For $15 a month, one service can give you access to basically endless movies and shows,

每個月 15 美金，一個服務幾乎每週都上新片，

with new offerings coming in every week.

提供了無限的電影、戲劇任君挑選

But enjoy it while it lasts, because wheels are already

不過把握時機，因為這個串流齒輪正在

in motion to make those services more profitable for companies, and worse for you.

往對公司更賺錢，卻對你更不利的其他服務前進

Someday soon, to get the same amount of content you're getting now,

很快地，要取得你現在看到的同樣內容

you have to pay for more streaming services.

你得付錢才能有更多串流服務

So think about all the content on a service like Netflix, and where all of it comes from.

所以試想 Netflix 的所有內容是從哪來的

A lot of what you see is made by Netflix, but most of it's not,

很多你看的影集是 Netflix 自製，但大部分皆不是，

whether it's network TV shows, old movies, or movies that were just in theaters.

不論是網路電視劇、老電影或剛下檔的電影

A study last year found that licensed content makes up 80% of what people actually watch.

去年的一項研究指出授權的內容佔了觀眾真正觀看的八成

Netflix pays to license that content from the studios, and it's a big part of their business.

Netflix 付錢和電影製片廠買內榮，這是他們生意的一大部分

Access to the streaming market is important for studios, too,

進入串流市場對片廠也很重要，

because streaming media is where the viewers are.

因為串流媒體就是觀眾所在處

Netflix added 30 million US subscribers in the past five years,

Netflix 過去五年在美國增加了 3000 萬名用戶，

and that's coming at a time when traditional cable and broadcast TVs have less viewers every year.

那剛好是傳統有線及無線電視每年減少觀眾的時機點

But licensing to Netflix, Hulu, and the other services isn't the only way for studios to get their movies online.

但授權給 Netflix、Hulu 跟其他串流服務並非片廠將電影上線的唯一辦法

Next year, Disney plans to launch its own streaming service, a direct competitor to Netflix.

明年，迪士尼計畫要推出自己的串流服務，也就成了 Netflix 的直接競爭對手

Disney's a little late to the party,

迪士尼較晚加入串流大戰，

but the service will have so much popular content that it may not matter.

不過它的服務會有超多更受歡迎的內容，所以沒那麼吃虧

Remember, Disney owns Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and 21st Century Fox,

記得，Disney 可是有皮克斯、漫威、星際大戰跟 21 世紀福斯

along with more than 90 years of beloved movies and TV.

伴隨的是超過 90 年受到觀眾喜愛的電影跟電視

The bad news is, if it's on Disney's new service,

壞消息是，若真的放在迪士尼新的服務上

it doesn't really make sense to put it on Netflix, too.

同時也放到 Netflix 就真的不合理了

Once Disney's current licensing deals expire,

一旦迪士尼最近期的授權到期

Coco, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Last Jedi are all probably gonna disappear from the other streaming services.

《可可夜總會》、《星際異攻隊》跟《星際大戰：最後的絕地武士》都可能在其他串流服務中消失

It's a simple business move.

這是個簡單的商業操作

Why would Disney put Last Jedi on Netflix

當迪士尼能將《星際大戰：最後的絕地武士》放在自己的 Disneyflix上時，

when it can put it on Disneyflix and make you pay another $15 a month for it?

為何要同時將這部放在 Netflix ，再讓你每個月多付 15 美金呀？

Even if Netflix offered to pay more money in licensing,

即使 Netflix 願意付更多授權金，

Disney would rather have you watch their movies on their service.

迪士尼會寧願你在自家串流服務上看他們的電影

Disney is actually really good at making money when distribution methods change.

在銷售方式轉型時，迪士尼真的還是超會賺錢

If you look at the history of the company,

若你看一下迪士尼的公司歷史

they've done it over and over again.

他們已經做過不知多少次

When VHS and DVDs became popular,

當錄像機跟光碟機變受歡迎時，

Disney pioneered a system called the Disney Vault,

迪士尼就最先創了個叫 Disney Vault 的系統，

where movies would be locked away for years,

便是讓電影先上鎖不能播放幾個年頭，

and only made available for lucrative, limited-run sales.

並且做成僅有有獲利、限量銷售方式才能收看

[Narrator] All these magical Disney videos before they disappear.

(配音員) 在這些奇幻的迪士尼影片消失之前

Whether you love or hate the vault, it worked.

不論你喜歡或討厭 Disney Vault 這個方式，它就是奏效了

A study in the year 2000 found that 55% of Disney fans replaced their VHS tapes with DVDs,

一項 2000 年的研究指出，相比起其他片廠僅有 14% 的 DVD 率，

compared to only 14% for other studios.

55% 的迪士尼粉絲用 DVD 取帶它們的錄像機影帶

Cable expanded the playing field even more.

有線電視甚至更擴展了放映領域

Initially, Disney licensed its content to HBO,

最一開始，迪士尼將內容授權給 HBO，

but soon they realized that the real money was in running their own channel.

但很快地他們就意識到真正要賺錢就要經營自己的頻道

So the Disney channel was born.

所以迪士尼頻道就誕生啦！

Last year, Disney made 40% of its money from cable channels, including the ABC networks and ESPN.

去年，迪士尼從有線頻道賺了 40%，包含 ABC 及娛樂與體育節目電視網

And as cord-cutters move away from cable,

當美國「剪線」潮使各家拋棄有線或衛星電視等付費服務，

towards services like Netflix, Disney's trying to pull off the same trick with streaming video,

使得 Netflix、迪士尼試著擺脫串流影片的同樣把戲，

using its massive content library to build a whole new service from the ground up.

用其海量的內容庫去重新打造個全新的服務

Now, Disney's not the only studio trying to do that.

現在，迪士尼並不是唯一嘗試這樣做的片廠

Comcast has its Xfinity streaming service,

美國有線電視康卡斯特推出其 Xfinity 的串流服務，

Time Warner has HBO Go.

華納媒體則有 HBO Go

The only way to see the latest Star Trek series is

唯一能看到《星艦迷航記》系列的方法是

by paying six dollars a month for CBS All Access.

每個月付 6 美金買 CBS 互動平台

Everybody's vertically integrating,

大家都在垂直整合，

which means there'll be less and less third-party content available to license.

這表示將有越來越少的第三方內容能取得授權

If you wanna follow all the movies and shows,

你如果要看全部的電影跟電視秀，

you'll have to pay for all the services,

你就要付錢買全部的服務，

and there'll be more and more of them to pay for.

且這將有越來越多有得他們買單

If you've noticed a lot more Netflix Originals lately, that's why.

你如果有注意到最近有許多 Netflix 原創，這就是為什麼了

If you can't find Star Wars or Iron Man on Netflix,

你如果在 Netflix 找不到《星際大戰》或是《鋼鐵人》，

executives are betting you'll stick around for Stranger Things and BoJack Horseman,

工作人員就打賭你會死追《怪奇物語》和《馬男波傑克》，

just like you stuck with HBO for Game of Thrones.

就如同你會為了《權力遊戲》死黏著 HBO 一樣

So if you follow a bunch of streaming services now,

所以你現在如果追了一大堆串流服務，

you might soften the blow by borrowing the password from your parents or friends,

你也許會出借密碼給你爸媽跟朋友來讓減輕負擔，

but that could be in danger, too.

但這也可能有危險

Streaming services can shut down account sharing anytime they want.

串流服務可以在任何他們想要的時間關閉共享帳號

Just look at Spotify, where sharing accounts is nearly impossible.

就看 Spotify 吧，要共享帳號近乎不可能

Netflix is slowly cracking down on account sharing, too,

Netflix 也正慢慢限制共享帳號，

As the industry matures, those rules are gonna tighten,

當產業逐漸成熟，那些規範將變更嚴，

and it's gonna get harder and harder to dip into a service without paying for it.

而且會變得更難去鑽免費使用的漏洞

Now, for corporations, this is about the money.

如今，對企業來說，都是關乎錢

Disney paid four billion dollars for Star Wars, and they wanna make that money back as fast as they can.

迪士尼花了 40 億製作《星際大戰》，且他們越快賺回本越好

But all that leaves the general interest fan in a tough place.

不過這讓普遍粉絲面臨選擇困境

Do you stick with a single streaming service,

你只有訂閱單一的串流服務，

and miss out on the next wave of Marvel movies?

且遺漏掉下一波漫威電影？

Is the new Star Trek really worth six dollars a month?

《星艦迷航記》真的值一個月 6 美金嗎？

We don't know what the future of streaming will look like, yet.

我們還不知串流平台的未來長怎樣

The transition away from licensing could be jarring, or it could happen slowly, over years.

這個遠離授權的轉變可能會很輾轉，或是可能進行得緩慢，得再耗上幾年

Competition between the new services could inspire a new golden age of TV shows,

新服務間的競爭可能會激發電視節目的新黃金時代，

or everyone could fall back on old tricks and familiar franchises,

或是所有人都退步回老把戲或過往的經銷模式，

but whatever happens, the pipeline between the camera and your screen is gonna get a lot more controlled,

但不論發生什麼事，攝影機跟你的螢幕的通路將受到更多控制，

and if you want the same amount of content you've been used to, you're gonna have to pay more.

你若想要跟你過去看的內容一樣多，你得付更多錢

Thanks for watching, I hope you liked it.

謝謝收看，我希望你喜歡這集

If you want more free video content, check us out at theverge.com,

如果你想看更多免費影片內容，到 theverge.com 看看，

and like and subscribe to youtube.com/theverge.

並按讚、訂閱 youtube.com/theverge