Full text of Li Ruigang's stunning speech: Subversion and Reshaping
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I graduated from Fudan University in 1991 and from graduate school in 1994. My first job was as a TV program director at Shanghai TV Station. 20 years ago, I had not left campus yet and was still working on my thesis. I was studying the history of Chinese journalism and I once read old newspapers and magazines from the Republic of China in the library in Xujiahui. I can still clearly remember the smell of old ink on those old newspapers. You can smell the warmth and bloodiness of history. I have a sense of sacredness in the taste of history. I think that in the future I can become a successor of the journalism career who "shoulders the moral responsibility with a strong shoulder and writes articles with skillful hands" like my predecessors, and carry forward the newsprint business. History is so wonderful that it will always exceed the expectations of ordinary people. Now, 20 years later, I am here to share my thoughts on the media. When driving change, the media environment around us has undergone earth-shaking changes. The media environment we are familiar with is changing. Sometimes we feel that we were born at the wrong time, and sometimes we think we were born at the right time. It is precisely because of this huge pressure of change that we are forced to think and act. My personal growth experience actually represents the process of an industry bidding farewell to the past, turning around at this moment, and looking to the future. We need to re-understand our media ecological environment. The organization of traditional media is being restructured and reconstructed. Our problem is that the basic platform, basic structure, and infrastructure we rely on are being rapidly deconstructed and subverted. The paper media and distribution channels that traditional newsprint relies on, the wireless, cable, and satellite that radio and television rely on, and the distribution channels of movies, these basic structures that support the development of the news industry are being deconstructed by the Internet. Changes in the downstream will in turn affect changes in our production methods. The way traditional news media are organized is undergoing greater changes. Traditional media individuals and organizations are organized in a linear way, which is unified and has a sense of belonging. The Internet deconstructs these individuals from existing organizations and restructures them in new ways to become new mobile Internet organizations. This change is extremely profound. We are just crossing the threshold of this change. We are just beginning to feel the temperature of this change's future subversion of the entire industry. The unavoidable problem we are facing now is that our essential starting point is traditional media. Now traditional media around the world are seeking transformation, but this road is not easy. When our infrastructure is overturned, we only have one card: content. We are the original creators of content. However, we are just one of the countless content creators on the Internet, nothing more than a branded and authoritative organization, but countless individuals are also producing content, distracting our traffic and attention. Therefore, for traditional media with content as its gene, the difficulty of change is a problem faced by the whole world. In the past two weeks, I have communicated with many foreign media colleagues. Murdoch, the new CEO of Warner Bros., and others all talked about this proposition in their long or short exchanges. It gave me a lot of inspiration and strengthened my belief in promoting a new round of development of SMG. I believe that our path is right. Who will create the greatest value of the future media? Channels or content? This question has been under discussion. Now it seems that the power of channels is very strong. When I first started working at the TV station, I saw Oriental Pearl TV, which transmitted signals to thousands of households. This is a simple closed loop of media communication. If we simply maintain this state today, we cannot rely on the traditional model. Today, in the process of transmitting signals from Oriental Pearl to ordinary people's homes, countless changes have occurred, and many different roles have emerged. Channels include IPTV, OTT, and SmartTV, and more institutions have emerged. The user's terminal has also changed, and it is no longer simply sitting in front of the TV. These roles are adjusting the structure of the industry. The closed loop of sales has been opened, and many new roles have appeared in the transmission chain. We found that the closer you are to the user, the more valuable the channel is. When you don't control the user interface, your value is greatly discounted. The interesting thing is that when there are so many channels, the transmission costs are getting lower and lower, when the terminals are getting more and more convenient, and when the communication methods of various channels become similar, then content becomes a resource that everyone competes for. This change is a mutual game. Strong content can help channels generate, stimulate and attract traffic. In this game between channels and content, the content itself is also an entrance and becomes a powerful entrance to attract traffic. For SMG, are we wavering between the two ends, or are we integrating? In the vast media landscape, not everyone has the opportunity to do so. As a traditional media with content genes, we cannot shrink back, we cannot be content with our genes, and we cannot leapfrog. Today, we must leapfrog and integrate, we must enter the field of channel construction, and we must rebuild the lost platforms. This is our choice. Not everyone can do this, but every country must have a media group to shoulder this mission, straddling both ends, becoming the creator, integrator and distributor of high-quality content, and also a builder of channels. This is the goal we want to build after the reorganization. We will not stop at the existing advantages of content. In the reorganized landscape, we must have a voice and build new platforms and channels. We have thought clearly that we need to do both ends, which is easier said than done. However, as long as we stick to our goals, pursue excellence, and provide users with the best experience, we will be able to gain traffic, grasp both ends, and become a high-quality integrator. What is Internet thinking? For traditional media groups, it is the subversion and integration of content and channels. For all our employees, we need to change our minds, brainwash, and use Internet thinking to restructure the entire new listed company, including the holding group company. We must cover both ends, not neglect either, and go hand in hand. We should not simply rely on the original advantages, but subvert and develop in a rolling manner. The mission of the listed company is first to implant the Internet gene. The new listed company should become the starting point for the subversion of the entire SMG. SMG has a strong content gene. Today we want to implant the Internet gene into the traditional media group. At the same time, we must lead, force and promote the transformation of the entire SMG because of the changes in the listed company. The new listed company is a capital platform. There is no doubt that we have a broader connection with the capital market. However, in my mind, I see it more as a new media platform. We use the leverage of capital to build a new platform that represents the future of SMG and allows us to actively explore the new media ecosystem. I have said on many occasions that the whole company will be listed. Now a considerable part of SMG's operational assets have been injected into the new listed company. We will continue to work hard in the future, but it is not a simple asset injection and profit splicing. I hope it will be a comprehensive change in thinking, organizational structure, production model, and technical process. In other words, the day of the overall listing is the day when the entire group completely embraces the Internet. Our new platform is to activate the Internet gene for the future. Looking to the future, we must base ourselves on history. Oriental Pearl Tower is a pioneer in China's cultural system reform. 20 years ago, Pudong was developed and opened up. Oriental Pearl Tower came into being on this hot land under our feet. It is China's first cultural listed company and a cultural brand that makes China proud. When we stand here today and promote the reorganization, we must pay tribute to the contributors in the past, because that is the starting point of our reform. BesTV is a case study of traditional broadcasting and television, which is struggling to survive and develop in the face of network changes and new media competition. We have broken through our own boundaries and cooperated with telecom operators to create a new way of television transmission that has never been seen before, and also created a new listed company. The achievement is not in creating a new market value, but also in contributing to the integration of the three networks. We thank all the participants and supporters who have supported BesTV's growth over the past years. We are now facing a new SMG, a new SMG after the integration of the big and small SMGs. We have a vision: to become China's most innovative and internationally influential radio, television and comprehensive cultural industry group. This is our expectation for the future. We hope that such a group will continue to change, be the most innovative, and represent China to the world. In the future, the relationship between SMG and listed companies. First of all, it is imperative that listed companies operate independently and in compliance with regulations. In the past few months, we have spent a lot of time setting boundaries and formulating rules of the game, which is the first rule. However, the relationship between listed companies and SMG is a coupled development, like two gears working together, moving forward, and promoting development. In the future, we have some ideas that are being promoted. For example, in the past, we had the wireless transmission of Dragon TV, and now we are studying wireless digital transmission. An important investment direction after financing is the Internet and mobile Internet, of which OTT and SmartTV are very important. We need to establish the high point of our channels and new platform support in this field. In the process of content reaching users, we need to have our own platform and channel at the end with the greatest value. Content investment will also be an important field. It is not just about investing in a few TV series and movies, but also about thinking completely on the Internet. Traditional linear communication will be subverted. The value that these contents may bring is still low now. With the iteration of the population, these contents will explode with greater value. As cheap handheld terminals continue to develop in third- and fourth-tier cities, this value will explode. We must break our existing understanding and thinking. Breakthrough in business formats. We have already formed existing business formats, and there are still many areas that need breakthroughs. We are also thinking about how to enter the data field recently. The first breakthrough is in the field of financial data, financial information and commercial financial data. Due to confidentiality agreements, we cannot say it now, but we will announce it soon, perhaps next week. We will have strategic connections with a large platform with unique resource advantages in the financial industry. International exchanges and cooperation have been SMG's strengths in the past. Next, we will enhance the business capabilities of the newly listed company through international cooperation. Yesterday, we announced that we will further expand our cooperation with Disney. In 2016, we will release a documentary film called Born in China with Disney worldwide. This is a big film showing China's natural geography, and the first one is about to be completed. We have established a joint creative team with Disney, and will have a comprehensive cooperation in film and television. Now we have specific cooperation items, execution plans, and budget plans. We will cooperate in a joint venture company to jointly operate the digital development of Disney's high-quality content. We will also cooperate with Silicon Valley. The new listed company will launch a fund in Silicon Valley to leverage the source of Internet change. We will set up a base there to research and discover the latest Internet and mobile Internet technologies, invest and incubate them there, and bring them to China to promote our development. We will also establish cooperation with the world's largest program model company to transplant the creative production process to China. We will have a series of cooperation and exploration in international cooperation. Our ambition is not only to transform ourselves, but also to establish the image of Chinese media. This is our dream. What will the future listed companies look like? First, diversified content supply. SMG has advantages in the layout of various content fields. We will provide the most diversified and rich content supply. Listed companies will participate in investment and strategic decision-making in the future. The layout of the entire industry chain, from content to channels, from online to offline, our next step will be to study the development of offline industries, such as the tourism industry and the performing arts industry. These offline industries will be reorganized with the Internet. Content supply is the continuous creation of IP (content copyright). In the process, listed companies invest in and own these IPs, and the Internet channels allow these IPs to reach users and create new value. This is our layout of the entire industry chain, allowing online IPs to gain new opportunities for rebirth and new value discovery offline. This is our conception. How to give shareholders the greatest return? This is the question we need to answer. Always think about the future with curiosity and become a game-changer in the industry with execution. Curiosity refers to a humble, inclusive, open attitude that always expects to be overturned to look at new things, embrace new things, and welcome the arrival of a new era. At the same time, we want to be game changers. For listed companies, creating profits and meeting targets is their due responsibility. However, to create the greatest value, it is not enough to just focus on financial statements. Only by positioning our mission as an industry game changer can we tolerate temporary investment and short-term returns that cannot be realized. However, as long as we are an industry game changer, we will create the greatest value for shareholders in the long run. This is our goal. In early 2002, I was studying in the United States and I worked as an intern at Fox News. I will always remember one thing that happened during the internship. One day, I had to report an event that happened in China. I had learned about the coverage of domestic media before. In the pre-editing meeting, I clearly felt that the content they discussed was different from what I saw, and even distorted and misrepresented. I suggested that they read the reports of Chinese media to at least balance them. Perhaps because of time constraints, or perhaps because of arrogance and prejudice, the news director said: Today, the American media has the final say in this world. This sentence deeply stimulated me. It was not a narrow sense of nationality or professional self-esteem that was stimulated, but what is the meaning of our existence? Walking out of the office, in early spring New York, the cold wind blew on my face, and the neon lights were flashing. I had a very strong wish in my heart: I want to go back, I want to rely on my own efforts to make the Chinese media proud, stand up, make their own voices, and let China have a place in the world's media landscape. This has been a driving force for me over the years. For SMG to move forward, we need not only our own efforts, but also investors and shareholders who share the same belief as us, believe in the future, and believe that Chinese media can stand up proudly. Thank you everyone. As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity. |
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