乍看之下，Netflix、AMC Networks和獅門娛樂可能有非常大的差異。一個是流媒體視頻服務商，一個是電視臺，另一個則是傳統電影公司。但它們也有共同之處，那就是借助同樣的策略實現了快速增長。

在《財富》雜志評選的2015年增長最快的100家公司中，只有這三家來自娛樂行業，因為他們都充分發揮了原創的力量，無論是原創電視劇還是原創電影。

Netflix：大放異彩

Netflix（排名第46位）的最大成功之處就是原創節目，這并不是秘密。對于該公司最熱門的電視劇，大多數人都耳熟能詳，比如《紙牌屋》、《女子監獄》以及2015年的《至親血統》。但作為數字流媒體創新領域的領跑者，Netflix的原創成果遠不止于此，其中還包括《馬可?波羅》、《夜魔俠》和《我本堅強》。NBC原打算推出《我本堅強》，但最終把它轉讓給了Netflix。

《紙牌屋》是Netflix的首部原創劇（改編自一部BBC迷你劇）。該公司播出的首部劇集則是史蒂夫?范?贊特主演的挪威語電視劇《莉莉海默》。Netflix的另一項成功業務是為已有劇集制作原創續集，比如續播《發展受阻》第4季（被20世紀福克斯停播的情景喜劇）和八集的《哈啦夏令營：入營第一天》（2001年經典另類小眾電影《哈啦夏令營》的衍生劇）。

這些原創作品讓Netflix成為迅猛發展的流媒體電視行業領軍者。亞馬遜也投身于這個欣欣向榮的領域，出資制作了一些原創劇，比如《波什》、《阿爾法屋》以及在金球獎上折桂的突破性電視劇《透明家庭》。觀眾對網絡劇的濃厚興趣顯而易見——2012年初以來，Netflix的用戶數量每個季度連續增長，從2200萬升至6560萬，增幅幾乎達到200%。該公司股價也水漲船高，三年來升幅超過800%，2014年上漲了64%。2007年以來，Netflix曾六次躋身《財富》的100家增長最快公司排行榜，這也是原因之一。2014年，該公司實現收入55億美元，在《財富》500強中的排名因此提高了89位，升至第474名。

AMC Networks：老樹發新芽

AMC Networks（排名第100位）同樣拿出了大量原創作品。原來人們覺得AMC是一家播放老電影的有線電視臺；在過去10年中，該公司做出了調整并重塑了自己的品牌（它甚至淡化了American Movie Classics這個全稱，以免“經典電影”的字樣過于顯眼）。2007年，AMC推出的首部原創電視劇《廣告狂人》一炮而紅。第二年，呈現在觀眾眼前的是《絕命毒師》；2010年，AMC又拿出了《行尸走肉》。

2013年，這三部戲同時播出，其中《絕命毒師》已經進入最后一季（觀看該劇大結局的觀眾數量達到令人咋舌的1030萬），這直接推動了AMC的收入增長。2015年初，AMC又推出了《絕命毒師》的衍生劇《風騷律師》。市場調研公司尼爾森的統計數據顯示，2月份首播時，《風騷律師》成為歷史上最吸引18-49歲核心觀眾群的有線電視黃金檔劇集。華爾街對這樣的數字青睞有加。兩年來，AMC的股價上漲了58%，2014年升幅為28%。

獅門娛樂：靠暢銷書打天下

獅門娛樂（排名第54位）的兩大系列電影為它賺足了票房，它們分別是獅門子公司頂峰娛樂制作的《暮光之城》以及《饑餓游戲》。這兩個系列的共同之處在于它們都改編自最暢銷青少年小說，都充滿奇幻色彩（一個是吸血鬼故事，另一個描述了未來的反烏托邦式故事），而且核心人物都是充滿活力的年輕女性（分別由克里斯汀?斯圖爾特和詹妮弗?勞倫斯扮演）。

五部《暮光之城》電影的總票房為13.6億美元（第三部《暮光之城：月食》表現最好）；三部《饑餓游戲》電影則帶來了11.7億美元的票房收入，而且還有一部等待上映。人們經常拿這兩個系列作比較，而同時打造出兩部佳作對獅門來說著實令人贊嘆。2014年獅門的收入略有下降，但該公司股價一直穩步上漲，2014年升幅為14%。

《財富》評選這100家增長最快公司的標準包括過去三年的收入增長率、每股收益增速以及年均總回報率。也就是說，Netflix、AMC和獅門都呈持續增長態勢，而這要歸功于它們對原創產品的大規模投入。

這三家公司都有過一些失敗之作。不過，只要成功之作大放異彩——《紙牌屋》、《絕命毒師》和《饑餓游戲》都是無可爭議的上乘之作——它們就能實現高速增長。（財富中文網）

譯者：Charlie

校對：詹妮

At first glance Netflix, AMC Networks, and Lions Gate Entertainment may appear to be very different companies. One is a streaming service, one a television channel, and one a traditional film studio. But they all have something in common: the same strategy is fueling their fast growth.

These three companies are the only entertainment businesses on our 2015 Fastest Growing Companies list because each one has realized the power of original franchises, whether that be a television or movie series.

Netflix: Big Red

The great success Netflix (No. 46) has had with original programming is no secret. Most people can rattle off the company’s biggest hit dramas: House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, and this year, Bloodline. But the early digital-streaming innovator has pumped out many other original shows, among them: Marco Polo,Daredevil, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which was originally planned as an NBC show but was sold to Netflix.

House of Cards was the company’s first original series (adapted from a BBC mini-series), but the first television show Netflix NFLX -7.58% ever streamed was Lilyhammer, a Norwegian show starring Steven Van Zandt (recognizable from The Sopranos and Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street Band). Netflix has also seen success in producing original continuations of preexisting shows, among them the fourth season of Arrested Development (a cancelled Fox comedy) and eight episodes of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, a spinoff of the cult-classic 2001 movie.

All of this original programming has established Netflix as the leader in the exploding business of streaming television. It’s a booming business that Amazon AMZN -4.13% has also invested in with original series such as Bosch, Alpha House, and the groundbreaking and award-winning Transparent. The strong interest in made-for-Internet series is apparent: Netflix’s subscriber numbers have risen every quarter since the beginning of 2012, tripling from 22 million to 65.6 million subscribers. The stock price has responded in kind: it’s up more than 800% in the last three years, and up 64% in the last year, part of the reason Netflix has appeared on Fortune’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies list in six non-consecutive years since 2007. The company’s revenues were $5.5 billion last year, helping it climb 89 spots on the Fortune 500 to No. 474.

AMC Networks: An old dog with a new trick

AMC Networks (No. 100), too, has made great hay with original series. Originally conceived as a cable channel that aired old movies, the network has shifted and rebranded itself in the past decade. (It has even de-emphasized its full name, American Movie Classics.) In 2007, AMC debutedMad Men, its first original series, to instant critical acclaim. The next year came Breaking Bad, and in 2010, The Walking Dead.

The network’s revenue growth can be pinned directly to the peak overlap of these three shows, which was in 2013, when all three were on the air concurrently and Breaking Bad was in its final season. (The series finale was watched by a whopping 10.3 million viewers.) Earlier this year, AMC debuted the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul, which set a Nielsen record in February as the most-watched cable series premiere ever in the key age demographic of 18—49-year-olds. Wall Street loves those ratings: AMC’s stock AMCX -2.77% is up 58% in the past two years, 28% in the past year.

Lions Gate Entertainment: Banking on hit books

Lions Gate Entertainment (No. 54) has had box office success with two major franchises: The Twilight series (produced by Summit Entertainment, a Lions Gate subsidiary) and Hunger Games, which have much in common as they are both film adaptations of bestselling young adult book series, are fantastical (one is about vampires and the other about a futuristic dystopia), and are anchored by a dynamic young female character (portrayed by Kristen Stewart in Twilight, Jennifer Lawrence in TheHunger Games).

The five Twilight movies have made a combined $1.36 billion at the box office (the third installment, Twilight: Eclipse, did best) while the three Hunger Games movies have accrued $1.17 billion, with one more still to come. The two franchises are often compared, and for Lions Gate to have both is quite a coup. Annual revenue dipped slightly in 2014, but the stock LGF -1.87% is a steady riser, up 14% in the past year.

Fortune’s annual list of the 100 Fastest Growing Companies takes into account revenue growth rate, EPS growth rate, and three-year annualized total return—all for the past three years. That means that Netflix, AMC, and Lions Gate have been on a growth streak—all owing to their big bets on original programming.

Each of these companies has had some losers, but if the winners win big—and House of Cards, Breaking Bad, and TheHunger Games franchise are indisputable winners—big growth follows.