War in Europe
(an item from The Economist)
A shot fired in London in December signalled the beginning of a battle between two empires over Europe. Rupert Murdoch, whose television interests span the globe, announced the formation of News Corporation Europe, to further his European pay-TV ambitions. To realise them, he will have to oust Canal Plus, Europe largest pay-TV operator, from its dominant position.
Canal Plus, which set up Europe's first premium pay-TV channel in 1984, got an early lead in the business. In a recent burst of growth, it has expanded through Europe, and now from analogue to digital. But such swift expansion is proving expensive; Canal Plus is losing money.
In the long run, there is probably plenty of money to be made in pay-TV. But in the short term, many markets look difficult. Some, such as Germany, where Canal Plus has just pulled out, have too many free-to-air channels. Others, such as Scandinavia, already have too many pay-TV operators for the size of the market.
Why does Mr. Murdoch want to jump into tins mess? First because he has some problems. He has failed to launch a satellite broadcaster in America, and Star TV, his Asian satellite operation, is still losing money. Second, Canal Plus's hold on the European market is not as strong as it looks. A subscriber base is built on ownership of sport and film rights, which caii generally be snatched away. And this switch from analogue to digital, which is happening across Europe makes it easier for new operators to get into the business.
Whoever wins will pay a huge price. The law of pay-TV in Europe seems to be that most markets can support one operator comfortably. But two players mean a price war, such as happened in Germany a year ago when Leo Kirch tried to sink Premiere, and doubled the price of movies overnight. For the loss-making Canal Plus, that is a fighting prospect.
Do you know these words?
shot выстрел; to shoot (shot, shot) стрелять; to shoot a film снимать фильм
to fire выстрелить; зд. прозвучать
battle бой, сражение; battle-field поле боя
to span охватывать; соединять; to span a river with a bridge построить мост через реку
to further продвигать, способствовать, содействовать
to oust вытеснять
to expand расширять(ся), увеличивать(ся); syn. to widen, to grow, to increase
swift быстрый, скорый to prove оказываться; доказывать
in the long run в конечном итоге, в общем; at a run подряд
mess беспорядок; in a mess в беспорядке; to make a mess of things напутать, напортить, провалить все дело
subscriber [səb'skraibə] подписчик
ownership владение, собственность, право собственности
to snatch away отобрать, выхватить, вырвать
switch переход, переключение; to switch on включить; to switch off выключить; to switch over the roles поменяться ролями
to sink (sank, sunk) потопить; тонуть; опускаться; my heart sank я упал духом
Exercise 13a. Answer the following questions:
What War in Europe did the newspaper speak about?
What do you know about Rupert Murdock?
Why did he want to oust Canal Plus?
Why is the word Canal used instead of the word Channel in the name of the channel?
Was Canal Plus prospering?
Who won the battle, to your mind?
b Paraphrase the following sentences:
A shot fired in London signalled the beginning of a battle.
Its hold on the European market is not very strong.
This ownership can be snatched away.
Most markets can support only one operator comfortably.
Two players mean a price war.
Exercise 14a. Use articles if necessary, read and translate the sentences:
Rupert Murdock announced ... formation of ... News Corporation Europe. ... new pay-TV operator.
Canal Plus was ... largest pay-TV operator in ... Europe.
... channel was set-up in 1984 and it was working in ... most countries of ... Europe.
It was improving from ... analogue to ... digital, which was very expensive, and was losing ... money.
In ... long run Canal Plus could earn a lot of money and compensate for ... losses
But in ... short term it was losing some customers.
Mr Murdock had some problems in ... America and ... Asia, and he wanted to get into ... European market therefore.
b Translate into English:
Это послужило началом борьбы двух империй.
Телеимперия Мердока охватывает почти всю Европу.
Он объявил о создании новой компании.
Для реализации своих амбиций он решил вытеснить «Канал Плюс» с занимаемых им позиций.
Сейчас существует наземное, спутниковое и кабельное телевидение.
Регулярное телевидение появилось в 1936 г. в Великобритании и Германии, в 1939 г. — в России (Москва и Ленинград), в 1941 г — в США.
с Retell the text.
Retell the text