Net flix’s1 Online Business Model:a Mistake, or the Future of Entertainment?

Doug Mataconis

∷晨塵 選 劉宇佳 注

相比過去坐在電視或電腦前，一集一集地等待電視節目而言，奈飛公司推出的線上經營模式令人們可以一下子看到電視劇的所有故事集，無需再焦急地等待接下來的情節上演。這樣的觀看模式符合當今的電視娛樂要求嗎？真的能夠運營下去嗎？一系列的問題等待我們前去探索。

The rise of Net flix as a source not only of movies and television shows that were previously either unavailable or only available on DVD, but also a source of original programming such asHouse of CardsandOrange Is the New Blackhas led to the rise of the phenomenon of binge watching.2. House of Cards: 《紙牌屋》，改編自英國同名小說，是Netflix首部原創劇集，獲美國電影電視金球獎；Orange Is the New Black: 《女子監獄》，描述了主人公因結識毒販而犯下錯誤，十年后進入聯邦女子監獄服刑15個月的生活；binge: 狂歡，放縱。Since Net flix releases new seasons of its original shows all at once, it’s possible for a subscriber to watch the show however they wish.3. release: 發布；subscriber: 訂閱者。You can watch one show at a time at whatever pace you wish,kind of like the way traditional television shows are released, you can watch a few at time, or you can watch them all at once in a sleep-deprived weekend-long marathon.4. deprived: 被剝奪的；marathon: 馬拉松。It’s the last option which has become the cultural phenomenon, it seems, especially this February when the second season ofHouse of Cardswas released at the start of what was, at least for most people who work in Washington, D.C., a three day weekend.

《權利的游戲》

Obviously, the binge watching option wouldn’t be possible if Net flix released new episodes5. episode:（電視劇、電影的）一集、一段。over a longer period. There does seem to be a clear disadvantage, though it may not relate directly to immediate revenue. One of the chief drivers for movies and television programs is word of mouth.6. 口頭宣傳是電影和電視節目的主要宣傳手段之一。You need to generate buzz7. buzz: 嗡嗡聲。and get people talking if you want to get large numbers of viewers. It’s a commodity that no amount of advertising dollars can match.8. 這種“商品”是再多的廣告費用都無法匹及的。no amount of:即使再大（或再多）的……也不……。And the television shows that really generate this buzz do it week after week. One of the first shows that comes to mind isGame of Thrones9. Game of Thrones: 《權利的游戲》，改編自美國作家喬治. R. R. 馬丁的奇幻小說《冰與火之歌》系列，于2011年在HBO電視臺首播。. It’s a huge success for HBO10. HBO: 即Home Box Of fice，家庭影院頻道，是美國一家有線電視網絡媒體公司，主要播放合作電影公司的電影及原創的迷你劇和連續劇。, and every Monday morning people wind up talking to others about what happened on this week’s episode. Later in the week, speculation often crops up over what will or won’t happen next,11. speculation: 推測；crop up: 突然出現。who will get killed off or how Tyrion is going to get his butt out of a jam this week.

That sort of continual speculation leads to huge in-person12. in-person: 現場的。and online fan bases spreading the word and attracting new viewers. Fan forums crop up where strangers from around the world can debate, praise or curse the show in posts which go on for hundreds or thousands of comments.And this is precisely what’s missing withOrange Is the New Black,Lilyhammer13. Lilyhammer:《莉莉海默》，是奈飛公司進軍影視制作行業推出的首部作品。and the other shows. People binge watch the entire season as fast as they can and then it’s done. They may go into the of fice and chat about it for a few days, but after that, what’s left to say? The show is over for at least a long span of months or perhaps permanently14. permanently: 長期地，永久地。.

The new model also creates some challenges for anyone who wants to write about a show. Aside from the problem of spoiling episodes, it’s hard to write about any given episodes if you haven’t watched all of the episodes(because someone will always point out a plot twist two episodes later that seems to undercut your point).15. 除了破壞劇情這一問題，如果事先沒有看過所有情節，也很難對已有故事進行編寫。（這是因為有人會指出：所寫的情節與之后的兩集故事不符，看似有損寫作水準。）

However, the best answer to the question of why Net flix follows the“release everything at once” strategy, of course, is that they have made some determination that this is the model that best suits their business interests. Unlike traditional television, even pay networks like HBO and Showtime16. Showtime: 美國“映時”頻道，用戶可以通過該頻道收看電影、原創電視劇、成人節目和拳擊賽等，與HBO電視臺成為競爭對手。, Net flix doesn’t have to worry about a particular shows ratings from week to week. Instead, the numbers that matters most to them is subscribers. The more subscribers they have, the more revenue their bringing in. There are no advertisers to please. There isn’t the same kind of competition for nightly viewers that even networks like HBO no doubt pay attention to on a regular basis. Given all of that, there’s no reason for Net flix to play the “come back next week” game the way traditional networks do. Instead, one of the bene fits that it offers to subscribers is the ability to watch these new series on their own schedule, and it really doesn’t matter if that happens all at once or a little bit at a time.

Instead, Net flix, like Amazon Instant Video17. Amazon Instant Video: 亞馬遜即時視頻，是亞馬遜在美國提供的互聯網視頻點播服務。, is aiming for any entirely different model of “television” viewing where what you watch isn’t connected to the time of day,the time of year, or even where you happen to be any given time of the day. Want to watch a few episodes ofMad Men, or an entire season ofThe West Wing?18. Mad Men: 美劇《廣告狂人》，該劇大膽地描述了美國廣告業黃金時代殘酷的商業競爭，連續四年奪得艾美獎劇情類電視劇獎；The West Wing:《白宮風云》，又名《白宮群英》，劇情圍繞總統及其幕僚們在白宮的工作與情感生活展開。No problem,it’s right there waiting for you. Thanks to Net flix and Amazon, viewers are no longer at the mercy of19. at the mercy of: 受……支配，聽憑。network schedules, time zones, or remembering to program the DVR. It represents a small portion of “television” viewing today, but it’s only likely to expand in the future. While we may never actually see the end of the scripted network drama,it seems inevitable that viewing habits are going to change even more than they already have, and the more traditional networks are going to change the way that they present their programming as well. Net flix and Amazon are simply on the leading edge of that new trend.

There is, perhaps, something that we’ll be losing with this new type of programming.It used to be the case that television viewing was, in some sense, a communal20. communal: 公共的。exercise.Especially in the days before cable21. cable: 有線電視。became a big thing, most Americans were watching the same things on the same networks at basically the same time. These were shared cultural experiences that helped de fine the eras that they were a part of. Today, it’s a lot harder to have those conversations because we’re no longer watching basically the same stuff. That world is gone, though, and there’s no bringing it back. We’re all watching different things now, and Net flix and Amazon are simply following that trend.

《女子監獄》

《紙牌屋》