美国国家公共电台 NPR Apple Looks To Compete With Netflix Originals, But Making Hits Is Hard

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

It used to be the only place to find great television was on the big broadcast networks, then cable was where all the best stuff was airing. More recently, Netflix and Amazon have been racking up the Emmys. And now Apple wants a bite. Hollywood insiders tell NPR that the tech giant has plans to start making original movies and television. Apple will face some challenges, not least of all a very crowded market. But as NPR's Laura Sydell reports, Hollywood is happy to have tech companies enter the game.

LAURA SYDELL, BYLINE¹: When producer Sid Ganis first heard that Apple wanted to make TV and movies...

SID GANIS: I thought to myself - what? - and why?

SYDELL: As a former president at Paramount² Pictures, Ganis had a hand in films such as "Top Gun," "Ghost" and "Forrest Gump." He's also someone who uses Apple products and thinks the company is really good at making hardware.

GANIS: It seemed odd that they would take that really big, gigantic leap into creating content. Content is not very easy to figure out.

SYDELL: But Apple's sales fell last year for the first time since 2001, largely due to less demand for its iPhone 7. Apple isn't commenting about its plans for TV and film, but the right content could help Apple boost sales of Apple products.

BRIAN BLAU: Having original content is a strategy that is simply just going to bring people back to Apple.

SYDELL: Brian Blau is an analyst³ with Gartner who follows Apple.

BLAU: I think this could represent a unique opportunity for them, one that's going to make them more competitive with these other original content providers that, potentially, have been drawing Apple users away from the Apple ecosystem⁴.

SYDELL: These original content providers include Netflix. Netflix has done an especially good job at creating content, like "The Crown," that draws in new subscribers.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE CROWN")

CLAIRE FOY: (As Queen Elizabeth II) My name is Elizabeth.

HARRY⁵ HADDEN-PATON: (As Martin Charteris) Then, long live Queen Elizabeth.

SYDELL: Last quarter, Netflix flew past Wall Street expectations and added some 7 million new subscribers in the U.S. and abroad. Analyst Blau thinks even though Netflix is available on Apple devices, the company may want to have some programming that's under its control. In part, as the market for iPhones gets saturated⁶, it will need other sources of income.

BLAU: I think Apple's just trying to find their place and how they can capture some of the revenue. And this sort of TV and video and music content, I think, is just going to be one more pillar that they're going to be able to stand on over time.

SYDELL: And that's just fine with Hollywood producers like Art Linson. Among Linson's executive producing credits are the hit series "Sons Of Anarchy⁷." Linson says Hollywood has become too risk-averse.

ART LINSON: And it opened the door a long time ago for people to say - whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, we'll go into that. We're going to do something interesting, and let's see how it goes. And that's why you see Netflix making the surge it made - and Amazon - because they're smart. They went, we're not scared.

SYDELL: And Amazon and Netflix spent serious money. Netflix laid out $100 million with its first foray into original TV, "House Of Cards" with Kevin Spacey. Netflix took it on after it had been turned down by HBO, Showtime and AMC.

But no matter how much money you have, there are challenges, says producer Sid Ganis, especially for a company like Apple, which has never produced TV or film.

GANIS: It doesn't matter that they have $200 billion in the bank. It matters that the writer and the director are in it for the emotional ability to move us as viewers.

SYDELL: And making a hit is hard. It requires the right talent and no small amount of luck. As any number of Hollywood producers will tell you, no one ever starts out planning to make a flop⁸.

Laura Sydell, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 paramount   

a.最重要的，最高权力的

参考例句：

• My paramount object is to save the Union and destroy slavery.我的最高目标是拯救美国，摧毁奴隶制度。
• Nitrogen is of paramount importance to life on earth.氮对地球上的生命至关重要。

3 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

5 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

6 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

7 anarchy   

n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• There would be anarchy if we had no police.要是没有警察，社会就会无法无天。
• The country was thrown into a state of anarchy.这国家那时一下子陷入无政府状态。

8 flop   

n.失败(者)，扑通一声；vi.笨重地行动，沉重地落下

参考例句：

• The fish gave a flop and landed back in the water.鱼扑通一声又跳回水里。
• The marketing campaign was a flop.The product didn't sell.市场宣传彻底失败，产品卖不出去。