Name: Netflix 訂閱數遇到瓶頸，未來將限制「家庭共享帳號」？！(Netflix Hit a Subscriber Peak. Here Are 3 Strategies They Might Try to Keep Growing | WSJ)
Uploaded: 2022-06-10T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 5 min 56 s

With hits like "Squid Game", "Don't Look Up", "Bridgerton", and "Stranger Things", Netflix has long been the leader in streaming.

Netflix 憑藉《魷魚遊戲》《千萬別抬頭》《柏捷頓家族：名門韻事》《怪奇物語》等影集，穩坐串流平台領頭羊寶座。

But in April, the company reported a drop in subscribers for the first time in a decade.

但在四月份，Netflix 訂閱戶出現了十年來的首次下降。

程度副詞

We're getting pretty high market penetration.

我們的市場滲透率目前相當的高。

And that, combined with a competition, is really, you know, what we think, is driving the lower acquisition and lower growth.

再加上競爭對手出現，我們認為，這確實是造成了收益降低和較低的成長率。

The decline is uncharted territory for the company which is facing growing competition from other streamers.

這種衰退對於面臨來串流媒體市場競爭日益激烈的 Netflix 來說，還是未知的領域。

They are maturing as other competitors are starting to grow.

其他競爭公司正開始成長，而 Netflix 則處於在成熟的階段。

Here are three strategies that Netflix might try to break free of their subscriber plateau and how these methods have worked for other streamers.

以下是 Netflix 可能會嘗試打破訂閱戶增長停滯期的三種策略，以及這些方法對其他串流媒體的影響。

One strategy that Netflix is already working on is reevaluating how it creates and acquires content.

Netflix 已經在實行的一項策略是，重新評估其創建和獲取內容的方式。

We have to have an "Adam Project" and a "Bridgerton" every month and to make sure that that's the expectation of the service constantly.

我們必須每月都有像《超時空亞當計畫》或《柏捷頓家族：名門韻事》這樣的片，確保滿足用戶期望。

Netflix has a wide library that continues to grow.

Netflix 的藏片量十分龐大，且不斷在增長。

In 2021, it released more than 500 original programs, according to people familiar with the company strategy, but it's led to a mixed bag of hits and misses for the company.

據悉，2021 年，Netflix 發布了超過 500 個原創節目，但這給公司帶來的成果卻喜憂參半。

Netflix spends upwards of 20 billion dollars a year acquiring programming, making programming.

Netflix 每年花費超過 200 億美元購買、製作節目。

They don't wanna reduce that amount, but they would like to spend it a little better.

他們不想減少這個數額，但想將經費花得更划算。

Consistent quality content has proven important for gaining and retaining subscribers.

事實證明，穩定的內容質量對於新增及留住訂閱者的確很重要。

Disney+ and HBO Max saw subscription spikes for big releases like "Hamilton" and "Wonder Woman '84", but many of those subscribers canceled their plans within six months.

《漢密爾頓》和《神力女超人1984》讓 Disney+ 和 HBO Max 訂閱量激增，但許多訂閱者在六個月內就退訂了。

You have to strike a balance of keeping the machine going and fresh stuff coming in without overwhelming your customer base.

我們必須保持正常營運及引進新事物間的平衡，而又不影響我們的基礎客戶群。

But, yes, what you don't want, of course, are large periods between new shows coming out and/or hit shows returning.

但沒錯，我們當然不想要新節目上檔或熱門節目回歸之間有很大的空白期。

Another avenue that Netflix has said they will explore is adding a cheaper, ad-supported option for subscriptions.

Netflix 表示他們將考慮增加一個較便宜，但有廣告的訂閱選項。

Netflix has been very against advertising, against the idea of advertising.

Netflix 一直以來都十分反對廣告。

The co-founder Reed Hastings has always said this is a platform built for the viewers, built for our subscribers; our subscribers don't want ads; ads interrupt the content.

共同創辦人 Reed Hastings 一直表示，這是為觀眾、訂閱者打造的平台；而訂閱者不想要廣告，廣告會打斷觀影體驗。

Most other streamers already offer ad-supported options.

大多數其他串流媒體都已經提供含廣告的訂閱選項。

It's been a staple of Hulu's plans for years.

多年來，Hulu 一直都有提供內含廣告的訂閱方案 。

Ad-supported subscriptions make up about 59% of its base, according to data from subscriber measurement company, Antenna.

根據用戶統計公司 Antenna 數據指出，廣告支持的訂閱戶約佔其用戶基數的 59%。

HBO Max began offering a 9.99 subscription with ads in June of 2021, compared to its regular 14.99 ad-free version.

與常規的 14.99 美元無廣告版本相比，HBO Max 已於 2021 年 6 月開始提供 9.99 美元的廣告訂閱方案。

After about six months, ad-supported subscriptions made up about 8% of its base, according to Antenna.

據 Antenna 稱，大約六個月後，廣告支持的訂閱戶數約佔了其用戶基數的 8%。

And Disney+ announced that they'd release a lower-cost, ad-supported option later this year.

Disney+ 也宣布他們將在今年年底釋出價格更低、有廣告的訂閱選項。

A small but growing number of subscribers are choosing ad-supported plans.

少數但越來越多的訂閱者開始選擇有廣告版本的方案。

According to Antenna, they accounted for 32% of streaming signups in 2021, compared with only 19% the year before, which translated into a small increase in subscriptions as well.

根據 Antenna 的數據，他們在 2021 年佔了串流媒體註冊數的 32%，相較於前年的 19%，成為訂閱數增長的一小部分。

Of course, what Netflix doesn't wanna do is see a lot of their current subscribers who pay a lot of money to not have commercials decide, economically, it's a better bet to deal with some commercials.

當然，Netflix 不希望看到他們現在支付費用以不播放廣告的用戶，轉而選擇相對便宜、有廣告的版本。

So, they're gonna have to balance that out, but the hope is, new revenue from commercials, [and] new subscribers coming in.

所以，Netflix 不得不考慮兩者的平衡點，但期望是，能有商業廣告的新收入，也增加新的訂閱戶。

Saving money accounts for about 30% of subscription cancellations in the U.S., according to survey data from Kantar Entertainment On Demand.

根據 Kantar Entertainment On Demand 的調查數據，在美國，省錢約佔取消訂閱原因的 30%。

Offering a lower price might entice more holdouts who don't wanna pay Netflix's current lowest plan.

提供較低的價格可能可以留住更多不想支付 Netflix 目前最低價格方案費用的人。

People are being very cost-conscious these days.

The idea that you cut the cord and save money through streaming is a little bit of a myth.

通過退訂串流媒體來省錢的想法，其實是個迷思。

And the more these services go up in price, the more people will realize it's a bit of a myth.

而且訂閱價格越是上漲，人們越會意識到這是個迷思。

The trickiest strategy Netflix wants to focus on is cracking down on password sharing, an issue that streamers have been trying to solve for years.

對 Netflix 來說目前最棘手是如何打擊共享帳號這個問題，這是流媒體多年來一直試圖解決的問題。

Streamers have a love-hate relationship with password sharing.

串流媒體平台對共享帳號這個現象是又愛又恨。

Streamers don't wanna be the bad cop cracking down on people sharing their passwords, but at some point, it becomes so widespread that it affects the bottom line.

串流平台不想成為打擊共享帳號用戶的壞警察，但某些時候，這個現象變得太過普遍觸及底線。

Netflix estimates that password sharing is losing them a large portion of customers.

據 Netflix 估算帳號共享正是他們失去很大一部分客戶的一大原因。

222 million households subscribe worldwide.

But the company estimates that an additional 100 million households access the service through shared passwords.

但該公司估計，除此之外，還有 1 億個家庭通過共享帳號使用服務。

Viewer penetration is made up of two groups.

One is a group that's paying us, which is great.

一個族群是付錢給我們的客服，這很棒。

And then there's a group of viewers that are not paying us and they're sharing someone else's account credential.

另外一群則是沒有付錢給我們，共享別人帳戶的用戶。

And we really see that second group as a tremendous opportunity.

我們認為第二族群是具有巨大潛力的客戶群。

Netflix already has some measures to prevent password sharing.

Netflix 已經採取了一些措施來防止密碼共享。

There's a limit on the number of profiles an account can have, and different subscription levels have caps for how many devices can be watching at a time.

單一帳戶下可創建的個人化用戶數有限制，且不同訂閱級別可以同時觀看的設備數也有限。

Other streamers currently follow similar models.

其他串流媒體目前也遵循類似的模式。

A new method Netflix might try is adding an additional charge for accounts used in more than one household.

Netflix 可能嘗試的另一種新方法是加收非單一家庭使用帳戶額外費用。

They're already testing subscription models like this in Chile, Peru, and Costa Rica.

他們已經在智利、秘魯和哥斯達黎加測試了這種訂閱模式。

People get used to getting something for free or feel like, I subscribe, I should be able to share this with my son and my daughter living in another state,

人們習慣於免費獲得，或者覺得，我訂閱了，應該要能夠與住在另一個州的兒子和女兒分享帳號，

and so they're... they're gonna have to be⏤do a good job in explaining that the only way we can keep bringing you all the programming you love is to have more revenue to make it.

所以他們必須好好解釋，Netflix 能繼續為用戶帶來它們喜愛的節目的唯一方法，就是獲得更多收入來製作它。

Whatever Netflix chooses to do, the industry will be watching closely.

無論 Netflix 選擇做什麼，業界都將密切關注。

Whether Netflix is going to try to be more efficient or to use their words, "right-size their programming budgets", that has a ripple effect on the rest of the industry.

無論 Netflix 是打算提高效率，還是用他們的話講：「適當調整節目預算」這都會對整個業界產生連鎖反應。

I'm sure for the rest of the industry, they're thinking, "Great, these guys have been overpaying and blowing budgets out of proportion for years, so, now, everything may actually return to some sort of sense of normal."

我敢肯定，對於業界其他人來說，他們會認為：「太好了，這些人多年來一直在多花錢，預算不成比例，現在，一切終於可能恢復到正常狀況了。」

In addition to these measures, Netflix will also likely turn their attention to international markets like Asia, where streaming is still fairly new and not yet saturated.

除了這些措施外，Netflix 還可能將注意力轉向亞洲等國際市場，那裡串流媒體仍然十分新穎，市場尚未飽和。