紐時賞析／串流的黃金時代瞬間走向黯淡

Streaming’s Golden Age Is Suddenly Dimming

串流的黃金時代瞬間走向黯淡

American television viewers have become accustomed to it: Dozens of premieres every month, hundreds of shows every year, a guarantee from Hollywood that there’s always going to be something new to watch.

美國電視觀眾對此已習以為常：每個月有數十部新片上架，每年有好幾百部片可看，好萊塢保證永遠有源源不絕的新影片可看。

But a new reality has become increasingly clear over the past few months in Hollywood: Peak TV has peaked.

但是過去幾個月來，一個新現實在好萊塢日趨明顯：電視黃金期已過巔峰。

The number of adult scripted series ordered by TV networks and streaming companies aimed for U.S. audiences fell by 24% in the second half of last year, compared with the same period of the year before last, according to Ampere Analysis, a research firm. Compared with 2019, it is a 40% drop.

根據研究公司安彼爾的分析，電視公司和串流公司所訂購、以美國觀眾為目標的成人導向影集數量，與前年同期相比，去年下半年下跌了24%。與2019年相比，則跌了40%。

For years, television executives tossed off billions of dollars on TV series to help build out their streaming services and chase subscribers.

多年來，電視台主管豪擲數十億美元於電視影集，欲建立自家串流服務並吸引訂戶。

But Wall Street soured on the buy-at-any-cost strategy starting in the spring, when Netflix, the streaming powerhouse, announced that it had lost subscribers for the first time in a decade. Netflix’s stock nose-dived, and other entertainment companies soon watched their share prices fall, too. Hollywood companies quickly shifted, putting a new emphasis on higher profits instead of raw subscriber counts.

但是，當串流巨擘網飛今年春季宣布，出現10年來首次訂戶數下滑時，華爾街嘲諷了這種「不惜代價買片」的策略。網飛股價一瀉千里，其他娛樂公司也很快看到自家股價跟著下跌。好萊塢迅速見風轉舵，轉而重視更高收益而非新訂戶數。

Then, in recent months, entertainment companies became increasingly anxious about a slowing economy, the cord-cutting movement and a troublesome advertising market. Since the summer, scores of executives have abruptly been dismissed, strict cost-cutting measures have been adopted, and layoffs have taken hold throughout the industry.

接著，近幾個月來，娛樂公司對於放緩的經濟、退訂風潮和混亂的廣告市場益發感到焦慮。自今年夏季以來，數十名主管突遭解雇，嚴格的降低成本方針已經實施，而且裁員席捲整個產業。

For the year, the deepest declines in the number of orders for scripted adult series in the United States were at Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery (which includes HBO and the Turner networks) and Paramount (which includes CBS, Paramount+ and Showtime). The series orders for U.S. audiences have fallen 22% to 27% at those three companies, according to Ampere. In the second half of the year, the drop-off in orders from the three companies was even steeper.

今年美國的成人導向影集訂購數量減少最多的公司是網飛、華納兄弟探索（擁有HBO和透納系列頻道）以及派拉蒙（擁有哥倫比亞廣播公司、派拉蒙+和Showtime電視網）。根據安彼爾，這三家公司針對美國觀眾的影集購買數量占比下跌了22%至27%。今年下半年，三家公司的購買量更是銳減。

There are a few outliers to this year’s trend: Apple TV+ and Amazon have increased the number of adult scripted series they have purchased this year. So has Disney, according to Ampere’s research.

根據安彼爾的研究，有幾家公司不受今年趨勢影響：Apple TV+和亞馬遜今年購買的成人導向影集數量增加了，迪士尼亦然。

In addition to TBS and TNT, digital giants like Facebook and YouTube, which were investing in original series just a few years ago, have mostly moved on. The CW, which was recently acquired by Nexstar, is looking for lower-cost programming. And there are numerous basic cable networks that in recent years have pulled back from original scripted programming ambitions.

除了TBS和TNT頻道，臉書和YouTube等數位巨擘也從幾年前開始投資原創影集，而且仍在繼續。最近剛被次星傳媒集團收購的CW電視網，正在尋找低成本節目。此外，為數不少的基層有線電視台近年已收回企畫原創影集的野心。

文／John Koblin　譯／莊蕙嘉

說文解字看新聞

【莊蕙嘉】

大年初三（元月24日）美國影藝學院將公布本屆奧斯卡金像獎入圍名單，可惜不是所有電影都能上院線。透過影音串流（streaming）平台「補課」不失為過年長假的選項之一，這也是少數在新冠肺炎肆虐全球三年多來少數在疫情中獲益的產業。但隨著疫情趨緩，以及市場的競爭與飽和，相關需求正在減少。

流行多年的「串流」究竟定義為何？可以這麼說：watch videos or listen to music directly from the internet。觀看傳統的電視，必須根據schedule（節目表），在想看的節目播出時刻坐在電視前觀賞。串流則不受時地限制，可以用電視看，也可以用電腦、平板電腦、手機等裝置觀賞。

訂戶的退訂，一般用動詞unsubscribe，支付monthly fee（月租費），倒數第四段的cord-cutting則源於退訂傳統有線電視時要拔掉傳輸線的動作。