視頻網站YouTube推出新的網絡電視服務

視頻網站YouTube推出新的網絡電視服務

來源：BBC新聞

作者：Dave Lee

2017年3月1日

編譯：趙瑜 （浙江大學傳媒學院教授）

YouTube已經推出了一項電視訂閱服務，每月只需花費35美元。YouTube TV將提供包括ABC、CBS、福克斯、NBC及迪士尼旗下ESPN在內的超過40個網絡電視臺。該服務還包括一個“云DVR”，幫助用戶記錄和儲存程序。

一位分析師告訴英國廣播公司，YouTube對傳統的有線電視公司構成了很大的威脅。

“YouTube在視頻品牌方面樹立了良好的口碑，它的應用程序無處不在。” 美國市場研究公司eMarketer的保羅·弗爾納說道。

為了YouTube的一代

這個公告是YouTube的洛杉磯工作室發布的，這里提供了最大量的可在網絡上免費獲得的明星原創內容。

這只是整體計劃的一部分，但是最重要的一部分規劃，這些細節會很大程度上讓有線電視公司感到緊張，它包含了頂級渠道，也包括了那些現場體育直播。

“該服務是為在線視頻的年輕粉絲量身定制的，”YouTube產品管理總監克里斯蒂安·奧斯特林寫道，“那些沒有承諾他們想看什么、什么時候想看、想如何看的粉絲人群。”

該服務將在今年春末作為獨立的應用程序在智能電視和手機設備上推出，但有一個顯著的缺點是還沒有包括一些主要的電視臺頻道，類似HBO電視網、美國有線電視新聞網和《行尸走肉》系列的播出電視臺AMC。

此外，YouTube目前并沒有在美國以外的地區提供類似服務的計劃。

長期的挑戰

YouTube也在逐漸被卷入日益擁擠的市場，其他幾個比較知名的流媒體服務提供商已經在提供比傳統的有線電視套餐更便宜的服務。最值得注意的是，隸屬于AT&T（美國第二大移動運營商）的衛星電視服務商DirectTV，在互聯網上提供了超過120個頻道，但其每月70美元的付費是相當高的。

衛星電視運營商也在穩定性上遭受了猛烈攻擊，在本月初，這項服務可能遇到了可想象到的狀況中最糟糕的時刻，即觀眾錯過了超級碗（美國國家美式足球聯盟的年度冠軍賽）的大結局，這可能是最近的美國體育大事件中最戲劇性的一件。

“谷歌大量的基礎設施和專業知識能夠讓他們占據一些優勢”，美國市場研究公司eMarketer的Mr Verna說。

YouTube雖然已經擁有技術知識和基礎設施，但卻從不意味著就可以讓預想的事情都進展得很順利，因為這不僅僅關乎于提供大規模技術，還關乎于YouTube不是特別擅長的用戶界面。

YouTube has launched a $35-a-month TV subscription service that will rival US cable networks.

The live TV service will carry more than 40 channels, including some of the country's biggest networks including ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC and ESPN.

The service will also include a "cloud DVR" that will let users record and store programming.

One analyst told the BBC that YouTube posed a real threat to traditional cable companies.

"YouTube is already an extremely well established video brand, and its apps are virtually everywhere," said Paul Verna of eMarketer.

'For the YouTube generation'

The announcement was made at YouTube's LA-based studio, where it gives free access to the network's biggest stars to create original content.

That material will be part of the package, but the main draw, and the detail most likely to make cable companies nervous, is the inclusion of top channels -including those showing live sport.

"It's live TV designed for the YouTube generation," wrote Christian Oestlien, product management director for YouTube.

"Those who want to watch what they want, when they want, how they want, without commitments."

The service will launch later this spring in its own standalone application on smart TVs as well as mobile devices. One notable drawback, however, will be the absence of major channels such as HBO, CNN and AMC, home of the Walking Dead series.

There were no plans for a similar service outside the US.

Stability challenge

YouTube has also been slow to get involved in the increasingly crowded market. There are already other streaming cable services offering so-called "skinny bundles" of a few main channels at a cheaper cost compared to a traditional cable TV package.

Most notably, DirectTV - owned by AT&T - offers more than 120 channels over the internet, but its cost - $70 per month - is considerably higher.

DirectTV has also come in for fierce criticism over stability. At the beginning of this month, the service went down at perhaps the worst moment imaginable - viewers missed the end of the Super Bowl, and perhaps the most dramatic moment in US sports in recent memory.

Google's vast infrastructure and expertise could give them an edge, predicted eMarketer's Mr Verna.

"YouTube has the technical know how and infrastructure but it's never a given that things will go right. It's not just about delivering the technology at scale.

"It's about the user interface - and that's something YouTube has never been particularly good at."

YouTube takes on cable with new TV service

From：BBC
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39124092
1 March 2017
By：Dave Lee （North America technology reporter）