AMC Networks Inc (Pre-Reincorporation) (AMCX) 2025 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the AMC Networks Inc. second-quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.

大家好，感謝您的收看。歡迎參加AMC Networks Inc. 2025年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音中。

I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Nick Seibert, SVP, Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議發言權交給今天的演講嘉賓，企業發展與投資者關係高級副總裁Nick Seibert。請發言。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to the AMC Networks second-quarter 2025 earnings conference call. Joining us this morning are Kristin Dolan, Chief Executive Officer; Patrick O'Connell, Chief Financial Officer; Kim Kelleher, Chief Commercial Officer; and Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加AMC Networks 2025年第二季財報電話會議。今天上午，我們將與會的嘉賓包括首席執行官克里斯汀·多蘭 (Kristin Dolan)、首席財務官帕特里克·奧康奈爾 (Patrick O’Connell)、首席商務官金·凱萊赫 (Kim Kelleher) 以及娛樂和AMC Studios總裁丹·麥克德莫特 (Dan McDermott)。

Today's press release is available on our website at amcnetworks.com. We will begin with prepared remarks, and then we'll open the call for questions. Today's call may include certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ.

今天的新聞稿可在我們的網站 amcnetworks.com 上查閱。我們將首先進行準備好的發言，然後開始提問環節。今天的電話會議可能包含《1995 年私人證券訴訟改革法》所定義的某些前瞻性陳述。任何此類前瞻性陳述均不構成對未來績效或結果的保證，並包含可能導致實際結果差異的風險和不確定性。

Please refer to AMC Networks' SEC filings for a discussion of risks and uncertainties. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements made on this call today. We will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. The required definitions and reconciliations can be found in today's press release.

有關風險和不確定性的討論，請參閱AMC Networks提交給美國證券交易委員會（SEC）的文件。本公司不承擔更新今天電話會議上任何前瞻性陳述的義務。我們將討論某些非公認會計準則（Non-GAAP）財務指標。所需的定義和對帳表可在今天的新聞稿中找到。

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Kristin.

說完這些，我想把電話轉給克莉絲汀。

Thank you, Nick, and good morning, everyone. We continue to execute our clear strategic plan focused on programming partnerships and profitability as we manage AMC Networks through this period of change in our industry. I'm pleased with the progress we've made in the first half of the year.

謝謝尼克，大家早安。在AMC電視網經歷產業變革的這段時期，我們將繼續執行清晰的策略計劃，並專注於節目製作合作和獲利能力。我對我們上半年的進展感到滿意。

In the second quarter, streaming revenue growth accelerated. We saw strong licensing performance and generated $96 million of free cash flow. In light of these positive results, we are raising our free cash flow outlook to approximately $250 million for the full year. In addition, we recently completed important financing transactions, which Patrick will discuss in more detail. We expect that the retirement of our debt at a significant discount will create meaningful shareholder value.

第二季度，串流媒體收入成長加速。我們的授權業務表現強勁，並產生了9,600萬美元的自由現金流。鑑於這些積極的業績，我們將全年自由現金流預期上調至約2.5億美元。此外，我們最近完成了重要的融資交易，Patrick將對此進行更詳細的討論。我們預計，以大幅折扣償還債務將創造有意義的股東價值。

I'd like to spend a moment discussing a core competency that differentiates AMC Networks, which is our ability to build and grow fan communities around our high-quality content. This is the goal of every company in media, and our success in this regard spans our linear networks, programming franchises, targeted streaming services, and film business.

我想花點時間談談AMC Networks的一項核心競爭力，那就是我們能夠圍繞優質內容建立並發展粉絲社群。這是每家媒體公司的目標，而我們在這方面的成功涵蓋了我們的線性網路、節目特許經營、定向串流服務和電影業務。

Two weeks ago, we were at San Diego Comic Con, the biggest fan event in the world and a major annual priority for our company. Our Walking Dead and Anne Rice universes and for the first time, our Shudder streaming service were well represented. Active fan relationships drive our company and also deliver meaningful value to our distribution and advertising partners.

兩週前，我們參加了聖地牙哥國際動漫展，這是全球最大的粉絲盛會，也是我們公司年度重點工作之一。我們的《陰屍路》和安妮賴斯系列漫畫宇宙，以及我們首次推出的Shudder串流服務，都得到了充分的展示。積極的粉絲關係推動著我們公司的發展，也為我們的發行和廣告合作夥伴帶來了意義非凡的價值。

It was powerful and affirming to see people lined up for hours to be terrified at our Shudder activation to watch Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride preview a new season of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon in Hall H, or experienced the cast of Interview with the Vampire entering Ballroom 20 to deafening applause.

看到人們排幾個小時的隊，在我們的 Shudder 活動上感到恐懼，觀看諾曼·瑞杜斯和梅麗莎·麥克布萊德在 H 廳預覽《行屍走肉：達裡爾·迪克森》的新一季，或者體驗《夜訪吸血鬼》的演員們進入 20 號宴會廳，在震耳欲聾的掌聲中，這是非常有力和肯定的掌聲。

We've also approached streaming in a unique and fan forward way, building a suite of targeted services that allow us to efficiently serve passionate fans of specific genres while achieving very high levels of engagement and loyalty.

我們也以獨特的、以粉絲為導向的方式處理串流媒體，建立了一套有針對性的服務，使我們能夠有效地為特定類型的熱情粉絲提供服務，同時實現非常高的參與度和忠誠度。

When O'Hara fan finds Shudder or someone who loves cozy mysteries discovers Acorn TV, something very powerful happens. They don't just add another platform to the pile, they subscribe to a service that quickly becomes their favorite. Our viewers' first strategy is designed to meet viewers wherever they are on every possible platform.

當奧哈拉的粉絲發現 Shudder，或者喜歡溫馨懸疑劇的人發現 Acorn TV 時，就會發生一些非常震撼的事情。他們不僅僅是增加了一個平台，他們訂閱的服務很快就成為了他們的最愛。我們的觀眾首要策略是，無論觀眾身處何地，都能在任何可能的平台上與他們互動。

The benefits of this approach are cascading across our business and allowing us to expand audiences by finding new viewers across linear streaming and see TV FAST. We have more than 20 domestic FAST channels today, which do more than just grow our digital ad business. They promote sampling and raise awareness and interest in our brands and franchises. They drive viewership on our linear networks and subscriptions on our streaming services.

這種方法的好處正在層層疊加，惠及我們的整個業務，使我們能夠透過在線性串流媒體和See TV FAST上尋找新觀眾來擴大受眾群體。目前，我們擁有超過20個美國國內FAST頻道，它們的作用遠不止於發展我們的數位廣告業務。它們推廣試播節目，並提升了觀眾對我們品牌和特許經營權的認知度和興趣。它們推動了我們線性網路的收視率和串流媒體服務的訂閱量。

We're also adapting our success in FAST internationally. We're already seeing a great response to the three FAST channels we've launched in the UK and are adding three more this month. Later this year, we'll launch channels in markets across Central and Northern Europe, Iberia, and Latin America.

我們也在國際上推廣FAST的成功經驗。我們在英國推出的三個FAST頻道已經獲得了良好的反響，本月還將新增三個頻道。今年晚些時候，我們將在中歐和北歐、伊比利亞半島以及拉丁美洲等市場推出這些頻道。

We've been focused on expanding awareness and subscriber interest in the Acorn servicing brand, one of the world's first targeted streaming services. In the quarter, we celebrated our first Murder Mystery May, a new event that delivered the biggest month for Acorn (technical difficulty) ever and achieved a multiyear high in subscriber acquisition.

我們一直致力於提升Acorn服務品牌的知名度和用戶興趣，Acorn是全球首批定向串流服務品牌之一。本季度，我們慶祝了第一個「謀殺之謎五月」（Murder Mystery May），這項全新活動為Acorn帶來了有史以來（技術難度）最高的一個月，並創下了多年來用戶成長的新高。

In addition to that effort, we developed a custom plan with a partner that successfully drove higher subscriber acquisition for the service, a new mystery series called Art Detectives, starring Stephen Moyer, premiered during the quarter and is now the number one new series in Acorn history. Irish Blood, starring an executive produced by Alicia Silverstone, premieres next week, and a new Brookfield's mystery goes into production next month.

除此之外，我們還與合作夥伴共同製定了一項客製化計劃，成功提升了服務的用戶獲取率。由史蒂芬莫耶主演的全新懸疑影集《藝術偵探》已於本季首播，目前已成為Acorn史上排名第一的新影集。由艾莉西亞·西爾維斯通擔任製片人的《愛爾蘭血統》將於下週首播，而布魯克菲爾德的一部全新懸疑劇集也將於下個月投入製作。

Shudder continues to cement its status as the premiere brand for fans of horror and the supernatural with the breakout success of Clown in a Cornfield. The film opens a critical acclaim in May and set a company record for opening weekend box office. We're looking forward to extending the film's momentum with its streaming debut today on AMC+ and Shudder.

Shudder 憑藉《玉米田裡的小丑》的突破性成功，繼續鞏固其作為恐怖和超自然愛好者首選品牌的地位。這部電影於五月上映，廣受好評，並創下了該公司首周末票房紀錄。我們期待這部電影今天在 AMC+ 和 Shudder 上線，繼續延續其勢頭。

It's worth noting that during the quarter, we implemented rate events at both Acorn and Shudder and still saw year-over-year and sequential improvements in both our rate of churn and engagement across our streaming portfolio. All of our streaming services are still priced below $10 a month, which is increasingly rare today.

值得注意的是，本季度，我們在 Acorn 和 Shudder 都實施了費率活動，並且我們的串流媒體產品組合的流失率和參與度仍然同比和環比都有所改善。我們所有串流媒體服務的月費仍然低於 10 美元，這在當今已越來越少見。

I'd also like to call out the strong growth of our HIDIVE streaming service. Anime is a popular genre with a passionate and highly engaged fan base. We see a lot of potential for continued growth at HIDIVE. In terms of operational updates, we're very pleased with our performance in the current advertising upfront negotiations and the continued expansion of our digital ad business as more of our advertising partners embrace the power of reaching our viewers by buying across multiple platforms.

我還想特別強調一下我們 HIDIVE 串流服務的強勁成長。動漫是一個很受歡迎的類型，擁有熱情且高度投入的粉絲群。我們認為 HIDIVE 擁有巨大的持續成長潛力。在營運更新方面，我們對目前廣告預付談判中的表現以及數位廣告業務的持續擴張感到非常滿意，因為越來越多的廣告合作夥伴開始透過跨平台購買廣告來觸及觀眾。

We're tracking toward the same overall volume as last year, while driving a 25%-plus increase in digital commitments, capitalizing on the innovation we've invested in over the last few years. Our commercial team leads the industry in key areas of innovation and attribution, and we see momentum as new currency opportunities are embraced by the marketplace.

我們力爭與去年保持整體交易量持平，同時推動數位廣告承諾成長25%以上，這得益於我們過去幾年在創新方面的投入。我們的商業團隊在創新和歸因等關鍵領域引領產業發展，隨著市場對新貨幣機會的接受，我們也看到了成長動能。

We're in advanced discussions with Netflix to extend and expand the innovative branded AMC collection content relationship we launched a year ago. We expect to provide a more specific update in the coming weeks. Let me just say, both companies have been very happy with the results that came from making prior seasons of many of our shows, including our biggest franchises, available to this enormous base of subscribers in the US.

我們正在與Netflix進行深入討論，以延長和拓展我們一年前啟動的創新品牌AMC系列內容合作關係。我們預計將在未來幾週內提供更具體的更新資訊。我想說的是，兩家公司都對我們許多節目（包括我們最大的系列劇）的前幾季向美國龐大的訂閱用戶群提供的結果感到非常滿意。

In terms of content licensing in general, we're seeing interest in our shows and franchises around the world. We saw strong performance in this category during the quarter, including continued demand for our content, the sale of our music catalog, as well as additional fees related to our development of Apple TV+ hit series Silo. This reinforces not only the value of our owned IP but also the versatility and breadth of AMC Studios assets and capabilities as we continue to develop premium content for our own platforms and opportunistically for other buyers.

就內容授權而言，我們看到全球各地對我們的節目和特許經營權的興趣日益濃厚。本季度，我們在這一領域表現強勁，包括對我們內容的持續需求、音樂目錄的銷售，以及與開發 Apple TV+ 熱門劇集《Silo》相關的額外費用。這不僅增強了我們自有 IP 的價值，也提升了 AMC Studios 資產和能力的多樣性和廣度，因為我們將繼續為自有平台以及其他買家開發優質內容。

AI has become a significant focus generally and in media. We recently entered into a partnership with a company called Runway, a leader in the use of generative AI in entertainment to leverage AI in our marketing and programming development. We've already begun using these tools to efficiently and quickly explore possibilities around certain storylines or locations, expanding the quality and volume of opportunity in these important areas. We'll have more to say on this and how we are using this new technology across marketing and programming development in the coming months.

人工智慧已成為媒體領域乃至整個媒體領域的焦點。我們最近與Runway公司達成合作，該公司在娛樂領域應用生成式人工智慧方面處於領先地位，旨在將人工智慧應用於我們的行銷和節目製作。我們已經開始使用這些工具，有效快速地探索圍繞特定故事情節或地點的各種可能性，從而提升這些重要領域的機會品質和數量。未來幾個月，我們將就此以及我們如何在行銷和節目製作中運用這項新技術發表更多評論。

Our work with Comcast Technology Solutions to standardize and streamline our back-office functions continues and crossed several important performance milestones in the last quarter. Just recently, we worked with CTS to expand the delivery of our content to an ever-increasing number of digital distribution partners.

我們與康卡斯特技術解決方案公司 (CTS) 的合作持續推進，旨在標準化和精簡我們的後台功能，並在上個季度取得了多項重要的業績里程碑。就在最近，我們與 CTS 合作，將內容交付範圍擴大到越來越多的數位發行合作夥伴。

On the linear side, we fully transitioned origination for our LatAm channels as well as disaster recovery services for our North American channels. This meaningful progress positions us well for the technical challenges associated with the rapidly evolving media distribution landscape.

在線性方面，我們全面轉型了拉丁美洲通路的發動服務，並全面遷移了北美通路的災難復原服務。這項意義重大的進展使我們能夠更好地應對快速發展的媒體發行格局所帶來的技術挑戰。

We're looking forward to a third season of the Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which will premiere in September, and the arrival of a third series in our Anne Rice universe, Talamasca: The Secret Order, later this fall.

我們期待《陰屍路：達裡爾迪克森》第三季，該劇將於 9 月首播，以及安妮賴斯宇宙第三季《塔拉瑪斯卡：秘密組織》將於今年秋季晚些時候上映。

Our size, independence, and unified organizational structure serve our company, our partners, and of course, our view is extremely well in this changing time in media. We've done the hard internal work to ensure that our employees are empowered, focused and clear on our strategy, which gives us the ability to move quickly, intelligently and decisively to seize new opportunities. We are managing this business in a thoughtful and strategic way as we continue to build franchises and entertain fans.

我們的規模、獨立性和統一的組織架構有利於我們公司、我們的合作夥伴，當然，在這個媒體變革的時代，我們的視角也非常清晰。我們進行了艱苦的內部工作，確保員工獲得授權、專注並清楚地了解我們的策略，這使我們能夠快速、明智、果斷地採取行動，抓住新的機會。我們正以深思熟慮和策略性的方式管理這項業務，同時繼續打造特許經營業務並娛樂粉絲。

And now I'll turn the call over to Patrick.

現在我將把電話轉給帕特里克。

Thank you, Kristin. We are pleased to report another quarter of healthy free cash flow generation with second-quarter free cash flow totaling $96 million. On the heels of the strong cash flow generation in the first half of the year, we've increased our outlook and now anticipate approximately $250 million of free cash flow for 2025. I'll have more to share on this when I reiterate the rest of our full-year outlook later in my remarks.

謝謝，克里斯汀。我們很高興地報告，第二季我們又創造了健康的自由現金流，總計9,600萬美元。繼上半年強勁的現金流之後，我們上調了預期，預計2025年的自由現金流約為2.5億美元。稍後我將在重申全年展望時分享更多相關資訊。

On to our consolidated results. Second-quarter consolidated net revenue declined 4% year over year to $600 million. Favorability in foreign exchange rates resulted in an approximately 60 basis point tailwind to our consolidated revenue growth rate. Consolidated AOI declined 28% to $109 million with an 18% margin, and adjusted EPS was $0.69 per share.

再來看看我們的合併業績。第二季合併淨收入較去年同期下降4%，至6億美元。匯率的利多因素為我們的合併收入成長率帶來了約60個基點的順風。合併AOI下降28%，至1.09億美元，利潤率為18%，調整後每股盈餘為0.69美元。

I'll now review our segment results. Domestic operations revenue decreased 2% to $527 million. Subscription revenue decreased 1% due to a 12% decline in affiliate revenue, partly offset by streaming revenue growth of 12%. Streaming subscribers grew 2% year over year and sequentially, and we ended the second quarter with 10.4 million streaming subs.

現在，我將回顧我們各部門的表現。國內營運收入下降2%，至5.27億美元。訂閱收入下降1%，原因是聯盟收入下降12%，但串流媒體收入成長12%，部分抵消了下降。串流訂閱用戶較去年同期成長2%，第二季末，我們的串流訂閱用戶總數為1,040萬人。

Streaming revenue growth in the quarter benefited from the implementation of recent rating initiatives. Despite two price increases in the second quarter, we still saw year-over-year and sequential improvement in retention and engagement across our portfolio of streaming services.

本季串流媒體收入的成長得益於近期實施的收費機制。儘管第二季有兩次漲價，但我們所有串流媒體服務的留存率和參與度仍同比及環比均有所提升。

In July, we implemented a $1 rate event at HIDIVE, and performance to date at this service is encouraging, with retention tracking in line with our expectations. With all planned [red] events for the year now in [play], we anticipate an acceleration in quarterly streaming revenue growth as the year progresses, and we continue to expect our full-year streaming revenue growth rate will be in the low- to mid-teens.

7月，我們在HIDIVE上推出了1美元的會員活動，迄今為止，這項服務的表現令人鼓舞，留存率追蹤也符合我們的預期。隨著今年所有計劃中的[紅色]活動現已[開始]，我們預計季度串流媒體收入成長將加速，並且我們預計全年串流媒體收入成長率將保持在1%左右。

For the second quarter, domestic operations advertising revenue decreased 18% year over year due to linear ratings declines and lower marketplace pricing, including lower digital CPMs. The ad market remains challenging for everyone, but we remain encouraged by our upfront performance, the strength of our programming, and our significant advanced and digital advertising capabilities.

第二季度，國內營運廣告收入較去年同期下降18%，原因是線性收視率下降以及市場定價下降（包括數位廣告每千次曝光費用下降）。廣告市場對所有人而言依然充滿挑戰，但我們的前期業績、節目製作的實力以及強大的高級廣告和數位廣告能力仍然令我們感到鼓舞。

Content licensing revenue was $84 million for the quarter, reflecting the timing and availability of deliveries in the period. Our second-quarter results reflected continued healthy demand for our high-quality content including the sale of our music catalog and executive producer fees related to the Apple TV+ Silo.

本季內容授權收入為 8,400 萬美元，反映了當期交付的時間和可用性。我們第二季的業績反映了市場對我們優質內容的持續強勁需求，包括音樂目錄的銷售以及與 Apple TV+ Silo 相關的執行製片人費用。

As you know, licensing revenues often vary quarter to quarter due to the timing of agreements and delivery schedules. Regarding the quarterly cadence of licensing revenue, we anticipate that the third quarter will represent the lowest licensing revenue quarter for the year, and that revenue will pick back up in the fourth quarter. This is typical timing variability, driven by the cadence of our delivery schedule. We continue to anticipate approximately $250 million of domestic operations content licensing revenue for the year.

如您所知，由於協議簽訂時間和交付計劃的不同，授權收入通常會因季度變化而有所差異。關於授權收入的季度變化節奏，我們預計第三季將是全年授權收入最低的季度，而營收將在第四季回升。這是典型的時間波動，受交付計畫節奏的影響。我們預計今年國內營運內容授權收入約2.5億美元。

Domestic operations AOI was $126 million for the quarter, representing a decrease of 19%. The decrease in AOI was largely driven by continued linear revenue headwinds. Streaming and content licensing revenue strength provided a partial offset in the second quarter.

本季國內業務AOI為1.26億美元，下降19%。 AOI的下降主要受持續的線性收入逆風影響。串流媒體和內容授權收入的強勁成長在第二季度部分抵消了這一影響。

Moving to our International segment. Second-quarter international revenues were $76 million. Excluding prior period advertising revenues related to a retroactive adjustment and the favorable impact of foreign exchange in the current period, international revenues decreased 6%.

再來看看我們的國際業務。第二季國際營收為7600萬美元。若不計入追溯調整相關的前期廣告收入以及本期外匯的有利影響，國際收入下降了6%。

Subscription revenue, excluding FX, decreased 9% due to the nonrenewal with Movistar in Spain, which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2024. Advertising revenue, excluding the prior-period retroactive adjustment and the favorable FX impact in the current period, increased 2%. International AOI for the second quarter was $15 million with a 20% margin. Excluding the prior period adjustment and the beneficial FX impact in the current period, international AOI decreased 15%.

不包括外匯影響的訂閱收入下降了9%，原因是2024年第四季與西班牙Movistar的合約未續約。廣告收入（不包括上期追溯調整和本期有利的外匯影響）增加了2%。第二季國際廣告收入為1500萬美元，利潤率為20%。不包括上期調整和本期有利的外匯影響，國際廣告收入下降了15%。

Moving to the balance sheet. The strength of our balance sheet remains a focus as we reduce gross debt and extend maturities. Proactive and prudent management of our balance sheet provides improved flexibility today and in the future while allowing us to focus on the continued evolution of our business. We believe that our securities offer attractive opportunities to deploy cash opportunistically across the capital structure to create meaningful equity value.

再來說說資產負債表。在我們削減總債務並延長債務期限的同時，我們仍將專注於資產負債表的穩健性。積極審慎的資產負債表管理，不僅提升了我們當前和未來的靈活性，也使我們能夠專注於業務的持續發展。我們相信，我們的證券提供了極具吸引力的機會，讓我們能夠在整個資本結構中適時地配置現金，從而創造有意義的股權價值。

So far this year, total debt reduction has exceeded $400 million. This includes the retirement of $699 million of our unsecured senior notes due 2029 at a significant discount to par and the early prepayment of $90 million of our Term Loan A. Through July, we've captured approximately $138 million of debt discount.

今年迄今為止，債務減免總額已超過4億美元。其中包括以大幅低於票面價值的價格贖回6.99億美元2029年到期的無擔保優先票據，以及提前償還9,000萬美元的A類定期貸款。截至7月，我們已獲得約1.38億美元的債務減免。

Adjusting for transactions that closed in July, we ended the quarter with pro forma net debt of approximately $1.3 billion and a consolidated net leverage ratio of 2.7 times, a reduction from 2.9 times in the previous quarter. We have $875 million of total liquidity, including approximately $700 million of pro forma cash on the balance sheet and our undrawn $175 million revolver.

經調整7月完成的交易後，本季末我們的備考淨債務約為13億美元，合併淨槓桿率為2.7倍，較上一季的2.9倍有所下降。我們的總流動資金為8.75億美元，其中包括資產負債表上約7億美元的備考現金以及未動用的1.75億美元循環信貸額度。

During the second quarter, we repurchased 1.6 million shares of our Class A common stock for approximately $10 million. As of June 30, we had $125 million remaining on our current authorization. On the topic of capital allocation, our philosophy remains consistent.

在第二季度，我們回購了160萬股A類普通股，回購金額約1,000萬美元。截至6月30日，我們目前的授權資金餘額為1.25億美元。在資本配置方面，我們的理念始終如一。

First, we look to support the business by creating and acquiring compelling programming that resonates with our audiences while maintaining healthy levels of cash flow generation. Second, we remain focused on reducing gross debt and extending debt maturities. Lastly, M&A, share repurchases, and dividends will be opportunistic and measured and remain further down our priority list.

首先，我們希望透過創作和收購引人入勝、能引起觀眾共鳴的節目來支持業務發展，同時保持健康的現金流生成水準。其次，我們將繼續專注於減少總債務並延長債務期限。最後，併購、股票回購和股利將採取機會主義且審慎的策略，並將繼續在我們的優先事項清單中處於較低位置。

Moving to our 2025 outlook, we remain confident in our ability to drive free cash flow. As I mentioned earlier, we've raised our free cash flow outlook and now anticipate approximately $250 million of free cash flow for the year. Our increased outlook contemplates our strong year-to-date cash flow performance, efficiency in our pruning investments, and cash tax savings largely related to full interest deductibility from the One Big Beautiful Bill.

展望2025年，我們對推動自由現金流的能力依然充滿信心。正如我之前提到的，我們上調了自由現金流預期，目前預計全年自由現金流約為2.5億美元。我們上調的預期是基於我們今年迄今強勁的現金流量表現、精簡投資的高效性，以及主要與「One Big Beautiful Bill」法案中全額利息抵扣相關的現金稅款節省。

We continue to expect consolidated revenue of approximately $2.3 billion, reflecting continued linear headwinds, partially offset by increasingly meaningful streaming growth and continue to expect consolidated AOI in the range of $400 million to $420 million. We continue to anticipate year over year increases in technical and operating expenses as well as increased SG&A expenses, largely driven by streaming-related marketing.

我們繼續預期合併營收約為23億美元，這反映了持續的線性逆風，但串流媒體業務日益顯著的成長將部分抵消這一影響。我們繼續預期合併營收目標（AOI）將在4億至4.2億美元之間。我們繼續預期技術和營運支出以及銷售、一般及行政管理費用（SG&A）將年增，這主要受串流媒體相關行銷活動的推動。

Regarding the quarterly cadence of AOI for the remainder of the year due to the timing of revenue, including content licensing, we anticipate the AOI in the third quarter represent the low point for the year. The fourth quarter will be the first full quarter reflecting all 2025 price increases that are streaming services. We expect fourth quarter AOI will benefit from accelerating streaming revenue growth and the timing of content licensing revenues. As such, in absolute dollar terms, we expect fourth-quarter AOI to be consistent with second quarter AOI.

今年剩餘時間AOI的季度節奏，由於營收（包括內容授權）的時機，我們預計第三季的AOI將代表今年的最低點。第四季將是第一個反映2025年所有串流媒體服務價格上漲的完整季度。我們預計第四季度的AOI將受益於串流媒體收入的加速成長和內容授權收入的時機。因此，以絕對美元計算，我們預計第四季的AOI將與第二季持平。

While the operating environment remains ever changing, we remain highly focused on the variables within our control. We continue to execute our consistent strategy of making great content, distributing that content broadly, generating meaningful free cash flow, and being prudent with how we allocate our capital.

儘管營運環境瞬息萬變，我們仍高度關注可控的變數。我們將繼續執行一貫的策略：製作優質內容，廣泛傳播內容，創造可觀的自由現金流，並審慎配置資本。

We are well capitalized with a large cash balance, a long-term view of the business and a clear strategic plan. At the same time, we are nimble and opportunistic as we create and curate the high-quality content that engages fans and build valuable franchises.

我們資本雄厚，現金充裕，對業務有長遠的眼光，並擁有清晰的策略規劃。同時，我們靈活應變，把握機遇，致力於創作和策劃高品質的內容，吸引粉絲，打造高價值的系列作品。

With that, I'll hand the call back to Nick.

說完這些，我就把電話轉回給尼克。

Thanks, Patrick. Operator, we'll now move to the Q&A portion of the call.

謝謝，派崔克。接線員，我們現在進入問答環節。

(Operator Instructions) Thomas Yeh, Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指示）摩根士丹利的 Thomas Yeh。

Can you dig into the source of the free cash flow upside a little bit more relative to the reiteration of revenue and EBITDA? It sounded like Patrick, you mentioned cash tax savings is a driver. Any changes to cash spending in the roughly $1 billion zone and working capital to help us bridge the gap?

您能否進一步探討一下，相對於重申收入和EBITDA，自由現金流上升的來源是什麼？聽起來帕特里克，您提到現金稅費節省是一個驅動因素。為了彌補這一缺口，在大約10億美元的區域內，現金支出和營運資金方面有什麼調整嗎？

Thomas, thanks for the question. Yeah, just unpacking the kind of increase in the free cash flow guide, a couple of factors. I would say the largest factor is the cash taxes. An offset to that was we did have some incremental cancellation of indebtedness income on which we pay tax on. But on a net basis, cash taxes is the largest component of guidance increase.

托馬斯，謝謝你的提問。是的，我來分析自由現金流指引的成長，有幾個因素。我認為最大的因素是現金稅。與之抵消的是，我們確實有一些增量的債務收入取消，而這些收入需要納稅。但從淨額來看，現金稅是指引成長的最大組成部分。

I would say, second to that would be savings across some of our programming. Those were modest in relation to the cash tax savings, but still important and sort of even more important than either of those two is the fact that the cash tax savings will sort of compound into '26 and '27 as we get sort of full interest deductibility going forward, obviously, given our capital structure, that was an important component of that legislation for us.

我想說，其次是我們部分專案的成本節省。這些成本相對於現金稅費節省來說不算多，但仍然很重要，而且比這兩項都更重要的是，隨著我們未來獲得全額利息抵扣，現金稅費節省將在2026年和2027年實現複利增長。顯然，考慮到我們的資本結構，這對我們來說是該法案的一個重要組成部分。

So not meaningful changes to the prior guidance in terms of cash programming spend. But in ranked order, it's the cash taxes versus the programming second.

因此，在現金節目支出方面，與先前的指導相比沒有顯著變化。但以排名順序來看，現金稅是第一，節目支出則排在第二。

Okay. That's super helpful. And if we benchmark relative to the original guidance across the revenue buckets at the beginning of the year, you reiterated content licensing and streaming. It seems like advertising is tracking a little worse and affiliate maybe a little bit better. As we think about the back half for those two, can you maybe just help us think about the trends on a year-over-year comparison basis and what we have been seeing recently continues?

好的。這非常有幫助。如果我們以年初對各收入類別的原始指引為基準，您重申了內容授權和串流媒體。現在看來，廣告業務的進展略有放緩，聯盟行銷業務的進展可能略有改善。當我們展望這兩家業務下半年的業績時，您能否幫助我們分析一下同比趨勢，看看我們最近看到的趨勢是否持續？

Yeah. We continue to feel good about the $2.3 billion total revenue guide. I think the story remains sort of much the same as it has been for the last couple of quarters, in that content licensing revenue continues to be strong. The market is strong. Obviously, our content performs well on our services. It performs extraordinarily well on other platforms, in addition.

是的。我們對23億美元的總收入預期仍然感到樂觀。我認為情況與過去幾季基本相同，內容授權收入持續強勁。市場表現強勁。顯然，我們的內容在我們的服務上表現良好。此外，它在其他平台上的表現也非常出色。

And so, we continue to see strength in that sort of -- in those marketplaces, both domestically and internationally. So yeah, on the margin, I would say, incremental strength on content licensing, a little bit of weakness on the advertising side. Affiliate, we continue to feel kind of really good about our relationships with our partners, and those deals continue to get signed as a matter of course.

因此，我們繼續看到這些市場（無論是國內還是國際）的強勁成長。所以，我認為，在邊際上，內容授權方面會逐漸增強，而廣告方面則會略顯疲軟。在聯盟行銷方面，我們與合作夥伴的關係仍然非常良好，這些交易也理所當然地繼續簽署。

And so that -- I don't expect any sort of material change from our initial guidance for the year. I would caution, however, we don't sort of typically give kind of quarter by quarter kind of reframes on kind of a revenue line item basis. So there are multiple ways up the mountain. So we feel good about the 2.3, and there's obviously a number of ways to get there.

因此，我預計今年的初步預期不會有任何實質變化。不過，我要提醒的是，我們通常不會逐季重新規劃營收項目。所以，實現這目標的方法有很多。我們對2.3的目標感到滿意，而且顯然有很多方法可以實現這一目標。

But as of -- in terms of broad brush strokes, I think the trends you've seen in the past are going to kind of carry through for the balance of the year.

但就總體而言，我認為過去看到的趨勢將在今年餘下時間持續下去。

Understood. And if I can squeeze one more in just on the Runway partnership and the puts and takes there, is it right to assume that you're allowing them to train off your content library and then in return, you can leverage these tools exclusively for yourself to empower you to do more efficient post production and preproduction? Maybe help us to frame through what the give and take is there.

明白了。如果我能再補充一點，談談與 Runway 的合作以及其中的得失，那麼是否可以假設，你們允許他們使用你們的內容庫進行訓練，然後作為回報，你們可以自己獨享這些工具，從而更有效率地進行後期製作和前期製作？或許可以幫我們理清這其中的得失。

Thomas, it's Kristin. So Runway is just a facilitation for us. It's a tool that allows us to ideate, but if the content is ours and essentially, our goal is to put the best tools in the hands of our creative. So our teams are using Runway for visualization of ideas, whether it's set design or interestingly shuts that we wouldn't necessarily be able to afford on our budget, so things like using an oil rig or an aerial shot of a ship rack.

湯瑪斯，我是克里斯汀。 Runway 對我們來說只是一種輔助工具。它是一個讓我們構思的工具，但如果內容是我們的，那麼本質上，我們的目標就是把最好的工具交給我們的創意人員。我們的團隊使用 Runway 將想法視覺化，無論是場景設計，還是一些我們預算有限但又想不到的場景，例如使用石油鑽井平台或空拍船架。

But the relationship there is really to help facilitate our opportunities to expand our scope, ensure creative alignment, visualize more quickly. And so we've had some wins. Actually, Dan could probably give you an example or two, but Runway is really just they're great partners, but we use them to facilitate our creative work. It's a technology play, it's not an integrated IP kind of play with any of our content or anything that we've created.

但這種合作關係確實有助於我們拓展業務範圍，確保創意協調一致，並更快地視覺化。因此，我們取得了一些成果。實際上，Dan 或許可以舉一兩個例子，但 Runway 確實是很棒的合作夥伴，但我們利用他們來促進我們的創意工作。這是一種技術合作，而不是與我們任何內容或任何我們創作的事物進行整合的 IP 合作。

Yeah, I'll just add to that, Thomas. I mean, I'd just say, look, the business has been integrating emerging technologies into the development and production of shows and film since the advent of the [talkies]. And as Kristin has mentioned and driven us over the last couple of years, we are an early adopter in the fast-moving space of deploying AI in the service of generative visualization.

是的，托馬斯，我補充一下。我的意思是，自從有聲電影出現以來，我們的業務就一直在將新興技術融入節目和電影的開發和製作中。正如克里斯汀在過去幾年裡提到的和推動我們的那樣，我們是快速發展的生成視覺化領域中的早期採用者，將人工智慧應用於生成視覺化服務。

So we are using them to help us ideate, come up with concepts, ideas, help our showrunners visualize what they want to do, where they want to do it. And then in the realm of post-production, we're able to save a considerable amount of money across our 30 to 50 episodes of television a year because generative AI is so good right now. It delivers 4K imagery, priced at anywhere from 20% to 40% of what traditional VFX is.

所以，我們利用它們來構思、提出概念和創意，幫助我們的節目製作人將他們想要做什麼、在哪裡做視覺化。在後製方面，我們每年可以在30到50集的電視劇中節省大量成本，因為生成式人工智慧現在非常出色。它能夠提供4K影像，價格僅為傳統視覺特效的20%到40%。

And we're not displacing any of these people either. I wanted to be really clear that all of our efforts live clearly and cleanly within the parameters established by all the guilds. We're committed to the principle that everything we do is in support of the people that make these great shows possible, and we're literally just giving them tools that will enhance their ability to do the great work they do.

我們也不會取代任何人。我想明確指出，我們所有的努力都清晰明確地遵循所有行業協會制定的規範。我們秉持的原則是，我們所做的一切都是為了支持那些讓這些精彩的演出成為可能的人們，我們實際上只是為他們提供工具，以增強他們完成偉大工作的能力。

Understood. Thank you.

明白了。謝謝。

John Hodulik, UBS.

瑞銀的約翰·霍杜里克（John Hodulik）。

A couple of more details on the top line. First, given the strength you've seen in streaming, do you think subscription revenue growth can grow sustainably from here? And then any more details you can tell us on the sort of ad trends or the ad market? Specifically, what are you seeing in terms of pricing from the linear side and the [CTV] side? We've heard about some pressure on general entertainment advertising in both sides. And just any color that you're seeing and what you expect for the second part of the second half of the year would be great.

關於營收，還有幾個細節要補充。首先，鑑於您看到的串流媒體業務的強勁表現，您認為訂閱收入成長能否持續成長？然後，您能否透露一些關於廣告趨勢或廣告市場的細節？具體來說，您認為線性廣告和[CTV]廣告的定價情況如何？我們聽說這兩個行業的普通娛樂廣告都面臨一些壓力。如果您能透露一下目前的情況以及您對下半年後半段的預期，那就太好了。

Great. John, it's Patrick. I'll take the streaming and Kim will take the advertising.

太好了！約翰，我是派崔克。我負責串流媒體，金負責廣告。

Listen, we feel really good about the acceleration on the streaming side, both in terms of price and units, right? And so we've had some amazing success with some of the recent programming both on Acorn and on HIDIVE that really resonate with audiences. And so we're seeing kind of attractive upticks and kind of subscribers there could always do better. But we like what we see, particularly the last couple of quarters on those two platforms.

聽著，我們對串流媒體業務的加速發展感到非常滿意，無論是價格還是銷量，對吧？我們最近在Acorn和HIDIVE平台上推出的一些節目取得了驚人的成功，引起了觀眾的共鳴。因此，我們看到了頗具吸引力的成長，而且訂閱用戶的數量還有提升的空間。我們對目前的情況感到滿意，尤其是在這兩個平台過去幾季的表現。

In terms of the economics of the business, really important to note that we've done a handful of price increases across our platform with really attractive sort of net results, and we're seeing sort of a very, very modest impact to sort of gross adds, churn, et cetera.

就業務經濟性而言，真正需要注意的是，我們已經在整個平台上進行了幾次價格上調，並獲得了非常有吸引力的淨結果，而且我們看到這對總增加量、客戶流失率等產生了非常非常小的影響。

So the metrics continue to hold up really well. We've got some nice pricing power here. You're going to see that compound through the balance of the year into Q3 and Q4, obviously, beyond. So we feel really good about that, and we expect that that streaming revenue will continue to accelerate into the back half of the year.

所以各項指標繼續保持良好。我們擁有良好的定價能力。你會看到這種複合成長將持續到今年第三季、第四季，甚至更遠的未來。我們對此感到非常樂觀，並預計串流媒體收入將在下半年繼續加速成長。

And John, just to note, I think it was in our remarks, but just to reiterate that streaming revenue will be our largest single revenue component this year. So it's going where we need it to go. And then, Kim, on advertising?

約翰，我想補充一下，我想我們在演講中已經提到過，但我還是想重申一下，串流媒體收入將是我們今年最大的單一收入來源。所以，它會朝著我們需要的方向發展。那麼，金，關於廣告，您怎麼看？

Sure. I think that it would be helpful to reiterate Kristin's comments about the strength of our upfront this year, which is probably the most leading indicator you've heard from others and us on where advertising is going to see nearly flat year-over-year volume while driving over a 25% increase in our digital revenue. It's all signs pointing in the right direction as we look forward.

當然。我認為有必要重申一下Kristin對我們今年預付收入實力的評價，這可能是大家從我們以及其他人那裡聽到的最領先的指標，預示著今年廣告收入將與去年基本持平，同時推動我們的數位收入增長25%以上。所有跡像都表明，我們正朝著正確的方向前進。

Obviously, that upfront begins in October of this year and fourth quarter and flows through next year. So that's leading. I would also add that we continue to be -- our teams, our leaders in the national linear addressable space. And what that really does, John, is that increases the value of our inventory by increasing the value it delivers to our advertisers through best-in-class targeting.

顯然，這筆預付款從今年10月和第四季開始，一直持續到明年。所以這是領先的。我還要補充一點，我們將繼續保持下去——我們的團隊，以及我們在全國線性可尋址領域的領先地位。約翰，這實際上透過一流的定位提升了我們庫存的價值，從而增加了我們庫存的價值，為我們的廣告商帶來了更高的價值。

And we continue to push as much of our inventory directionally, whether that's from the virtual MVPDs, the traditional MVPDs and obviously, the CTV space. We sell cross-platform to our partners, and that value increases with the layered targeting enhancements in the Audience+ programming -- the Audience+ tool we introduced actually almost two years ago.

我們將繼續盡可能地定向推廣我們的庫存，無論是來自虛擬多平台內容平台 (MVPD)、傳統多平台內容平台 (MVPD)，當然還有連網電視 (CTV) 領域。我們向合作夥伴提供跨平台銷售，而 Audience+ 節目的分層定位增強功能（我們大約兩年前就推出了 Audience+ 工具）也提升了這一價值。

Great. Thank you, all.

太好了！謝謝大家。

Charles Wilber, Guggenheim Securities.

查爾斯‧威爾伯，古根漢證券公司。

Thank you for the question. I appreciate the detail on the upfront there. Just wanted to ask, could you share any kind of incremental color on particular areas of success, whether verticals or particular shows or content style or platforms or audience segments that are kind of working best for you?

謝謝你的提問。我很欣賞你之前提供的細節。我只是想問一下，你能分享一下你在某些方面的成功嗎？無論是垂直領域、特定節目、內容風格、平台或受眾群體，哪些方面對你來說最有效？

And then secondly, on the international FAST expansions, any cost or limitations on how quickly you can roll these out? And then how you're thinking about the return profiles and the contribution timing from these?

其次，關於國際FAST擴展，你們的推廣速度會受到成本或限制嗎？您如何考慮這些項目的回報情況和貢獻時間？

I would just -- it's Kim again. I'd just throw in. We saw real health in our QSR and FAST casual category. Financial is good and retail is up. So those all bounced up in Q2 of this year, and we'll continue to watch the categories going forward.

我想說的是——又是Kim。我想補充一下。我們的快餐和休閒快餐類別表現非常健康。財務狀況良好，零售額也在成長。所以這些都在今年第二季反彈了，我們將繼續關注這些類別的未來發展。

On the downside, automotive has been a tough one for consecutive quarters for many. So we continue to actually work hard in that space. In the areas of opportunity, we continue to expand that digital inventory, like I talked about in my last response. And we see that as the future because of the nature of the targeting abilities in that space, which do lend to higher CPMs. So we're setting ourselves up for the future.

不利的一面是，汽車產業已經連續幾季對許多公司來說都比較艱難。所以我們會繼續在這個領域努力。在充滿機會的領域，我們會繼續擴大數位庫存，就像我上次回覆中提到的那樣。我們認為這是未來的趨勢，因為該領域的定向能力確實有助於提高每千次曝光費用 (CPM)。所以，我們正在為未來做好準備。

Great. And then on the SaaS front, we've said it before, but now we're up to 28 FAST channels on 21 platforms around the world, so that's 190 global fees at FAST. And we've been doing more and more partnership both with the OEMs with the CTV folks, as well as with our other distribution partners. So like with TCL, there -- we launched 11 FAST channels there in May. We domestically introduced two new channels in the marketplace. Acorn TV Mysteries and Love After Lockup with select partners and more to come.

太棒了。關於SaaS方面，我們之前提到過，現在我們在全球21個平台上擁有28個FAST頻道，也就是說，FAST的全球收費是190。我們與OEM廠商、CTV以及其他經銷夥伴的合作也越來越多。例如與TCL合作，我們在5月就在那裡推出了11個FAST頻道。我們在國內市場推出了兩個新頻道。此外，我們也與部分合作夥伴推出了《Acorn TV Mysteries》和《Love After Lockup》等，未來還會有更多合作。

And then internationally, one of the big ones is we want launched The Walking Dead by AMC as channel in LatAm, including Brazil, which is the world's largest -- third largest FAST market. So we see a lot of opportunity here, particularly because as Kim always points out, we retained the sales rights and so our digital inventory stack gets bigger and broader as we launch more fast channels.

在國際上，其中一項重要舉措是我們希望在拉丁美洲（包括巴西）推出AMC的《陰屍路》頻道，巴西是全球最大、第三大快速劇院市場。因此，我們在這裡看到了許多機會，尤其是正如Kim一直指出的那樣，我們保留了銷售權，因此隨著我們推出更多快速影院，我們的數位庫存量會越來越大、越來越廣泛。

On the tech side, what I love about this is as we've continued the migration over to CTS. We now have all of our assets sitting on servers in one place with -- obviously, with a backup in another area, but two sets of cloud storage, one primary and one for disaster recovery, but everything can be fed from the same place.

從技術角度來說，我喜歡這一點，因為我們一直在向 CTS 遷移。現在，我們所有的資產都集中存放在同一個地方的伺服器上——當然，備份也在另一個地方。不過，我們擁有兩套雲端儲存系統，一套是主存儲，一套用於災難恢復，所有資料都能從同一個地方取得。

So as we ideate different channels, all of the files are there, and then our teams can put them together into a FAST channel that could either be a pop-up or persistent channel is something super effective like The Walking Dead, seasonal opportunities, regional opportunities.

因此，當我們構思不同的管道時，所有的文件都在那裡，然後我們的團隊可以將它們組合成一個快速渠道，這個渠道可以是彈出式或持久性渠道，是像《行屍走肉》、季節性機會、區域機會等非常有效的渠道。

And so FAST is just a great embodiment of sort of digital platform being so [fast]. And then for us, the opportunity to continue to mine the library of everything that we have across all of our IP to create some really interesting and hopefully compelling content across the world.

所以，FAST 正是數位平台如此快速的絕佳體現。對我們來說，這讓我們有機會繼續挖掘我們所有 IP 的資源庫，從而創造出一些真正有趣且有望在全球範圍內引起轟動的內容。

David Joyce, Seaport Research Partners.

大衛‧喬伊斯（David Joyce），海港研究夥伴。

A little bit more detail, please, on the contribution to the streaming subs and advertising from, I guess, the renewals that you inked with your distributors in the past year, where they're kind of making your streaming service is more available. What's that then for the subscriber and advertising trends?

請更詳細地介紹一下，過去一年你們與經銷商簽署的續約協議對串流媒體訂閱和廣告的貢獻，這些協議在某種程度上提高了你們的串流媒體服務的可用性。那麼，訂閱用戶和廣告趨勢如何呢？

David, I'm sorry, did you mean advertising revenue? Or are you just asking about success so far with the Silo and the Spectrum constructs?

大衛，抱歉，您指的是廣告收入嗎？還是您只是想問 Silo 和 Spectrum 架構目前為止的成功程度？

Yeah, both what those new relationships have done for the advertising trajectory, what they're doing for advertising for you and how they supported your subscriber growth?

是的，這些新的關係對廣告軌跡有什麼影響，它們對您的廣告有什麼作用，以及它們如何支持您的訂閱用戶成長？

Okay. So just on the subscription side, we've always loved the Charter model, the Spectrum model. We've worked really closely with the team there on making sure that subscribers who are entitled to AMC+ as part of their TV select package are activating. And we're seeing -- we're definitely in keeping -- is not outperforming some of the other folks that are available to spectrum subscribers. So working very closely.

好的。就訂閱方面而言，我們一直很喜歡Charter模式和Spectrum模式。我們與那裡的團隊密切合作，確保那些有權在其電視精選套餐中觀看AMC+的訂閱用戶能夠啟動。而且我們看到——我們肯定會保持這種狀態——它的表現並沒有超越其他一些針對Spectrum訂閱用戶的服務。所以，我們一直在非常緊密地合作。

And Charter has done an excellent job on a subscriber. I get a lot of information reminding me what I have -- what my entitlements are. So we've been very, very pleased with the volume and take rate and engagement of those subscribers as well as with Silo, where we're also embedded AMC+ with our core linear channels.

Charter在訂閱用戶方面做得非常出色。它能給我大量信息，提醒我擁有哪些內容——我的權利是什麼。因此，我們對這些訂閱用戶的數量、收視率和參與度都非常滿意，Silo也是如此，我們將AMC+嵌入到我們的核心線性頻道中。

And then on the advertising front, these are ad-supported versions of AMC+, but it's still pretty early as far as like the total footprint for these bundled subscribers on the advertising front. But Kim, I don't know if you want to add anything to that?

在廣告方面，這些是AMC+的廣告支援版本，但就這些捆綁訂閱用戶在廣告方面的整體覆蓋範圍而言，現在還為時過早。 Kim，我不知道您是否想補充一點？

I think that we will see. It accrues over time, absolutely in an additive way, but it is a multi-revenue opportunity for growth.

我想我們拭目以待。它會隨著時間的推移而累積，絕對是一種累積的方式，但這是一個多收入的成長機會。

All right. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Steven Kao, Wells Fargo.

富國銀行的 Steven Kao。

Yeah. So I'm sure you all have noticed that some of the media peers have been looking to split up their cable distribution assets from their content assets. And I imagine this is a question that you all have taken internally as well. You have a very successful studio, as we see from your sensing revenue. And then there's a lot of pressure on your revenue and AOI from the linear distribution part.

是的。我相信大家都注意到了，有些媒體同行一直在尋求將有線發行資產與內容資產拆分。我想你們內部也討論過這個問題。從感測業務的收入來看，你們的工作室非常成功。但線性發行部分給你們的收入和目標受眾（AOI）帶來了極大壓力。

So I guess, how are you thinking about that opportunity? You've been active in the debt market as well. So would just love any color there.

那麼，你對這個機會有什麼看法？你也一直在債務市場活躍。所以無論什麼顏色，我都喜歡。

And then maybe just back to capital allocation. So you bought back some stock in the quarter. Patrick, I think you said that your priorities haven't changed, which is still content or buybacks. So there's always scope to invest in more content to drive future value. How should we think about when buybacks come into the picture?

然後也許可以回到資本配置的問題。所以你在本季回購了一些股票。派崔克，我記得你說過你的優先事項沒有改變，仍然是內容或回購。所以，我們總是有投資更多內容的空間來推動未來價值。當回購出現時，我們該如何考慮？

Great. Steven, it's Patrick. I'll take them in reverse order. So first, on capital allocation, as you mentioned, the philosophy remains unchanged. I would look at the very modest $10 million buyback in the context of the other kind of capital markets activity we undertook over the course of the last couple of quarters, including reducing net leverage by a quarter turn, given the discount that we captured in the and the recent activity.

太好了。史蒂文，我是派崔克。我倒著說。首先，關於資本配置，如你所提到的，我們的理念保持不變。我會結合我們過去幾季進行的其他資本市場活動來看待1000萬美元的適度回購，包括將淨槓桿率降低四分之一，考慮到我們在近期活動中獲得的折扣。

More importantly, obviously, still, we're extending duration of our balance sheet, including the new $400 million kind of secured issue due 2032. So we feel really good about the work, we've done to set the company up for a long-term sort of financial success here via the balance sheet. So I would view the capital allocation in the context of those recent activities.

更重要的是，顯然，我們仍在延長資產負債表的期限，包括2032年到期的4億美元新擔保發行。因此，我們對我們為公司透過資產負債表實現長期財務成功所做的工作感到非常滿意。因此，我會結合近期活動來檢視資本配置。

But when you look up and you see that the free cash flow yield on the stock is 90%, it does look screamingly cheap. We also see potential opportunities across the capital structure we've taken advantage of some of them, as I mentioned, by actually some discount. And there may be more opportunities in the future, and we will be mindful of those.

但當你看到股票的自由現金流收益率高達90%時，它確實看起來非常便宜。我們也看到了整個資本結構中的潛在機會，正如我所提到的，我們已經利用了其中一些機會，實際上有一些折扣。未來可能會有更多機會，我們會留意這些機會。

On your first question in terms of kind of the asset composition of the business, I think it's worth highlighting because I don't think it's sort of -- as well sort of understood, given the fact that we've got a number of other kind of spin [cos] kind of coming out, which are kind of cable networks business is at the core. AMC is very different.

關於你的第一個問題，關於業務的資產組成，我認為值得強調一下，因為考慮到我們還有許多其他業務，而這些業務的核心是有線電視網絡業務，我認為這不太容易理解。 AMC 的情況非常不同。

We have a studio, we have a big streaming business. Streaming revenue is going to be our largest revenue source in 2025. There's a lot of IP housed within this company. And so we've also got an amazing portfolio of streaming products that work really hard alone, and they work even harder together. And I think that's sort of thematically how we think about the business as a whole. All the pieces kind of work together in a sort of strength -- compound strength.

我們擁有工作室和龐大的串流媒體業務。到2025年，串流媒體收入將成為我們最大的收入來源。我們公司擁有眾多知識產權。因此，我們擁有一系列出色的串流媒體產品，它們單獨運作非常順暢，協同工作則更有效率。我認為這在某種程度上體現了我們對整個業務的理念。所有組成部分共同作用，形成了一種複合優勢。

So I think we see continued opportunity to sell across our platform, as Kim has mentioned, and to use the IP to drive our business and also assist others and monetize it around the world. So at this point, we'd like to (inaudible). We think we've got a great set of assets, and we think that we're really working hard together.

所以我認為，正如Kim所提到的，我們仍然有機會在我們的平台上銷售，並利用智慧財產權來推動我們的業務，同時幫助其他人，並在世界各地實現盈利。所以在這一點上，我們想（聽不清楚）。我們認為我們擁有一系列優秀的資產，而且我們正在認真地合作。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And I'm showing no further questions. I would now like to turn the call back to Kristin for closing remarks.

我沒有其他問題了。現在我想把電話轉回給克莉絲汀，請她做最後發言。

Great. Thank you, operator. I'd like to close by saying it's a changing and sometimes challenging time in media. But as we discussed this morning, we're finding strength and opportunity in a clear strategic plan focused on programming partnerships and profitability. I'm pleased with our results this quarter and our prospects for the remainder of the year, including a higher reforecast for free cash flow, which is, as everyone knows, one of our major ongoing priorities.

太好了。謝謝接線生。最後我想說，媒體產業正處於變革時期，有時充滿挑戰。但正如我們今天早上討論的那樣，我們正從清晰的戰略規劃中尋找優勢和機遇，該規劃側重於節目製作合作和盈利能力。我對本季的業績以及今年剩餘時間的前景感到滿意，包括對自由現金流的更高預測，眾所周知，這是我們持續關注的重點之一。

So between that and the return of The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon next month, the expansion of our Anne Rice universe later this year and our continued strong activity at Acorn, Shudder, HIDIVE, and across the portfolio of targeted streaming services, we think we're in pretty good shape. So we want to thank everybody again for joining us and for your continued interest in AMC Networks. And with that, we'll end the call. Thank you.

因此，考慮到下個月《陰屍路：達裡爾·迪克森》的回歸、今年晚些時候安妮·賴斯宇宙的擴張，以及我們在Acorn、Shudder、HIDIVE以及所有定向流媒體服務上持續強勁的運營，我們認為我們的狀態相當不錯。再次感謝各位的參與以及對AMC Networks的持續關注。本次電話會議到此結束，謝謝大家。

And this concludes today's conference call. Thank you for participating. You may now disconnect.

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。現在可以掛斷電話了。