优酷土豆联姻有望优化行业格局

2012-03-14 00:00:00来源：网络

A merger between China"s two biggest online video companies has turned the sector from horror show to romance.
中国最大的两家在线视频公司宣布合并，这一行业的剧情发展于是从恐怖片变成了爱情片。

Youku and Tudou Holdings, once fierce rivals in China's rapidly growing online video market, are merging, with Youku the dominant partner. Taken together, the two firms accounted for more than 35% of the sector's 1.69 billion yuan ($268 million) in advertising revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011. That makes Youku Tudou -- as the new firm is imaginatively called -- stand out as the largest player in the sector.
优酷网(Youku)和土豆网(Tudou Holdings)曾是中国迅速增长的在线视频市场中的两大劲敌。眼下两家公司即将进行合并，而优酷网将成为占主导地位的合作方。2011年第四季度，两家公司的广告收入总计占中国在线视频市场的比重在35%以上；中国在线视频市场总体规模约为人民币16.9亿元（合2.68亿美元）。合并之后的优酷土豆（这是人们想象的新公司名字）将成为这一领域中最大的公司。

The merger is a smart move, and helps solve a number of problems for the two companies. First, it contains costs. A bigger company will be in a better position to negotiate deals on bandwidth and content -- their two most significant cash burners. Where both companies were paying for a license to show popular shows, now only one will.
两家公司合并是一项明智之举，可以帮助两家公司解决很多问题。首先，合并可以控制成本。一家规模更大的公司将在谈判带宽和内容交易时处于更有利的地位，而这两项正是它们最大的烧钱项目。过去，两家公司都要为播出热门电视节目支付授权许可费，如今只要一家公司支付就行了。

A bigger platform will also help overcome one of the structural problems Youku and Tudou face competing against China's integrated Internet companies. Sohu.com, Baidu and Tencent Holdings can use their other online operations to direct traffic to their video content. As standalone online video platforms, Youku and Tudou didn't have that advantage. By combining their forces, they create a bigger draw for users with more content, making it more likely viewers will go directly to their site.
一个更大的平台还将有助于克服优酷网和土豆网在与中国综合性互联网公司竞争时所面临的一个结构性问题。搜狐(Sohu.com)、百度(Baidu)和腾讯(Tencent Holdings)能够利用旗下的其他在线业务把用户引导至自己的视频内容，而作为独立的在线视频平台，优酷网和土豆网则没有这样的优势。通过将二者的力量合在一起，它们可以凭借更多的内容增强对用户的吸引力，使用户更有可能直接上它们的网站。

The merger still leaves Youku Tudou in a fiercely contested space. Sohu.com, Baidu, and Tencent aren't going to surrender the field, and have significant cash to burn as they attempt to gain market share. As of the third quarter, Youku and Tudou had combined net cash of $762 million. Baidu alone had net cash of $1.8 billion.
不过，合并后的优酷土豆仍将处于一个竞争激烈的市场当中。搜狐、百度和腾讯不会放弃阵地，它们都有雄厚的资金支持其赢得市场份额。截至去年第三季度，优酷网和土豆网总体净现金为7.62亿美元，而百度一家就有18亿美元的净现金。

Youku and Tudou both showed losses for 2011. This merger won't turn that around immediately. But China's online video market was threatening to turn into a horror show, with fierce competition making profitability a distant prospect. A romance between the two biggest players should be welcomed by investors.
2011年，优酷网和土豆网均出现亏损。合并不会立即使其扭亏为盈，但在此之前，中国在线视频市场已经出现变成恐怖片的苗头，激烈的竞争使盈利变得遥不可及。两家最大的在线视频公司联姻应该会受到投资者的欢迎。