Roku(NASDAQ:ROKU) is in talks to buy Quibi's content catalog, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. Quibi -- a mobile-focused premium video streaming service -- launched in April but shut down by October after failing to draw an audience. Roku may have an opportunity to get a discount on its big budget, short-form productions starring a long list of high-profile names.
据《华尔街日报》报道，Roku(NASDAQ: Roku)正在就收购Quibi的内容目录进行谈判。专注于移动业务的高级视频流媒体服务Quibi于今年4月推出，但因未能吸引到用户，于10月关闭。Roku可能有机会从它的大预算、由一长串知名演员主演的短片制作中获得折扣。
Is it worth it?
值得吗?
Image source: Roku.Putting more pressure on its media partners
图片来源:Roku。对其媒体合作伙伴施加了更大压力
Roku was exploring the possibility of developing its own original series for The Roku Channel in early 2020. CFO Steve Louden denied those reports at an investor conference in March, pointing out that there's a lot more value for Roku in partnering with media companies and distributing their content.
Roku正在探索在2020年初为Roku频道开发自己的原创系列节目的可能性。Roku首席财务官史蒂夫•劳登(Steve Louden)在今年3月的一次投资者会议上否认了这些报道，他指出，与媒体公司合作并传播它们的内容，对Roku来说更有价值。
But 2020 saw Roku become a bit more demanding of its media partners. And the media companies didn't always see eye to eye with Roku. AT&T's WarnerMedia and Comcast's NBCUniversal had a tough time agreeing to terms with Roku to distribute their new streaming services, HBO Max and Peacock. Roku wanted more content rights for The Roku Channel in exchange for distribution, and the company has had similar disputes with other companies when renegotiating distribution for other streaming apps.
但2020年，Roku对媒体合作伙伴的要求有所提高。媒体公司并不总是与Roku意见一致。美国电话电报公司(AT&T)的华纳传媒(WarnerMedia)和康卡斯特(Comcast)的nbc环球(NBCUniversal)难以与Roku达成协议，以分销它们的新流媒体服务HBO Max和Peacock。Roku希望为Roku频道获得更多内容权利，以换取传播权。在为其他流媒体应用重新谈判传播权时，该公司也与其他公司发生过类似纠纷。
Owning its own content would further change the dynamics of Roku's negotiations. It could push the company to favor owning the rights to content in The Roku Channel, moving it further away from alternative models like revenue sharing. That would allow Roku to keep more of its ad sales, but it could also result in fewer content concessions from media partners. Roku managed to get a lot of content from Comcast in its Peacock negotiations, but it failed to get anything for The Roku Channel from AT&T.Can Roku afford it?
拥有自己的内容将进一步改变Roku的谈判格局。这可能会促使该公司更倾向于拥有Roku频道内容的版权，从而进一步远离收入分享等其他模式。这将使Roku保留更多的广告销售，但也可能导致媒体合作伙伴在内容方面做出更少的让步。在与康卡斯特的“孔雀谈判”中，Roku设法从康卡斯特获得了很多内容，但它没有从AT&T获得任何关于Roku频道的内容。罗库负担得起吗?
Roku ended the third quarter with just over $1 billion in cash on its balance sheet. That's after raising about $500 million with an equity distribution during the quarter. While the third-quarter results showed promise, the company isn't consistently producing positive free cash flow.
截至第三季度，Roku资产负债表上的现金略高于10亿美元。在此之前，该季度通过股权分配筹集了约5亿美元。虽然第三季度的业绩显示出了希望，但该公司并不是一直在产生正的自由现金流。
Making an all-cash deal for Quibi would likely require Roku to raise more capital. The shuttered company invested $1 billion of the $1.75 billion it originally raised with much of that going into content production. Taking that content catalog off Quibi's hands may require a substantial price tag and put a big dent in Roku's balance sheet.
若要全现金收购Quibi, Roku可能需要筹集更多资金。这家倒闭的公司最初筹集了17.5亿美元，其中10亿美元投资于内容制作。从Quibi手中收购内容目录可能需要一个巨大的价签，并对Roku的资产负债表造成巨大冲击。
There are reasons for Roku to be confident that it won't need as big a cash buffer going forward, though. Roku's fourth-quarter results could have been just as strong as in its third quarter, though the public won't know for a few more weeks. Additionally, there's lots of optimism surrounding ad spending in 2021 with the industry expected to bounce back while heavily favoring digital platforms like Roku's over traditional TV commercials.Now's the time to double down on The Roku Channel
不过，Roku有理由相信，它未来不需要这么大的现金缓冲。Roku第四季度的业绩可能会像第三季度一样强劲，不过公众还需要几周时间才能知道结果。此外，人们对2021年的广告支出持乐观态度，预计行业将反弹，同时更青睐Roku's等数字平台，而不是传统电视广告。现在是时候在罗库频道加倍下注了
Roku saw excellent momentum with The Roku Channel in 2020. The number of active accounts that streamed the free ad-supported service in the third quarter doubled year over year, according to management. That level of growth is more than twice as fast as its overall account growth.
2020年，Roku频道势头强劲。据管理层称，第三季度提供免费广告支持服务的活跃账户数量同比翻了一番。这一增速是其总账户增速的两倍多。
And there are reasons to think Roku will double its Roku Channel viewership again in short order. That means a growing potential for Roku to monetize on its investment in the Quibi content. What's more, adding high-quality exclusives (that most consumers have yet to see) can be extremely valuable in growing interest in the service. Roku has the tools and data to effectively promote the acquired content in The Roku Channel and maximize its value while expanding the overall reach of The Roku Channel and the rest of its library.
我们有理由相信，Roku频道的收视率会在短时间内再次翻番。这意味着Roku在Quibi内容上的投资有不断增长的盈利潜力。此外，添加高质量的独家广告(大多数消费者还没有看到)对于提高用户对这项服务的兴趣是非常有价值的。Roku拥有工具和数据，可以有效地在Roku频道推广获得的内容，并使其价值最大化，同时扩大Roku频道的整体覆盖范围及其库的其余部分。
As The Roku Channel becomes an increasingly important piece of the company's platform business, making a strategic acquisition of exclusive content is probably worth the investment. It's an opportunity to test the waters of original content without making as big an investment as originals usually require. And that could pave another path for Roku to monetize and grow its audience.
随着Roku频道成为公司平台业务中越来越重要的一部分，战略性收购独家内容可能值得投资。这是一个测试原创内容的机会，无需像原创内容通常要求的那样投入大笔资金。这为Roku的盈利和用户增长铺平了另一条道路。