2021年经济学人 付费有线电视的衰落(1)

Business

商业

Television - Cable ties

电视——有线电视

As Americans cut the cord, Europeans sign up for more pay-TV

美国人切断了有线电视，而欧洲人却签约了更多付费电视

The biggest television drama of the past decade has been the story of how people watch it.

过去十年中最重大的电视剧就是人们如何观看电视的故事。

Ten years ago nearly nine out of ten American households subscribed¹ to cable or satellite.

十年前，几乎90%的美国家庭订阅有线电视或卫星电视。

Today little more than half do.

如今，这个数字只有一半多一点。

The collapse² of pay-TV, amid the advance of online streaming, has upended the television industry and forced Hollywood giants like Disney to rethink their business model.

随着在线流媒体的发展，付费电视的崩溃颠覆了电视行业，迫使迪士尼等好莱坞巨头重新思考他们的商业模式。

And the pace at which consumers are “cutting the cord” from cable providers is only increasing.

而且，消费者与有线电视供应商“断线”的步伐只会越来越快。

But not everywhere.

但并不是所有地方都如此。

On the other side of the Atlantic, cord-cutters are outnumbered by cord-knotters.

在大西洋的另一边，接线者的数量超过了断线者。

As Americans tear up their contracts, Europeans are signing up for cable and satellite in greater numbers than ever.

当美国人撕毁他们的合同时，欧洲人签约有线电视和卫星电视的数量比以往任何时候都要多。

Pay-TV penetration³ in Britain will overtake that in America this year, according to Ampere⁴ Analysis, a research firm.

根据安培分析研究公司的调查，英国付费电视的渗透率今年将超过美国。

In France and Germany it already has.

这一点法国和德国已经做到了。

Why has American media’s mega-trend missed Europe?

为什么美国媒体的大趋势没有波及欧洲？

One reason is price.

其中一个原因是价格。

America’s cable industry may look competitive: the largest player, Comcast, has only a quarter of the market.

美国有线电视产业可能看起来竞争激烈：最大的运营商康卡斯特只有四分之一的市场份额。

But it is highly regionalised, so most homes have few options, says Richard Broughton of Ampere.

但因为它是高度区域化的，所以大多数家庭几乎没有选择，安培公司的理查德·布劳顿如是说。

The result is an average monthly cable bill of nearly $100.

其结果是，平均每月的有线电视费用接近100美元。

British homes pay less than half as much.

英国家庭支付的费用还不到这个数字的一半。

Tax loopholes have made pay-TV an even better deal in parts of Europe.

税收漏洞使付费电视在欧洲部分地区变得更加划算。

Take-up in France rocketed from 30% to 90% between 2004 and 2014, after the government imposed a lower rate of VAT⁵ on television services than on telecoms, unintentionally giving phone firms an incentive⁶ to throw in a cheap TV package and pay the lower rate of tax.

在政府对电视服务征收比电信服务更低的增值税后，法国的付费率在2004年至2014年间从30%飙升至90%，无意中激励了电话公司提供廉价的电视套餐，并支付更低的税率。

The loophole has been closed, but subscriptions⁷ remain high.

这个漏洞已经被堵住了，但订阅量仍然很高。

1 subscribed   

v.捐助( subscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；签署，题词；订阅；同意

参考例句：

• It is not a theory that is commonly subscribed to. 一般人并不赞成这个理论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I subscribed my name to the document. 我在文件上签了字。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 penetration   

n.穿透，穿人，渗透

参考例句：

• He is a man of penetration.他是一个富有洞察力的人。
• Our aim is to achieve greater market penetration.我们的目标是进一步打入市场。

4 ampere   

n.(电)安培

参考例句：

• This piece of equipment needs a thirty-ampere fuse.这设备需要30安培的熔丝。
• The units in which we show voltage and current are volt and ampere respectively.我们用以表示电压和电流的单位分别为伏特和安培。

5 vat   

n.(=value added tax)增值税，大桶

参考例句：

• The office is asking for the vat papers.办事处要有关增值税的文件。
• His father emptied sacks of stale rye bread into the vat.他父亲把一袋袋发霉的黑面包倒进大桶里。

6 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

7 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》