本日口譯文章：默多克之子看中數字時期的電視代價
幾年前，在詹姆斯·默多克(James Murdoch)從倫敦搬回紐約後不久，一名同夥把他先容給了一個名叫喬·馬爾凱塞(Joe Marchese)的年青科技企業家。
詹姆斯·默多克是魯伯特·默多克(Rupert Murdoch)之子，他行將進入父親的媒體帝國高層，並且對公司成長敏捷的數字營業充斥好奇，願望能懂得更多相幹信息。馬爾凱塞是一家叫做TrueX的小型始創企業的結合開創人。TrueX是一家告白科技公司，它用一個互動告白，代替了一系列收集、挪動裝備和數碼電視上的尺度告白或視頻告白。
厥後，兩人險些每月都邑會晤，就該行業的將來舉行評論辯論。以後，默多克參加了這家始創企業的董事會。本年早些時刻，魯伯特·默多克的公司21世紀福克斯(21st Century Fox)完成為了對TrueX的收購，並錄用33歲的馬爾凱塞擔負其福克斯收集團體(Fox Networks Group)的一名部分總裁。據估量，這次生意業務的生意業務額約為2億美元(約合12.4億元國民幣)。
默多克與TrueX的生意業務，和他在曩昔兩年的投資者大會和其他場所露面時所揭櫫的概念，都解釋了他在預備接任首席履行官的過程當中，對21世紀福克斯的將來願景。懂得公司籌劃的人士表現，將來數周，84歲的魯伯特·默多克將錄用詹姆斯代替他擔負首席履行官，同時錄用詹姆斯的哥哥拉克倫(Lachlan)為履行聯席董事長。
1954年，魯伯特·默多克憑仗一份澳大利亞報紙，開端了樹立其宏大國際媒體帝國的過程。現在，詹姆斯將與拉克倫一路，賣力率領21世紀福克斯安穩地穿過21世紀的數字風暴。
依據公司支配，詹姆斯·默多克未能接收周五的采訪。然則，默多克客歲以來在面臨投資者時飾演了更主要的腳色，並且還參加了TrueX和Vice等數字媒體公司的董事會。他的計謀舉措和他對投資者說的話註解，數字流媒體、新的告白技巧，和對國際市場的連續存眷，極可能會持續位於優先位置，他會用新的辦法來鼎力推進這些方面的成長。
“對付傳媒家當及其生態體系，人們說了許多許多——似乎能把全部人集合起來，找到謎底，”42歲的默多克在12月的一次投資者大會上說。“我以為，想要立異，實在更好的方法是開端做些實事。”
默多克一向存眷的一個立異範疇是收集流媒體和告白技巧。跟著傳統電視的收視率大幅下滑，而收集觀眾範圍暴增，默多克曾表現，弄清實用於收集視頻的新告白模式將相當主要。
“我不是在低估完成這個目的會碰到的挑釁，”他上個月在一次集會上表現，“然則，流媒體情況是一個更好的告白平台，並且假如咱們能捉住觀眾，它應當會成為一個更好的告白平台;假如咱們能對告白加倍居心，就能夠削減告白流量，用戶也能得到更好的產物感受，得到他們想要的器械。”
當被問及他是不是斟酌為一些福克斯電視收集創立一個不須要傳統有線定閱的流媒體辦事時，默多克提到了開辟一個席卷福克斯、FX、福克斯體育(Fox Sports)、福克斯消息(Fox News)和國度地輿(National Geographic)的辦事的大概性。他說，如許的辦事將會是一種“異常簡略、異常有吸引力的選取”。
“是以，咱們願望能把全部辦事會合到一路，”他彌補道，“並且咱們以為那些購置這些辦事的家庭和小我也能夠從中得到許多有代價的器械。”
默多克曾表現，跟著數碼屏幕和流媒體流派的激增，好的電視節目和片子的代價會湧現大幅晉升。“數字時期真實的殺手級運用其實是電視，”他在客歲12月加入集會時說。“高質量、有劇本的文娛節目和體育節目標市場需求量異常大。這是咱們的投資重點，不單單是這裏，天下各地都是如斯。”
默多克的環球視線大概會極大地影響他作為首席履行官的視角。他如今住在本身童年的故鄉紐約，但他曾在天下各地棲身和事情。在職業平生的較早時代，他曾擔負英國電信公司BSkyB和福克斯的亞洲衛星電視團體星空傳媒(Star)的首席履行官。
一位剖析人士比來稱，默多克是國際營業專家，由於他“在那邊投入了許多時光”。默多克回應稱，“我不曉得當你提到國際的時刻，你說的那邊指的是甚麽?我這麽說是由於這很主要。我認為咱們不該該將這視做美國和其他全部處所。”
一些剖析人士曾質疑，假如默多克兄弟掌權，該公司在殺青生意業務方面是不是會加倍踴躍、自動。在有線、衛星電視公司殺青一系列主要生意業務後，該行業大概行將迎來文娛公司並購的海潮。題目是詹姆斯·默多克是不是會支撐這些生意業務。默多克客歲介入了福克斯收購代華納(Time Warner)的項目，但以失敗了結。
默多克在上個月表現，該公司“並不是真正”故意擴大到美國有線電視收集範疇，但他們盼望進步創作電視節目和片子的才能。他表現，該公司也存眷除美國以外的快速成長的市場，好比印度和拉丁美洲。至於比來殺青的生意業務，他提到了公司收購印度本土播送公司的項目，和客歲收購揚基文娛及體育電視網(Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network)大部門股分的生意業務。
他表現，公司在收購生意業務方面會“堅持理智，講求計謀”。
“咱們願望持續作為一個活潑的環球性構造，”他說。“咱們以為眾人都不想被卡在中央，這就須要投資。”
【參考譯文】
Soon after James Murdoch moved back to New York from London a few years ago, a friend introduced him to a young tech entrepreneur named Joe Marchese.
Mr. Murdoch, a son of Rupert Murdoch, was in line to ascend to the top of his father’s media empire and was curious to learn more about the fast-growing digital side of the business. Mr. Marchese was the co-founder of a small start-up called TrueX, an advertising technology company that replaced a slate of standard advertisements or video commercials — on the web, mobile and digital TV — with one interactive ad.
The two started to meet nearly every month to talk about the future of the industry, and Mr. Murdoch later joined the board of the start-up. Earlier this year, 21st Century Fox, a Rupert Murdoch company, closed a deal valued at about $200 million to acquire TrueX and named Mr. Marchese, 33, a president of its Fox Networks Group.
Mr. Murdoch’s dealings with TrueX, as well as comments he has made at investors’ conferences and other appearances in the last two years, shed light on his vision for the future of 21st Century Fox as he prepares to take over as chief executive. People briefed on the company’s plans say that in the coming weeks, Rupert Murdoch, 84, is expected to appoint James to succeed him as chief executive, while elevating James’s brother, Lachlan, to the role of co-executive chairman.
Rupert Murdoch started his sprawling global media empire in 1954 with a single Australian newspaper. Now James, in partnership with Lachlan, will be responsible for steering 21st Century Fox through the digital disruption of the 21st century.
The company did not make James Murdoch available for an interview on Friday. But Mr. Murdoch has played a more prominent role with investors in the last year and also taken board positions on digital media companies including TrueX and Vice. His strategic moves and his remarks to investors suggest that digital streaming, new ad technologies and a continued international focus are likely to take priority and that he will press forward aggressively with new initiatives.
“There’s a lot of talk about the ecosystem and the industry and a lot of — as if everybody can get together and find the answer,” Mr. Murdoch, 42, said during an investor conference in December. “I think actually a better way to innovate is just to get on with doing things.”
One area of innovation where Mr. Murdoch has focused is online streaming and advertising technologies. In the face of staggering ratings declines for traditional television and an explosion of digital viewing, Mr. Murdoch has said that figuring out new advertising models for online viewing will be essential.
“I’m not underestimating the challenges in getting there,” he said at a conference last month, “but the streaming environment is a better ad platform and should be a better ad platform if we can be engaging, if we can be immersive with advertising, we can have lighter ad loads and a better product experience for viewers that they’re getting what they want.”
Asked whether he would consider creating a streaming service for some Fox networks that would not require a traditional cable subscription, Mr. Murdoch mentioned the possibility of a service that included Fox, FX, Fox Sports, Fox News and National Geographic. Such a service, he said, would be a “very simple, very compelling offering.”
“So we like seeing all of that together,” he added, “and we think the families who buy these services and individuals who buy these services also get quite a lot of value out of that.”
With the proliferation of digital screens and streaming outlets, Mr. Murdoch has said that the value of great television shows and films will soar. “The real killer app in digital is actually TV,” he said at the conference in December. “There’s a huge amount of demand for high-quality, scripted entertainment and sports. And that’s really what we focus our investments a lot on, not just here but everywhere around the world.”
Mr. Murdoch’s global perspective is likely to greatly influence his perspective as chief executive. He now lives in his childhood home of New York but has lived and worked around the world. Earlier in his career, he was the chief executive of the British telecom BSkyB and the chief executive of Star, Fox’s Asian satellite television group.
One analyst recently called Mr. Murdoch an expert on international business because he spends “so much time there. ” Mr. Murdoch replied by saying: “I don’t know what there is when you say international, right? And I say that because it’s an important point. I don’t think we look at it as kind of the U.S. and everything else.”
Some analysts have questioned whether the company will take a more active role in deal making with the Murdoch sons at the helm. The industry is bracing for a potential wave of acquisitions among entertainment companies after a series of big deals among cable and satellite companies. The question is whether James Murdoch will champion those deals. Last year, he was involved in Fox’s unsuccessful bid for Time Warner.
Mr. Murdoch said last month that the company was “not really” interested in expanding further into American cable networks, but that it was keen to boost its capabilities in creating television and film. He said that the company also was focused on faster-growing markets outside the United States, such as India and Latin America. As an example of recent deals, he pointed to the company’s purchase of an original broadcaster in India and the acquisition last year of a majority stake in the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network.
He said that the company would be “reasonably sensible and sort of tactical” in pursuing acquisitions.
“We want to continue to be a dynamic, global organization,” he said. “We think that getting stuck in the middle ground is a place you don’t want to be, and that requires investment.”
的電視代價
市場價：HK$ 110
