A little old news about Duan Xuan, Wang Sicong and banana sports
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If Duan Xuan left CCTV, instead of devoting himself to entrepreneurship and aspiring to become an entrepreneur, but only as a KOL in the sports circle, making money by commenting on competitions, hosting programs and participating in commercial activities, would the second half of his life be more dashing and calm.
Author丨Zhang Bin
Picture丨From the Internet
Around the end of April, I heard the news of Duan Xuan's disappearance, most likely related to Liu Aijie, former chairman of the China Rowing Association and China Canoe Association and former director of the Olympic Preparation Office of the State General Administration of Sports.
Duan Xuan's reputation in the circle is okay, and the sports media circle has not publicly disclosed it before the official announcement of conclusive news. Today, the explosive news was still revealed: insiders disclosed to Caixin that Duan Xuan was suspected of bribing Liu Aijie to seek relevant benefits in the cross-discipline and cross-border selection of materials for the preparation for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The rumors were disclosed by authoritative media and immediately became a hot topic in the sports circle. Before the official disclosure of the case, I have no intention of speculating. In fact, since hearing the news of Duan Xuan's disappearance, the question I have been thinking about is: if after he left CCTV, instead of devoting himself to entrepreneurship and aspiring to become an entrepreneur, but only as a KOL in the sports circle, making money by commenting on competitions, hosting programs and participating in commercial activities, would the second half of his life be more dashing and calm.
In other words, if he hadn't entered Wang Sicong's "bureau" and didn't go to the muddy waters of entrepreneurship, his life would have been destined to see a different kind of scenery.
It all started with Document No. 46 issued in 2014. Document No. 46 is like a spring breeze, blowing the spring water (or muddy waters) of the sports industry.
Taking advantage of the sports industry, Wang Sicong also established a company called Banana Project Sports (hereinafter referred to as "Banana Sports") in early 2016. In line with LeEco Sports' path of poaching famous mouth Liu Jianhong, Banana Sports invited another CCTV famous mouth Duan Xuan as CEO.
Celebrities come with content attributes. As soon as Banana Sports was born, it seemed reasonable to cut into the content field.
2016 itself was a big year for sports, with the European Championship and the Olympic Games taking place. At the same time, the Thousand Broadcasts War is in full swing, and Wang Sicong's "Panda TV" is in the limelight. Taking advantage of the competition, Banana Sports has created two programs, "Banana Ball - Live France" and "Banana Ball - Live Rio". At that time, Duan Xuan revealed in an interview that with these two programs, Banana Sports achieved revenue of about 9 million yuan.
PGC's content doesn't satisfy Banana Sports' ambitions. At the end of 2016, Wang Sicong personally poached Ding Minghao, a veteran in the operation of the event.
When Ding Minghao played for Axray Sports, he ran Woods and McIlroy's "King Challenge" before switching to Bloom Sports. Shortly after he joined, the Snowboard Banana Open was officially unveiled. At that time, taking advantage of the east wind that Beijing and Zhangjiakou won the right to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, the winter sports were fully warming up.
Snowboarding is another trendy sport. The timing of Banana Sports' launch of the Snowboard Open is perfect, with a focus on younger users, and the ability to tap into the resources of Wanda Indoor Ski Resort, everything looks perfect.
With the endorsement of Wang Sicong and the blessing of Duan Xuan and Ding Minghao, two industry veterans, Banana Sports quickly completed a round of financing. On June 28, 2017, Banana Sports announced the completion of a series A financing of 30 million RMB, led by Northern Light Venture Capital and followed by Junde Capital. Please note that Pulse Investments did not participate.
The moment of financing often becomes the highlight of many sports companies. Unfortunately, Banana Sports is also such a sports company.
In nine months, Banana Sports held a total of three open tournaments, costing tens of millions of dollars. Unexpectedly, its life was as brilliant as fireworks and short-lived.
Subsequently, banana sports went silent in the turmoil. After the departure of executives such as Ding Minghao and Yang Guang, the business of banana sports shrank sharply. In addition to the Banana Open, the brokerage affairs of stars such as Wu Lei and Gu Yasha have disappeared, and the planned e-sports content is also a splash mirror moon. Even the PGC show that became famous has never had a sequel.
Insiders revealed that the two programs "Banana Ball - Live France" and "Banana Ball - Live Rio" did make money, but the main income came from Panda TV and other sponsorship income. For Wang Sicong, this is equivalent to money transferring from the left pocket to the right pocket, which does not mean that banana sports have the ability to form blood. The Banana Open went from its glory to its demise, proving that hosting a snowboard event is not a lucrative business.
Duan Xuan has content genes, but content does not naturally translate into cash flow. Panda TV's survival is struggling, and it can no longer become the "nanny" of PGC programs. Although Duan Xuan was the host of the earliest e-sports program "E-sports World", and Wang Sicong is also a big man in the e-sports industry, these backgrounds cannot be equated with e-sports content.
The above-mentioned insider revealed that in 2018, Wang Sicong no longer gave blood transfusions to banana sports. In desperation, Banana Sports bent its waist for Wudoumi and became a Party B company. Its main party is the Olympic Preparation Office under Liu Aijie.
In the winter of sports, which is more important, survival or dignity? There is always hope when you are alive. Hearing the description of the insider, I was moved by Duan Xuan's low posture, and I couldn't help but sigh.
But banana sports has long been not Wang Sicong's pawn. He came to the wind at the highlight of the sports industry, fresh clothes and angry horses, and the scenery was incomparable; But in the cold winter of industry, he decided to leave. Banana Sports became an "abandoned woman" like his group of ex-girlfriends, gradually dusting the public memory.
Even, Banana Sports can't compare to his ex-girlfriends. Wang Sicong has at least been in love with his ex-girlfriends, has banana sports really tugged at his heartstrings?
After Banana Sports became Principal Wang's outcast, Duan Xuan did not choose to abandon the ship. He continued to fight like Don Quixote.
Only Party B has a personal experience of the suffering of Party B. A good friend of mine used to work for Banana Sports and served the Olympic Preparation Office with Duan Xuan. I remember once making an appointment with this good friend on Happiness Street and meeting at 12 o'clock. My friend arrived at 14:15 and I was leaving at 14:30 for my next appointment. My friend told me that I had been in a meeting with Duan Xuan, and I really couldn't get out. We only saw each other for 15 minutes and the friend only hurriedly ate a little leftovers. Fortunately, the friend left Banana Sports the following year.
In the past two years, Duan Xuan has been active again in the commentary line, and he has gathered with former old partners such as Huang Jianxiang and Liu Jianhong in the Qatar World Cup. Although they are subject to some regulations, they cannot explain the game, but they can still talk and chat with the fans through the program.
Duan Xuan himself also has certain commercial value, and had business cooperation with a recruitment company during the World Cup. He used to host esports shows, which made him more comfortable in the field of esports. Some football games also like to have him voiced by him. Coupled with the fact that he is also an excellent host, there are not many business opportunities to host events.
With his industry popularity, if he is just a KOL, play social media clearly, plus live broadcast goods, as well as the income from commentary, endorsement, and business activities, it is not an impossible task to earn millions a year. This is much safer than being so close to government agencies.
However, there is no such thing as "if" in the itinerary of life. At this point, about Duan Xuan, the song of second-hand roses sounded in my mind: "Oh, I said fate..."