阿里巴巴入好莱坞探宝

    本周，阿里巴巴（Alibaba）董事长马云沐浴着美国南加州的灿烂阳光，马不停蹄地会晤好莱坞的公司高管们，希望能购得更多可供手机和平板电脑播放的内容。

    为了扩建阿里巴巴的流媒体服务，马云正在物色影视节目资源。据彭博新闻社（Bloomberg News）报道，阿里巴巴九月份在美国上市之后，手握250亿美元现金的马云再度造访美国，计划本周与多家公司进行会谈，其中包括狮门影业（Lions Gate Entertainment）、迪士尼（Walt Disney）、21世纪福克斯（Twenty-First Century Fox）等。

    周一，在《华尔街日报》主办的WSJDLive全球技术大会上，马云表示：“我来的目的就是寻找合作伙伴。”他还指出，中国很快就会成为全球规模最大的电影市场。

    随着中国中产阶级人数的不断增长，影视行业蓬勃发展。加州大学洛杉矶分校（UCLA）助理教授克里斯多夫•斯宾瑟认为，中国的流媒体行业将跟上这股热潮，在三到五年内发展为一个非常繁荣的市场，阿里巴巴已经抢占了一个有利位置。

    在众多业务中，阿里巴巴持续不断地对媒体投入巨资，比如与华数传媒（Wasu Media）合作推出其首款电视机顶盒，以及以12.2亿美元入股优酷土豆（Youku Tudou）。今年3月，阿里巴巴还以8.04亿美元购得文化中国传播集团（ChinaVision Media Group）60%的股份，并将其更名为阿里巴巴影业集团（Alibaba Pictures Group）。

    自3月份以来，阿里巴巴对娱乐行业的投资总额已超过30亿美元。在本周马云及其顾问团队与影业巨头会谈之后，这一数字很可能会继续上升。

    “对阿里巴巴而言，此举意义深远，而原因有很多，”斯宾瑟在接受Bloomberg West采访时指出：“首先，他们已经拥有巨大的在线平台，并希望将这个平台继续做大。他们可以采用的首要方式就是获取内容，而好莱坞是国际化内容云集的地方。”

    尽管流媒体可能成为一个巨大的市场，但短期来说，它面临政府管制的挑战。最近几个月，中国官方已经在试图控制外国媒体内容。4月份，政府下令关停视频网站上的4个美国节目；9月份，官方限定中国各流媒体服务提供的外国电视节目内容不能超过其总量的30%。

    对于好莱坞影视公司而言，合作的好处很大。由于受到中国政府方面的限制，他们正努力打通影视内容分发渠道。

    目前，阿里巴巴已经和部分媒体公司签订了内容分发协议。迪斯尼与优酷土豆签约，在中国推广《美国队长2：冬季战士》；而狮门影业则在7月份与阿里巴巴达成了一份协议，将在中国合作推出流媒体服务。

    “与三年前相比，现在要在中国分发一部电影相对容易些。”斯宾瑟说，“不过依然挑战重重。如果你希望在这个全球第二大市场拓展生意，那么建立关键的战略合作关系非常重要。”

    身为亿万富豪的阿里巴巴首席执行官马云相信，中国需要好莱坞一流的文化产品，而好莱坞也已成为他获取灵感的一大源泉。此外，马云相信，娱乐业还有助于培养人才，教会人们一些有用的技能。例如，他认为惠特尼•休斯顿在《保镖》（The Bodyguard）中的精彩演出就让他领会到了如何去发表演讲。

    “我从电影当中学到了很多东西。”他说，“我们总是担心在物质上丰富以后出现精神贫乏，而电影是改变中国年轻人行为最好的方式。”（财富中文网）

    Alibaba CEO Jack Ma is soaking up the southern California sunshine this week as he meets with Hollywood executives in a bid to acquire more content for phones and tablets.

    Ma is hunting for movies and television shows to help build out Alibaba’s streaming media offerings. He comes armed with $25 billion cash following Alibaba’s initial public offering in September and has a slate of meetings scheduled over this week with the likes of Lions Gate Entertainment LGF -0.36% , Walt Disney DIS 1.67% , Twenty-First Century Fox FOXA 1.60% and others, reported Bloomberg News.

    “I want to come here looking for partners,” Ma said Monday at the WSJDLive conference, adding that China will soon become the world’s largest movie market.

    With the growing middle class in China, the theatrical business is booming and expanding. Streaming will grow along with that and could become a viable market there in about 3 to 5 years–and Alibaba is in a position to take advantage of that, said Christopher Spicer, an assistant professor at UCLA.

    Alibaba has been investing in media ventures (among many other disparate businesses), including its first set-top box in collaboration with Wasu Media and a $1.22 billion investment in online video site Youku Tudou. The company also paid $804 million in March for a 60% stake in ChinaVision Media Group, which was renamed Alibaba Pictures Group.

    Since March, Alibaba BABA 1.93% has committed more than $3 billion toward its entertainment initiatives. That number could continue to grow as Ma and a team of advisors meet with studio execs this week.

    “It could be huge for them for a number of reasons,” Spicer told Bloomberg West. “Primarily, they have a huge online platform, and they’re looking to grow that platform. The primary way they can do that is to acquire content, and international content is located here in Hollywood.”

    While streaming could become a strong market, it faces governmental challenges in the near term. Over recent months Chinese officials have tried to control foreign-media content. In April, they ordered 4 U.S. shows off video-streaming sites, and then in September, officials limited the number of foreign TV shows to no more than 30% of total content on Chinese streaming services.

    A tie-up could be very beneficial for studios, which have struggled to get movies and TV shows distributed due to these governmental restrictions.

    Alibaba has already inked distribution deals with some media companies. Disney signed on with Youku Tudou to market “Captian America: The Winter Soldier” locally, and Lions Gate signed a deal in July to launch a streaming service in China.

    “It’s easier to get a film distributed in China now than it was three years ago,” said Spicer. “But, it’s still challenging, and it’s important to have key strategic relationships if you want to be in China and grow your business in the second largest market in the world.”

    The billionaire Alibaba CEO believes China needs Hollywood’s top-rated cultural products, and Hollywood has proved a source of constant inspiration for him. In addition, Ma believes that entertainment might help teach skills needed to develop talent. For instance, Ma credited Whitney Houston’s performance in The Bodyguard as providing him implicit lessons on how to give a speech.

    “I learn a lot of things from movies,” he said. “We worry about people with deep pockets but shallow minds, so movies are the best way to change Chinese young people’s behavior.”