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Television - Cable ties
电视——有线电视
As Americans cut the cord, Europeans sign up for more pay-TV
美国人切断了有线电视，而欧洲人却签约了更多付费电视
The biggest television drama of the past decade has been the story of how people watch it.
过去十年中最重大的电视剧就是人们如何观看电视的故事。
Ten years ago nearly nine out of ten American households subscribed to cable or satellite.
十年前，几乎90%的美国家庭订阅有线电视或卫星电视。
Today little more than half do.
如今，这个数字只有一半多一点。
The collapse of pay-TV, amid the advance of online streaming, has upended the television industry and forced Hollywood giants like Disney to rethink their business model.
随着在线流媒体的发展，付费电视的崩溃颠覆了电视行业，迫使迪士尼等好莱坞巨头重新思考他们的商业模式。
And the pace at which consumers are “cutting the cord” from cable providers is only increasing.
而且，消费者与有线电视供应商“断线”的步伐只会越来越快。
But not everywhere.
但并不是所有地方都如此。
On the other side of the Atlantic, cord-cutters are outnumbered by cord-knotters.
在大西洋的另一边，接线者的数量超过了断线者。
As Americans tear up their contracts, Europeans are signing up for cable and satellite in greater numbers than ever.
当美国人撕毁他们的合同时，欧洲人签约有线电视和卫星电视的数量比以往任何时候都要多。
Pay-TV penetration in Britain will overtake that in America this year, according to Ampere Analysis, a research firm.
根据安培分析研究公司的调查，英国付费电视的渗透率今年将超过美国。
In France and Germany it already has.
这一点法国和德国已经做到了。
Why has American media’s mega-trend missed Europe?
为什么美国媒体的大趋势没有波及欧洲？
One reason is price.
其中一个原因是价格。
America’s cable industry may look competitive: the largest player, Comcast, has only a quarter of the market.
美国有线电视产业可能看起来竞争激烈：最大的运营商康卡斯特只有四分之一的市场份额。
But it is highly regionalised, so most homes have few options, says Richard Broughton of Ampere.
但因为它是高度区域化的，所以大多数家庭几乎没有选择，安培公司的理查德·布劳顿如是说。
The result is an average monthly cable bill of nearly $100.
其结果是，平均每月的有线电视费用接近100美元。
British homes pay less than half as much.
英国家庭支付的费用还不到这个数字的一半。
Tax loopholes have made pay-TV an even better deal in parts of Europe.
税收漏洞使付费电视在欧洲部分地区变得更加划算。
Take-up in France rocketed from 30% to 90% between 2004 and 2014, after the government imposed a lower rate of VAT on television services than on telecoms, unintentionally giving phone firms an incentive to throw in a cheap TV package and pay the lower rate of tax.
在政府对电视服务征收比电信服务更低的增值税后，法国的付费率在2004年至2014年间从30%飙升至90%，无意中激励了电话公司提供廉价的电视套餐，并支付更低的税率。
The loophole has been closed, but subscriptions remain high.
这个漏洞已经被堵住了，但订阅量仍然很高。
译文由可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载。
