阿里巴巴大举押注在线视频业务

Alibaba is making a big bet on online video, with therollout of a content service in China aimed atenticing people to pay a monthly subscription in amarket where most programming is accessed forfree.

中国电子商务集团阿里巴巴(Alibaba)正大举押注在线视频业务，准备在中国推出一种内容服务，目标是在这个大多数节目都可免费观看的市场中，吸引人们支付月费观看其内容。

But if the Chinese ecommerce group can make themodel work, analysts and competitors say it couldtransform a sector that is haemorrhaging cash amida bidding war among companies for top content.

不过，分析师和阿里巴巴的竞争对手表示，如果阿里巴巴能证明这种模式可行，或将让在线视频行业发生彻底改观。目前，由于各家公司竞相购买顶尖内容，该行业正处于一种烧钱状态。

Alibaba’s new offering is called Tmall Box Office, a service the group said would be similar toNetflix, the US streaming service that has yet to receive a license to operate in China, andHBO, the pay-television network.

阿里巴巴的新服务名为Tmall Box Office(以下简称TBO)。该集团表示，TBO将与美国流媒体服务Netflix和美国付费电视网HBO类似。目前，Netflix尚未拿到在华运营的牌照。

It plans to launch the new offering in two months, according to Liu Chunning, president of thegroup’s digital entertainment unit.

根据阿里巴巴数字娱乐事业群总裁刘春宁的说法，该公司计划在两个月内推出这项新服务。

Mr Liu said at the weekend that while Tmall Box Office will offer some shows for free, most willbe behind a subscription wall.

上周末，刘春宁表示，虽然TBO将免费提供部分视频，但多数视频将需要付费才能观看。

Charging for content should help online video make money: most of China’s video sites, basedon a YouTube-style model funded primarily by advertising, lose money thanks to skyrocketingprices for the online syndication rights for top shows such as Voice of China and I’m the Singer— variety shows that are huge draws both on TV and online.

对内容收费应该有助于在线视频业务实现盈利：由于顶级节目在线发行权的价格急剧上涨，中国多数视频网站(这些网站以YouTube模式运作，主要收入来自广告)都在赔钱。这些顶级节目包括《中国好声音》(Voiceof China)和《我是歌手》(I'm a Singer)等才艺秀，它们无论在电视上还是在网上都有巨大的吸引力。

But with audiences starting to wean themselves off pirated content in favour of licenced videosfunded by advertising, some analysts fear it might be too soon to ask Chinese audiences to paysubscription prices to boost revenues.

不过，部分分析师担心，中国观众刚开始远离盗版内容、而选择观看靠广告费支撑的正版视频，现在可能还远不到要求他们支付会员费以提振营收的阶段。

Luo Lan, from Analysys Enfodesk, a Beijing-based internet consultancy, said the case for asubscription-based service has yet to be proven.

北京互联网咨询公司易观智库(Analysys Enfodesk)的罗兰表示，推行付费制服务的理由还有待验证。

“Chinese viewers have very little motivation to pay for content online, and the advertising modelis not efficient in bringing profit. It is hard to say whether or not it will be a success, but atleast it is a path worth exploring, she said. “It really depends on the quality of the content andthe user experience.

她说：“中国观众为在线内容付费的意愿极低，而广告模式在盈利方面也不够有效。很难判断这种模式会不会成功，但它至少是一条值得探索的道路。真正的决定因素是内容的品质和用户体验。

Other analysts concur that quality of the content, rather than the nature of how it isaccessed, is the differentiating factor.

其他分析师也认为，拉开差距的关键因素是内容的品质，而不是内容的获取方式。