The newspapers were all talking about him. The American people were, too.
It seemed like every time they turned around, Zane Blackwood was in the news for something new! He was like a "walking hotspot" for big stories.
Just think about it:
In December, everyone was making fun of him, calling him "more money than sense" for investing in Titanic.
By January, when Titanic became a giant hit, those same newspapers were calling him a "genius" with "excellent insight."
Then in March, he was all over the news for the Oscars.
In April, his company ICQ went on the stock market, and everyone called him a "genius investor."
In May, his short film The Tuner was a big hit, and he bought the whole WB television network!
It was just one big, amazing story after another.
...
On June 1st, at 7 p.m., it was time for another big event: the return of "America's Got Talent"!
The original team was back! The three famous judges—Piers Morgan, David Hasselhoff, and Sharon Osbourne—all returned, which made the fans at home very happy.
And the host, of course, was the super-popular Will Smith.
But all that amazing talent cost a lot of money. The judges' pay went up from $7 million to $9.5 million. And Will Smith's fee went from $12 million to $15 million!
Zane and his TV boss, Donna, had already made the tough (but smart) decision that this would probably be their last season with Will. The cost was just getting too high for their new network.
As expected, the new season of "Got Talent" was super exciting! There was singing, dancing, magic, and comedy acts. The performers were all so good, it was a real treat for the audience.
Zane watched the show live from his home. As he watched, Donna was texting him the real-time ratings. And the numbers were huge!
7:00 p.m. - 5.8%
7:20 p.m. - 6.6%
7:40 p.m. - 7.1%
8:00 p.m. - 7.5%
By the time the show ended, the rating had hit a peak of 7.95%! It was the number one ratings king of the day! Moving the show to the bigger WB public network had been the perfect move.
...
After "Got Talent" finished, many people stayed on the channel. They were full of excitement for the next new show. "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire"!
A lot of people were excited just because Zane's name was on it. "Mr. Zane Blackwood produced this show, too! It's definitely going to be good!" one young fan said. "Yes, Mr. Blackwood is a genius. He won't let us down!" another woman laughed.
Many viewers had confidence in Zane!
Zane was full of confidence, too. He knew this show was a monster hit. He remembered watching a version of it in his old life, and the ratings were always huge.
As he was feeling excited, he suddenly remembered the contract for the show. He frowned a little.
This was one of the few shows he hadn't created himself. He'd had to buy the rights from the British company, ITV. And wow, they had driven a very hard bargain.
He had to pay them:
£6 million (about $9.8 million) just to buy the idea.
15% of all the profits from the show.
A minimum payment of £500,000 every single season.
"Phew," Zane thought to himself, "those ITV bosses really knew how to make a deal! It's costing me a fortune."
But he knew it was worth it. This show was going to be a huge moneymaker.
Just as Zane finished thinking about the deal, the new show's famous, heart-pounding music began to play. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was officially on the air.
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