教育出版社嘗試數(shù)字化轉(zhuǎn)型

Textbook publishers are in crisis: their products are too expensive. University students, facing rising tuition fees and mounting debt, have been turning to pirated or used books, or are skipping buying course materials altogether.

教材出版社陷入了危機(jī)：它們的產(chǎn)品太貴了。面臨學(xué)費節(jié)節(jié)上漲、負(fù)債越來越重的大學(xué)生們開始買盜版或二手教材，甚至干脆不買教材了。

The industry has scrambled to adapt by producing cheaper ebooks and offering rentals for individual texts. One publisher is even betting that a Netflix-style subscription model can increase revenues, while meeting demand for lower prices.

這個行業(yè)在加快腳步應(yīng)對——推出價格較低的電子書或針對單本教材提供借閱服務(wù)。有一家出版社甚至在押注于Netflix式的訂閱模式能提升收入，同時滿足學(xué)生對低價的需求。

Cengage Learning, one of the world’s biggest educational publishers, will launch a subscription service for US students next year that includes unlimited access to digital materials for $119.99 a semester.

世界最大教育出版社之一圣智學(xué)習(xí)(Cengage Learning)明年將面向美國學(xué)生推出電子書無限借閱服務(wù)，一學(xué)期只需119.99美元。

“This is a model that breaks with 100 years of tradition,” said Michael Hansen, Cengage chief executive. “We are saying we don’t want to sell the students any units. We want to sell them one subscription that at a compelling price point offers access to our entire library.”

“這是一種改變了上百年傳統(tǒng)的模式。”圣智學(xué)習(xí)的首席執(zhí)行官邁克爾•漢森(Michael Hansen)說，“我們現(xiàn)在說的是，我們不想向?qū)W生們出售任何物件。我們想向他們出售一份價格優(yōu)惠的訂閱服務(wù)，讓他們能夠借閱我們庫中的所有圖書。”

The publisher says the move is a response to financial pressures on US students, who spent an average of $579 on course materials in the 2016-17 academic year, according to the National Association of College Stores.

圣智學(xué)習(xí)說，推出這一舉措是有感于美國學(xué)生面臨的財務(wù)壓力——據(jù)全美大學(xué)書店協(xié)會(National Association of College Stores)的數(shù)據(jù)，2016-17學(xué)年，美國學(xué)生花在課堂資料上的錢平均為579美元。

Cengage intends to shift 90 per cent of its US higher education sales volumes from print to digital formats by 2020. The publisher posted a 10 per cent drop in revenue in its most recent fiscal year, dragged down by weak higher education print sales. The hope is that subscription volumes will offset the price gap between print and digital.

圣智學(xué)習(xí)的計劃是，到2020年，將其美國高等教育圖書銷售量的90%從紙質(zhì)版轉(zhuǎn)為電子版。受高等教育紙質(zhì)圖書銷量疲弱影響，該出版社最近一個財年的營收下降了10%。它寄望于訂閱量將足以抵消紙質(zhì)版和電子版圖書的價格差距。

Cengage’s peers — including Pearson, the former owner of the Financial Times — have experimented with subscription models for individual texts but not a full library. But there is competition. UK start-up Perlego sells subscription packages to materials from publishers including Pearson, Bloomsbury and Oxford University Press. Rental specialist Bookbyte built its business around a service that aims to prevent course materials from turning into expensive clutter.

其他教育出版社(包括英國《金融時報》的前東家培生(Pearson))嘗試過單本教材的借閱模式，但沒有嘗試過將整個圖書庫開放借閱。但競爭已經(jīng)出現(xiàn)。英國初創(chuàng)企業(yè)Perlego提供的套餐訂閱服務(wù)，讓訂閱者可以借閱來自各家出版社的圖書，包括培生、Bloomsbury和牛津大學(xué)出版社(Oxford University Press)。專營圖書租賃的Bookbyte提供的核心服務(wù)的宗旨就是讓昂貴的教材流動起來，而不是白白放在家里占地方。

“Companies fall in love with their own business model. That allows people who are disrupting to come in and establish massively profitable business models,” Mr Hansen said.

漢森說：“企業(yè)會自己愛上自己的商業(yè)模式。這讓顛覆者能夠乘虛而入，建立起極為有利可圖的商業(yè)模式。

“If Disney had moved to actively challenge their own business model, Netflix wouldn’t have existed and wouldn’t have sucked $60bn of value out of media.”

“如果迪士尼(Disney)當(dāng)初積極行動起來、挑戰(zhàn)它自己的商業(yè)模式，Netflix現(xiàn)在根本就不會存在，也根本不會在媒體行業(yè)切走價值600億美元的一塊‘蛋糕’。”