默多克之子看中數字時代的電視價值

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.

幾年前，在詹姆斯·默多克(James Murdoch)從倫敦搬回紐約後不久，一位朋友把他介紹給了一個名叫喬·馬爾凱塞(Joe Marchese)的年輕科技企業家。

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.

詹姆斯·默多克是魯伯特·默多克(Rupert Murdoch)之子，他即將進入父親的媒體帝國高層，而且對公司發展迅速的數字業務充滿好奇，希望能瞭解更多相關信息。馬爾凱塞是一家叫做TrueX的小型初創企業的聯合創始人。TrueX是一家廣告科技公司，它用一個互動廣告，取代了一系列網絡、移動設備和數碼電視上的標準廣告或視頻廣告。

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.

後來，兩人幾乎每個月都會見面，就該行業的未來進行討論。之後，默多克加入了這家初創企業的董事會。今年早些時候，魯伯特·默多克的公司21世紀福克斯(21st Century Fox)完成了對TrueX的收購，並任命33歲的馬爾凱塞擔任其福克斯網絡集團(Fox Networks Group)的一位部門總裁。據估計，此次交易的交易額約爲2億美元（約合12.4億元人民幣）。

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.

默多克與TrueX的交易，以及他在過去兩年的投資者大會和其他場合露面時所發表的觀點，都說明了他在準備接任首席執行官的過程中，對21世紀福克斯的未來願景。瞭解公司計劃的人士表示，未來數週，84歲的魯伯特·默多克將任命詹姆斯接替他擔任首席執行官，同時任命詹姆斯的哥哥拉克倫(Lachlan)爲執行聯席董事長。

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.

1954年，魯伯特·默多克憑藉一份澳大利亞報紙，開始了建立其龐大國際媒體帝國的進程。如今，詹姆斯將與拉克倫一起，負責帶領21世紀福克斯平穩地穿過21世紀的數字風暴。

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.

根據公司安排，詹姆斯·默多克未能接受週五的採訪。但是，默多克去年以來在面對投資者時扮演了更重要的角色，而且還加入了TrueX和Vice等數字媒體公司的董事會。他的戰略舉動和他對投資者說的話表明，數字流媒體、新的廣告技術，以及對國際市場的持續關注，很可能會繼續處於優先地位，他會用新的措施來大力推動這些方面的發展。

“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.”

“對於傳媒產業及其生態系統，人們說了很多很多——好像能把所有人聚集起來，找到答案，”42歲的默多克在12月的一次投資者大會上說。“我認爲，想要創新，其實更好的方式是開始做些實事。”

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.

默多克一直關注的一個創新領域是網絡流媒體和廣告技術。隨着傳統電視的收視率大幅下滑，而網絡觀衆規模暴增，默多克曾表示，弄清適用於網絡視頻的新廣告模式將至關重要。

“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.”

“我不是在低估完成這個目標會遇到的挑戰，”他上個月在一次會議上表示，“但是，流媒體環境是一個更好的廣告平臺，而且如果我們能抓住觀衆，它應該會成爲一個更好的廣告平臺；如果我們能對廣告更加用心，就可以減少廣告流量，用戶也能獲得更好的產品體驗，獲得他們想要的東西。”

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.”

當被問及他是否考慮爲一些福克斯電視網絡創建一個不需要傳統有線訂閱的流媒體服務時，默多克提到了開發一個囊括福克斯、FX、福克斯體育(Fox Sports)、福克斯新聞(Fox News)和國家地理(National Geographic)的服務的可能性。他說，這樣的服務將會是一種“非常簡單、非常有吸引力的選擇”。

“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.”

“因此，我們希望能把所有服務集中到一起，”他補充道，“而且我們認爲那些購買這些服務的家庭和個人也可以從中獲得很多有價值的東西。”

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.”

默多克曾表示，隨着數碼屏幕和流媒體門戶的激增，好的電視節目和電影的價值會出現大幅提升。“數字時代真正的殺手級應用實際上是電視，”他在去年12月參加會議時說。“高質量、有腳本的娛樂節目和體育節目的市場需求量非常大。這是我們的投資重點，不僅僅是這裏，世界各地都是如此。”

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.

默多克的全球視野可能會極大地影響他作爲首席執行官的視角。他現在住在自己童年的家鄉紐約，但他曾在世界各地居住和工作。在職業生涯的較早時期，他曾擔任英國電信公司BSkyB和福克斯的亞洲衛星電視集團星空傳媒(Star)的首席執行官。

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.”

一名分析人士最近稱，默多克是國際業務專家，因爲他“在那裏投入了很多時間”。默多克迴應稱，“我不知道當你提到國際的時候，你說的那裏指的是什麼？我這麼說是因爲這很重要。我覺得我們不應該將這視作美國和其他所有地方。”

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.

一些分析人士曾質疑，如果默多克兄弟掌權，該公司在達成交易方面是否會更加積極、主動。在有線、衛星電視公司達成一系列重要交易後，該行業可能即將迎來娛樂公司併購的浪潮。問題是詹姆斯·默多克是否會支持這些交易。默多克去年參與了福克斯收購代華納(Time Warner)的項目，但以失敗告終。

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.

默多克在上個月表示，該公司“並非真正”有意擴張到美國有線電視網絡領域，但他們渴望提高創作電視節目和電影的能力。他表示，該公司也關注除美國之外的快速發展的市場，比如印度和拉丁美洲。至於最近達成的交易，他提到了公司收購印度本土廣播公司的項目，以及去年收購揚基娛樂及體育電視網(Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network)大部分股份的交易。

He said that the company would be “reasonably sensible and sort of tactical” in pursuing acquisitions.

他表示，公司在收購交易方面會“保持理智，講究策略”。

“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.”

“我們希望繼續作爲一個活躍的全球性組織，”他說。“我們認爲大家都不想被卡在中間，這就需要投資。”