On its very first day, the new season of "SpongeBob SquarePants" was a giant hit!
Over 17 million people signed up to watch it on the UPN channel. Since most families have at least two people watching one TV, that meant at least 34 million viewers!
Zane knew that as the season went on, it would get even more popular. He guessed it would soon have 60 million viewers for every episode. This was a huge number.
In Zane's old life, "SpongeBob" had 78 million viewers. His new version was still a little behind, but UPN was still a growing channel. Zane was sure that, in time, his "SpongeBob" would become even more popular than the original.
...
The Los Angeles Entertainment News (the newspaper that was always nice to Zane) was the first to write a review.
(Everyone knew this newspaper was Zane's number one fan. They were like his personal cheerleaders!)
The people who worked at the newspaper didn't even care. They were happy to praise him.
Their headline was: SPONGEBOB, THE KING OF CARTOONS!
The article said: "Since 'SpongeBob' first came on TV last year, everyone has fallen in love with it. Kids and adults are all completely charmed by this funny little sponge."
"Yesterday, the new season started, and the huge number of people who signed up proves it."
"The story, the art, and the jokes are all just as wonderful as before!"
"We at the Los Angeles Entertainment News believe that Water World Animation (Zane's company) is the new king of TV cartoons, just like Pixar is the new king of movie cartoons!"
The article was super long and just full of praise for Zane's companies.
And... many Americans loved it!
That day, the Los Angeles Entertainment News sold 45% more newspapers than the day before. This made all the other newspapers furious... and very jealous!
What could they do? Of course, they had to copy them!
...
Soon, all the newspapers were also talking about Zane's other new show, Peppa Pig.
On its first day, Peppa Pig had an average of 8.2 million people watching each of its five episodes.
This was not as big as "SpongeBob," of course. But... for a brand-new show, 8.2 million viewers was amazing!
It was the number two most-watched cartoon in all of America, right behind "SpongeBob."
For a moment, all the bosses at the other big TV stations and cartoon companies were completely shocked.
...
At the Disney Group...
Davidson George, the head of Disney's animation department, was furious. He was looking at the report of all the TV ratings.
"Darn that Water World Animation!" he yelled.
"It's bad enough that your 'SpongeBob' is number one! But now your new 'Peppa Pig' is number two?! What a jerk!"
"Even our classic cartoons, like 'Snow White' and 'Sleeping Beauty,' lost to them?! How am I supposed to explain this to the company's big bosses?"
He was so angry that he ripped the report into tiny pieces.
Disney Animation was supposed to be the pride of America! But now, their cartoons had been badly beaten by this new company. How could they accept this?
The bad news got worse. When the stock market opened, Disney's stock price dropped... and they lost $350 million in paper wealth.
The big, big boss of Disney, Michael Eisner, called Davidson and yelled at him. "If you can't fix this and turn it around, you're fired! Disney does not keep people who tarnish our good name!"
...
The other "Big Six" companies were also shocked.
But the ones who were really hit hard were the comic book companies, Marvel and DC.
Usually, kids were always on the playground talking about "Spider-Man," "Hulk," "Superman," and "Batman."
But today, all the kids were talking about "SpongeBob," "Patrick Star," and "Peppa Pig."
Suddenly, Zane's companies were a massive hit.
And the newspapers? The same ones that had mocked the " TV Emperor" headline... well, today, two other newspapers used that exact same headline. And this time, they weren't making fun of him. They were serious.
...
At the "SpongeBob's House" toy stores, things were crazy.
All seven stores in Los Angeles were packed with people. From the moment they opened until they closed, there was a constant line of people trying to buy toys.
The dolls on the shelves were snatched up as soon as they were put out!
All the other toys—books, clothes, keychains—were also selling like crazy.
The new store president, Taro Hashimoto, was on the phone all day, making deals with other stores across the country who all wanted to sell his toys.
The toys were also selling out on Amazon.com. Jeff Bezos even called Zane personally to congratulate him on making even more money.
...
While everyone was busy talking about "SpongeBob" and "Peppa Pig," Zane's other TV network, the WB, was getting ready.
Because tonight, the second season of "The Talent Show" (which Zane had renamed America's Got Talent) was about to begin!
And... people who were "in the know" had heard a rumor: after "The Talent Show" finished, the WB was going to show a brand-new secret variety show.
..."Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"!
Reporters all over the country just sighed. "Why is all the news these days about Zane Blackwood?!"
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