Tencent Video's well-known producers have been investigated the long video platform to fight corruption

Reporter Xie Ruolin

Recently, there are rumors in the industry that Tencent Video producer Zhang Mou was investigated for being involved in the "Yin and Yang Contract" case of "Qiannu Ghost" starring Zheng Shuang, and its direct leader Fang Mou was also involved.

In this regard, on October 26, Tencent Group replied to the "Securities Daily" reporter that recently, Tencent found in the anti-fraud investigation that Zhang Mou, the producer of Tencent Video Film and Television Project, violated the company's "high-voltage line" and was suspected of violating the law, and has now been handed over to the judicial organs for handling. At present, the police have opened a case for investigation. The online rumor that we are involved in yin and yang contracts and other claims is based on false rumors.

It is reported that the anti-fraud investigation is a prescribed action of Tencent Group's internal review and is carried out every year. In the third quarter of this year, Tencent Group has dealt with a total of 59 people in anti-fraud investigations. "However, the case in which Zhang was investigated is not the same as these 59 people." An informed source told the "Securities Daily" reporter that the network rumor that Zhang's "Qiannu Ghost" involved in the case is not true, "Qiannu Ghost" is a copyright drama rather than a customized drama, and many parent video companies have purchased the copyright of the play. "As long as it is produced by Tencent Video, the producers involved will be named, and this case has little to do with "Ghost of Qiannu" and Zheng Shuang."

According to relevant reports, Zhang works in Tencent Video's Canopy Studio, and his direct leader Fang is the management of Tencent Video, responsible for the project development of film and television dramas. According to the data, Fang and Zhang have served as producers and producers of many tencent video-produced dramas, including "Skyscraper" and "Listen to the Phoenix", as well as "Ru yue" and "Snow Eagle Lord" that have not yet been filmed. On October 25, Fang also attended the launching ceremony of "Ru Yue".

Wu Daiqi, CEO of Siqisheng, 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 the TV series producer or the film producer, have the highest decision on the daily operation and project budget of the entire crew. Similar to a CEO in a company, it is also possible if there is corruption in such a position.

"From the perspective of the drama industry, the current industry single integrated book is usually more than 5 million yuan, S-class dramas can even reach 20 million yuan, the production cost of a series is often hundreds of millions of yuan, in the film and television drama production link, the producer's right to speak is very wide, such as script content, casting, advertising implantation options, etc., there is too much space for favoritism." A film and television company founder said.

In fact, corruption in the film and television industry is not uncommon. A listed company in the film and television industry disclosed that from October 2011 to April of the following year, the company's employees twice sent trolley boxes containing 400,000 yuan in cash and 800,000 yuan in cash to Yu Mou, then director of the editor-in-chief office of Anhui Radio and Television. Yu arranged for the TV station to purchase a number of TV series produced by the company. In 2015, the Department of Radio and Television in Anhui was thoroughly investigated, and a number of officials were dismissed, implicating a wide range of film and television companies.

With the entry of Internet companies, the important purchaser of film and television dramas has gradually evolved from TV stations to long video platforms, and the roles of producers 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, left his job and subsequently joined Alibaba. The following year, Tencent's internal audit found that there were suspicions of corruption in the video team led by Liu Chunning. At that time, the prosecutor of the case accused Liu Chunning of allegedly interfering in the rating of the TV series "Heroes from Ancient Times", from which he accepted a bribe of 1.43 million yuan. At the same time, Liu Chunning was accused of accepting bribes of 700,000 yuan when purchasing two dramas, "Baby" and "Lanling King".

In December 2018, Yang Weidong, former president of Alibaba Entertainment Dayouku and CEO of Ali Music, cooperated with the police investigation due to economic problems. According to the judgment, during his tenure as president of Youku, Yang Weidong took advantage of his position to illegally accept bribes totaling more than 8.55 million yuan.

"The prominent point of corruption in the film and television industry is that there is no standard industrialization process in the entire industry, and the subjective consciousness of a drama is obvious, how to shoot, who to shoot, there is no standard answer, so the person who makes the decision has the right to seek rent." A film and television industry analyst told the "Securities Daily" reporter that with the continuous strengthening of the anti-corruption efforts within the Internet group, the space for corruption is also decreasing, but in the final analysis, it is not enough to rely on the self-examination of enterprises, the regular circulation of key positions, the control of "bribery units", and the establishment of industry "blacklists" are also very important.