????本周，阿里巴巴（Alibaba）董事長馬云沐浴著美國南加州的燦爛陽光，馬不停蹄地會晤好萊塢的公司高管們，希望能購得更多可供手機和平板電腦播放的內容。

????為了擴建阿里巴巴的流媒體服務，馬云正在物色影視節目資源。據彭博新聞社（Bloomberg News）報道，阿里巴巴九月份在美國上市之后，手握250億美元現金的馬云再度造訪美國，計劃本周與多家公司進行會談，其中包括獅門影業（Lions Gate Entertainment）、迪士尼（Walt Disney）、21世紀福克斯（Twenty-First Century Fox）等。

????周一，在《華爾街日報》主辦的WSJDLive全球技術大會上，馬云表示：“我來的目的就是尋找合作伙伴。”他還指出，中國很快就會成為全球規模最大的電影市場。

????隨著中國中產階級人數的不斷增長，影視行業蓬勃發展。加州大學洛杉磯分校（UCLA）助理教授克里斯多夫?斯賓瑟認為，中國的流媒體行業將跟上這股熱潮，在三到五年內發展為一個非常繁榮的市場，阿里巴巴已經搶占了一個有利位置。

????在眾多業務中，阿里巴巴持續不斷地對媒體投入巨資，比如與華數傳媒（Wasu Media）合作推出其首款電視機頂盒，以及以12.2億美元入股優酷土豆（Youku Tudou）。今年3月，阿里巴巴還以8.04億美元購得文化中國傳播集團（ChinaVision Media Group）60%的股份，并將其更名為阿里巴巴影業集團（Alibaba Pictures Group）。

????自3月份以來，阿里巴巴對娛樂行業的投資總額已超過30億美元。在本周馬云及其顧問團隊與影業巨頭會談之后，這一數字很可能會繼續上升。

????“對阿里巴巴而言，此舉意義深遠，而原因有很多，”斯賓瑟在接受Bloomberg West采訪時指出：“首先，他們已經擁有巨大的在線平臺，并希望將這個平臺繼續做大。他們可以采用的首要方式就是獲取內容，而好萊塢是國際化內容云集的地方。”

????盡管流媒體可能成為一個巨大的市場，但短期來說，它面臨政府管制的挑戰。最近幾個月，中國官方已經在試圖控制外國媒體內容。4月份，政府下令關停視頻網站上的4個美國節目；9月份，官方限定中國各流媒體服務提供的外國電視節目內容不能超過其總量的30%。

????對于好萊塢影視公司而言，合作的好處很大。由于受到中國政府方面的限制，他們正努力打通影視內容分發渠道。

????目前，阿里巴巴已經和部分媒體公司簽訂了內容分發協議。迪斯尼與優酷土豆簽約，在中國推廣《美國隊長2：冬季戰士》；而獅門影業則在7月份與阿里巴巴達成了一份協議，將在中國合作推出流媒體服務。

????“與三年前相比，現在要在中國分發一部電影相對容易些。”斯賓瑟說，“不過依然挑戰重重。如果你希望在這個全球第二大市場拓展生意，那么建立關鍵的戰略合作關系非常重要。”

????身為億萬富豪的阿里巴巴首席執行官馬云相信，中國需要好萊塢一流的文化產品，而好萊塢也已成為他獲取靈感的一大源泉。此外，馬云相信，娛樂業還有助于培養人才，教會人們一些有用的技能。例如，他認為惠特尼?休斯頓在《保鏢》（The Bodyguard）中的精彩演出就讓他領會到了如何去發表演講。

????“我從電影當中學到了很多東西。”他說，“我們總是擔心在物質上豐富以后出現精神貧乏，而電影是改變中國年輕人行為最好的方式。”（財富中文網）

????Alibaba CEO Jack Ma is soaking up the southern California sunshine this week as he meets with Hollywood executives in a bid to acquire more content for phones and tablets.

????Ma is hunting for movies and television shows to help build out Alibaba’s streaming media offerings. He comes armed with $25 billion cash following Alibaba’s initial public offering in September and has a slate of meetings scheduled over this week with the likes of Lions Gate Entertainment LGF -0.36% , Walt Disney DIS 1.67% , Twenty-First Century Fox FOXA 1.60% and others, reported Bloomberg News.

????“I want to come here looking for partners,” Ma said Monday at the WSJDLive conference, adding that China will soon become the world’s largest movie market.

????With the growing middle class in China, the theatrical business is booming and expanding. Streaming will grow along with that and could become a viable market there in about 3 to 5 years–and Alibaba is in a position to take advantage of that, said Christopher Spicer, an assistant professor at UCLA.

????Alibaba has been investing in media ventures (among many other disparate businesses), including its first set-top box in collaboration with Wasu Media and a $1.22 billion investment in online video site Youku Tudou. The company also paid $804 million in March for a 60% stake in ChinaVision Media Group, which was renamed Alibaba Pictures Group.

????Since March, Alibaba BABA 1.93% has committed more than $3 billion toward its entertainment initiatives. That number could continue to grow as Ma and a team of advisors meet with studio execs this week.

????“It could be huge for them for a number of reasons,” Spicer told Bloomberg West. “Primarily, they have a huge online platform, and they’re looking to grow that platform. The primary way they can do that is to acquire content, and international content is located here in Hollywood.”

????While streaming could become a strong market, it faces governmental challenges in the near term. Over recent months Chinese officials have tried to control foreign-media content. In April, they ordered 4 U.S. shows off video-streaming sites, and then in September, officials limited the number of foreign TV shows to no more than 30% of total content on Chinese streaming services.

????A tie-up could be very beneficial for studios, which have struggled to get movies and TV shows distributed due to these governmental restrictions.

????Alibaba has already inked distribution deals with some media companies. Disney signed on with Youku Tudou to market “Captian America: The Winter Soldier” locally, and Lions Gate signed a deal in July to launch a streaming service in China.

????“It’s easier to get a film distributed in China now than it was three years ago,” said Spicer. “But, it’s still challenging, and it’s important to have key strategic relationships if you want to be in China and grow your business in the second largest market in the world.”

????The billionaire Alibaba CEO believes China needs Hollywood’s top-rated cultural products, and Hollywood has proved a source of constant inspiration for him. In addition, Ma believes that entertainment might help teach skills needed to develop talent. For instance, Ma credited Whitney Houston’s performance in The Bodyguard as providing him implicit lessons on how to give a speech.

????“I learn a lot of things from movies,” he said. “We worry about people with deep pockets but shallow minds, so movies are the best way to change Chinese young people’s behavior.”