Google Inc.'s YouTube video site has been in talks to allow video creators to charge viewers to access their content sometime later this year, said people familiar with the discussions.
情人士透露，谷歌(Google Inc.)旗下视频网站YouTube一直在探讨一种可能，即从今年晚些时候开始允许视频创建者向观看其内容的用户收费。
The move would add a new revenuestream for YouTube and its thousands of content partners, and it could potentially help the site lure new video creators who want a subscription model rather than rely only on advertising, these people said. YouTube executives have long discussed such a possibility publicly, so the discussions aren't a surprise.
上述人士说，此举将为YouTube及其数以千计的内容合作伙伴增加新的收入来源，还可能有助于该网站吸引那些偏好订阅模式、而非仅仅依靠广告获取收入的新视频创建者。YouTube高管很长时间来一直在公开谈论这样做的可能性，因此有关收费模式的讨论并不让人意外。
'We have long maintained that different content requires different types of payment models,' said a YouTube spokesman on Tuesday. 'There are a lot of our content creators that think they would benefit from subscriptions, so we're looking at that.' He declined to comment further.
YouTube发言人周二说：我们一直主张不同的内容需要不同的收费模式。我们的很多内容创建者认为他们能从订阅模式中获利，因此我们正在研究这种模式。他拒绝进一步置评。
The initiative, earlier reported by Ad Age, could take several forms, these people said.
Ad Age早些时候报道了YouTube的这一想法。上述人士说，具体做法可能涉及多种形式。
In one scenario, video creators would start new channels and charge a subscription fee. In other possible models, creators would charge a fee to viewers who want to get early access to videos, known as 'windowing.' Many video creators say that such models are preferable to converting their free channels into paid ones.
一种可能是，视频创建者将开通新的频道并收取订阅费。其他可能的模式包括，创建者向那些希望尽早看到视频的用户收取一笔费用，这种做法也叫"窗口模式"(windowing)。很多视频创建者说，相比将他们的免费频道转变为收费频道，这些模式更好。
Such 'windowing' models have previously been tested with some success. In 2007 and 2008, online-video creator Revision3 charged viewers a $50 annual fee or $9.95 per month to access videos from an online 'channel' called 'Diggnation' two days before the videos were posted publicly. The company shifted away from the model when it started to focus on selling advertising against the video content, and it said it faced some problems when a few 'techy' viewers posted Diggnation videos on other sites.
在此前的测试中，这种"窗口"模式取得了一定成功。在2007年和2008年，网络电视公司Revision3向其观众收取50美元的年费或每月9.95美元的费用。缴费观众可以在视频公开发布前两天抢先看到Diggnation频道的节目。当该公司开始将注意力转向利用视频内容销售广告之后，它逐渐远离了这种收费模式。该公司表示，它曾经遇到这样的问题，即一些"精通技术"的观众将Diggnation的视频贴到其它网站上。
Still, 'we learned that people will pay if you have an engaged audience,' said Jim Louderback, chief executive of Revision3, now owned by Discovery Communications. He declined to comment on the current activities of YouTube, where Revision3 has a big presence.
Revision3的首席执行长劳德贝克(Jim Louderback)说：不过我们了解到，如果你有忠实受众，那么用户会为你的内容付费。Revision3现为Discovery Communications所有。劳德贝克拒绝对YouTube当前的想法置评。Revision3的内容大量出现在YouTube上。
In pursuing the initiative, YouTube also hopes that owners of struggling cable-TV channels might opt to move their content to YouTube, these people said.
上述知情人士说，在探讨这一想法的同时，YouTube希望那些苦苦挣扎的有线电视频道的业主可以选择将他们的内容放到YouTube上。
YouTube has talked about the matter with select video creators but hopes to make subscription tools available more broadly, these people said. YouTube already generates some revenue from offering movie rentals or purchases that can cost between $1.99 and $14.99.
这些知情人士称，YouTube已经同少数经过选择的视频创建者商讨此事，但它希望能更广泛的运用订阅工具。通过提供电影租赁或购买服务，YouTube已经获得了一些收入。这些服务的价格在1.99美元至14.99美元之间。
Mark Mahaney, a stock analyst at RBC Capital Markets, estimates that YouTube generated about $4 billion in revenue in 2012, up from $2.5 billion in 2011. He expects the site to generate $5 billion in 2013, though about half of the revenue is paid out to content creators who share in the advertising revenue.
加拿大皇家银行资本市场(RBC Capital Markets)的股票分析师马哈尼(Mark Mahaney)估计，YouTube 2012年的收入约为40亿美元，高于2011年的25亿美元。他预计该网站2013年能够获得50亿美元的收入，不过其中大约一半的收入要支付给同YouTube一同分享广告收入的内容创建者。
The new paid-subscription fees also would be shared between YouTube and the content creators, said the people familiar with the matter.
据知情人士透露，YouTube也将同内容创建者分享新的付费订阅费。
AMIR EFRATI
AMIR EFRATI
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