The Tyrant Billionaire

The French girl's French was obviously much better than Hardy's, as it was her native language.

Irina was very smart and memorized everything after just three tries. She lay on Hardy's chest and sang softly.

Even though her voice wasn't as good as Ava Gardner's, for someone with a hosting background, singing such a lyrical song was no challenge.

Listening to her voice, Hardy found it very pleasing.

"Hardy, I want to sing this song myself, get someone to arrange the music and record a record. What do you think?" Irina asked excitedly.

"No problem, HD Films has a dedicated record company. You can ask Edward to arrange it for you. Why not have the record company write a few more songs for you to create an album, with this song 'Irina' as the title track."

"Oh, an album?"

"Don't you like it?"

"Of course, I like it."

Irina happily rubbed her 35D against Hardy, making him excited again.

...

The next day.

Hardy went to ABC TV and called for the director, William Fox. After chatting for a while, Fox announced a general meeting, and everyone in the broadcasting company gathered in the main studio.

William Fox stood on the stage.

The three directors, hosts, main actors, editors, producers, lighting and stage designers, photographers, and prop managers sat below.

Due to NBC and CBS's large scale poaching, there was indeed some unrest within ABC, so a meeting was needed to stabilize the situation.

Appeasement? Raise salaries? Coax?

People will only get spoiled by those, not disciplined.

William Fox spoke calmly: "I know that NBC and CBS, or other companies, have approached you. I've called everyone here today to say a few words."

"ABC, though newly established, is a company with unlimited prospects. It will undoubtedly become one of the largest broadcasting companies in America, it already is.

"Before joining, you all signed agreements with the company. I hope you remember the terms of those agreements: a penalty of millions of dollars for breach of contract and a clause prohibiting work in related industries for five years. If someone leaves, I don't know if they'll have a better future or ruin themselves."

"I won't stop it because it's a legal act. This is the enemy's plot. Do they really want to poach everyone? No, they just want to destabilize the company and affect ABC's normal operations, nothing more."

...

"ABC TV's "Noon News Time."

Two hosts reported domestic and international news, then mentioned the Los Angeles Times' survey on the three major TV stations.

First place: "Bewitched," second place: "Television Shopping," third place: "Irina Tonight Show," fourth place: "Colorful Cartoons," and fifth place: "Andy Economic Forum."

In the single item ratings survey, ABC took the top five spots.

In the overall ratings survey, ABC reached a terrifying 68%.

The male host suddenly smiled and said, "No wonder other TV stations are poaching people from ABC. I guess they feel threatened."

"Ah, did someone approach you too? Who?" the female host asked gossipily.

"Someone from NBC's HR department approached me, offering better conditions to move over. Did someone approach you too?" the male host asked.

"Yes, someone from CBS approached me with similar promises, offering better conditions to make me switch," the female host said.

At first, viewers didn't pay much attention, as news usually covers national affairs. Suddenly, the hosts started talking about poaching, making many who were watching the noon news perk up.

Gossip is always the most attractive news.

Especially when it involves national broadcasters like NBC and CBS poaching people and being exposed in the news. How interesting!

Viewers were thrilled.

The hosts continued discussing the topic. The female host said, "I heard they're also trying to poach the main actors of 'Bewitched.'"

"What no way. If they're poached, how will 'Bewitched' continue? Even if they switch, they can't take the show with them, so viewers won't be able to watch it."

The female host shrugged, "I guess they just want to sabotage. They don't care if viewers can continue watching 'Bewitched.' The survey shows 'Bewitched' has an 86% rating, so some people might be insanely jealous."

There's no shortage of quarrels between big companies.

But it's rare to see such matters openly discussed.

Wow, that's big news.

ABC is bold, making itself news and daring to expose its own secrets.

People don't believe the hosts would be so naive to talk about this, it must be authorized by ABC's higher ups.

People had one feeling:

ABC TV's style is tough.

NBC and CBS executives quickly received reports. They were watching ABC closely, and as soon as this news broke, they were informed.

Both executives were surprised.

Commercial competition.

Their tactics were common: undermining competitors. But no one had ever openly discussed it with the public.

ABC's approach seemed crude to them, not following standard business practices.

After cursing, They began to worry. Would ABC face them head on, or would they poach their people?

Poaching NBC and CBS people, Hardy wasn't interested.

He could train anyone into a star with good conditions, so why spend a lot of money poaching?

Hardy called Henry.

"NBC and CBS headquarters are in New York. Take people to New York, there are two things you need to do."

Hardy gave detailed instructions.

Henry nodded repeatedly.

Then Henry took over twenty intelligence officers to New York. Hardy also called the old Godfather, asking for a small favor. After all, New York was the Corleone family's base, making it more convenient for them to do things.

...

The Next Day

Los Angeles Times

In the supplement section, an interview article was published.

"Yesterday, two news anchors from ABC Television revealed during the program that they were being poached by other networks. Not only them but also the lead actors of 'Bewitched,' hosts of 'Television Shopping,' Ms. Susan from 'Beautiful Kitchen,' and even ordinary staff members were all being poached."

"A questionnaire survey a few days ago showed that ABC has surpassed NBC and CBS in a short time to become the TV network with the highest ratings and most popular programs in the country. The other two networks must be under a lot of pressure."