阿里巴巴大舉押注在線視頻業(yè)務(wù)（雙語(yǔ)）

Alibaba is making a big bet on online video, with the rollout of a content service in China aimed at enticing people to pay a monthly subscription in a market where most programming is accessed for free.

中國(guó)電子商務(wù)集團(tuán)阿里巴巴(Alibaba)正大舉押注在線視頻業(yè)務(wù)，準(zhǔn)備在中國(guó)推出一種內(nèi)容服務(wù)，目標(biāo)是在這個(gè)大多數(shù)節(jié)目都可免費(fèi)觀看的市場(chǎng)中，吸引人們支付月費(fèi)觀看其內(nèi)容。

But if the Chinese ecommerce group can make the model work, analysts and competitors say it could transform a sector that is haemorrhaging cash amid a bidding war among companies for top content.

不過(guò)，分析師和阿里巴巴的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)對(duì)手表示，如果阿里巴巴能證明這種模式可行，或?qū)⒆屧诰€視頻行業(yè)發(fā)生徹底改觀。目前，由于各家公司競(jìng)相購(gòu)買(mǎi)頂尖內(nèi)容，該行業(yè)正處于一種燒錢(qián)狀態(tài)。

Alibaba’s new offering is called Tmall Box Office, a service the group said would be similar to Netflix, the US streaming service that has yet to receive a license to operate in China, and HBO, the pay-television network.

阿里巴巴的新服務(wù)名為T(mén)mall Box Office(以下簡(jiǎn)稱TBO)。該集團(tuán)表示，TBO將與美國(guó)流媒體服務(wù)Netflix和美國(guó)付費(fèi)電視網(wǎng)HBO類似。目前，Netflix尚未拿到在華運(yùn)營(yíng)的牌照。

It plans to launch the new offering in two months, according to Liu Chunning, president of the group’s digital entertainment unit.

根據(jù)阿里巴巴數(shù)字娛樂(lè)事業(yè)群總裁劉春寧的說(shuō)法，該公司計(jì)劃在兩個(gè)月內(nèi)推出這項(xiàng)新服務(wù)。

Mr Liu said at the weekend that while Tmall Box Office will offer some shows for free, most will be behind a subscription wall.

上周末，劉春寧表示，雖然TBO將免費(fèi)提供部分視頻，但多數(shù)視頻將需要付費(fèi)才能觀看。

Charging for content should help online video make money: most of China’s video sites, based on a YouTube-style model funded primarily by advertising, lose money thanks to skyrocketing prices for the online syndication rights for top shows such as Voice of China and I’m the Singer — variety shows that are huge draws both on TV and online.

對(duì)內(nèi)容收費(fèi)應(yīng)該有助于在線視頻業(yè)務(wù)實(shí)現(xiàn)盈利：由于頂級(jí)節(jié)目在線發(fā)行權(quán)的價(jià)格急劇上漲，中國(guó)多數(shù)視頻網(wǎng)站(這些網(wǎng)站以YouTube模式運(yùn)作，主要收入來(lái)自廣告)都在賠錢(qián)。這些頂級(jí)節(jié)目包括《中國(guó)好聲音》(Voice of China)和《我是歌手》(I'm a Singer)等才藝秀，它們無(wú)論在電視上還是在網(wǎng)上都有巨大的吸引力。

But with audiences starting to wean themselves off pirated content in favour of licenced videos funded by advertising, some analysts fear it might be too soon to ask Chinese audiences to pay subscription prices to boost revenues.

不過(guò)，部分分析師擔(dān)心，中國(guó)觀眾剛開(kāi)始遠(yuǎn)離盜版內(nèi)容、而選擇觀看靠廣告費(fèi)支撐的正版視頻，現(xiàn)在可能還遠(yuǎn)不到要求他們支付會(huì)員費(fèi)以提振營(yíng)收的階段。

Luo Lan, from Analysys Enfodesk, a Beijing-based internet consultancy, said the case for a subscription-based service has yet to be proven.

北京互聯(lián)網(wǎng)咨詢公司易觀智庫(kù)(Analysys Enfodesk)的羅蘭表示，推行付費(fèi)制服務(wù)的理由還有待驗(yàn)證。

“Chinese viewers have very little motivation to pay for content online, and the advertising model is not efficient in bringing profit. It is hard to say whether or not it will be a success, but at least it is a path worth exploring,” she said. “It really depends on the quality of the content and the user experience.”

她說(shuō)：“中國(guó)觀眾為在線內(nèi)容付費(fèi)的意愿極低，而廣告模式在盈利方面也不夠有效。很難判斷這種模式會(huì)不會(huì)成功，但它至少是一條值得探索的道路。真正的決定因素是內(nèi)容的品質(zhì)和用戶體驗(yàn)。”

Other analysts concur that quality of the content, rather than the nature of how it is accessed, is the differentiating factor.

其他分析師也認(rèn)為，拉開(kāi)差距的關(guān)鍵因素是內(nèi)容的品質(zhì)，而不是內(nèi)容的獲取方式。

Lu Jingyu, an analyst at iResearch, a Beijing-based consultancy, said that success “depends on the content; there is no established habit for Chinese viewers to pay for content so they will have to provide exclusive or home-grown shows to get people to pay”.

某視頻公司的一名高管表示，劉春寧“堅(jiān)持選擇付費(fèi)制模式，(最近這筆投資)可視為他在這一戰(zhàn)略方向上取得的成果”。

So far, Alibaba’s online video strategy has focused on Youku Tudou, the industry leader according to viewer data, which is backed by Alibaba and a private equity group co-founded by Jack Ma, the ecommerce group’s founder and chairman. They together bought an 18.5 per cent stake in April 2014 for $1.2bn.

到目前為止，阿里巴巴在線視頻戰(zhàn)略的主要關(guān)注點(diǎn)在優(yōu)酷土豆(Youku Tudou)。以觀看人數(shù)計(jì)，優(yōu)酷土豆是在線視頻行業(yè)的領(lǐng)跑者。該公司的投資者包括阿里巴巴和一家私募股權(quán)集團(tuán)。2014年4月，兩者聯(lián)手斥資12億美元收購(gòu)了優(yōu)酷土豆18.5%的股份。阿里巴巴創(chuàng)始人兼董事長(zhǎng)馬云(Jack Ma)是這家私募股權(quán)集團(tuán)的聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人之一。

Youku Tudou, Iqiyi and Tencent, the top three online video companies, mainly follow the YouTube-style model, funding content with advertising and hoping to entice subscribers to shift to subscriptions. So far, few have. Iqiyi claimed on Tuesday to be the industry leader with 5m paying subscribers.

目前，中國(guó)三大在線視頻公司優(yōu)酷土豆、愛(ài)奇藝(Iqiyi)和騰訊(Tencent)主要采取的是YouTube模式，通過(guò)廣告收入支撐內(nèi)容，并寄望于吸引用戶轉(zhuǎn)為付費(fèi)會(huì)員。但到目前為止，并沒(méi)有太多用戶轉(zhuǎn)為付費(fèi)會(huì)員。周二，愛(ài)奇藝宣布，該公司憑借500萬(wàn)付費(fèi)會(huì)員成為業(yè)內(nèi)老大。

A subscription-only model, according to one online video executive, is a “bold move” by Alibaba and if it works, could provide a catalyst to the rest of the industry.

在線視頻行業(yè)的一名高管表示，完全依靠付費(fèi)制模式是阿里巴巴采取的一項(xiàng)“大膽舉措”，如果這條路走得通，或?qū)?duì)業(yè)內(nèi)其他企業(yè)產(chǎn)生激勵(lì)作用。

“If Alibaba can do this, it will be big for the industry,” he said.

他說(shuō)：“如果阿里巴巴能夠做成這件事，將對(duì)整個(gè)行業(yè)產(chǎn)生巨大影響。”