After entering July, the entire TV drama market atmosphere changed dramatically.
The name 'Fate/stay night' completely dominated all major drama forums, TV station websites, as well as the conversations of viewers and industry professionals.
For this work, thanks to the popularity of its predecessor, airing one hour earlier on Yunteng TV than on streaming platforms meant that streaming wouldn't siphon off much of the TV viewership.
Viewers with time would definitely tune in to the TV broadcast, while those who didn't would use the streaming site to catch up. No need to wait for the show to finish and buy DVDs or wait for a rerun — this broadcasting model used in Jing Yu's dramas was basically a win-win for all sides.
As a result, people in the TV industry didn't even consider streaming to be competition for this drama. 'Fate/stay night' securing the top rating for the fall season was essentially expected. If it didn't take first place, that would be the real headline.
But even being #1 has levels. Judging by the "Salted Fish Initiative" of the six major TV stations this quarter, if the Artoria Route Arc of 'Fate/stay night' could average over a 7% rating, first place would be almost guaranteed.
However, given the anticipation for this show, if the average ratings fell below 9%, it would be considered a flop for Jing Yu —
After all, the previous show had built up a massive base of TV viewers and game fans.
As the company boss, Jing Yu was off vacationing and touring with his girlfriend, Yu Youqing, feeling quite carefree.
But the staff of Blue Star Film & Media were under immense pressure.
From producers, actors, directors, to the music team and post-production crew — everyone was on edge.
Jing Yu had never fired anyone due to low ratings — because his dramas had never flopped.
But as his fame continued to grow, so too did the industry's expectations. Naturally, the employees couldn't remain calm.
When a person scores 98 on a test, and it's considered a failure, 99 is "barely acceptable," and only 100 is satisfactory to the public, who wouldn't be nervous?
The whole company was collectively tense.
"Those two old bastards just went off to have fun,"
Sighed Cheng Lie in the office. Though he could also go on vacation, he didn't have Jing Yu's relaxed mindset. Jing Yu didn't exactly care about ratings — he just didn't care as much anymore. In his eyes, ratings wouldn't be low regardless.
Doing fan meetups or promotional events just to gain an extra 0.1% or 0.2% in ratings wasn't worth it, so he just gave himself a vacation.
Cheng Lie was different. Even a ten-thousandth of a ratings point mattered to him. So while Jing Yu was out playing, he was on TV every day, accepting interviews, and exhausting himself.
Since Jing Yu wasn't making appearances, his fans shifted their focus entirely to Cheng Lie.
His personal social media comment section had over ten thousand people daily asking when Jing Yu would start producing the other two routes of 'Fate/Stay Night'.
Just like in Jing Yu's previous life, the three main heroines of 'Fate/stay night' each had their own fanbase in this world too. Artoria fans were clearly the largest, but Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura also had sizable followings.
These fans quickly realized how "salted fish" Jing Yu was, and ended up venting their demands to Cheng Lie, Yu Youqing, and others.
Now, the date was July 6th.
The first week of July was almost over. All six major TV stations had already aired their self-produced dramas for the quarter. The highest-rated among them was Xingtong TV's summer romance drama 'Summer Vacation', with the first episode pulling a 6.3% rating — average performance by past standards.
In fact, even Xingtong TV didn't believe this would beat 'Fate/stay night'. They, too, were simply waiting for its premiere.
The day passed quickly, and the entire staff of Jing Yu's company was extremely tense throughout.
Yunteng TV went all out promoting this drama. From morning onwards, the hype remained high.
"We finally made it to this day. It wasn't easy!"
"The last time I watched something by Old Thief on TV was three months ago — 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'."
"Tonight's a festival! Two episodes back-to-back!"
"Huh? Who said it's two episodes?"
"Didn't you see the ad by Yunteng TV? Two-episode premiere in the first week."
"That's unusual. Old Thief is being so generous? Two episodes in one go?"
"It makes sense. Anyone who played 'Fate/stay night' would know. The events of that day are shown from two perspectives: the contract between Shirou Emiya and Artoria, and what was happening to him at the time. Why was Archer summoned by Tohsaka Rin? Who saved Shirou after Lancer pierced his heart? You need both perspectives to explain all those setups clearly. And to do that, you need two episodes. To avoid a slow start hurting ratings, they're just airing both upfront."
"Got it. So, game fans — how's the story so far? I've only seen 'Fate/Zero' on Qingyun Video. How does 'Fate/stay night' compare?"
"Hard to say. Less heroic grandeur, more of that sappy romance flavor. Depends on your taste. Personally, I think it's on par with 'Fate/Zero'."
"If you're hoping to see someone like Iskandar again, forget it. But Gilgamesh and Artoria in 'Fate/stay night' have stronger personalities than in 'Fate/Zero'."
"Artoria gets a romance arc in 'Fate/stay night', you know."
"Bro, spoilers much?"
"How's that even a spoiler? Anyone who's remotely into the Fate series already knows!"
"Just watch the show. Don't overthink it. Old Thief's recent works combine flashy visuals and plot. Even if you're not into the story, the action scenes are worth it."
"Nonsense. I'm here for the magic restoration!"
"Yes! We want mana transfer!"
"If Old Thief dares to actually film that scene, even if the effects are garbage, I won't complain."
"Man, I was so pissed. In the game, that whole mana transfer scene is just one line of text. Not even a CG image. I almost threw up."
"Everyone here is a real perv, huh?"
"You're not?"
"? What's mana transfer?"
"I have no idea. I'm pure. Can someone explain? [ ]"
"I really believe you're pure now!"
"Me too, for sure."
"Mana transfer just means supplying magical energy. If you watched 'Fate/Zero', you'd know Servants draw power from their Masters. But this time, the protagonist is a noob mage. So, where does he get the mana to supply Artoria? That's right — from artificial charging cables. He grabs a high-voltage wire with one hand, and Artoria's ahoge with the other, and zaps her full of electricity. That's mana transfer."
"No spoilers, dammit!"
"You dare leak such classified info? How are TV viewers supposed to keep up?"
"So the MC's a power bank? For real?"
"? Did someone actually fall for that?"
"But seriously, Old Thief probably won't film that part. He's way too proper. In his shows, female leads never even show their legs. No swimsuit scenes either. So yeah, mana transfer? Keep dreaming."
As fans chatted in group chats, at 8:00 p.m. sharp, the first episode of 'Fate/stay night' officially premiered.