had begun to decline, and the company had been in the film and television business for 9 years at that time. With the support of the film business, Enlight Media gradually stopped all TV business and its main focus shifted to movies. In the past five years, the cultural media industry has developed rapidly. Enlight Media has just the right time. With its listing and additional issuance, it has raised approximately 4 billion yuan in capital and is on the fast lane.

Today, Enlight Media has firmly established itself in the first echelon of the film industry. Wang Changtian said: "For three consecutive years in 2014, 2016, and 2015, among comprehensive film companies, our box office share ranked first in the country."

"In fact, as of now, 4 of the top 10 domestic films in box office revenue are produced by Light." Among the box office records of domestic films, there are also many projects in which light participates, such as "Lost in Thailand","The Quest for the Dragon", and "Mermaid".

Wang Changtian believes that most of the blockbuster movies are predictable and can be analyzed in advance from various factors such as theme, story characters, directors, actors, market competition status, schedule, and marketing points. Based on its unique analysis method, Enlight Media can successfully determine the approximate level of a film. "Of course, there are also accidents. There have been situations where unpopular dark horses and popular models are not popular, but the probability is relatively small."

Independent entertainment groups move in three steps.

"This industry changes rapidly, almost every six months. We have a directional plan internally for the company's future and become an independent media and entertainment group." Wang Changtian repeatedly emphasized that he should not rely on other large companies or channels, but should be a company with all "content + channels".

The direction of development is there, but it is impossible to develop by leaps and bounds. It always has to be done step by step. Wang Changtian quickly described the blueprint for the future, as if everything was already engraved in his mind.

"The first step is to become the best content company in China, and the next step is to expand its scale.

The second step is to build a content ecosystem through investment and cooperation. High-quality content does not have to be produced by yourself. Light can be connected to good content through cooperation and investment. Cooperation means that the company can participate in the production and distribution process of a certain project and become a preferred partner. Light currently has invested in nearly 60 companies, and through investment, it can create cooperation with other projects. For example, during this year's National Day holiday, Light itself voted for "Sewing Machine Band", while joint-stock company Xinli Media participated in "Shame Iron Fist". No matter which movie wins the box office, Light is the beneficiary.

In the future, at least 30 of the top 50 films in the country must be related to light. This greatly enhances our resource mobilization capabilities across the industry. We can coordinate the relationship between the entire industry and projects and obtain better and lower-cost resources for investors and partners.

The third step is to become an entertainment media group with tight equity. Like Disney, Disney owns Marvel and Pixar, both of which are 100% owned. But Light is different. We are now mainly investing small amounts to increase cooperation opportunities and reduce risks.

What I am doing now is observing and paving the way for more cooperation in the future. Investment in large equity in valuable companies will not be ruled out in the future. However, this cannot be done at this moment. With the market being so impetuous, if you make a large equity investment, on the one hand, the underlying price will be inflated; on the other hand, you will face the risk of losing the founding team after the acquisition is completed. If after buying it back, the founder leaves or is not fully committed, it is equivalent to buying an empty shell. So now we need to be more safe and enter from small equity. "

Wang Changtian believes that the light is now taking the first two steps, especially since the second step has just begun.

Before leaving, the reporter passed by the office building of Enlight Media and found that the red-letter sign "Cat's Eye Entertainment" had been newly erected on the other side of the door, which was particularly dazzling.

Editor: Mary