Netflix擴張全球電視網 中國不在服務區
Netflix went live with its streaming television service in nearly every country across the world on Wednesday, an unexpected acceleration of the company’s aggressive quest for global ubiquity by the end of 2016.
週三，Netflix幾乎在全世界所有國家正式啓動了其流媒體電視服務，該公司以此意外之舉加速進程，爲求在2016年年底前達成其全球普及化的進取目標。
Yet one major region on Netflix’s world map remains dark: China, home to nearly a quarter of the world’s broadband households. And in many of the 190 countries where Netflix now is available — including Turkey, Russia and Poland — the service is available in English, but not the local language.
然而，Netflix的世界地圖上一個主要區域仍是灰暗的：那就是中國，一個擁有全世界近四分之一寬帶用戶的國家。而且，雖然Netflix現已在190個國家推出服務，其中包括土耳其、俄羅斯和波蘭，其服務在大部分國家裏都只提供英文，沒有本地語言。
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. “Because of the number of countries, it seems like we are ahead of plan. But we still have China — we still have a quarter of the world to go.”
“我們仍有很多工作要做，”Netflix的首席執行官裏德·哈斯廷斯(Reed Hastings)在週三下午的電話採訪中說。“因爲國家數目衆多，我們看似提早完成了計劃。但我們仍有中國——我們仍有世界的四分之一未能覆蓋。”
Mr. Hastings’s cautious demeanor on the phone was in contrast to the more commanding pose he struck hours earlier when he announced at International CES, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, that Netflix had simultaneously added more than 130 countries to its world service map.
哈斯廷斯在電話上的謹慎態度與其數小時前在國際消費類電子產品展(Internatinal CES)上揮斥方遒的姿態截然相反。在拉斯維加斯的這次消費電子展中，他宣佈Netflix在其世界服務版圖中一舉增加了130多個國家。
“Right now, you are witnessing the birth of a global TV network,” Mr. Hastings said from the stage in a keynote address.
“此時此刻，你正在見證一個全球性電視網絡的誕生，”哈斯廷斯在臺上發表主題演講時說。
A montage of global flags scrolled in the background followed by a map of the world emblazoned with the hashtag #netflixeverywhere.
世界各國國旗的蒙太奇畫面在背景中滾動，隨後出現了一張世界地圖，上面印有#netflixeverywhere的標籤。
“Whether you are in Sydney or St. Petersburg, Singapore or Seoul, Santiago or Saskatoon, you now can be part of the Internet TV revolution,” Mr. Hastings added.
哈斯廷斯還說：“無論你是在悉尼或聖彼得堡，新加坡或首爾，聖地亞哥或薩斯卡通，現在都可以成爲互聯網電視革命的一部分。”
The proclamation was a bold move from Netflix to address growing skepticism about whether it can sustain its breakneck expansion and deliver on its promises.
這個宣言是Netflix的一個大膽舉動，以圖藉此打消越來越多關於該公司能否繼續維持驚人擴張和兌現承諾的懷疑。
Costs are running high for Netflix. In addition to its global rollout, the company plans to spend more than $6 billion in cash on programming in 2016, offering more than 600 hours of original series, films and other content. And after running roughly at break-even profitability through this year, Netflix has pledged to deliver material global profits starting in 2017.
現在，Netflix的成本不菲。除了在全球推出服務外，該公司還計劃2016年在節目上投放逾60億美元的真金白銀，提供超過600小時的原創劇集、電影和其他內容。然後在今年的盈利狀況達到大約收支平衡後，Netflix已承諾要在2017年獲得可觀的全球利潤。
International expansion is increasingly crucial for the company as growth slows in the United States.
對該公司來說，當其在美國的增長放緩，國際擴張就變得越來越重要。
The opportunity is big. While the United States has about 100 million broadband households, according to SNL Kagan, that is just a fraction of the 730 million total global broadband households.
那將帶來很大的機會。美國市場研究公司SNL Kagan稱，美國有大約1億寬帶用戶，而那僅是全球7.3億寬帶用戶的一小部分而已。
Yet there are steep challenges, including whether Netflix will be able to land programming rights to series that appeal to customers around the globe and compete with local streaming rivals.
但那也會帶來嚴峻的挑戰，其中包括Netflix能否獲得能吸引全球用戶的系列節目的版權，與本土流媒體對手競爭。
“International is really the place where people have a bigger sense of debate,” said Michael Nathanson, a media analyst with MoffettNathanson Research. “It has never been attempted before.”
“針對國際市場，人們真的是有更大的爭論，”莫菲特內桑森研究公司(MoffettNathanson Research)的媒體分析師邁克爾·內桑森(Michael Nathanson)說。“這是從來沒有過的嘗試。”
Mr. Hastings said that Netflix was now in about 70 million homes and he expected the number of customers outside the United States to surpass the number domestically at some point in 2017. Netflix’s long-term goal is to reach 60 million to 90 million subscribers in the United States, but has yet to set a similar target internationally.
哈斯廷斯說，Netflix現已進入7000萬戶家庭，他預計在2017年內，美國以外的用戶數量能超過美國本土的用戶數量。Netflix的長遠目標是美國用戶數量達至6000至9000萬，但在國際方面則未定下類似目標。
Around the globe, Netflix will be available for one monthly price — in India that is 500 rupees, or about $7.50 — and global subscribers will be able to watch Netflix original series as well as a library of licensed television shows and movies.
在全球範圍內，Netflix將按月收費並提供服務，其在印度的月費爲500盧比（約7.5美元）。全球用戶可以觀看Netflix的原創劇集以及其持有版權的諸多電視節目及電影。
Netflix said that in 2016 it planned to release 31 new and returning original series, 24 films and documentaries, 30 original children series and stand-up comedy specials. They will become available to all subscribers at the same time around the world.
而且，Netflix表示，該公司計劃在2016年播出31部新拍或續拍的原創劇集，24部電影和紀錄片，以及30部兒童劇集和單口喜劇特別節目。這些節目將同時向全球觀衆推出。
Netflix also announced that it was including Arabic, Korean and simplified and traditional Chinese to the 17 languages already available.
該公司還宣佈，在已經支持的17種語言基礎上，新增阿拉伯語、韓語、簡體和繁體中文。
The service will not be available in Crimea, North Korea and Syria because of United States government restrictions on American companies.
由於美國政府對本國企業的限制，其服務在克里米亞、朝鮮、敘利亞無法使用。
China remains the major unanswered question, analysts said.
分析人士表示，中國仍是一個尚未解答的重大問題。
“That is the big wild card that Netflix and investors are waiting for,” said William V. Power, analyst at Baird Equity Research. “The questions are: Just how do you tackle that market with the various governmental or regulatory obstacles? Can they go it alone or do they partner with somebody?”
“那是Netflix和投資者一直在等待解決的不確定因素，”貝爾德證券研究公司(Baird Equity Research)分析師威廉·V·鮑爾(William V. Power)說。“問題就是，該怎麼搞定那塊有着各種政府和監管障礙的市場？他們能自己解決嗎，還是要與別人合作？”
Mr. Hastings said that Netflix continued to explore its options in China but that establishing a service there could take many months or even some years. “We are building relationships and trying to be very patient,” Mr. Hastings said. “The strategy is to think very long term, to be like Disney, Apple or Starbucks in China.”
哈斯廷斯表示，Netflix仍在繼續探索在中國經營的選項，但在那裏提供服務可能要花好幾個月，甚至幾年時間。“我們正在經營關係，努力保持極大耐心，”哈斯廷斯說。“戰略是要考慮得很長遠，像迪士尼、蘋果、星巴克在中國做的那樣。”
Wall Street is watching Netflix’s moves carefully. The company’s share price surged 135 percent in 2015, making it the top performer on the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. But some analysts question whether the company can maintain the momentum. On Monday, Netflix shares dropped after an analyst downgraded the company’s stock, citing concerns over weaker-than-expected subscriber growth in the United States.
華爾街密切關注着Netflix的一舉一動，該公司股價在2015年大漲135%，成爲了標準普爾500指數中業績最好的個股。但一些分析師質疑該公司能否維持當前的勢頭。一位分析師下調了該公司股票的評級，理由是美國付費觀衆的增長不如預期，於是Netflix股價週一出現下跌。
Mr. Power, the analyst at Baird who downgraded the stock, outlined other risks, including escalating content costs, international expansion and rising competition from Amazon, Hulu and YouTube.
下調該公司股票評級的就是貝爾德證券的分析師鮑爾。他還列舉了其他風險，包括內容成本激增，國際擴張的成敗，以及來自亞馬遜(Amazon)、Hulu和YouTube的競爭加劇。
“Given Netflix’s high valuation, any missteps could prompt outsize movement in the stock,” Mr. Power said.
“考慮到Netflix的高估值，任何閃失都可能造成股價出現不成比例的大幅波動，”鮑爾說。
On Wednesday, Netflix shares increased about 9 percent.
週三，Netflix股價上揚約9%。
