Chapter 158 Who Would Get Big Cat TV?
"You didn't bring your phone? That's okay, just give me your phone number, or your Facebook or Twitter handle!" Nancy continued to smile as she spoke.
Charles was speechless as he thought, 'Anyone can take the hint that I'm turning her down, right?
In this day and age, who doesn't carry their phone with them?
It was such an obvious excuse. She can't possibly not get it, right?'
But Nancy didn't feel awkward at all. After being rejected, she seemed to admire Charles even more!
"Actually, I have a bad memory and can't remember my phone number!" Charles said.
"Not remembering your phone number is fine, I'll have someone look it up!" Nancy said, still smiling.
Charles nearly choked on his own tongue when he heard that. He thought, 'As expected of the daughter of a top executive, she's used to getting whatever she wants. She's very direct and assertive. She may look delicate on the outside, but she has a very strong personality.'
Charles may have been surprised by Nancy's behavior, but there was someone who was even more shocked than he was—Tony.
'With my status as a domineering CEO who is worth billions of dollars, and a representative of outstanding young people in Syeattel, even I have to move carefully when pursuing Nancy. I want to find someone of equal status to build a strong alliance, but Nancy doesn't pay me any mind at all.
Yet Mr. Smoke, who had never paid much attention to Nancy from the beginning, practically had her eating out of the palm of his hand.
It was so heartbreaking and infuriating! Tony felt as though he had truly failed, and that Charles had completely outdone him!
'I have never really experienced this feeling before. I am always the one outdoing others. When have I ever been outdone by someone else?' Tony thought.
Because Nancy looked at Charles differently, Tony also started to increasingly dislike Charles.
He used to think about befriending Mr. Smoke, but if Mr. Smoke was going to compete with him for a woman, he could just as easily turn hostile!
"There really is no way to deter you, is there?" Charles said as he took out his phone and opened Facebook.
He felt obligated to do so, but felt a bit good when he was forced by a girl to give his contact information.
"I knew you had your phone with you," Nancy gave Charles a sidelong glance. After getting his contact information, she seemed a bit smug.
'Indeed, things I work hard to get are more satisfying; I don't care for things that are handed to me!' she thought.
"Everyone, the items we are auctioning next will be a bit different from before. They are not jewelry, jade, or art and cultural relics, but rather the collateral auction of bankrupt companies. The first company we are auctioning is called Big Cat TV.
"The name Big Cat TV should be familiar to everyone. During the golden age of internet streaming platforms, Big Cat TV was once one of the top five streaming platforms in the country. It was on par with Shark Platform, with a market value once exceeding 200 million dollars. Later, for various reasons, Big Cat TV declared bankruptcy. It has already been auctioned once before, and now the current owner is putting it up for auction again. The starting bid is 150 thousand dollars!"
As the auctioneer spoke, many people were stunned.
They didn't expect that Big Cat TV, once valued at 200 million dollars, now had a starting bid of only 150 thousand dollars.
But thinking about it, it made sense.
During the dot-com bubble, everything was ridiculously overpriced. Investors were throwing money at anything that sounded remotely related to the internet. When the dot-com bubble burst, the devastation for investors was widespread.
A streaming platform that had been closed for two or three years, with all its hosts having left, was basically worthless. On top of that, it still had unpaid bank debts.
If someone took over this company, it meant he had to pay off its debts.
Honestly, besides the name Big Cat TV, no one would probably want this company even if it were given away for free. The current landscape of internet streaming platforms was already set. Shark Live, Dragon Tooth Live, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube had already taken over the market.
Any streaming platform with a bit of fame was backed by big companies or capital channels. They either had the resources to drive traffic or were very powerful with strong software features and excellent algorithms. Some could even just be throwing money around.
Ordinary people wouldn't dare to take over such a streaming platform. Even if you had billions of dollars in assets, it might still be hard to manage, especially when the market was already saturated. Entering this industry rashly could cost a person everything and leave them with nothing.
So after the auctioneer called out the starting bid of 150 thousand dollars, everyone remained silent.
No one seemed to want to make a bid.
It felt like this once 200-million-dollar streaming giant was now worth less than a pair of signed Kobe sneakers.
It was very ironic but realistic!
It was not that people couldn't afford it, but that they couldn't make a profit after buying it!
"150 thousand dollars!"
Charles looked around. Since there were no other bidders, he decided to go for the minimum price.
Spending money lavishly was his forte! He loved doing this kind of thing!
Whether it could be profitable was not his concern. The important thing was to spend money.
Given the current state of the internet streaming industry, if someone wanted to break through the monopoly of major platforms, they had to keep investing.
Spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year for it was very common. Just hiring one top host might cost tens of millions a year!
If you hired about a dozen, it would cost over a hundred million dollars a year.
Then there was high-paying recruitment for technicians, supervisors, planners, operations and finance staff, etc.
Add on the huge expenses needed for advertising, Charles estimated that buying this platform could end up costing him at least a billion dollars a year.
"Alright, Mr. Smoke in seat number five has bid 150 thousand dollars. Is there anyone willing to bid higher?"
"150 thousand dollars going once!"
"150 thousand dollars going twice!"
"Is there really no higher bid? This was once a 200-million-dollar large streaming platform!"
The auctioneer asked several times, but apart from Charles, no one else had placed a bid!
"150 thousand dollars going thrice, and sold!
"Big Cat TV has been auctioned off to Mr. Smoke for 150 thousand dollars. Congratulations, Mr. Smoke! Let's hope Big Cat TV can regain its former glory under Mr. Smoke's ownership!"
The audience erupted in applause. Given the strength of character that Mr. Smoke had shown, he seemed indeed capable of making a mark in the streaming field!
If Big Cat TV really made a comeback, it would be a competitor to Shark Live!
Sitting one seat away from Charles, to Tony's left, was Gary Collins, who gave Charles a sharp look.
Charles didn't care at all.
He was just thinking about who to give Big Cat TV to.
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