有线电视的捆绑销售业务模式到底是怎么冒出来的.

2017-08-13 作者： 243阅读

　　For four decades, the number of channels on the cable-TV dial has risen with seemingly unstoppable momentum, bringing consumers more choices than ever bore.

　　4年以来，有线电视的频道数量一直在快速增长，并且给观众带来了比以往更多选择。

　　Sounds great, except most people don't want to pay for all 189 channels they typically get.

　　听起来很好，除非大部分人不想为总共189个常用频道付钱。

　　Bundling scores of networks together has endured in large part because the programmers and distributors both made huge profits from new channels, rising numbers of subscribers and steadily higher cable bills.

　　网络捆绑已经成为了主体，因为节目制作者和发行商都从新的频道中获取了巨大的利益、持续增长的客户和稳定增长的服务订单。

　　Plus, until recently, it would have been a logistical nightmare for distributors to sell channels individually.

　　此外，知道最近，分别发售频道对于发行商来说一直是一个噩梦。

　　Pay-TV subscriptions have peaked in the U.S., and viewers have alternatives through Internet services such as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube.

　　在美国，付费电视的会员费已经达到了顶峰，并且观众能够通过Netflix、Hulu和YouTube等互联网服务获得替代服务。

　　Distributors like Verzion's FiOS are trying to find ways to offer flexibility in pay-TV packages. And networks including HBO and CBS are now selling their content directly to consumers without requiring a subscription to a distributor's big bundle.

　　发行商如Verzion公司正在尝试找到其他更灵活的付费电视套餐包。但是HBO和CBS公司的电视网仍然在对客户直接发送内容，而没有要求缴纳会员费来获得较大的套餐。

　　Customers "don't want to be paying these huge cable bills for a lot of channels they aren't watching," said CBS Corp. Chi Executive Leslie Moonves at the Milken Global Conference in April.

　　“客户们不想为大量不想看的频道而支付整个套餐的费用”哥伦比亚广播公司CEO Leslie Moonves在4月的Milken全球会议上表示。

　　The typical pay-TV subscriber watches only 17 channels regularly, according to a Nielsen report from last year. That is a big reason why a new generation of viewers are finding online alternatives to avoid paying the average $74 a month it costs for cable.

　　根据Nielsen去年的报道，通常一个普通用户只收看大约17个频道。这就是为什么许多新生客户会通过网上替代服务来避免支付每月74美元的有线电视费用。

　　That basic bundle has expanded to more than 100 channels on average, according to SNL Kagan, and is required for consumers to then add on premium networks like HBO or Showtime or specialty services like NFL Network.

　　根据Kagan的消息，基础套餐频道数量平均被扩充到100以上。然后像HBO、Showtime或者美国足联会要求客户缴纳更多的电视费用。

　　So why does the bundle exist in the first place? It started with John Walson, often credited as the father of the cable industry, charging $2 for three local broadcast channels in 1948 in suburban Philadelphia. Almost simultaneously, cable systems popped up in Arkansas and Oregon.

　　那么为什么套餐从一开始就存在?套餐的应用起源于有线电视行业之父John Walson。他在1948年，美国费城郊区提供2美元3个当地广播频道的服务。

　　For cable's first three decades, its primary purpose was retransmitting broadcast channels to rural areas. By the late 1970s, that need was met and cable operators started investing in original programming to boost subscriptions as satellite technology allowed for mass distribution of a cable network.

　　对于有线的第一个三十年来说，它的基础作用主要是向农村地区转播广播频道。直到20世纪70年代那项应用开始消失不见，并且有线传输运营商开始向原始的电视服务进行投入。与此同时卫星技术也能够允许有线网络进行数量巨大的信息发送。

　　"We had to invent more content to deliver," recalled Gus Hauser, who was chairman of Warner Communications, the cable company that launched Nickelodeon in 1979 and MTV in 1981. "Once there was something to sell, the cable industry developed."

　　“我们必须创造更多的内容来出售”华纳通信的主席Gus Hauser回忆道。这家华纳通信公司在1979年推出了5分钟电影节目，在1981年推出了音乐电视服务。“一旦有了产品，有线电视行业一定会兴起。”

　　At the time, the idea of selling channels individually didn't enter the equation. Tailoring packages of channels to customers was technologically challenging, and the costs and management of billing were seen as prohibitive.

　　在那个时候，销售电视频道服务的概念还没有进入这个行业。将频道打包给客户在技术上也是很大的挑战，更何况成本高，管理难度大以至于无法进行。

　　"Back then the rates were reasonable and you could bundle all these things. It was a bargain for the subscriber," said H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who ran cable systems in the 1970s and 1980s and is now owner and publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer. By the 1980s, the typical cable bill was around $15 a month and popular channels included ESPN, TBS, USA and CNN.

　　“后来，成本下降，这样你就能够将频道打包销售给客户。这算是对用户的让步。”在1970年代至1980年代运营有线网络系统、Philadelphia Inquirer的拥有者 H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest说道，

　　Bundling really took off in the 1990s, when the number of channels exploded in large part because of new government regulations. When the 1992 Cable Act allowed broadcasters to charge distributors to carry their signals, many distributors balked at paying for previously free over-the-air signals.

　　套餐服务在1990年代兴起。当时频道的数量因为政府的政策变化而大规模的增长。在1992年时Cable Act允许广播公司向发行商收费，大量的发行商开始为之前免费的空中信号而付费。

　　Instead, distributors such as John Malone's old Tele-Communications Inc. encouraged broadcasters to launch cable channels. Distributors would then pay fees for the new cable channels and continue to carry local TV stations.

　　相反的，像John Malone的电信公司鼓励广播公司推出有线频道。发行商将会为新的有线电视频道付费，从而继续为当地电视台提供服务。

　　That led to the creation of networks like ESPN2 by ABC, FX by Fox and MSNBC by NBC, but also gave power to the broadcasters: Each time a deal was up for renewal, broadcasters would create a new channel.

　　这导致了ABC的ESPN2网络、Fox 的FX网络和NBC的MSNBC网络的诞生。但这也增强了广播公司的实力，因为每次协议续签，广播公司都会建立新的频道。

　　The growing power of cable programming led to a consolidation craze. Disney acquired ABC, putting the Disney Channel and ESPN empire under one roof. Viacom's big cable channels--including MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central-- merged with CBS. NBC acquired Universal Entertainment, which owned USA and other channels.

　　有线电视力量的持续增长导致联合产生裂痕。迪士尼收购了ABC并推出了同时推出了迪士尼频道和ESPN。Viacom的几个较大的有线频道，包括：MTV、五分钱电影院和喜剧中心，都和CBS建立了合作关系。NBC收购了拥有USA频道和其他频道的环球娱乐公司。

　　With that, Disney, Viacom and NBC were able to persuade distributors to carry less-popular channels along with their strong networks. If you wanted one, you typically had to get them all.

　　这样，Disney,、Viacom 和NBC等公司就能说服发行商使用它们超强的网络运行不太流行的频道。如果你想要一个，你就得要全部。

　　"The history of the pay-TV bundle is the history of a forced private subsidization imposed upon the American public by America's largest programmers," said Jimmy Schafler, chairman of the Carmel Group, an industry consulting firm.

　　“付费电视套餐的历史就是那些美国最大电视节目发行商将会员费强加于美国公众的历史。”行业资讯公司Carmel 集团的主席Jimmy Schafler说道。

　　Programmers argue the bundle keeps lots of channels afloat that otherwise would have a hard time surviving.

　　电视节目发行商强烈要求频道套餐包继续上限，否则他们将会陷入困境。

　　Now, though, distributors are creating smaller bundles of channels like Dish Network's Internet-distributed Sling TV, Verizon Communications Inc.'s new "skinny" packages of popular channels and Apple Inc.'s planned slimmed-down offering.

　　目前，尽管发行商在推出较小的频道套餐包，如Dish Network的互联网电视。Verizon通信有限公司的流行频道的小型套餐包，并且苹果公司也在计划给臃肿的服务瘦身。

　　And a wave of consolidation could give pay-TV operators even more leverage. Charter Communications Inc.'s proposed $56.7 billion purchase of Time Warner Cable Inc. could lead to further disputes over bundling, particularly since Mr. Malone, a Charter investor, has said rising sports costs unfairly burden both distributors and subscribers who don't watch ESPN or regional networks.

　　并且，合并的风潮可以给付费电视运营商更多的力量。Charter通信有限公司花567亿美元收购了时代华纳有限公司，从而导致了套餐问题更深的讨论。尤其是自从Charter公司投资者Malone先生表示，顾客不收看ESPN和区域频道会为发行商和客户都带来不必要的负担。

　　Last week, at his holding companies' annual meeting, Mr. Malone said new Web-based TV offerings and skinny TV packages will put pressure on the traditional cable TV bundle. "The bundle will come apart," he said.

　　上周，在他的公司年会上， Malone先生表示新的网络电视服务和较小的电视套餐包将会给传统电视有线电视捆绑销售带来压力。“套餐将会被拆分。”他说道。

　　Indeed, legal battles over how content is sold have broken out between ESPN and Verizon FiOS as well as Cablevision Systems Corp. and Viacom.

　　事实上，法律上面的争执已经发生，如ESPN网和Verizon 公司，有线电视系统有限公司和Viacom公司。

　　ESPN is angered by Verizon's new offering, which doesn't necessarily include ESPN in the core package. Verizon instead is lumping ESPN and ESPN2 in a separate sports tier, which ESPN says is a violation of its contract with Verizon. Verizon disputes that and says ESPN is "suing consumers to force them into a one-size fits all bundle."

　　ESPN网被Verizon公司的新服务激怒了，因为在Verizon公司的核心服务中ESPN不再是必选项。取而代之的是，Verizon从分离的体育等级中，将ESPN和ESPN2合并在一起。ESPN网表示这是对合同的破坏。而Verizon则指责ESPN强迫消费者使用套餐服务。

　　ESPN may have the most money to lose from any fraying of the bundle. ESPN, which is distributed in 95 million homes, costs TV subscribers more than $6 a month--the most in the industry, according to SNL Kagan.

　　ESPN可能从套餐包的服务项目中损失大笔资金。根据Kagan的数据，ESPN为9500万用户提供服务，并且每月收取每家用户超过6美元。这是这个行业最高的价格了。

　　Cablevision's legal be with Viacom also has to do with how channels are packaged. Cablevision claims Viacom forced it to pay for less-popular channels in return for carriage of MTV, Nickelodeon and other successful networks. Viacom said the suit has no merit.

　　Cablevision公司和Viacom公司关于怎样定制套餐的问题也产生了争执。Cablevision宣称Viacom强迫它为不太流行的频道付费作，作为对音乐电视的传输、五分钱电影院和其他成功的网络的回报。Viacom表示这个套餐毫无意义。

　　Patrick Parsons, a professor at Pennsylvania State University'sCollege of Communications, thinks fights over the bundle will soon be akin to "debates about whether there should be headlights on buggies," given how fast the means of media consumption is changing.

　　一个在宾夕法尼亚大学通信雪原的教授，Patrick Parsons认为关于捆绑套餐的争执很快就会演变为，是否应该有车头灯的争论。指出媒体消费模式转变非常之快。

　　"The technology of Internet-delivered TV programming is swamping the argument of whether cable operators ought to bundle or unbundle their cable channels," he said.

　　“互联网电视技术正在模糊有线运营商是否应该捆绑他们的频道的争论。”他表示。