华纳兄弟未来的争夺战变得更加混乱

好莱坞正就一些银幕上最著名的角色展开日益激烈的争论，比如新泽西黑帮老大。

There's a growing fight in Hollywood over some of the biggest characters on screen, like a New Jersey mob boss.

感人。

Moving.

我试图为你做正确的事。

I tried to do the right thing by you.

你想成为什么？

You're trying to be what?

或者一个愤世嫉俗的夜总会老板。

Or a cynical nightclub owner.

全世界有那么多城镇，那么多酒吧，她偏偏走进我这一家。

Of all the gin joints and all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.

甚至还有一群正在受训的巫师。

Even a certain group of wizards in training.

它当时站在一个活板门上，这意味着这不是意外。

It was standing on a trap door, which means it wasn't there by accident.

它在守护着什么东西。

It's guarding something.

守护什么东西？

Guarding something?

没错。

That's right.

现在如果你们不介意的话，在你们又想出什么聪明主意害死我们或者更糟——被开除之前，我要去睡觉了。

Now if you two don't mind, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed or worse, expelled.

那是《哈利·波特》、《卡萨布兰卡》和《黑道家族》，所有这些都是华纳兄弟探索公司旗下的影视作品。

That's Harry Potter and Casablanca and the Sopranos, all shows and films owned by Warner Brothers Discovery.

现在有两家公司正在争夺这块蛋糕。

Now two companies are fighting to get a piece of the action.

首先，上周五Netflix以830亿美元的价格收购华纳兄弟影业和HBO。

First, on Friday, Netflix struck an 83,000,000,000 deal to acquire Warner Brothers Studios and HBO.

然而几天后，派拉蒙加码竞标，以1080亿美元收购华纳兄弟探索公司，这不仅仅包括影业和HBO，还有CNN等华纳旗下有线电视频道。

Then just days later, Paramount upped the ante with a higher bid, $108,000,000,000 for Warner Brothers Discovery, which includes not just the studios and HBO, but also Warner's cable channels like CNN.

将这场企业巨头争夺华纳兄弟控制权的较量视为焦点。

Consider this as corporate giants vie to take over Warner Brothers.

好莱坞和新闻行业将面临怎样的风险？

What are the stakes for Hollywood and the news business?

我是NPR的玛丽·路易斯·凯利。

From NPR, I'm Mary Louise Kelly.

本周《首要关注》节目中，可负担性成为政坛最新热词。

This week on up first, affordability is the latest buzzword in politics.

特朗普总统正四处巡游吹嘘他的经济政绩。

So president Trump is hitting the road to tout his economic record.

他传达的信息是：经济正在蓬勃发展。

His message, the economy is thriving.

但美国民众会买账吗？

But will Americans buy it?

我们将在本周《首要关注》节目中为您带来最新进展。

We'll bring you the latest this week on Up first.

现荣获金球奖最佳播客提名。

Now a Golden Globe nominee for best podcast.

可通过NPR应用或您常用的播客平台收听。

Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

在TED广播时间节目中，克里斯塔·蒂皮特二十多年来一直帮助听众应对变化。

On the TED Radio Hour, for over two decades, Krista Tippett has been helping her listeners get through change.

但当她经历人生危机时，意外之事发生了。

But she was going through her own life crisis when something unexpected happened.

我在64岁坠入爱河，这是最美好的事。

I fell in love at 64, and it's the greatest thing ever.

寻找你的幸福。

Finding your bliss.

可通过NPR应用或您常用的播客平台收听TED广播时间节目。

Listen to the TED Radio Hour on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

正值佳节季，您会发现许多温馨欢乐的节日电影佳作。

'Tis the season you'll find plenty of good holiday movies, films that can be counted upon to deliver warmth and cheer.

而那些糟糕的节日电影，它们也有自己的乐趣。

And bad holiday movies, they can be fun in their own way.

所以我们正在辩论史上最烂的节日电影是哪部。

So we're debating what's the worst holiday movie of all time.

没错，我们会讨论《真爱至上》这部电影。

And, yes, we'll be talking about love actually.

请在NPR应用或你获取播客的任何平台收听《流行文化欢乐时光》。

Listen to pop culture happy hour in the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

这里是NPR的《深思熟虑》栏目。

It's consider this from NPR.

无论以何种方式，好莱坞正在经历剧变。

One way or another, Hollywood is getting upended.

就在上周五，Netflix宣布收购华纳兄弟探索公司的协议，后者拥有从《卡萨布兰卡》到《蝙蝠侠》等热门作品。

It was just this past Friday that Netflix announced a deal to take over Warner Brothers Discovery, home to hits from Casablanca to Batman.

现在派拉蒙正在发起恶意收购要约。

Now Paramount is mounting a hostile takeover bid.

因此我们邀请了内部专家来帮忙解释当前的情况。

So we've invited our resident authorities to come help explain what is going on.

NPR的玛丽亚·阿斯彭负责华尔街方面的报道。

NPR's Maria Aspen covers Wall Street.

大卫·福克尔福德负责媒体领域的报道。

David Fockelford covers the media.

嘿，你们好。

Hey to you too.

你好啊。

Hey there.

嘿，玛丽亚·路易丝。

Hey, Maria Louise.

嘿。

Hey.

那么，大卫，由你来开场吧。

So, David, you kick us off.

今早看到派拉蒙的报价时我下巴都惊掉了，这完全颠覆了我们几天前在节目上讨论时对局势的预判。

My jaw dropped this morning when I saw the Paramount offer because it upends everything that we thought was gonna happen just a few days ago when you were on the show.

华纳兄弟的最新命运走向如何？

What is the latest on the fate of Warner Brothers?

没错。

Right.

别打瞌睡，这可是数十亿级交易正在推进。

Don't nap because the billions are are are ascending.

数十亿资金正在涌入。

Billions are rolling in.

是啊。

Yeah.

资金源源不断涌入。

They're rolling in.

网飞公司的收购报价估值达830亿美元（含债务），实际将接管华纳兄弟影业、HBO流媒体服务、DC漫画的知识产权，还有你说的《卡萨布兰卡》等所有中间产物，以及HBO流媒体平台。

The Netflix bid was valued deal at $83,000,000,000, including debt to take over, really, Warner Brothers Studios, the HBO streaming service, the intellectual property behind DC Comics, and as you say, Casablanca and everything in between, as well as the HBO streaming service.

与此同时，派拉蒙全球公司所属的埃里森家族今早提高了赌注。

Meanwhile, Paramount Global, the Ellison family this morning upped the ante.

他们提出收购华纳兄弟探索公司的全部资产，包括CNN等有线电视频道。

They've offered to buy all of Warner Brothers Discovery, including the cable channels such as CNN.

这笔交易总估值高达1080亿美元。

That deal is valued at a $108,000,000,000 and all.

埃里森家族是派拉蒙的所有者。

The Ellison family who who own Paramount.

这笔交易一旦最终达成，规模会有多大？

Would just how big a deal would this be whenever it finally sells?

对好莱坞来说意味着什么？

What are the stakes for Hollywood?

嗯，这堪称一场史诗级的较量。

Well, so this is a brawl of epic proportions.

正如你所说，甲骨文联合创始人拉里·埃里森及其曾任职于天空之舞传媒的儿子大卫·埃里森，今年夏天刚接管了派拉蒙。

As you say, the Ellisons Larry Ellison, the cofounder of Oracle, his son David Ellison, who had been with Skydance Media, they took over Paramount earlier this summer.

但派拉蒙认为自身规模仍然太小。

But Paramount thinks it's still too small.

而通过这次收购，他们认为能够与Netflix等流媒体巨头竞争。

And with this, they think they can compete with the like of Netflix.

派拉蒙CEO大卫·埃里森是这样解释他对这笔交易感兴趣的原因：

Here's how David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount, describes why he's interested in the deal.

我们热爱电影和娱乐产业。

We love the movie and entertainment business.

我们对其未来充满信心，并希望助力这个产业的延续与壮大。

We believe deeply in its future, and we wanna help preserve and strengthen it.

电影是美国最重要的文化输出品之一。

Movies are one of America's greatest exports.

但他们仍担忧自身规模不足。

And yet they fear they're just too small.

想想迪士尼当初为对抗Netflix，收购了福克斯大部分好莱坞资产来壮大实力。

Think of the fact that Disney bulked up to take on Netflix by buying most of Fox's Hollywood assets.

要知道，Netflix已经是全球最大的流媒体平台，也是美国国内最大的流媒体服务商。

You know, Netflix is already the world's largest streamer, already the nation's largest streamer.

Netflix正在表态说，听着。

Netflix is saying, look.

我们完全可以先发制人地避免这场竞争。

We can just sort of preempt this whole fight.

拿下HBO。

Get HBO.

让一家流媒体平台加入我们。

There's a streamer on board.

再让华纳兄弟影业加入阵营。

Get Warner Brothers Studios on board.

我们基本上在竞争开始前就终结了战局。

We've kind of closed the fight before it started.

作为新闻记者，我必须指出这对新闻行业也意味着重大利益，比如CNN。

Well and as news journalists, I I will note their big stakes here for the news business too, CNN.

是啊。

Yeah.

没错。

Right.

Netflix并不感兴趣，你知道的，亚马逊或苹果这些数字巨头似乎也不会参与。

Netflix isn't interested, you know, nor would Amazon or or Apple appear to be the big digital titans.

但对于像派拉蒙这样的公司，他们已经有了CBS，他们想把CNN并进来，并可能大幅削减工作岗位来促成这笔交易。

But for a place like Paramount, you know, which already has CBS, they want to fold CNN in and presumably slash a lot of job lines to make this deal work.

好的。

Okay.

玛丽亚，你从华尔街的角度谈谈这个。

Maria, you hop in here on the Wall Street end of this.

派拉蒙在这里使用的策略是敌意收购。

Paramount, the tactic they're using here is a hostile takeover.

A和B，这会如何运作？

The a y and b, how would that work?

正如其名所示，派拉蒙实际上是在对华纳兄弟探索公司说：我们已经尝试过友好协商了。

Well, as the name implies, Paramount is essentially saying to Warner Brothers Discovery, well, we tried asking you nicely.

现在要动真格的了。

Now the gloves are coming off.

他们将直接接触华纳兄弟探索公司的股东。

It's going directly to Warner Brothers Discovery shareholders.

这里我们能看到华纳兄弟高管与公司所有者之间的分歧——前者通常掌握决策权，而后者则是持有公司股份的所有投资者。

And this is where we see a difference between the executives of Warner Brothers who usually call the shots and its owners who are all the investors who own the company's stock.

华纳兄弟高管选择了与Netflix合作。

Warner Brothers executives chose to go with the Netflix deal.

所以现在派拉蒙转向股东们，试图提出更优厚的收购条件。

So now Paramount is going to the shareholders and trying to make them a better offer.

恶意收购有几种不同类型，而这次采用的是所谓的'要约收购'方式。

There are a couple of different kinds of hostile takeovers, but this is what's known as a tender offer.

嗯。

Mhmm.

派拉蒙实际上是在告诉华纳兄弟的股东们，好吧。

Paramount is essentially telling Warner Brothers shareholders, okay.

Netflix承诺给你们大约每股28美元的现金和一些股票，但我们会给你们每股30美元，全部现金支付。

Netflix promised you roughly $28 a share in cash and some stock, but we'll give you $30 a share, all cash.

虽然差距不大，但你们难道不想赚更多钱吗？

It's not a huge difference, but wouldn't you rather make more money?

反正我是想的。

I would.

而且全部以现金形式支付。

And it'll be all in cash.

此外，派拉蒙的交易可能会更快获得监管批准。

And a Paramount deal would likely be faster to get regulatory approval.

所以派拉蒙希望他们的方案能说服足够多的股东倒戈加入他们。

So Paramount is hoping its deal will convince enough shareholders to come over and join it.

恶意收购啊。

Hostile takeovers.

我是说，一般来说，敌意收购有效吗？

I mean, in general, are they effective?

它们的成效参差不齐。

They have a mixed track record.

你可能还记得，比如捷蓝航空几年前试图收购精神航空，那笔交易就是从敌意收购要约开始的。

You may remember JetBlue, for example, tried to take over Spirit Airlines a couple of years ago, and that deal started with a hostile takeover bid.

虽然法官最终以反垄断为由阻止了这笔交易，但确实有一些敌意收购取得了成功。

A judge did eventually block the deal on antitrust grounds, but there have been some hostile takeovers that have been successful.

巴西比利时啤酒集团英博收购了百威啤酒和安海斯-布希公司。

The Brazilian Belgian brewery InBev took over Budweiser and Anheuser Busch.

嗯。

Mhmm.

那是一次恶意收购。

That was a hostile takeover.

当然，最近我们还看到埃隆·马斯克收购推特（现更名为X）的交易，最初就是以恶意收购开始的。

Of course, more recently, we saw Elon Musk acquire Twitter, now x, in a deal that started as a hostile takeover.

玛丽亚，我还有一个问题要问你，是关于外国投资者的。

One more question to you, Maria, and it's about foreign investors.

如果你仔细阅读这份最新报价——派拉蒙报价的小字部分，就会发现其中提到了重要的外国投资者。

If you read deep into the small print of this latest offer, the Paramount offer, it suggests significant foreign investors.

他们是谁？

Who are they?

他们将如何参与其中？

How would they be involved?

这笔交易中有大量来自中东的资金。

There is a lot of Middle Eastern money in this deal.

正如你指出的，细则中说明沙特阿拉伯、阿布扎比、卡塔尔的主权财富基金都将持有股份，还有一家与中国有关的投资公司。

The fine print, as you point out, says that sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar would all have a stake as well as an investment firm that's tied to China.

还有另一位投资者也将在这笔交易中持有股份——贾里德·库什纳。

There's also another investor that would have a stake in this deal, Jared Kushner.

当然，他是前总统特朗普的女婿。

Of course, that is president Trump's son-in-law.

我们需要指出几点。

We should point out a couple of things.

首先，正如大卫提到的，派拉蒙由埃里森家族经营。

First of all, Paramount, as David mentioned, is run by the Ellison family.

拉里·埃里森是全球最富有的人之一。

Larry Ellison is one of the wealthiest people in the world.

他目前身价超过2750亿美元。

He's currently worth more than $275,000,000,000.

所以派拉蒙寻求外资支持这件事很有意思。

So it's interesting that Paramount is seeking foreign money for this.

值得注意的是，收购要约中声明这些投资者不会参与公司运营。

Now it's important to note that the tender offer says these investors won't be involved in running the company.

此外，贾里德·库什纳参与这笔交易提醒我们，特朗普总统对企业界，尤其是当前所有重大企业交易的影响有多大。

Also, Jared Kushner's involvement in this deal is a reminder of just how much president Trump looms over corporate America and especially all major corporate transactions right now.

大卫，特朗普总统准备扮演什么角色？

David, what role is president Trump poised to play?

我们清楚吗？

Do we know?

听着。

Listen.

在正常情况下，监管机构不会听从总统的指示。

In normal times, regulators don't take their cues from the president.

现在可不是正常时期。

These aren't normal times.

特朗普数月来已明确表示，他认为作为盟友的埃里森家族应该享有内部优势。

Trump has clearly indicated for months that he thinks the Ellsons, who are allies, should have an inside track.

昨天他表示，Netflix的竞标需要他参与考虑。

Yesterday, he said Netflix bid would require him to be involved in thinking about it.

但今天有趣的是，他却因派拉蒙在CBS《60分钟》节目中播出对一位由盟友转为总统批评者的采访而大发雷霆。

But today, interestingly enough, he lashed out at Paramount for airing an interview with an ally turned critic of the president on CBS's sixty minutes.

CBS电视台，当然，是埃里森家族最近收购的。

CBS, of course, the Ellsons recently acquired.

这也可能让事情变得不确定。

That could throw things in doubt as well.

以上报道来自NPR的大卫·福克弗利克和玛丽亚·阿斯彭。

Reporting there from NPR's David Fockeflik and Maria Aspen.

感谢你们两位。

Thanks to you both.

不客气。

You bet.

谢谢。

Thank you.

另外说明一下，华纳兄弟探索公司是NPR的财务支持者。

And a note, Warner Brothers Discovery is a financial supporter of NPR.

本期节目由乔丹·玛丽·史密斯、米娅·文卡特和卡伦·萨莫拉制作。

This episode was produced by Jordan Marie Smith, Mia Venkat, and Karen Zamora.

由帕拉维·戈戈伊和克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔编辑。

It was edited by Palavi Gogoy and Christopher Intaliata.

我们的执行制片人是萨米·耶尼根。

Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan.

这里是NPR的《考虑一下》节目。

It's consider this from NPR.

我是玛丽·路易斯·凯莉。

I'm Mary Louise Kelly.

常规保险很适合应对日常风险，但对于那些一代人难得一遇的灾难，牙买加等国家已做好了其他准备。

Regular insurance is great for your standard day to day risks, but for those once in a generation catastrophes, countries like Jamaica have made other preparations.

我们都明白飓风是不可避免的，我们不能坐以待毙。

We all realize that hurricanes are inevitable, and we can't just sit here and hope.

我们必须主动出击。

We had to be proactive.

在《金钱星球》节目中，我们将讲述牙买加如何通过一场赌注挺过了该国历史上最严重的飓风。

On Planet Money, how Jamaica weathered the worst hurricane in the country's history with a bet.

这里是《金钱星球》。

Planet Money.

通过NPR应用或您常用的播客平台收听。

Listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

《Wildcard》让名人访谈变得如同与朋友聊天般轻松自在。

Wildcard is where big name interviews feel like conversations with a friend.

我是说，我真不敢相信自己竟如此幸运。

I mean, I can't believe how lucky I've been.

你没用正确的方式道别，麦康纳。

You didn't say goodbye the right way, McConaughey.

她对我说：别以为你能进普林斯顿。

She told me, don't think you're Princeton material.

我想，我这个人最大的特点就是开放吧。

I'm nothing if not open, I guess.

我是瑞秋·马丁。

I'm Rachel Martin.

在NPR应用、YouTube或您常用的播客平台观看或收听《Wildcard》。

Watch or listen to Wildcard on the NPR app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.