In a digital cable system, if there is no key to decode the signal, then, we will only see
Standard & Poor's maintains a cautious stance on cable-TV operators in the wake of Verizon's (VZ) announcement in early May of aggressive price cuts for its digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet-access service. Our overall outlook for the S & P Cable & Broadcasting index, which also includes shares of over-the-air TV and radio broadcasters, is neutral to modestly positive. Cable operators have so far ruled out an overt price war on broadband services. However, expect to see near-term responses like increased bundling of services, extended free months, more aggressive marketing and promotions, even modest price cuts from cable outfits that offer multiple services such as broadband as they defend their high growth Internet-access business.
Continued rapid growth in digital cable and high-speed data services helped support the industry's ongoing revenue growth. We at S & P are wary of price pressures on the long-term and short-term economies of cable's broadband business. That's especially true as another Baby Bell, SBC Communications (SBC), is also undercutting cable-service providers in many core markets.
In their traditional business segment, U.S. cable operators continue to benefit from a modest rebound in advertising spending, following a significant downturn during the economic slump that started in 2001. The industry has actually increased its share of total U.S. ad spending. The cable sector posted uninterrupted revenue growth during the recent downturn, as its greater reliance on subscriber revenues gives it a more defensive posture than broadcasters. Subscriptions remain the industry's primary revenue source, accounting for roughly 65% of the total, with advertising makes up the rest.
Our near-term outlook for cable remains tempered by heightened levels of geopolitical anxieties, though the Iraq war's end has alleviated their impact on advertising demand. Meanwhile, core subscription growth continues to be driven by robust rates of high-speed data sign-ups and by improved prospects for digital-video ancillary offerings like video-on-demand and high-definition TV.
We believe that successful media operators will continue to anticipate, rather than react to, the ever-changing dynamics of an increasingly competitive media environment. Even with increased regulatory surveillance, vertically and horizontally integrated media operators should begin to wield increasing competitive advantages as they leverage operating efficiencies and realize synergies across multiple delivery platforms.
From the first paragraph, we can see that Verizon's announcement of price cuts ______.
A.has produced a positive effect on S & P Cable and Broadcasting index
B.will intensify the competition among Cable-TV operators in the near future
C.render aggressive price cuts from other cable outfits absolutely impossible
D.will make other cable operators offer multiple services like broadband
You'll also need to check the batteries. Digital cameras use power, and if you've got a camera that takes normal disposable(一次性的) batteries you'll find it eats them really fast. Better to get rechargeable ones or—if you can afford it—go for a camera that has its own rechargeable battery pack built in. But whatever the power source, make sure that you've got enough juice(电) for the party or day on the beach.
A digital camera holds your photos as computer files, and before you can do anything with them apart from looking at them on the camera's own little screen you generally need to copy them to your computer. Some cameras can be plugged straight into your TV so that you can have a slideshow(放映) of your pictures—it's called video output, and you'll need a special cable for it. But mostly you'll want to copy your pictures to your computer, and probably print them out.
The film of the digital camera ______.
A.can't get full of pictures
B.is a plastic roll
C.is a computer memory
D.is a picture
Some of the HDTVs weigh over 200 lbs., and a variety of retailers offer a delivery service to the buyer's home to help install the heavy sets. This is known as a white-glove service and usually comes with an extra fee. After HDTV purchasers get their sets home and hook them up, they will still need to work to get the digital signals to their systems. Most of the industry's cable providers do not yet offer high definition programing, and only about 15% of commercial television stations have switched over to even the lowest improved digital pictures. Worse yet, viewers may need to install antenna before they can even get the digital signals to their new HDTV sets. Another frustration for home-theater seekers is that the current HDTV sets allow owners only to watch high-definition programs, not to record them.
According to the first sentence, the sales of HDTV sets since last year, by the time when this article was written, had reached ______.
A.4.6 million
B.9.2 million
C.18.4 million
D.I do not know how many
Satellite TV has encountered fierce competition from digital cable, which also has
A.improved picture quality
B.extended channel selection
C.distorted signal
D.both A and B
Task 2
Directions: This task is the same as Task 1. The 5 questions or unfinished statements are numbered 41 through 45.
Before you start taking digital photos you'll need to make sure that there's some film in the camera. With a digital camera the "film" isn't a plastic roll but some computer memory, and it can get full of pictures just the same. Most digital cameras will let you take twenty or thirty pictures before they fill up, and once they do, you have to either get rid of some photos or copy them to your computer to free up space. Or, if your camera uses special computer memory like Compact Flash or a Memory Stick, put in a new card. Don't forget to keep the old one safe.
You'll also need to check the batteries. Digital cameras use power, and if you've got a camera that takes normal disposable(一次性的) batteries you'll find it eats them really fast. Better to get rechargeable ones or -- if you can afford it -- go for a camera that has its own rechargeable battery pack built in. But whatever the power source, make sure that you've got enough juice(电) for the party or day on the beach.
A digital camera holds your photos as computer files, and before you can do anything with them apart from looking at them on the camera's own little screen you generally need to copy them to your computer. Some cameras can be plugged straight into your TV so that you can have a slideshow (放映) of your pictures -- it's called video output, and you'll need a special cable for it. But mostly you'll want to copy your pictures to your computer, and probably print them out.
The film of the digital camera ______.
A.can't get full of pictures
B.is a plastic roll
C.is a computer memory
D.is a picture
How does it feel to finally get the deal?
I'm very happy, of course, but it would have been better if it were a few years ago, otherwise cable wouldn't have made those investments and would have been more vulnerable.
How are you going to win customers away from cable?
To a certain extent, we're just going to give better service — cable and satellite both have had reputations for service — and if we want to get customers, we'd better have someone on the phone in 30 seconds rather than 20 minutes. And we will be investing a lot in research and development to get the most advanced technology for our set-top boxes and to get a lot of more interactivity.
Will you be giving set-top boxes for free?
Well, Jack Lonergan, Echo Star Communications Corp. Chairman, is already giving away some of the boxes. We will be matching him. But if we are manufacturing boxes with more features than he is giving, then we will charge something. But we will be subsidizing to the extent that he does.
Do you intend to undercut cable's prices to start a price war?
We are not going into a price war with anyone. But overall, digital satellite today is getting about $54 a month per customer, and cable is averaging about $66 at the moment. People want digital offerings, because cable is just too expensive.
What about broadband? Cable offers it; satellite can't.
I am inclined to think that broadband will be a commodity. I am not sure about that, but it's certainly physically possible to get first-class broadband service by satellite.
People genuinely seem to fear you. Why is that?
Ah, "the crazy people who will change the world". This company has always been a stimulus for change — Fox News is a stimulus for change, BSKYB was. Someone told me that there Were two crazy people in the media business — Ted Turner and me — and now there is only one. And that's not a bad thing to keep people guessing.
Still, in Britain, you forced MTV to lower its rates for your BSKYB service. Will you force US programmers to lower their rates to get carried on Direct TV?
I hope to have a good relation and compromise. But they want give us more and more channels — and charge us for them. So if they want us to carry one of their channels, they have to promise it will get an audience.
You have said you would use sports as battering ram. Will Fox TV or the Fox Sports Network bid against ESPN for Sunday Night NEL football when it comes up in 2006?
It is too early to say. I would be happy to leave things as they are. but the NFL may try to do something with cable to expand their revenues. To try to take on ESPN would be too expensive. I am not committing myself, but at current prices we are to keep what we have.
Your sons, Lachlan and James. are both in top jobs, Who will succeed you?
They will both learn and develop. And my daughter may be coming back into the company. But the board will decide. I won't be around. I'll probably drop dead on the job.
•You will hear an interview with Peter Smith, CEO of Direct TV.
•For questions 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.
•You will hear the recording twice.
Mr. Smith believed that his promotion came
A.too early.
B.a bit late.
C.just in time.
A.two-way
B.interactive
C.two-sided
D.mutual
How does it feel to finally get the deal?
I’m very happy, of course, but it would have been better if it were a few years ago, otherwise cable wouldn’t have made those investments and would have been more vulnerable.
How are you going to win customers away from cable?
To a certain extent, we’re just going to give better service — cable and satellite both have had reputations for service — and if we want to get customers, we’d better have someone on the phone in 30 seconds rather than 20 minutes. And we will be investing a lot in research and development to get the most advanced technology for our set-top boxes and to get a lot of more interactivity.
Will you be giving set-top boxes for free?
Well, Jack Lonergan, Echo Star Communications Corp. Chairman, is already giving away some of the boxes. We will be matching him. But if we are manufacturing boxes with more features than he is giving, then we will charge something. But we will be subsidizing to the extent that he does.
Do you intend to undercut cable’s prices to start a price war?
We are not going into a price war with anyone. But overall, digital satellite today is getting about $54 a month per customer, and cable is averaging about $66 at the moment. People want digital offerings, because cable is just too expensive.
What about broadband? Cable offers it; satellite can’t.
I am inclined to think that broadband will be a commodity. I am not sure about that, but it’s certainly physically possible to get first-class broadband service by satellite.
People genuinely seem to fear you. Why is that?
Ah, "the crazy people who will change the world". This company has always been a stimulus for change — Fox News is a stimulus for change, BSKYB was. Someone told me that there Were two crazy people in the media business — Ted Turner and me — and now there is only one. And that’s not a bad thing to keep people guessing.
Still, in Britain, you forced MTV to lower its rates for your BSKYB service. Will you force US programmers to lower their rates to get carried on Direct TV?
I hope to have a good relation and compromise. But they want give us more and more channels — and charge us for them. So if they want us to carry one of their channels, they have to promise it will get an audience.
You have said you would use sports as battering ram. Will Fox TV or the Fox Sports Network bid against ESPN for Sunday Night NEL football when it comes up in 2006?
It is too early to say. I would be happy to leave things as they are. but the NFL may try to do something with cable to expand their revenues. To try to take on ESPN would be too expensive. I am not committing myself, but at current prices we are to keep what we have.
Your sons, Lachlan and James. are both in top jobs, Who will succeed you?
They will both learn and develop. And my daughter may be coming back into the company. But the board will decide. I won’t be around. I’ll probably drop dead on the job.
?You will hear an interview with Peter Smith, CEO of Direct TV.
?For questions 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.
?You will hear the recording twice.
Mr. Smith believed that his promotion came
A.too early.
B.a bit late.
C.just in time.
A、digital Silk Road of the 21st century
B、Silk Road Fiber Optic Cable
C、Online Silk Road
D、big data Silk Road
听力原文: Rupert Murdoch had just received the phone call that would promote him to the top position. Regulators had approved his purchase of a controlling share in Direct TV's satellite service. Our reporter Grace Graham interviewed the News Corp. chairman in his Los Angeles office on Dec. 19, just hours before the official announcement.
How does it feel to finally get the deal?
I'm very happy, of course, but it would have been better if it were a few years ago, otherwise cable wouldn't have made those investments and would have been more vulnerable.
How are you going to win customers away from cable?
To a certain extent, we're just going to give better service — cable and satellite both have had reputations for service — and if we want to get customers, we'd better have someone on the phone in 30 seconds rather than 20 minutes. And we will be investing a lot in research and development to get the most advanced technology for our set-top boxes and to get a lot of more interactivity.
Will you be giving set-top boxes for free?
Well, Charlie Ergen, Echo Star Communications Corp. Chairman, is already giving away some of the boxes. We will be matching him. But if we are manufacturing boxes with more features than he is giving, then we will charge something. But we will be subsidizing to the extent that he does.
Do you intend to undercut cable's prices to start a price war?
We are not going into a price war with anyone. But overall, digital satellite today is getting about $54 a month per customer, and cable is averaging about $66 at the moment. People want digital offerings, because cable is just too expensive.
What about broadband? Cable offers it; satellite can't.
I am inclined to think that broadband will be a commodity. I am not sure about that, but it's certainly physically possible to get first-class broadband service by satellite.
People genuinely seem to fear you. Why is that?
Ah, "the crazy people who will change the world." This company has always been a stimulus for change — Fox News is a stimulus for change, BSkyB was. Someone once told me that there were two crazy people in the media business — Ted Turner and me — and now there is only one. And that's not a bad thing to keep people guessing.
Still, in Britain, you forced MTV to lower its rates for your BskyB service. Will you force US programmers to lower their rates to get carried on Direct, TV?
I hope to have a good relation and compromise. But they want to give us more and more channels — and charge us for them. So if they want us to carry one of their channels, they have to promise it will get an audience.
You have said you would use sports as a battering ram. Will Fox TV or the Fox Sports Network bid against ESPN for Sunday Night NFL football when it comes up in 2005?
It is too early to say. I would be happy to leave things as they are, but the NFL may try to do something with cable to expand their revenues. To try to take on ESPN would be too expensive. I am not committing myself, but at current prices we are to keep what we have.
Your sons, Lachlan and James, are both in top jobs. Who will succeed you?
They will both learn and develop. And my daughter may be coming back into the company. But the board will decide. I won't be around. I'll probably drop dead on the job.
? You will hear an interview with Rupert Murdoch, CEO of Direct TV.
? For each question 23-30, mark one letter (A, B or C) for the correct answer.
? You will hear the interview twice.
Mr Murdoch believed that his promotion came
A.too early.
B.a bit late.
C.just in time.
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