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Netflix went live with its streaming television service in nearly every country across the world on Wednesday, an unexpected acceleration of the company’s aggressive quest for global ubiquity by the end of 2016.
周三，Netflix几乎在全世界所有国家正式启动了其流媒体电视服务，该公司以此意外之举加速进程，为求在2016年年底前达成其全球普及化的进取目标。
Yet one major region on Netflix’s world map remains dark: China, home to nearly a quarter of the world’s broadband households. And in many of the 190 countries where Netflix now is available — including Turkey, Russia and Poland — the service is available in English, but not the local language.
然而，Netflix的世界地图上一个主要区域仍是灰暗的：那就是中国，一个拥有全世界近四分之一宽带用户的国家。而且，虽然Netflix现已在190个国家推出服务，其中包括土耳其、俄罗斯和波兰，其服务在大部分国家里都只提供英文，没有本地语言。
“We still have a lot of work to do,” Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. “Because of the number of countries, it seems like we are ahead of plan. But we still have China — we still have a quarter of the world to go.”
“我们仍有很多工作要做，”Netflix的首席执行官里德·哈斯廷斯(Reed Hastings)在周三下午的电话采访中说。“因为国家数目众多，我们看似提早完成了计划。但我们仍有中国——我们仍有世界的四分之一未能覆盖。”
Mr. Hastings’s cautious demeanor on the phone was in contrast to the more commanding pose he struck hours earlier when he announced at International CES, the consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, that Netflix had simultaneously added more than 130 countries to its world service map.
哈斯廷斯在电话上的谨慎态度与其数小时前在国际消费类电子产品展(Internatinal CES)上挥斥方遒的姿态截然相反。在拉斯维加斯的这次消费电子展中，他宣布Netflix在其世界服务版图中一举增加了130多个国家。
“Right now, you are witnessing the birth of a global TV network,” Mr. Hastings said from the stage in a keynote address.
“此时此刻，你正在见证一个全球性电视网络的诞生，”哈斯廷斯在台上发表主题演讲时说。
A montage of global flags scrolled in the background followed by a map of the world emblazoned with the hashtag #netflixeverywhere.
世界各国国旗的蒙太奇画面在背景中滚动，随后出现了一张世界地图，上面印有#netflixeverywhere的标签。
“Whether you are in Sydney or St. Petersburg, Singapore or Seoul, Santiago or Saskatoon, you now can be part of the Internet TV revolution,” Mr. Hastings added.
哈斯廷斯还说：“无论你是在悉尼或圣彼得堡，新加坡或首尔，圣地亚哥或萨斯卡通，现在都可以成为互联网电视革命的一部分。”
The proclamation was a bold move from Netflix to address growing skepticism about whether it can sustain its breakneck expansion and deliver on its promises.
这个宣言是Netflix的一个大胆举动，以图藉此打消越来越多关于该公司能否继续维持惊人扩张和兑现承诺的怀疑。
Costs are running high for Netflix. In addition to its global rollout, the company plans to spend more than $6 billion in cash on programming in 2016, offering more than 600 hours of original series, films and other content. And after running roughly at break-even profitability through this year, Netflix has pledged to deliver material global profits starting in 2017.
现在，Netflix的成本不菲。除了在全球推出服务外，该公司还计划2016年在节目上投放逾60亿美元的真金白银，提供超过600小时的原创剧集、电影和其他内容。然后在今年的盈利状况达到大约收支平衡后，Netflix已承诺要在2017年获得可观的全球利润。
International expansion is increasingly crucial for the company as growth slows in the United States.
对该公司来说，当其在美国的增长放缓，国际扩张就变得越来越重要。
The opportunity is big. While the United States has about 100 million broadband households, according to SNL Kagan, that is just a fraction of the 730 million total global broadband households.
那将带来很大的机会。美国市场研究公司SNL Kagan称，美国有大约1亿宽带用户，而那仅是全球7.3亿宽带用户的一小部分而已。
Yet there are steep challenges, including whether Netflix will be able to land programming rights to series that appeal to customers around the globe and compete with local streaming rivals.
但那也会带来严峻的挑战，其中包括Netflix能否获得能吸引全球用户的系列节目的版权，与本土流媒体对手竞争。
“International is really the place where people have a bigger sense of debate,” said Michael Nathanson, a media analyst with MoffettNathanson Research. “It has never been attempted before.”
“针对国际市场，人们真的是有更大的争论，”莫菲特内桑森研究公司(MoffettNathanson Research)的媒体分析师迈克尔·内桑森(Michael Nathanson)说。“这是从来没有过的尝试。”
Mr. Hastings said that Netflix was now in about 70 million homes and he expected the number of customers outside the United States to surpass the number domestically at some point in 2017. Netflix’s long-term goal is to reach 60 million to 90 million subscribers in the United States, but has yet to set a similar target internationally.
哈斯廷斯说，Netflix现已进入7000万户家庭，他预计在2017年内，美国以外的用户数量能超过美国本土的用户数量。Netflix的长远目标是美国用户数量达至6000至9000万，但在国际方面则未定下类似目标。
Around the globe, Netflix will be available for one monthly price — in India that is 500 rupees, or about $7.50 — and global subscribers will be able to watch Netflix original series as well as a library of licensed television shows and movies.
在全球范围内，Netflix将按月收费并提供服务，其在印度的月费为500卢比（约7.5美元）。全球用户可以观看Netflix的原创剧集以及其持有版权的诸多电视节目及电影。
Netflix said that in 2016 it planned to release 31 new and returning original series, 24 films and documentaries, 30 original children series and stand-up comedy specials. They will become available to all subscribers at the same time around the world.
而且，Netflix表示，该公司计划在2016年播出31部新拍或续拍的原创剧集，24部电影和纪录片，以及30部儿童剧集和单口喜剧特别节目。这些节目将同时向全球观众推出。
Netflix also announced that it was including Arabic, Korean and simplified and traditional Chinese to the 17 languages already available.
该公司还宣布，在已经支持的17种语言基础上，新增阿拉伯语、韩语、简体和繁体中文。
The service will not be available in Crimea, North Korea and Syria because of United States government restrictions on American companies.
由于美国政府对本国企业的限制，其服务在克里米亚、朝鲜、叙利亚无法使用。
China remains the major unanswered question, analysts said.
分析人士表示，中国仍是一个尚未解答的重大问题。
“That is the big wild card that Netflix and investors are waiting for,” said William V. Power, analyst at Baird Equity Research. “The questions are: Just how do you tackle that market with the various governmental or regulatory obstacles? Can they go it alone or do they partner with somebody?”
“那是Netflix和投资者一直在等待解决的不确定因素，”贝尔德证券研究公司(Baird Equity Research)分析师威廉·V·鲍尔(William V. Power)说。“问题就是，该怎么搞定那块有着各种政府和监管障碍的市场？他们能自己解决吗，还是要与别人合作？”
Mr. Hastings said that Netflix continued to explore its options in China but that establishing a service there could take many months or even some years. “We are building relationships and trying to be very patient,” Mr. Hastings said. “The strategy is to think very long term, to be like Disney, Apple or Starbucks in China.”
哈斯廷斯表示，Netflix仍在继续探索在中国经营的选项，但在那里提供服务可能要花好几个月，甚至几年时间。“我们正在经营关系，努力保持极大耐心，”哈斯廷斯说。“战略是要考虑得很长远，像迪士尼、苹果、星巴克在中国做的那样。”
Wall Street is watching Netflix’s moves carefully. The company’s share price surged 135 percent in 2015, making it the top performer on the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index. But some analysts question whether the company can maintain the momentum. On Monday, Netflix shares dropped after an analyst downgraded the company’s stock, citing concerns over weaker-than-expected subscriber growth in the United States.
华尔街密切关注着Netflix的一举一动，该公司股价在2015年大涨135%，成为了标准普尔500指数中业绩最好的个股。但一些分析师质疑该公司能否维持当前的势头。一位分析师下调了该公司股票的评级，理由是美国付费观众的增长不如预期，于是Netflix股价周一出现下跌。
Mr. Power, the analyst at Baird who downgraded the stock, outlined other risks, including escalating content costs, international expansion and rising competition from Amazon, Hulu and YouTube.
下调该公司股票评级的就是贝尔德证券的分析师鲍尔。他还列举了其他风险，包括内容成本激增，国际扩张的成败，以及来自亚马逊(Amazon)、Hulu和YouTube的竞争加剧。
“Given Netflix’s high valuation, any missteps could prompt outsize movement in the stock,” Mr. Power said.
“考虑到Netflix的高估值，任何闪失都可能造成股价出现不成比例的大幅波动，”鲍尔说。
On Wednesday, Netflix shares increased about 9 percent.
周三，Netflix股价上扬约9%。
