A well-known producer of Tencent Video has been investigated by the Chief Investigator, and the road to anti-corruption on the video platform is heavy and a long way to go
Our reporter Xie Ruolin
Recently, there have been rumors in the industry that Tencent Video producer Zhang was under investigation for being involved in the "Yin-Yang Contract" case of "A Chinese Ghost Story" starring Zheng Shuang, and his direct leader Fang was also involved in the case.
In this regard, on October 26, Tencent Group responded to the "Securities Daily" reporter, saying that in the recent anti-fraud investigation, Tencent found that Zhang, the producer of Tencent’s video film and television project, violated the company’s “high-voltage line” and was suspected of breaking the law. It has been handed over to the judicial authorities for processing.
The police has opened a case for investigation.
The online transmission of our claims involving the Yin-Yang contract is based on misinformation.
It is reported that the anti-fraud investigation is a prescribed action of Tencent Group's internal review and is conducted every year.
In the third quarter of this year, Tencent Group has dealt with 59 people in anti-fraud investigations.
"However, the case under investigation of Zhang is not the same as these 59 people." A person familiar with the matter told a reporter from the Securities Daily that the Internet rumor that Zhang was involved in the case of "A Chinese Ghost Story" is also not true. "A Chinese Ghost Story" belongs to a copyrighted drama. For non-customized dramas, many parent video companies have purchased the copyright of the drama.
"As long as it is produced by Tencent Video, the producers involved will be named. This case has little to do with "A Chinese Ghost Story" and Zheng Shuang."
According to related reports, Zhang works at Tencent Video’s Tianpeng Studio, and his direct leader Fang is the management of Tencent Video and is responsible for the project development of film and television dramas.
According to the data, Fang and Zhang have served as supervisors and producers of several Tencent Video series, including "Skyscraper", "Listen to the Phoenix", and "Lord of the Moon" and "Snow Eagle" that have not yet been filmed.
On October 25th, Fang also attended the launching ceremony of "Ruyue".
Siqisheng CEO Wu Daiqi told the "Securities Daily" reporter that the production process of a film and television drama involves the use of huge human, financial and material resources.
The coordinators, such as TV series producers or film producers, have the highest decision-making power over the daily operations and project budgets of the entire crew.
Similar to a CEO in a company, corruption in such a position is also possible.
"From the perspective of the drama industry, the current industry monolithic cost is usually more than 5 million yuan, and the S-level drama can even reach 20 million yuan. The production cost of a drama can easily exceed 100 million yuan. , The producer has a wide range of say, such as the content of the script, the selection of casting, the choice of advertising placement, etc., there is too much room for favoritism and fraud." A film and television company founder said.
In fact, corruption in the film and television industry is not uncommon.
It has been disclosed by a listed company in the film and television industry that from October 2011 to April of the following year, employees of the company gave two trolley boxes containing 400,000 yuan in cash and 800,000 yuan in cash to Yu Yu, the director of the editor-in-chief office of Anhui Radio and Television. certain.
Yu arranged for the TV station to purchase a number of TV series produced by the company.
In 2015, the Anhui Radio and Television Department was thoroughly investigated, many officials were dismissed, and a wide range of film and television companies were implicated.
With the entry of Internet companies, the important purchasers of film and television dramas have gradually evolved from television stations to long video platforms. The roles of supervisors and producers of Internet platforms have also replaced the director of the editor-in-chief office.
In August 2013, Liu Chunning, the former general manager of Tencent's online video department, resigned and then joined Ali.
The following year, during an internal audit of Tencent, it was discovered that the video team led by Liu Chunning was suspected of corruption.
At that time, the prosecutor in the case accused Liu Chunning of suspicion of interfering with the rating of the TV series "Heroes from Ancient Times" and taking bribes of 1.43 million yuan.
At the same time, Liu Chunning was accused of taking 700,000 yuan in bribes when purchasing two dramas "Baby" and "Lanling King".
In December 2018, Yang Weidong, the former president of Alibaba Entertainment Youku and Alibaba Music CEO, cooperated with the police investigation due to economic problems.
According to the verdict, during his tenure as the president of Youku, Yang Weidong took advantage of his position to illegally accept bribes totaling 8.55 million yuan.
"The outstanding problem of corruption in the film and television industry is that the entire industry does not have a standard industrialization process. The subjective consciousness of a drama is very obvious. There is no standard answer to how and who will be filmed. Therefore, the person who decides the decision has the power. Space for rent-seeking." An analyst in the film and television industry told the Securities Daily reporter that with the continuous strengthening of anti-corruption efforts within Internet groups, the space for corruption is also decreasing. The regular circulation of positions, the control of "bribery units", and the establishment of industry "blacklists" are also very important.
(Securities Daily)