????幾個(gè)月來(lái)，科技業(yè)界一直在猜測(cè)亞馬遜公司（Amazon）何時(shí)——而非是否——會(huì)征集劇本以及增強(qiáng)其內(nèi)容創(chuàng)作團(tuán)隊(duì)，以大舉進(jìn)軍原創(chuàng)電視節(jié)目領(lǐng)域。現(xiàn)在，官方消息已經(jīng)發(fā)布：亞馬遜將開(kāi)始制作原創(chuàng)電視節(jié)目?jī)?nèi)容。

????周三，亞馬遜宣布有意開(kāi)發(fā)原創(chuàng)喜劇和兒童節(jié)目，并由其在線視頻流媒體服務(wù)“亞馬遜即時(shí)視頻”（Amazon Instant Video）發(fā)行。亞馬遜電影網(wǎng)站“亞馬遜工作室”（Amazon Studios）總監(jiān)羅伊?普萊斯在一份新聞發(fā)布稿中表示：“亞馬遜工作室希望發(fā)掘優(yōu)秀創(chuàng)作人才，推出觀眾喜聞樂(lè)見(jiàn)的節(jié)目。在開(kāi)發(fā)電影的過(guò)程中，我們聽(tīng)說(shuō)內(nèi)容創(chuàng)作者們對(duì)原創(chuàng)的系列喜劇和兒童節(jié)目很感興趣。我們很高興能為劇作者、動(dòng)漫人士和導(dǎo)演帶來(lái)這一新機(jī)會(huì)，使他們能開(kāi)發(fā)原創(chuàng)系列節(jié)目。”

????亞馬遜工作室將征集各類(lèi)原創(chuàng)劇本，每月選出一個(gè)新項(xiàng)目，并請(qǐng)觀眾對(duì)這個(gè)項(xiàng)目做出評(píng)價(jià)。如果某個(gè)項(xiàng)目被選中，創(chuàng)作者將獲得1萬(wàn)美元。如果該項(xiàng)目正式投拍為完整的原創(chuàng)系列劇，創(chuàng)作者將獲得5.5萬(wàn)美元以及最高5%的版稅。羅伊?普萊斯對(duì)科技網(wǎng)站AllThingsD表示，亞馬遜旨在用可與“真正的”電視節(jié)目相匹敵的預(yù)算投入，制作出品質(zhì)不相上下的原創(chuàng)系列劇。

????《財(cái)富》雜志（Fortune）今年3月曾報(bào)道過(guò)，亞馬遜在電視領(lǐng)域這一試水將由喬?路易斯領(lǐng)銜。他是好萊塢資深人士，曾任20世紀(jì)福克斯公司（20th Century Fox）制作總監(jiān)，美國(guó)喜劇中心頻道（Comedy Central）開(kāi)發(fā)經(jīng)理，以及云電視網(wǎng)絡(luò)Bark Industries的首席執(zhí)行官。在喜劇中心頻道時(shí)，他負(fù)責(zé)Tosh.0的制作。這是一部由喜劇明星丹尼爾?托什主持的系列節(jié)目，它對(duì)等科技文化話題進(jìn)行品評(píng)，每周還推出一個(gè)人氣視頻單元。《財(cái)富》雜志通過(guò)LinkedIn上的一個(gè)帖子發(fā)現(xiàn)了對(duì)路易斯的這一任命，但該帖隨后被刪掉了。

????高德納公司（Gartner）的分析師雷?瓦爾德近期向《財(cái)富》雜志表示，亞馬遜此舉“有其內(nèi)在邏輯”。他援引了谷歌公司（Google）為例，谷歌便正在開(kāi)發(fā)新的原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容。而與此同時(shí)，流媒體視頻供應(yīng)商Hulu計(jì)劃今年在影視節(jié)目上投資5億美元，使其產(chǎn)品既有傳統(tǒng)電視節(jié)目，又有有線網(wǎng)絡(luò)節(jié)目。而網(wǎng)飛公司（Netflix）則于去年2月推出了自己首部原創(chuàng)系列劇Lilyhammer。

????事實(shí)證明，這類(lèi)原創(chuàng)內(nèi)容能成為亞馬遜付費(fèi)服務(wù)發(fā)展的重要推手。2005年推出的這項(xiàng)服務(wù)旨在鼓勵(lì)用戶在該網(wǎng)站花錢(qián)消費(fèi)。每年只需花上79美元，會(huì)員就能享受不限量貨品兩天送達(dá)的免費(fèi)快遞服務(wù)。此外，亞馬遜為了讓用戶嘗到更多甜頭，還設(shè)法增加了多項(xiàng)特色服務(wù)，比如和網(wǎng)飛公司相仿的影視流媒體無(wú)限量供應(yīng)服務(wù)。這項(xiàng)服務(wù)也旨在銷(xiāo)售出更多Kindle平板電腦。原創(chuàng)電視節(jié)目正式推出后，還能豐富整個(gè)產(chǎn)品線。

????亞馬遜工作室2010年11月正式成立，迄今已收到700多部電影和7000多個(gè)劇本，該公司目前正在制作的電影有15部之多。

????譯者：清遠(yuǎn)

????For months, the technology world has wondered when -- not if -- Amazon would get into original TV programing by soliciting scripts and beefing up its nascent in-house staff. Now, it's official: Amazon (AMZN) will produce original television content.

????On Wednesday, the company announced its intentions to develop original comedy and children shows that will be distributed by way of its online streaming service, Amazon Instant Video. "Amazon Studios wants to discover great talent and produce programming that audiences will love," Roy Price, director of Amazon Studios, said in a release. "In the course of developing movies, we've heard a lot of interest from content creators who want to develop original series in the comedy and children's genres. We are excited to bring writers, animators and directors this new opportunity to develop original series."

????Amazon Studios will solicit original scripts, option one new project a month, and test that project with an audience. If the project is optioned, the creator will receive $10,000. If the project is turned into a full original series, the creator will $55,000 and up to 5% in royalties. As studio head Roy Price told AllThingsD, the company aims to make these original series have the same quality as "real" TV shows, with production budgets to match.

????As Fortune reported in March, Amazon's TV push will be led by Joe Lewis, a Hollywood veteran whose previous experience includes stints as Director of Production at 20th Century Fox (NWS), Manager of Development at Comedy Central, and CEO of the cloud-based TV network Bark Industries. At Comedy Central, he was an executive in charge of the production of Tosh.0, a series hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh that melds viral web videos with popular culture commentary. Fortune discovered Lewis' hiring through a LinkedIn posting, which was later taken down.

????"I think there's a logic to it," Gartner analyst Ray Valdes told Fortune recently of the effort. Valdes pointed to Google (GOOG) as one example of a company which is also focusing its efforts on new original content. Streaming service Hulu, meanwhile, plans to spend $500 million on TV and movie programming this year to round out its offerings of traditional broadcast and cable programming. And Netflix launched its first original series, Lilyhammer, last February.

????Original content of this type could prove to become an important driver of Amazon's Prime service. Launched in 2005, Prime aimed to get customers to spend more. For $79 a year, members got free two-day delivery on an unlimited number of items. Amazon has sweetened its offerings from there adding, among many other features, an unlimited movie and TV streaming service similar to Netflix. The service is also intended to help sell more Kindle tablets. Original TV could bolster the entire offer -- if shows take off.

????Amazon Studios which launched in November of 2010, has received more than 700 test movies and 7,000 scripts to date. The company also has 15 movies in development.