Home Box Office (HBO), which shows Game of Thrones and many other popular programs, is a cable television channel and part of Time Warner.
家庭影院频道（HBO）上映了《权力的游戏》以及其他许多观众喜闻乐见的电视节目。是时代华纳集团旗下的有线电视频道。
The big company is the target of an $84 billion merger bid by AT&T, which is one of the biggest providers of internet and wireless communications and a conduit for television programming through its Direct TV service.
美国电话电报公司（AT&T）意欲以840亿美元的价格收购HBO。作为互联网与无线通信的最大运营商之一，通过其名下的直播电视集团，AT&T可以用作电视节目制作的渠道。
The new company would unite a major program producer with a large company that distributes content. The proposal comes as cable television companies expect less revenue as customers turn to internet alternatives.
重组后的新公司有意促成知名电视节目制作商与一家负责节目内容策划的大型公司强强联手。随着越来越多的观众选择收看网络节目，有线电视公司的收入不断减少，有人便提出了这个建议。
An expert at the Silverback Social media agency says accelerating change in the media landscape makes innovation crucial to success and survival. Large, lumbering companies are slow to innovate, according to Silverback's Chris Dessi.
Silverback Social媒体代理的一位专家表示，媒体格局变革速度的加快，使得创新对于成功和生存至关重要。而在Silverback任职的Chris Dessi称，发展缓慢的大型公司革新也同样缓慢。
"Two, three guys, they are MIT-educated, or stand for the educated, they are in a basement somewhere, they are in Silicon Valley, and they are going to do something so compelling that can definitely change everything that we are talking about in the entire media landscape."
"两三个受过良好教育的小伙子，比如说他们毕业于麻省理工，现在住在硅谷的地下室里面。几个人一心想干一番大事业，将我们现在在整个媒体大格局中所讨论的东西全部改变。"

On the stock market, skeptical investors pushed down the two companies' stock prices, on worries that getting regulatory approval might be hard. But investors often see mergers as a sign of economic confidence, and the news sent overall stock markets up, according to the head of CFRA Research, Sam Stoval.
在股市中，多疑的投资人压低这两家公司的股票价格，因为他们担心自己可能很难拿到监管部门的批准。不过与此同时，投资者也将合并视作经济信心的标志，整体股市也因此而上涨，美国财务研究分析中心总裁Sam Stoval如是说。
"Why would AT&T be doing this unless it feels as if there is some growth potential, at least expecting that the economy could be improving over the next several quarters?"
"那么AT&T现在为什么还要这么做呢？如果不是感觉HBO并购之后有发展潜力，或者至少认为几个季度之后经济会有所改善，AT&T不会这么做的。"
CNN produces news programs seen in the United States and around the world, and is one of the companies affected by the merger of its parent firm, Time Warner.
美国有线电视新闻网络（CNN）制作的新闻节目可供美国以及全世界观看，而该公司也受到了其母公司时代华纳并购的影响。
Critics say allowing the huge combined company to control so much news and entertainment media puts too much power in too few hands.
评论家认为，让合并后的大公司掌握这么多新闻和娱乐媒体，这样一来，大多的权力都集中到了少数人的手里。
A scholar at the University of Pennsylvania says mergers may also mean customers pay more and get less. Professor Victor Pickard spoke via Skype.
来自宾夕法尼亚大学的学者解释称，合并也意味着观众虽然花了更多的钱，可最后收获却变少了。Victor Pickard教授通过Skype向我们指出。
"One way or another consumers get hit in their pocketbooks and end up paying more on a regular basis. And many of the purported benefits that industry representatives claim will come out of these mergers often do not ever materialize, at least not to the extent they promise."
"不管怎样，观众都蒙受了损失，最终他们也要经常性地花更多钱。而业界代表声称合并所产生的福利通常都不会实现，至少不会到他们所承诺的程度。"
HBO, home to many dramatic films, is one of the major properties in the merger. There may be a bit of drama in real life as regulators decide the fate of this merger. Some experts say it has a 50-50 chance of success.
HBO制作过诸多剧情片，这在此次并购过程中也是一个重要筹码。而现实生活中可能也会有些戏剧性，因为并购的命运就掌握在管理者手中。部分专家表示，并购的成功几率是50%。