Streaming’s Golden Age Is Suddenly Dimming 串流的黃金時代瞬間走向黯淡


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2023/03/03 第422期 訂閱/退訂看歷史報份
 
 
紐時周報精選 Streaming's Golden Age Is Suddenly Dimming 串流的黃金時代瞬間走向黯淡
Prestige Films, Made for Oscar, Fail to Impress 叫好不叫座 問鼎奧斯卡的電影觀眾不捧場
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Streaming's Golden Age Is Suddenly Dimming 串流的黃金時代瞬間走向黯淡
文/John Koblin
譯/莊蕙嘉

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。

 

 
Prestige Films, Made for Oscar, Fail to Impress 叫好不叫座 問鼎奧斯卡的電影觀眾不捧場
文/Brooks Barnes
譯/羅方妤

叫好不叫座 問鼎奧斯卡的電影觀眾不捧場

A year ago, Hollywood watched in despair as Oscar-oriented films like "Licorice Pizza" and "Nightmare Alley" flatlined at the box office. The day seemed to have finally arrived when prestige films were no longer viable in theaters and streaming had forever altered cinema.

一年前,好萊塢絕望地看著以奧斯卡獎為目標的「甘草糖披薩」和「夜路」處於票房低谷。這一天似乎終於來了,藝術導向的電影無法在電影院存活,串流媒體永遠改變影業。

But studios held out hope, deciding that November 2022 would give a more accurate reading of the marketplace. By then, the coronavirus would not be such a complicating factor. This fall would be a "last stand," as some put it, a chance to show that more than superheroes and sequels could succeed.

然而,片廠仍抱持希望,認為2022年11月能更準確解讀市場。屆時,新冠疫情就不會是如此複雜的因素。正如一些人所說,今年秋季會是「最後一搏」,是證明不是只有超級英雄和續集能在電影院大賣的機會。

It has been carnage.

結果是場大屠殺。

One after another, films for grown-ups have failed to find an audience big enough to justify their cost. "Armageddon Time" cost roughly $30 million to make and market and collected $1.9 million at the North American box office. "Tár" cost at least $35 million, including marketing; ticket sales total $5.3 million. Universal spent around $55 million to make and market "She Said," which also took in $5.3 million. "Devotion" cost well over $100 million and has generated $14 million in ticket sales.

一部接一部供成人觀賞的電影未能吸引夠多觀眾,以打平製作成本。10月在美國上映的「世界末日」斥資約3000萬美元製作和行銷,在北美獲190萬美元票房。「Tár塔爾」包含行銷斥資至少3500萬美元,票房收入只有530萬美元。環球影業花費約5500萬元製作和行銷「她有話要說」,票房也只有530萬美元。「決戰38度線」製片成本遠超過1億美元,創造1400萬美元票房。

Even a charmer from box office king Steven Spielberg has gotten off to a humdrum start. "The Fabelmans," based on Spielberg's adolescence, has collected $5.7 million in four weeks of limited play. Its budget was $40 million, not including marketing.

即使是票房之王史蒂芬史匹柏的討喜之作,也只落得差強人意的起步。以史蒂芬史匹柏青少年時期為藍本的電影「法貝爾曼」以有限上映方式播放四周,創造570萬美元票房。該片預算為4000萬美元,不包括行銷。

What is going on?

這是怎麼回事?

The problem is not quality; reviews have been exceptional. Rather, "people have grown comfortable watching these movies at home," said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter on box office numbers.

問題不在品質,這些電影一直被評為傑出作品。出版票房數據簡報的電影顧問格羅斯表示,原因反是「人們日益習慣在家中觀賞」。

Ever since Oscar-oriented films began showing up on streaming services in the late 2010s, Hollywood has worried that such movies would someday vanish from multiplexes. The diminishing importance of big screens was accentuated in March when, for the first time, a streaming film, "CODA," from Apple TV+, won the Academy Award for best picture.

2010年代晚期,這些以奧斯卡為目標的電影開始出現在串流媒體,好萊塢就開始擔心這類電影總有一天會從影城消失。大螢幕重要性的式微在3月更明顯,當時Apple TV+推出的「樂動心旋律」獲得奧斯卡最佳影片獎,是串流電影首例。

This is about more than money. Hollywood sees the shift as an affront to its identity. Film power players have long clung to the fantasy that the cultural world revolves around them, as if it were 1940. But that delusion is hard to sustain when their lone measuring stick — bodies in seats — reveals that the masses can't be bothered to come watch the films that they prize most. Hollywood equates this with cultural irrelevancy.

這不僅是錢的問題。好萊塢認為這種變遷是侮辱其身分。電影製片大廠長久以來抱持文藝界繞著他們轉動的幻想,好像現在還是1940年。但這種錯覺難以維持,因為作為他們唯一衡量標準的觀眾人數顯示,民眾懶得前往電影院觀賞他們最重視的電影。好萊塢卻以不合時宜的觀點看待此事。

 

 
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