????每當(dāng)你看到一家在中國(guó)做生意的西方媒體公司時(shí)，可以肯定的是這家公司的主管們必定有過(guò)惡夢(mèng)般的經(jīng)歷。中國(guó)政策對(duì)國(guó)外企業(yè)，特別是境外娛樂(lè)業(yè)機(jī)構(gòu)，設(shè)定了苛刻的限制條件：從一般內(nèi)容的審查制度（如電視上的同性戀文化和暴力內(nèi)容），到嚴(yán)格限制國(guó)外影視的引進(jìn)數(shù)量，以及難以企及的中國(guó)影視節(jié)目制作許可證。

????這些是國(guó)外公司進(jìn)入中國(guó)傳媒市場(chǎng)所要花費(fèi)的成本。但它們能從中獲得巨大的利益，這也是為什么許多公司仍愿意忍受這些讓人頭疼的要求。拿電視來(lái)說(shuō)，廣告商們正迫不急待地吸引中國(guó)不斷壯大的中產(chǎn)階級(jí)：全球管理咨詢公司麥肯錫（McKinsey）稱，過(guò)去三年里，中國(guó)的電視廣告費(fèi)翻了一番，達(dá)到了400億美元。而且，這個(gè)數(shù)字將在三年后超過(guò)700億美元。

????一旦傳媒公司決定拍一部電視劇，能夠給它們帶來(lái)利益的不僅是蓬勃的廣告市場(chǎng)。在中國(guó)，可以和電視內(nèi)容制作方簽協(xié)議的頻道有幾十個(gè)。如今，中國(guó)已經(jīng)有290多個(gè)電視廣播公司和1,300多個(gè)頻道。中國(guó)無(wú)數(shù)的電視接收插座，加上飛漲的廣告支出，意味著電視節(jié)目的制作將有更多的選擇、更多的渠道以及更大的需求，從而吸引外國(guó)媒體公司來(lái)中國(guó)開展業(yè)務(wù)。

????這就是Televisa集團(tuán)的發(fā)現(xiàn)。這家墨西哥公司是最大的西班牙語(yǔ)媒體，在墨西哥的黃金時(shí)段擄獲了70%的觀眾，每年在電視內(nèi)容制作上的支出超過(guò)10億美元。它最有名的節(jié)目類型是在拉丁美洲享譽(yù)已久的拉美電視劇。這種長(zhǎng)達(dá)一個(gè)小時(shí)的肥皂劇每天在黃金時(shí)段播出，覆蓋整個(gè)拉美地區(qū)，敘事周期一般長(zhǎng)達(dá)六個(gè)月到一年。不過(guò)，在過(guò)去的15年里，Televisa一直在悄無(wú)聲息地向外部市場(chǎng)擴(kuò)張，如今已經(jīng)把這些電視劇帶到了中國(guó)。而亞洲現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)成為Televisa增長(zhǎng)第二快的國(guó)際市場(chǎng)，增速僅次于拉丁美洲（Televisa集團(tuán)視墨西哥為本土市場(chǎng)，而拉美則屬于國(guó)外市場(chǎng)）。

????起初，Televisa只能在中國(guó)出售已經(jīng)在墨西哥播出過(guò)的譯制浪漫劇。但在2006年，它開始和中國(guó)本土制片方達(dá)成協(xié)議，為中國(guó)觀眾拍攝中文的原創(chuàng)浪漫電視劇。由于中國(guó)人的反感，它回避了“跨國(guó)制作”這樣容易讓人忽視本土人才的詞，而把這種合作關(guān)系描述成“協(xié)作”。

????通過(guò)和當(dāng)?shù)刂破竞献?，Televisa在中國(guó)發(fā)行了許多頗受歡迎的電視劇，其中一些作品更是取得了令人矚目的成功。美劇《丑女貝蒂》（Ugly Betty）的中國(guó)版《丑女無(wú)敵》（Ugly Wudi）自2008年在中國(guó)開播以來(lái)吸引了1,100萬(wàn)忠實(shí)觀眾。美劇《丑女貝蒂》本身來(lái)源于哥倫比亞的浪漫電視劇《丑女貝蒂》（Yo soy Betty, la fea）?！灸壳懊绹?guó)最熱門的《鴨子王朝》（Duck Dynasty）上周首播吸引了1,200萬(wàn)觀眾，由A&E有線電視網(wǎng)播出。廣告狂人（Mad Men）平均每周收看人數(shù)為250萬(wàn)?！?/p>

????《丑女無(wú)敵》和聯(lián)合利華（Unilever）的多芬（Dove）品牌達(dá)成了深度的植入廣告協(xié)議——在所有情節(jié)中都出現(xiàn)了它的肥皂——這也暗示了為什么Televisa如此渴望在中國(guó)立足的另一個(gè)原因：在娛樂(lè)節(jié)目中，中國(guó)觀眾比西方觀眾對(duì)植入式廣告的容忍度更高。這對(duì)Televisa來(lái)說(shuō)是個(gè)好現(xiàn)象，因?yàn)樗碾娨晞∮^眾大多為女性，其中許多人是家庭主婦，年齡在20到54歲之間。這個(gè)年齡段的觀眾正是廣告商競(jìng)相追逐的群體之一。Televisa喜歡中國(guó)市場(chǎng)的另一個(gè)原因是：中國(guó)的觀眾們喜歡電視劇。Televisa中國(guó)總裁弗朗西斯科?奧提斯說(shuō)：“中國(guó)市場(chǎng)習(xí)慣了電視劇?！???

????Whenever you see a Western media company doing business in China, you can bet its executives have had nightmares. Between censorship of everyday material like gay culture and violence on television, strict quotas on foreign content, and the near impossibility of obtaining a license to produce in the country, the restrictions China's policies place on outsiders are onerous -- especially outsiders in the entertainment business.

????That's the cost side of entering the Chinese media market. The benefits explain why companies put up with the headaches. Take television, for instance. Advertisers are rushing to attract the country's rising middle class: TV advertising nearly doubled to $40 billion over the past three years in China, according to McKinsey, and in three more years that figure will rise to more than $70 billion.

????Once media companies decide to make a show, they benefit from more than a skyrocketing ad market. China has dozens of channels with whom content producers can strike deals -- there are more than 290 Chinese television broadcasters and 1,300 channels in the country today. Coupled with ad spending, China's countless television outlets mean more options, more outlets, and a bigger appetite for programming, making it attractive for foreign media companies to do business in China.

????That's what Grupo Televisa has found. The Mexico-based company is the biggest media business in the Spanish-speaking world, capturing 70% of the primetime audience in Mexico and spending more than $1 billion a year on producing content. Its specialties are the telenovelas that have enjoyed a long history in Latin America -- hour-long soap-opera style shows that are broadcast daily all over the region in primetime, their narrative arcs lasting six months to a year. But in a little-noticed expansion outside its market, for the past 15 years, Televisa has been bringing them to China -- and now it counts Asia as its second-fastest-growing international market after Latin America (which it considers to be a foreign market from its native Mexico).

????At first, the company was limited in China to selling dubbed versions of telenovelas that had previously aired in Mexico. But in 2006, it started striking deals with local Chinese producers to develop original telenovelas in Mandarin for Chinese viewers. The company avoids using the phrase "co-production'' -- something the Chinese dislike because it takes attention away from local talent -- so instead the partnerships are described as "collaborations."

????Partnering with local production companies, Televisa has released a host of popular telenovelas in China, some to notable success. Ugly Wudi, a Chinese version of the U.S. hit Ugly Betty, which itself was a version of Colombia's telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea, debuted in 2008 and captured 11 million regular viewers in China. (The hottest show in the U.S. today, Duck Dynasty on A&E, premiered last week to an audience of 12 million. Mad Men averages about 2.5 million viewers a week.)

????Ugly Wudi included a heavy product placement deal with Unilever's (UL) Dove brand -- the soap appeared all over the plot -- that hints at another reason why Televisa is so eager to be in China: Its viewers are much more receptive than Western audiences to product placement in its entertainment. That's good for Televisa, whose telenovela viewership is mostly women, many of them housewives, aged 20-54, one of the most sought-after demographics for advertisers. Another reason Televisa likes the China market: Its viewers like drama. "China is a market used to TV drama," says Francisco Ortiz, Televisa's president in charge of China.