地方電視臺之春
Coming soon
呼之欲出
It is going to have a lot of adverts and reality shows
接下來是廣告和真人秀的時間
How it’s done in San Diego
瞧瞧圣迭戈是咋辦的
Why does Birmingham, Alabama have eight local television stations while the larger Birmingham in the West Midlands has none? The question so irked Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary until last year, that he decided to do something about it. Now his vision is taking shape. Local TV licences have been awarded in 16 of 19 pioneer areas. By the end of the year the currently defunct Freeview channel eight will start to glow with local fare.
為什么美國亞拉巴馬州的伯明翰有八個地方電視臺，而英國西米德蘭茲郡的大伯明翰市卻一個也沒有？這個問題直到去年還在困擾著英國文化大臣杰里米·亨特，他決定改變這一狀況。如今他的藍圖正逐漸成形，地方電視執(zhí)照已經(jīng)在19個試驗地區(qū)中的16個發(fā)放。到今年年底，之前已停播的自由觀點第八頻道將通過地方收費重獲新生。
In America, local stations are affiliated with national broadcasters; they rely on huge shows like “American Idol” to drive viewers to their news programmes. Britain’s local outfits will have to survive without such support. Andrew Mullins, managing director of the Evening Standard, which won London’s franchise, expects to start turning a profit only in the fourth year. And the capital has the advantage of reliable viewing figures. Most of the new stations will lack them, making it hard to sell advertising. Businesses may treat local TV more as a target for sponsorship, says Sean McGuire of Oliver and Ohlbaum Associates, a consultancy. There may be a lot: local TV licences are not bound by an EU cap on commercials. With several bid-winners promising less than two hours of original programming each day, repeats and teleshopping will also abound.
在美國，地方電視臺都隸屬于國家廣播公司。這些電視臺通過像“美國偶像”這樣的節(jié)目來引導(dǎo)觀眾收看他們的新聞節(jié)目。而英國的地方電視臺卻沒有這個條件。擁有在倫敦發(fā)行特許權(quán)的《英國標準晚報》總經(jīng)理安德魯·穆林斯只期望能在第四年實現(xiàn)盈利，而且因為在首都倫敦的緣故，他們還占有可靠收視率的優(yōu)勢。相比之下，多數(shù)的新聞媒體都缺乏這一優(yōu)勢，這讓媒體的廣告很難叫賣。按媒體咨詢公司奧利弗和奧爾邦姆的西恩·麥奎爾的說法，在商人眼里，電視更像是一個贊助單位。好處多多：地方電視牌照不受歐盟商業(yè)廣告的限制。由于中標廣告商承諾每天播放的原創(chuàng)廣告不超過兩個小時，所以通過重復(fù)廣告和大打電話購物牌的路子將會興盛起來。
Where local television flourishes, in Canada and America, news is at its core. Many local newspapers have disappeared in the past few years. But Simon Terrington, another consultant, reckons demand for neighbourhood news is high. The eight or so bid-winners that are subsidiaries of local media groups should find this easiest to provide. Mr Mullins says the Evening Standard will offer screen tests to all its journalists.
在諸如加拿大和美國這些地方電視臺興盛的地方，新聞往往是其內(nèi)容的核心。許多地方報紙在過去的幾年關(guān)門停刊，不過在咨詢師西蒙·特林頓看來，社區(qū)新聞的需求量依然很高。諸如第八頻道這樣的地方媒體公司的中標人應(yīng)該注意到，這一類新聞是最容易操作的。穆林斯表示，《倫敦標準晚報》就會為它的所有記者提供試鏡機會。
Bill Smith of Latest TV in Brighton and Hove thinks local television will unlock creativity. “If you make it we’ll show it,” he says. Localism may be defined rather loosely. Latest TV has “International Chef Exchange”, a reality show in which Dutch and English cooks swap lives for a few days. City TV Birmingham will offer “Reach for the Top”, a secondary-school quiz show resembling “University Challenge”. Such formats could migrate to bigger channels if they work. The BBC has pledged to spend 15m pounds on local content over the next three years.
比爾·史密斯在布萊頓和霍夫的最新電視節(jié)目上表示，地方電視臺可以產(chǎn)生新的創(chuàng)造力。史密斯說：“只要有料，我們就報。”地方主義的定義是相當寬泛的。布萊頓和霍夫最新的一期電視節(jié)目上播了“國際廚師交流”，這檔真人秀節(jié)目將荷蘭和英國的廚師互換身份，各自體驗彼此的幾天生活；城市電視臺伯明翰分臺則播放了“挑戰(zhàn)巔峰”，這是一檔類似于“大學(xué)挑戰(zhàn)”的中學(xué)生智力競賽節(jié)目。如果這些節(jié)目反響不錯，收視率更高的頻道就將采用它們。英國廣播公司已承諾，未來三年里拿出1500萬英鎊來發(fā)展地方電視臺節(jié)目。
Despite their local roots, the stations are drawing together. Their representatives meet monthly. Debra Davis, who heads City TV, argues that they will attract national advertisers only if they act collectively. Mr Smith is pushing for the local stations to pool successful shows. Expect a miscellany of little Britain, punctuated by cheap ads.
盡管這些地方電視臺來自五湖四海，但是它們正開始走到一起。電視臺的代表們一個月碰一次頭。城市電視臺的負責(zé)人黛布拉·戴維斯認為如果節(jié)目到位了，那就不愁國內(nèi)的觀眾不關(guān)注。史密斯則推動地方電視臺共同打造成功的節(jié)目。相信不久我們就會見到一個滿是廉價雜燴廣告的微縮版英國了。 翻譯：程蒙
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