美国视频网站拟首开收费先河

　　Break.com， an early player but an also-ran in the online video arena，will try charging subscription fees， making it perhaps the first such company to do so.

　　“We are going to test it later this year，” said Break CEO Keith Richman. “We're trying to figure out what is the premium model that people will accept.”

　　YouTube and others steer away from fees， which has proved to be a big gamble in an online world where so much content is free. Even media companies have shied away from fees. ESPN and Major League Baseball have attracted loyal paid subscribers online， but they are exceptions. CBScharged for its online airing of the NCAA national men's basketball tournament for a couple years， but last year went to a for-free model.

　　To charge， Break must come up with content that is original and compelling. That'll be tough.

　　“As a rule， getting paid for subscription services is hard because people already consider that they're paying for their broadband Internet，” said Phil Leigh， president of Inside Digital Media. “I don't think consumers have an appetite for more than a half-dozen”paid online services at the most.

　　一直活跃在视频领域的网站Break.com计划在其擅长的业务上向用户收费，有望成为首个吃螃蟹的视频公司。

　　“我们将在年内开始测试这种收费模式。”Break.com CEO基恩·瑞奇曼表示，“目的是寻找用户可接受的商业模式。”

　　目前，YouTube等视频网站都在小心翼翼地绕开收费模式，因为在免费为主流的网络时代，对用户收费已被证明是一场豪赌。除了ESPN体育台和美国职业

　　向用户收费意味着Break.com必须提供有足够吸引力的原创内容，“用户认为自己已经支付了宽带上网费，所以很难接受内容收费的模式”。Inside Digital Media公司总裁菲尔·利说。