Can Streaming Offset Losses In Traditional Revenue?
我们都听说媒体和娱乐领域的传统收入一直在下滑, with the music industry held up as the primary example. 然而,, for those of us in the streaming industry, 我们坚信，数字化交付不仅抵消了传统的收入来源，而且有可能通过扩大客户群而超过传统的收入来源.
Recent statistics support the fact that streaming continues to grow, including 最近的一次 IDC 报告 on first-time streaming users, 该研究发现，92%在网上看过电影的人想再看一次.
What happens in the interim, 在线收入达到或超过传统收入的时间间隔, is a bit more nebulous, 以及一系列收益报告和战略研究论文(包括 this one from Oxford Analytica, published at Forbes.com) released over the last week paint an interesting picture.
有利的一面, pure-play video rental services such as NetFlix, 该公司没有实体店，但其市场份额继续削弱其更传统的竞争对手, announced its earnings late last week, citing streaming as significant to both current and future growth.
“在我们的服务中加入流媒体扩大了Netflix的吸引力，并推动了它的增长," said Netflix CEO, 里德·黑斯廷斯(Reed Hastings)在财报电话会议上表示，该公司的业绩超出预期，并上调了今年剩余时间的预期.
“从本质上来说, both Netflix and Redbox are growing at the expense of video stores," said Hastings, 他指出，硅谷周围精通科技的地区的Netflix用户数量是美国其他地区的两倍多, which he attributes to streaming capabilities.
“(在旧金山湾区)围绕流媒体的技术创新因素非常高。," said Hastings, "and high-speed cable broadband is widely available. Because of all of that, 我们在旧金山湾区的订阅家庭以每年2%的速度增长. 我们认为湾区是美国其他地方互联网行为的领先指标."
On the flip side, 音乐行业报告称，传统cd的收入出现下降，但在线数字发行尚未抵消这一下降.
U.S. album sales fell to 428.4 million units in 2008, a drop of 14 percent from the previous year. 有趣的是，虽然在iTunes上开始强势，在那里一张专辑通常可以花9美元购买.99, 消费者已经从购买专辑转向购买歌曲, 这意味着在线专辑的销售还不能抵消传统专辑销售的损失.
One reason that this trend toward per-track sales may be happening, at least from the music industry's perspective, is that today's digital albums only contain a PDF digital booklet, somewhat akin to liner notes, 但是没有办法与相册交互地查看这些内容. 像这样, 无视苹果平板电脑可能有助于整合音乐和多媒体内容的传言, 最近的一次 Financial Times article touched on ways that the music industry hopes to boost album sales.
唱片公司和苹果公司正努力将该项目的发布日期定在9月," the article stated, discussing what is being called 'Cocktail', ，目的是通过在音乐中捆绑歌词注释和视频片段来提高人们对专辑的兴趣."
这篇文章援引了一位不愿透露姓名的高管的话，他希望让LP重现昔日的辉煌, at least from an entertainment perspective.
“这一切都是为了重现专辑的鼎盛时期，那时你会和朋友们坐在一起看艺术作品, while you listened to the music," the executive said, 添加, "it’s not just a bunch of PDFs; there is real engagement with the ancillary stuff."
那么，像音乐行业这样的行业是如何使整体收入回到正轨的呢? 答案或许可以从英国版税收集组织发布的一组数据中找到.
的 报告, 一篇名为《百家乐软件app最新版下载》的报告指出，基于消费者支出，2008年英国音乐产业增长了3%，音乐产业总收入增长了4%.7%.
这怎么可能，尤其是考虑到英国唱片销量下降了6%的事实? 尽管实体音乐销量下降了10%，数字音乐销量增长了50%——还不足以抵消传统音乐的销量——但在音乐会门票销售和部分音乐会直播的推动下，现场活动市场增长了13%.
“这份报告的目的不仅仅是统计英国音乐产业的收入," said Will Page, Chief Economist for the royalty-collecting group PRS for Music, "but also to show how it all hangs together. Reading beneath the top line, 唱片销量下降，直播销量上升——这反映了所谓的“传统”艺人在巡演中取得的成功. 从历史上看，唱片公司一直是新艺人的主要投资者，所以这个行业应该问的问题是:谁将投资发展未来的“传统”艺人?"
除了纯业务公司，传统收入的回归似乎更加难以捉摸. 取, 例如, 喜达屋连锁酒店:最近的一份报告指出，喜达屋的高端酒店(W和旗舰酒店喜来登)的客房电影收入大幅下降, despite the addition of large flat panel displays in hotel rooms. 罪魁祸首? Streaming media.
"Streaming media—movies, 电视节目, 目前，网络广播占喜达屋酒店Wi-Fi流量的40%到50%," said Starwood's Brian McGuinness, noting that the Aloft chain, which attracts a younger traveller demographic, sees almost 60% of its Wi-Fi traffic from streaming media.
最后, 喜达屋不仅看到了传统娱乐收入减少的趋势, 但也需要增加Wi-Fi和互联网连接的额外成本，以弥补额外的带宽需求.
With other hotel chains offering free Wi-Fi, the potential is high for streaming media to become a significant cost, rather than the profit center of in-room entertainment, 这可能会扭曲喜达屋和其他酒店经营者在重新出现的关于网络中立性的讨论中的立场.
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