经济学人下载:地方电视台之春 收视该如何保障?

Local television
地方电视台之春

Coming soon
呼之欲出

It is going to have a lot of adverts and reality shows
接下来是广告和真人秀的时间

How it’s done in San Diego
瞧瞧圣迭戈是咋办的

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.
为什么美国亚拉巴马州的伯明翰有八个地方电视台，而英国西米德兰兹郡的大伯明翰市却一个也没有？这个问题直到去年还在困扰着英国文化大臣杰里米·亨特，他决定改变这一状况。如今他的蓝图正逐渐成形，地方电视执照已经在19个试验地区中的16个发放。到今年年底，之前已停播的自由观点第八频道将通过地方收费重获新生。

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.
在美国，地方电视台都隶属于国家广播公司。这些电视台通过像“美国偶像”这样的节目来引导观众收看他们的新闻节目。而英国的地方电视台却没有这个条件。拥有在伦敦发行特许权的《英国标准晚报》总经理安德鲁·穆林斯只期望能在第四年实现盈利，而且因为在首都伦敦的缘故，他们还占有可靠收视率的优势。相比之下，多数的新闻媒体都缺乏这一优势，这让媒体的广告很难叫卖。按媒体咨询公司奥利弗和奥尔邦姆的西恩·麦奎尔的说法，在商人眼里，电视更像是一个赞助单位。好处多多：地方电视牌照不受欧盟商业广告的限制。由于中标广告商承诺每天播放的原创广告不超过两个小时，所以通过重复广告和大打电话购物牌的路子将会兴盛起来。

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.
在诸如加拿大和美国这些地方电视台兴盛的地方，新闻往往是其内容的核心。许多地方报纸在过去的几年关门停刊，不过在咨询师西蒙·特林顿看来，社区新闻的需求量依然很高。诸如第八频道这样的地方媒体公司的中标人应该注意到，这一类新闻是最容易操作的。穆林斯表示，《伦敦标准晚报》就会为它的所有记者提供试镜机会。

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.
比尔·史密斯在布莱顿和霍夫的最新电视节目上表示，地方电视台可以产生新的创造力。史密斯说：“只要有料，我们就报。”地方主义的定义是相当宽泛的。布莱顿和霍夫最新的一期电视节目上播了“国际厨师交流”，这档真人秀节目将荷兰和英国的厨师互换身份，各自体验彼此的几天生活；城市电视台伯明翰分台则播放了“挑战巅峰”，这是一档类似于“大学挑战”的中学生智力竞赛节目。如果这些节目反响不错，收视率更高的频道就将采用它们。英国广播公司已承诺，未来三年里拿出1500万英镑来发展地方电视台节目。

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.
尽管这些地方电视台来自五湖四海，但是它们正开始走到一起。电视台的代表们一个月碰一次头。城市电视台的负责人黛布拉·戴维斯认为如果节目到位了，那就不愁国内的观众不关注。史密斯则推动地方电视台共同打造成功的节目。相信不久我们就会见到一个满是廉价杂烩广告的微缩版英国了。