Netflix

美剧爱好者们对 Netflix 从不陌生——从口口相传的《纸牌屋》，到小众却口碑炸裂的《马男波杰克》和《怪奇物语》，这家提供线上视频点播服务的流媒体公司凭借优秀的原创内容，在竞争激烈的北美电视内容制作市场上博得了属于自己的一席之地。除了自主制作电视内容，Netflix 在购买片源这件事上也从不手软，其内容费用的零头都要比许多传统电视台的总费用要高。这家公司与中国也颇有渊源，国民大戏《甄嬛传》与国产网剧口碑佳作《白夜追凶》的播放权都被其收入囊中。

Netflix 成立于1997年，最初只是一家 DVD 租赁公司，通过邮寄影碟业务盈利。20年后，Netflix 已经成为世界上首屈一指的流媒体公司，付费用户数量超过了美国所有有线电视频道的总和。

从 DVD 邮寄业务到流媒体，再从流媒体点播服务到原创电视内容，两次成功的转型绝对不能简单地用“神来之笔”来概括，所有看似顺理成章的变化背后，必然是异常艰难和极具野心的商业决策。简洁而优美，是对 Netflix 发展之路最好的概括。

Netflix 会继续创造自己的传奇，还是像一座“纸牌屋”那样不堪一击？靠运气还是凭实力？我们还是抱着爆米花，慢慢追这部好戏吧。

本篇课程选自 The Economist Espresso APP

难度系数：

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The next binge-watch: Netflix earnings

① The streaming giant comes into today's quarterly-earnings report on a roll.

② It has gained subscribers faster than even bullish analysts expected, adding 26m net new members globally in the 12 months to March 31st, for a total of 125m.

③ The firm credits that in large part to its aggressive spending on content, which is expected to top $12bn this year.

④ Just its planned increase over last year, about $3bn-4bn, exceeds the entire content budget of HBO or the BBC.

⑤ But Netflix manages this by borrowing a lot of money, $8.5bn so far.

⑥ As a result, it is expected to burn through billions of dollars of cash for years to come.

⑦ Bearish investors believe Netflix is a house of cards.

⑧ Nevertheless, the company's share price has more than doubled this year.

⑨ Expect it to go on climbing, regardless of how much money the service is spending, if Netflix reports strong subscriber growth again today.

▍生词好句

binge /bɪndʒ/: n. 盛宴

on a roll /rəʊl/: 连连获胜 (多半是靠运气)

subscriber /səbˈskrʌɪbə, səbˈskrʌɪbər/: n. 订阅用户

bullish /ˈbʊlɪʃ/: adj. 看涨的；乐观的

credit to /'kredɪt/: vt. 将……归功于……

aggressive /əˈɡresɪv/: adj. 激进的

top /tɒp, tɑːp/: vt. 超过

exceed /ɪkˈsiːd, ekˈsiːd/: vt. 超过

budget /ˈbʌdʒɪt/: n. 预算

bearish /ˈbeːrɪʃ/: adj. 看衰的

house of cards: 乌合之众；不可靠的计划

▍补充

1. Earnings Per Share (EPS): 每股收益

2. blockbuster /ˈblɒkbʌstə, ˈblɒkbʌstər/: n. 票房炸弹；高票房电影

Blockbuster LLC, formerly Blockbuster Entertainment, Inc., and also known as Blockbuster Video or simply Blockbuster, was an American-based provider of home movie and video game rental services through video rental shops, DVD-by-mail, streaming, video on demand, and cinema theater.

百视达（英语：Blockbuster LLC，前称：Blockbuster Entertainment Inc.）是一家美国家庭影视娱乐供应商，最初只是出租录像，后来发展到了流媒体、视频点播和影院等行业。在其2004年发展高峰时段，拥有超过六万名员工和九千家商店。

3. launch/unveil a financial report: 发布财报

4. on a roll: 连连获胜 (多半是靠运气)

这家公司正在高歌猛进，运气和势头都不错。

The organization is on a roll.

5. gain the customer: 获客

6. net value: 净值；net weight: 净重

7. aggressive /əˈɡresɪv/: adj. 激进的；雄心勃勃的

· conservative /kənˈsəːvətɪv/: adj. 保守的

· radical /ˈrædɪkəl/: adj. 激进的

对于新的获客策略上，这家公司最近表现得非常激进。

The company's movement recently is very aggressive on acquiring new customers.

8. 不用太去相信那支团队。那支团队不过就是乌合之众而已。

Don't try to believe that team; that team is just a house of cards.

9. one perspective, regardless of …, if…

一个观点，否定一方面因素，肯定另一方面的因素。

他的英语一定会提升的，别管他看了些什么，只要他每天看就可以。

His English is going to improve, regardless of what kind of material he is reading, if he keeps reading every day.

▍责任编辑

李焕、杨晶妍、陈鑫悦、章晓丹