Alibaba is not content to control the prosaic internet retail industry. China’s dominant e-commerce platform is also building a more glamorous empire in entertainment.
阿里巴巴(Alibaba)不满足于控制平淡的在线零售行业。这家在中国占主导地位的电商平台正开始打造一个更加光鲜的娱乐帝国。
China’s box office rose by a third to hit $4.8bn in 2014, market researcher IHS Technology says. The US figure is twice that, but shrank 4 per cent last year. IHS expects the Chinese market to overtake the US, and reach $10.6bn, by 2019. The money doesn’t stop at the box office, of course. Last year global online film distribution generated $10bn in sales. Netflix — which distributes TV shows as well — had revenues of $5.5bn.

市场调研机构IHS Technology数据显示，2014年中国票房收入增长三分之一，至48亿美元。美国票房收入是中国的两倍，但去年降低了4%。IHS预计，到2019年中国市场规模将超过美国，达106亿美元。当然，票房并非唯一收入来源。去年，全球在线电影分销收入达到100亿美元。除了电影之外还分销电视剧的Netflix实现了55亿美元收入。
Alibaba’s main vehicle for content production is Hong Kong-listed Ali Pictures, which was formed last year after Alibaba bought 60 per cent of ChinaVision Media. Ali Pictures has yet to produce anything. It has a market capitalisation of $8bn, and loses money. It does have production or distribution agreements with several mainland TV stations. In January it said its first film will be a collaboration with two big stars: producer Wong Kar-Wai and actor Tony Leung. On Tuesday the stock was suspended pending an announcement. This is not necessarily good. Last year it was suspended for five months for accounting issues.
阿里巴巴的主要内容制作实体是香港上市的阿里影业(Ali Pictures)，后者是阿里巴巴去年收购文化中国传播集团(ChinaVision Media Group) 60%股权之后成立的。阿里影业尚未制作任何作品。该公司市值达80亿美元，处于亏损状态。阿里影业的确跟中国内地多家电视台签订了制作或分销协议。阿里影业1月份表示，其首部电影将与两大明星合作：制片人王家卫(Wong Kar-Wai)和演员梁朝伟(Tony Leung)。周二，阿里影业因等待需公布事项而停牌。这未必是好事。去年，阿里影业曾因会计问题停牌5个月。
Still, the Alibaba empire does not rely exclusively on Ali Pictures for content. Founder Jack Ma owns 4 per cent of the Shenzhen listed film-maker Huayi Brothers. Last November Alibaba struck a deal with that company to fund productions and allow investment through its crowdfunding site, Yule Bao. This month, Hangzhou Ali Venture Capital (owned by Alibaba founders Jack Ma and Simon Xie, but not Alibaba itself) bought a reported9 per cent of Beijing Enlight Media, which makes TV shows and films, for $383m. For distribution, Alibaba makes set-top boxes with partner Wasu (in which Mr Xie owns a stake). It also owns (directly, for a change) a quarter of US-listed Chinese online video site, Yukou Tudou.
尽管如此，阿里巴巴帝国在内容方面并非仅仅依靠阿里影业。阿里巴巴创始人马云(Jack Ma)拥有深圳上市公司华谊兄弟(Huayi Brothers) 4%的股权。去年11月，阿里巴巴与华谊兄弟达成一项协议，为其提供制片资金、并允许通过其众筹网站娱乐宝(Yule Bao)进行投资。本月，杭州阿里创投(Hangzhou Ali Venture Capital)——股东为阿里巴巴创始人马云和谢世煌(Simon Xie)，但不涉及阿里巴巴集团本身——据报道以3.83亿美元收购了北京光线传媒(Enlight Media) 9%的股权，后者制作电视剧和电影。在分销方面，阿里巴巴与合作方华数传媒(Wasu Media)——谢世煌是股东之一——合作生产机顶盒。阿里巴巴拥有（这次有所不同，是直接拥有）美国上市的中国在线视频网站优酷土豆(Yukou Tudou)四分之一的股权。
Alibaba is not confining itself to local content. Last year it signed a deal with US listed Lionsgate, maker of Hunger Games, to stream Lionsgate content through Alibaba’s set top boxes.
阿里巴巴的目光并不局限于本土内容。去年，它与美国上市公司、《饥饿游戏》(Hunger Games)出品方狮门娱乐(Lionsgate)签订了一项协议，通过阿里巴巴机顶盒在线播放狮门娱乐的影片。
Given the strong online brand and deep pockets of the parent, Alibaba’s entertainment businesses have a shot at success. Their confusing ownership structures make it hard to say whether shareholders will feel the benefit.
鉴于母公司的强大在线品牌和雄厚资金，阿里巴巴旗下的娱乐企业有机会取得成功。这些企业的股权结构复杂得令人困惑，使人难以判断股东会不会获益。