AMC Networks Inc (Pre-Reincorporation) (AMCX) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

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

您好，感謝您的耐心等待。歡迎參加 AMC Network 2025 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作人員指示）請注意，今天的會議正在錄音。

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

我謹將今天的會議交給第一位發言人，企業發展和投資者關係高級副總裁尼克·塞伯特。請繼續。

Thank you. Good morning, and welcome to the AMC Networks third quarter 2025 earnings conference call.

謝謝。早安，歡迎參加AMC Networks 2025年第三季財報電話會議。

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.

今天早上和我們一起參加節目的有：首席執行官克里斯汀·多蘭；首席財務官帕特里克·奧康奈爾；首席商務官金·凱萊赫；以及娛樂和AMC工作室總裁丹·麥克德莫特。

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. Please refer to AMC Networks' SEC filings for a discussion of risks and uncertainties.

今天的新聞稿已發佈在我們的網站amcnetworks.com上。我們將首先發表準備好的講話，然後開放提問環節。今天的電話會議可能包含 1995 年《私人證券訴訟改革法案》所界定的某些前瞻性陳述。任何此類前瞻性陳述均不構成對未來績效或結果的保證，並涉及可能導致實際結果差異的風險和不確定性。有關風險和不確定性的討論，請參閱 AMC Networks 向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件。

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.

本公司聲明不承擔更新今天電話會議所作任何前瞻性陳述的義務。我們將討論一些非GAAP財務指標。所需的定義和協調說明可在今天的新聞稿中找到。

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

接下來，我想把電話交給克莉絲汀。

Thanks, Nick, and thanks, everyone, for joining us this morning. We're pleased with our performance in the third quarter and our progress in several key areas. We delivered another quarter of healthy free cash flow and are on track to achieve our increased guidance of $250 million in free cash for the full year. The results we reported today mark a key milestone in our transition from a cable networks business to a global streaming and technology-focused content company. Streaming revenue growth accelerated in the quarter and offset affiliate revenue declines, resulting in stable domestic subscription revenues.

謝謝尼克，也謝謝大家今天早上收看我們的節目。我們對第三季的業績以及在幾個關鍵領域取得的進展感到滿意。我們又一個季度實現了健康的自由現金流，並有望實現全年自由現金流2.5億美元的更高目標。我們今天公佈的業績標誌著我們從有線電視網絡業務向全球串流媒體和技術內容公司轉型的一個重要里程碑。本季串流媒體收入成長加速，抵消了附屬收入的下降，從而實現了國內訂閱收入的穩定。

As we have previously discussed, we expect streaming to be our single largest source of revenue in our domestic segment this year. This is a first for us and a meaningful inflection point as we continue to manage the business for the long term.

正如我們之前討論過的，我們預計串流媒體將成為我們今年國內業務最大的單一收入來源。這對我們來說是第一次，也是我們持續長期業務管理的重要轉捩點。

As much larger companies spin off assets or split up to find clarity in a complicated time, we've built the components of a modern media business that is nimble, independent and well suited to today's environment and whatever comes next. We have a successful studio that produces programming and franchises that attract passionate and engaged viewers. We're home to the world's largest collection of targeted services, bringing fans of specific genres and unmatched level of curation and depth. We window our owned content across a full distribution ecosystem of domestic and international networks, streaming services, theaters and FAST channels. And we service all of this with a unified technology platform that allows us to deliver our content to viewers wherever they want to watch in a scalable way with predictable costs.

在當前複雜情況下，許多規模更大的公司為了尋求清晰的發展方向而剝離資產或進行拆分，而我們已經構建了一個現代媒體業務的組成部分，該業務靈活、獨立，非常適合當今的環境以及未來的任何發展。我們擁有一家成功的製片公司，製作的節目和系列作品吸引了許多熱情投入的觀眾。我們擁有全球最大的定向服務集合，為特定類型的粉絲提供無與倫比的精選內容和深度。我們透過國內和國際電視網、串流媒體服務、戲院和 FAST 頻道等完整的發行生態系統，推廣我們擁有的內容。我們透過統一的技術平台為所有這些服務提供支持，使我們能夠以可擴展的方式和可預測的成本，將我們的內容交付給觀眾，無論他們身在何處觀看。

A few highlights before I turn things over to Patrick. As previewed on our last call, we renewed and expanded our branded content licensing agreement with Netflix, which has been beneficial for both companies. We reserve new seasons of our most important franchises for our own platforms and get the promotional benefits of making prior seasons available to Netflix's large base of U.S. subscribers. This new agreement also expands to select international markets with a combination of first and second window rights focused on our biggest franchises like Anne Rice, Dark Winds and The Walking Dead.

在把發言交給派崔克之前，我先簡單介紹幾個重點。正如我們在上次電話會議中預告的那樣，我們與 Netflix 續約並擴大了品牌內容授權協議，這對兩家公司都有好處。我們為自己的平台保留了最重要的系列劇集的新季，並利用 Netflix 龐大的美國用戶群提供前幾季的播放，從而獲得推廣優勢。這項新協議也將擴展到部分國際市場，結合了第一窗口和第二窗口版權，重點關注我們最熱門的系列作品，如《安妮·賴斯》、《黑暗之風》和《陰屍路》。

Turning to other key partnerships. We renewed a long-term distribution agreement with DirecTV, which expands the availability of our networks and programming across linear, FAST and streaming. Next year, DirecTV will hard bundle the ad-supported version of AMC+ in video packages that include AMC's linear network and will also add Shudder to one of their genre packages. We continue to work with Charter to raise awareness among Spectrum TV customers that ad-supported AMC+ is now included in their video package. More than 850,000 Spectrum customers have opted into AMC+ since its inclusion in the package earlier this year.

轉向其他重要夥伴關係。我們與 DirecTV 續簽了長期分銷協議，這將擴大我們的網路和節目在線性電視、FAST 電視和串流平台上的覆蓋範圍。明年，DirecTV 將把 AMC+ 的廣告支援版本硬性捆綁到包含 AMC 線性電視網的視訊套餐中，並且還將 Shudder 添加到其某個類型套餐中。我們繼續與 Charter 合作，提高 Spectrum TV 用戶對已包含廣告支援的 AMC+ 頻道的認知度，該頻道現已包含在他們的視訊套餐中。自今年初 AMC+ 被納入套餐以來，已有超過 85 萬 Spectrum 用戶選擇了 AMC+。

We've also expanded our relationship with Cox. All 5 of our linear networks are now included in their streaming-only TV plan, Cox TV Lite. Just this week, we launched our first triple bundle with Amazon Prime Video offering AMC+, MGM+ and Starz a significant savings over stand-alone pricing. During last quarter's call, as we were finalizing our upfront negotiations, we noted a more than 25% increase in digital advertising commitments.

我們也擴大了與 Cox 的合作關係。我們所有的 5 個線性網路現在都包含在他們的純串流電視計劃 Cox TV Lite 中。就在本週，我們推出了與亞馬遜 Prime Video 的首個三合一套餐，提供 AMC+、MGM+ 和 Starz 服務，比單獨購買可節省大量費用。在上個季度的電話會議上，當我們敲定預付款談判時，我們注意到數位廣告承諾增加了 25% 以上。

I'm pleased to say the final figure was an increase of 40%. This is meaningful growth in an increasingly important category as our digital presence expands and advertisers see the impact of reaching viewers across all platforms that feature our popular and critically acclaimed programming. Our FAST and AVOD business continues to grow. We recently renewed our distribution with CTV leaders, Samsung and Roku and expect to launch 4 new FAST channels by the end of the year. As discussed last quarter, we are also implementing this successful strategy internationally.

我很高興地告訴大家，最終結果成長了 40%。隨著我們的數位影響力不斷擴大，廣告商也看到了透過我們廣受歡迎且備受好評的節目涵蓋所有平台觀眾所帶來的影響，這是一個日益重要的類別中意義重大的增長。我們的FAST和AVOD業務持續成長。我們最近與 CTV 領導者三星和 Roku 續簽了分銷協議，預計將在年底前推出 4 個新的 FAST 頻道。正如上個季度所討論的，我們也在國際上實施這項成功的策略。

We currently have FAST channels in the U.K., Canada, Germany, Spain and Latin America. Globally, as of the end of September, we have 33 FAST channels distributed across 22 platforms totaling 215 active channel feeds. Combined, our portfolio of streaming services delivered an all-time high in viewership during the quarter, including the highest ever viewership of AMC+.

我們目前在英國、加拿大、德國、西班牙和拉丁美洲擁有 FAST 頻道。截至 9 月底，我們在全球擁有 33 個 FAST 頻道，分佈在 22 個平台上，總共有 215 個活躍頻道來源。本季，我們旗下所有串流媒體服務的總收視率創歷史新高，其中 AMC+ 的收視率更是創歷史新高。

Acorn TV, our streaming service focused on international crime dramas and mysteries, is having its best year ever. We're thrilled with the new talent, energy and momentum we're bringing to this beloved service now in its second decade and one of the world's first and most successful targeted streaming services. Irish Blood, the new series starring and executive produced by Alicia Silverstone, premiered in August and is already Acorn's #1 series ever and has been renewed for a second season. We're currently in production in Nova Scotia on a new series called You're Killing Me, starring and executive produced by Brooke Shields. We just completed another successful FearFest, one of our biggest programming events of the year, now spanning thousands of hours of programming across AMC, AMC+ and Shudder.

Acorn TV 是我們的串流服務，專注於國際犯罪劇和懸疑劇，今年是它有史以來最好的一年。我們很高興能為這項深受喜愛的服務注入新的人才、活力和動力，這項服務如今已進入第二個十年，並且是世界上首批也是最成功的定向串流服務之一。由艾莉西亞·西爾維斯通主演並擔任執行製片人的新劇《愛爾蘭血統》於 8 月首播，目前已成為 Acorn 有史以來收視率最高的劇集，並已續訂第二季。我們目前正在新斯科細亞省製作一部名為《You're Killing Me》的新影集，由布魯克希爾茲主演並擔任執行製作人。我們剛剛成功舉辦了另一個 FearFest 恐怖電影節，這是我們一年中最大的節目活動之一，目前已涵蓋 AMC、AMC+ 和 Shudder 平台數千小時的節目。

Brand partnerships included an integrated show sponsorship with Hyundai, a Universal Studios promotion on Shudder for Black Phone 2 and multi-platform partnerships with Bacardi and Kraft Heinz, anchored by full week placements on Sphere as well as on our linear streaming and social platforms.

品牌合作包括與現代汽車的整合節目贊助、環球影業在 Shudder 上為《黑手機 2》進行的推廣，以及與百加得和卡夫亨氏的多平台合作，其中最主要的合作是在 Sphere 以及我們的線性流媒體和社交平台上進行為期一周的廣告投放。

On AMC and AMC+, we just brought fans a third series in our popular Anne Rice Immortal Universe, Anne Rice's Talamasca: The Secret Order. The first episode has already been seen by 2 million viewers across all platforms and is pacing as the most watched series premiere since The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live. Interview with the Vampire will return next year with a new season called The Vampire Lestat focused on the popular character Lestat as the world's first truly immortal rock star. We've completed production of a new series that will premiere next spring on AMC and AMC+ called The Audacity, written and produced by Better Call Saul and Succession writer, Jonathan Glatzer. It's a provocative, timely and darkly comedic series featuring an amazing cast, including Billy Magnussen, Sarah Goldberg, Zach Galifianakis, Rob Corddry and Simon Helberg.

在 AMC 和 AMC+ 上，我們剛剛為粉絲帶來了我們廣受歡迎的安妮賴斯不朽宇宙的第三部劇集，安妮賴斯的《塔拉馬斯卡：秘密秩序》。第一集在所有平台上的觀看人數已達 200 萬，預計將成為自《陰屍路：倖存者》以來觀看人數最多的劇集首播。《夜訪吸血鬼》將於明年回歸，推出新一季《吸血鬼萊斯特》，聚焦於人氣角色萊斯特，講述他是世界上第一個真正不朽的搖滾明星的故事。我們已經完成了一部新劇的製作，由《風騷律師》（Better Call Saul）和《繼承之戰》（Succession）的編劇喬納森·格拉澤（Jonathan Glatzer）編劇和製作。這是一部引人深思、切合時宜且帶有黑色幽默的劇集，演員陣容強大，包括比利·馬格努森、莎拉·戈德堡、扎克·加利凡納基斯、羅伯·考德瑞和西蒙·赫爾伯格。

Next year, we're planning to go into production on a new franchise, Great American Stories, the first season of which will be focused on John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. Our film group is experiencing one of the most successful years in its history with recent theatrical release, Good Boy joining this summer's Clown in a Cornfield to deliver 2 of the 3 highest grossing opening weekends we've ever had. Dangerous animals also saw solid box office results this summer. Just as important as the theatrical success is the impact these films have when they move to streaming on AMC+ and Shudder, extending the reach of our high-quality IP with minimal audience duplication.

明年，我們計劃啟動一個新的系列節目《偉大的美國故事》，第一季將聚焦在約翰史坦貝克的《憤怒的葡萄》。我們的電影集團正經歷著歷史上最成功的一年，最近上映的《好小子》和今年夏天上映的《玉米田裡的小丑》一起，取得了我們有史以來票房最高的三個首周末中的兩個。今年夏天，《危險動物》也取得了不錯的票房成績。與影院上映的成功同樣重要的是，這些電影在 AMC+ 和 Shudder 等串流平台上線後所產生的影響，從而在最大限度減少觀眾重複的情況下擴大了我們高品質 IP 的覆蓋範圍。

Earlier, I spoke about the strategic components of our business and our commitment to remaining fast-moving and adaptable as our industry evolves. Our achievements are only possible because of our people, and I'm extremely proud of the work we're doing and the culture we have built together. To support our employees during this dynamic period in media and to advance our company with dedication and focus, we recently offered a voluntary buyout program to most of our U.S. workforce. This program did not have specific financial targets, rather its purpose was to strengthen our talent base and ensure we have the right skills for the future.

之前，我談到了我們業務的戰略組成部分，以及我們致力於隨著行業的發展保持快速行動和適應能力的承諾。我們所取得的成就全賴於我們的人民，我為我們正在做的工作以及我們共同建立的文化感到無比自豪。為了在這個媒體行業瞬息萬變的時期支持我們的員工，並為了以專注和奉獻的精神推動公司發展，我們最近向我們的大部分美國員工提供了一項自願買斷計劃。該計劃沒有具體的財務目標，其目的是為了加強我們的人才儲備，確保我們擁有面向未來的正確技能。

The result of this initiative is a less than 5% reduction in our total employee base. We are thankful for the contributions of those who have chosen to pursue new opportunities and of course, those who are driving this new era of the company.

這項措施的結果是，我們的員工總數減少了不到 5%。我們感謝那些選擇追求新機會的人所做出的貢獻，當然，也感謝那些引領公司邁入新時代的人們。

AMC Networks continues to differentiate itself during this changing time in media. As I said at the top of the call, when I look across our business, I see a company that has the pieces and the people necessary to succeed in this environment and to move quickly to find new and better ways to bring engaged fans to the content they love.

在媒體產業瞬息萬變的時代，AMC Networks 不斷保持自身的獨特優勢。正如我在電話會議開始時所說，縱觀我們的業務，我看到的是一家擁有在當前環境下取得成功所需的各種要素和人才的公司，並且能夠迅速找到新的、更好的方法，將忠實粉絲吸引到他們喜愛的內容。

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

現在我把電話交給派崔克。

Thank you, Kristin. We are pleased with our third quarter performance. And today, we are reiterating our outlook for the full year. We delivered another quarter of healthy cash flow generation with free cash flow totaling $42 million in the third quarter. We remain well positioned to achieve our 2025 outlook of approximately $250 million of free cash flow.

謝謝你，克里斯汀。我們對第三季的業績感到滿意。今天，我們重申我們對全年的展望。第三季我們再次實現了健康的現金流，自由現金流總額達到 4,200 萬美元。我們仍處於有利地位，預計將實現 2025 年約 2.5 億美元的自由現金流目標。

Third quarter consolidated net revenue declined 6% year-over-year to $562 million. Favorability in foreign exchange rates resulted in an approximately 65 basis point tailwind to our consolidated revenue growth rate. Consolidated AOI declined 28% to $94 million with a 17% margin, and adjusted EPS was $0.18 per share.

第三季合併淨收入年減 6% 至 5.62 億美元。有利的匯率為我們的綜合收入成長率帶來了約 65 個基點的利好。綜合營業收入下降 28% 至 9,400 萬美元，利潤率為 17%，調整後每股收益為 0.18 美元。

I'll now review our segment results. Domestic Operations revenue decreased 8% to $486 million. Subscription revenue was flat year-over-year with streaming revenue growth of 14%, partly offset by a 13% decline in affiliate revenue. Streaming revenue growth in the quarter benefited from the implementation of rate initiatives as well as year-over-year streaming subscriber growth of 2%. We ended the third quarter with 10.4 million streaming subs.

接下來我將回顧我們各部分的表現。國內業務收入下降 8% 至 4.86 億美元。訂閱收入與上年持平，串流媒體收入成長了 14%，但部分被聯盟行銷收入下降 13% 所抵消。本季串流媒體收入成長得益於價格調整措施的實施以及串流媒體用戶年增 2%。第三季末，我們的串流訂閱用戶數為1040萬。

We've implemented price increases across all of our streaming services this year. Retention and engagement remain healthy across our portfolio of services, and we continue to anticipate an acceleration in our streaming revenue growth rate for the fourth quarter. As Kristin highlighted earlier, streaming revenue is expected to be our largest single source of revenue this year in this segment.

今年，我們所有串流媒體服務都已上調價格。我們旗下所有服務的用戶留存率和參與度仍然保持良好，我們繼續預期第四季度串流媒體營收成長率將加快。正如克里斯汀之前所強調的那樣，串流媒體收入預計將成為我們今年在該領域最大的單一收入來源。

Moving to Advertising. For the third quarter, Domestic Operations advertising revenue decreased 17% due to linear ratings declines and lower marketplace pricing. The ad market remains challenging for everyone, but we are encouraged by our strong upfront performance, the strength of our programming and our significant advanced and digital advertising capabilities. As Kristin mentioned, we are pleased to have renewed and expanded our licensing agreement with Netflix in the third quarter. Recall that licensing revenues often vary quarter-to-quarter due to the timing of agreements and delivery schedules.

轉入廣告業。第三季度，由於線性收視率下降和市場價格走低，國內業務廣告收入下降了 17%。廣告市場對所有人來說仍然充滿挑戰，但我們對強勁的預售業績、強大的節目製作能力以及強大的先進數位廣告能力感到鼓舞。正如克里斯汀所提到的，我們很高興在第三季與 Netflix 續約並擴大了授權協議。請注意，由於協議簽訂時間和交付計劃的安排，許可收入通常會因季度而異。

For the third quarter, content licensing revenue was $59 million, reflecting the timing and availability of deliveries in the period. Demand for our high-quality content remains healthy, and we now anticipate that Domestic Operations content licensing revenue will exceed $250 million for the full year. Domestic Operations AOI was $112 million for the quarter, representing a decrease of 25%. The decrease in AOI was largely driven by continued linear revenue headwinds.

第三季內容授權收入為 5,900 萬美元，反映了該期間交付的時間和可用性。市場對我們高品質內容的需求依然旺盛，我們現在預計，全年國內業務內容授權收入將超過 2.5 億美元。本季國內業務 AOI 為 1.12 億美元，下降了 25%。AOI 的下降主要是由於持續的線性收入逆風所致。

Moving on to our International segment. Third quarter International revenues were $77 million. Excluding the favorable impact of foreign exchange in the current period, International revenues decreased approximately 50 basis points. Subscription revenue, excluding FX, decreased 6% due to the nonrenewal with Movistar in Spain, which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2024. Advertising revenue, excluding FX, increased 10% due to strong ad performance in the U.K. and Ireland. International AOI for the third quarter was $12 million with a 15% margin.

接下來是我們的國際業務區。第三季國際營收為 7,700 萬美元。剔除本期外匯匯率的有利影響，國際收入下降約 50 個基點。不計匯率影響，訂閱收入下降了 6%，原因是與西班牙 Movistar 的續約談判於 2024 年第四季終止。由於英國和愛爾蘭的廣告表現強勁，不計匯率影響的廣告收入成長了 10%。第三季國際 AOI 為 1,200 萬美元，利潤率為 15%。

Turning to the balance sheet. We remain focused on continuing to reduce gross debt and extend maturities. We ended the quarter with net debt of approximately $1.2 billion, a consolidated net leverage ratio of 2.8x and approximately $900 million of total liquidity. We continue to believe that our securities will offer attractive opportunities to deploy cash across the capital structure to create meaningful equity value over time. In the third quarter, we repurchased $9 million of our unsecured senior notes due 2029 at an average price of $0.84 on the dollar.

接下來看一下資產負債表。我們將繼續專注於降低總債務並延長債務期限。本季末，我們的淨債務約為 12 億美元，綜合淨槓桿率為 2.8 倍，總流動資金約 9 億美元。我們仍然相信，我們的證券將提供有吸引力的機會，讓投資者能夠將現金部署到整個資本結構中，從而隨著時間的推移創造有意義的股權價值。第三季度，我們以平均每美元 0.84 美元的價格回購了 900 萬美元的 2029 年到期的無擔保優先票據。

Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we also paid down approximately $166 million of our Term Loan A and amended our credit facility to push the maturity of the majority of our revolver availability to late 2030.

在本季結束後，我們還償還了約 1.66 億美元的 A 類定期貸款，並修改了信貸安排，將大部分循環信貸額度的到期日推遲到 2030 年底。

Regarding capital allocation, our philosophy remains consistent. First, we look to support the business by creating and acquiring compelling programming that resonates with our audiences while maintaining healthy levels of free cash flow generation. Second, we remain focused on reducing gross debt and extending debt maturities as evidenced by our third quarter open market repurchases and recent partial repayment and extension of our credit facility. Lastly, acquisitions and share repurchases will be opportunistic and measured.

在資本配置方面，我們的理念始終如一。首先，我們希望透過創作和收購能夠引起觀眾共鳴的精彩節目來支持業務發展，同時保持健康的自由現金流水準。其次，我們將繼續專注於減少總債務和延長債務期限，這體現在我們第三季的公開市場回購以及最近對信貸額度的部分償還和延期。最後，收購和股票回購將採取機會主義和審慎的態度。

Moving to our outlook. We are reiterating our 2025 outlook today. We remain confident in our ability to drive free cash flow and are on track to deliver approximately $250 million of free cash flow in 2025. With $232 million already generated in the first 9 months of the year, we are well on our way to achieving this goal. We continue to expect consolidated revenue of approximately $2.3 billion, reflecting continued linear headwinds, partially offset by streaming and content licensing strength.

接下來談談我們的展望。今天，我們重申我們對2025年的展望。我們仍對自身推動自由現金流的能力充滿信心，並有望在 2025 年實現約 2.5 億美元的自由現金流。今年前 9 個月已創造 2.32 億美元的收入，我們正朝著實現這一目標穩步前進。我們仍預期合併收入約為 23 億美元，這反映了傳統電視業務持續面臨的不利因素，但部分被串流媒體和內容授權的強勁表現所抵消。

And we also expect consolidated AOI in the range of $400 million to $420 million for the full year. We are proud of the meaningful progress we've made in transitioning our business. We've built all the necessary components of a nimble and opportunistic modern media business.

我們也預計全年綜合營業收入將在 4 億美元至 4.2 億美元之間。我們為在業務轉型過程中取得的顯著進展感到自豪。我們已經建立了一個靈活且善於把握機會的現代媒體業務的所有必要組成部分。

All the while we've continued to create and curate the high-quality content that engages fans and builds valuable lasting franchises. We remain grounded in our consistent strategy of making great content, distributing that content broadly, generating meaningful free cash flow and being prudent in how we allocate our capital.

同時，我們不斷創作和策劃高品質的內容，以吸引粉絲並打造有價值的持久品牌。我們始終堅持一貫的策略，即製作優質內容，廣泛分發這些內容，產生有意義的自由現金流，並在資本配置方面保持謹慎。

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

這樣，我就把電話交還給尼克了。

Thank you, Patrick. Well, operator, we'll now open the line for questions, please.

謝謝你，派崔克。好的，接線員，現在我們開通提問通道，請您提問。

(Operator Instructions) Charles Wilber, Guggenheim Securities.

（操作說明）查爾斯·威爾伯，古根漢證券。

Just wanted to ask, I was hoping you could talk about your partnership with the Sphere and promoting FearFest. How are you thinking about similar partnerships in the future for other promotions like Best Christmas Ever or content premieres? And then on AOI, margins decreased in the quarter to kind of mid-teens range. I believe in the past, you guys have talked about long-term margins in the mid- to high 20% range. Is that still how you're thinking about margin potential over the long term?

我只是想問一下，我希望您能談談您與 Sphere 的合作以及對 FearFest 的推廣。未來您是否考慮過與其他推廣活動（例如「史上最佳聖誕節」或內容首映）進行類似的合作？然後，AOI的利潤率在本季下降到十幾分的水平。我相信你們之前討論過長期利潤率在 20% 到 20% 之間。你現在仍然這樣看待長期利潤潛力嗎？

And what steps do you need to take to drive margin expansion?

那麼，您需要採取哪些措施來提高利潤率呢？

Great. Charles, it's Kristin. Thanks for the question on Sphere. As you know, we sell cross-platform all of our inventory, and we do it against specific audiences. And having the opportunity to integrate with the Exosphere capabilities in Vegas has been really attractive to a variety of advertisers, particularly those in packaged goods where we can work with Sphere Studios to create an interesting companion on the Sphere to their linear FAST and AVOD purchases with us.

偉大的。查爾斯，我是克里斯汀。感謝您提出關於 Sphere 的問題。如您所知，我們所有的庫存都是跨平台銷售的，而且我們針對的是特定受眾群體。能夠與拉斯維加斯的 Exosphere 功能相結合，對各種廣告商來說都非常有吸引力，尤其是那些包裝商品廣告商，我們可以與 Sphere Studios 合作，在 Sphere 上為他們在我們這裡購買的線性 FAST 和 AVOD 產品打造有趣的配套內容。

So Kim can you expand a little bit, I think, on who we work with and how that's come together.

所以，Kim，你能再詳細介紹一下我們與哪些人合作以及這種合作關係是如何形成的嗎？

Sure. I'd just add, it's an incredible way to mark the campaign in a marquee global way where the Exosphere goes global on social, and it really -- it marks that kind of signature moment for the advertisers. So most recently with FearFest, we did Bacardi and Kraft Heinz with -- and to a great deal of success. And we do have partnerships in discussion for Best Christmas Ever and into other signature time frames for '26.

當然。我還要補充一點，這是一個以全球矚目的方式來標記此次活動的絕妙方法，Exosphere 在社交媒體上走向全球，這確實——它標誌著廣告商的一個標誌性時刻。所以最近我們和 FearFest 合作，與百加得和卡夫亨氏合作，取得了巨大的成功。我們正在與合作夥伴洽談，計劃推出「史上最佳聖誕節」以及 2026 年的其他標誌性活動。

Charles, on the margin question, I think what we've been -- what we've said in the past is that we're trying to do 2 things at once. We're trying to, on one hand, continue to invest heavily in premium programming and at the same time, drive significant free cash flow through the business. You have seen over the last couple of years that our free cash flow conversion has increased materially. It's quite high, over 60% in 2025. And that will continue to be the focus going forward.

查爾斯，關於邊際問題，我認為我們過去一直說的是，我們試圖同時做兩件事。一方面，我們努力繼續大力投資優質節目製作；另一方面，我們努力透過業務推動可觀的自由現金流。過去幾年，你們已經看到我們的自由現金流轉換率大幅提高。這個比例相當高，到 2025 年將超過 60%。未來，這仍將是我們的工作重點。

So I would pay particular attention to the free cash flow in the business. Obviously, in the last quarter, we actually increased the guide for the year, up from an implied $225 million to $250 million this year. And so that's really the watch where I focus on the free cash flow generation.

因此，我會特別關注企業的自由現金流。顯然，在上個季度，我們實際上提高了全年的業績預期，從隱含的 2.25 億美元提高到今年的 2.5 億美元。所以，我主要關注的是自由現金流的產生。

(Operator Instructions) Doug Creutz, TD Cowen.

（操作說明）Doug Creutz，TD Cowen。

Just as you become less of a linear business and more of a streaming business, how does that affect your overall cost structure? Are there ways that it's going to help you? Are there ways where it's going to hinder you? Can you talk how you -- about how you expect that to continue to evolve over the next couple of years?

當你的業務模式從線性模式轉向串流媒體模式時，這會對你的整體成本結構產生怎樣的影響？它能以哪些方式幫助你？它有哪些方面會對你造成阻礙？您能否談談您預計未來幾年這種情況將如何繼續發展？

Sure, Doug. I think we've got one of the most efficient models out there. When you think about how hard our programming dollars work against multiple distribution platforms, right? So when we program for AMC linear, it goes on AMC+ and the amount of incremental programming that's on AMC+ exclusively is relatively small from a dollar perspective. Certainly lots of episodes.

當然，道格。我認為我們擁有目前最高效的模型之一。你想想我們的節目製作經費要如何在多個分發平台上發揮作用，對吧？所以，當我們為 AMC 線性頻道製作節目時，這些節目也會在 AMC+ 上播出，而 AMC+ 獨家播出的增量節目數量從金錢角度來看相對較小。當然有很多集。

There's a lot of Shudder content, et cetera, for subscribers there. So there's always something new with different and exclusive. But from a financial standpoint, the preponderance of our programming investment on AMC really does double duty across both linear and streaming.

那裡有很多 Shudder 的內容等等，供訂閱用戶觀看。所以總是會有一些新穎、獨特、獨家的東西。但從財務角度來看，我們在 AMC 上的節目投資大部分確實在傳統電視和串流媒體領域都發揮了雙重作用。

And then secondly, I'd point out some of the other more targeted streaming businesses where like Acorn, for example, where the unit economics from a cost structure are quite advantageous. The cost of production on those series is much, much lower than on kind of other larger streaming services, the audiences are extremely kind of tuned in and we've got good engagement churn metrics, et cetera. So we feel really good about the efficiency from a cost perspective of the way we approach the streaming business. And I would say kind of broadly across the overall business, we continue to have levers to pull. But we are primarily focused on continuing to invest in premium programming across all of these businesses.

其次，我想指出一些其他更有針對性的串流媒體業務，例如 Acorn，它們的單位成本經濟效益相當有利。這些劇集的製作成本遠低於其他大型串流媒體服務，觀眾的收視率非常高，而且我們的用戶參與度和流失率指標都很好等等。因此，從成本角度來看，我們對我們開展串流媒體業務的方式的效率感到非常滿意。而且我認為，從整個業務的角度來看，我們仍然有很多手段可以利用。但我們目前的主要重點是繼續投資於所有這些業務的優質節目製作。

And we think we do it well and that we get it to work hard for us.

我們認為我們做得很好，而且我們讓它為我們努力工作。

I would just add, Doug, thanks for the question. On the operating side, we continue to remind people that our strategy is to be a wholesale streamer. And in doing that, a lot of the costs end up on the size of our distribution partners, whether it's for acquisition or for customer service or for promotion and bundling. And then the technology work that we've undertaken over the last 12 to 18 months is driving a very predictable approach, right? So digital, when you're doing streaming, we have all of our content is nicely tucked away with Comcast Technology Services and then that supported with their second location, cloud location.

我還要補充一點，道格，謝謝你的提問。在營運方面，我們不斷提醒大家，我們的策略是成為一家批發串流媒體服務商。這樣做會導致許多成本最終轉移到我們分銷合作夥伴的規模上，無論是客戶獲取成本、客戶服務成本還是促銷和捆綁銷售成本。然後，我們在過去 12 到 18 個月裡進行的技術工作正在推動一種非常可預測的方法，對吧？所以，在數位化方面，當您進行串流媒體播放時，我們所有的內容都妥善地儲存在 Comcast Technology Services 中，然後由他們的第二個位置——雲端位置提供支援。

So we know that our content is safe, it's stored efficiently and successfully through CTS and then our distribution for streaming and for digital is on the back of that deal, which, as we always say, it's a deal that we know what it can -- what it will cost us to deliver and that is -- it is scalable for as large as we want to grow.

所以我們知道，我們的內容是安全的，它通過 CTS 高效、成功地存儲，然後我們的串流媒體和數位發行也是基於這項協議，正如我們一直所說，這是一項我們知道它能做什麼——交付需要多少成本——並且它具有可擴展性，可以滿足我們想要發展的任何規模的需求。

(Operator Instructions) David Joyce, Seaport Research Partners.

（操作說明）David Joyce，Seaport Research Partners。

Thinking about advertising, with the components of the upfront commitments you mentioned and the 850,000 AMC+ sign-ons with Charter Spectrum, what would be the glide path do you think with this increased streaming presence to turning advertising into a growth business again, granted the advertising level because of linear is half of what it was like 8 or 9 years ago. But what can make this a growth revenue stream again?

考慮到您提到的預付款承諾以及Charter Spectrum的85萬AMC+簽約用戶，您認為隨著串流媒體業務的日益普及，廣告業務再次成為增長點的路徑會是怎樣的？當然，由於線性電視的緣故，目前的廣告水準只有8、9年前的一半。但要如何讓它再次成為成長型收入來源呢？

Charles (sic - David), it's Kim. I would point to the number Kristin shared in our successful upfront tied to the 40% growth in our digital advertising, which really aligns actually -- aligns and includes that 850,000 ad-supported Charter subscribers. We continue to kind of expand the inventory we have through our partners of AMC+. So we really continue down the road of focusing on making our inventory digitally or dynamically ad inserted, which actually allows us an opportunity to cross-sell across all our platforms, including CTV, our streaming services that are ad-supported, which we continue to add to with Shudder ad-supported coming shortly. It's just -- it's growing that overall pool, and that will align over time.

查爾斯（原文如此，應為大衛），我是金。我想指出克里斯汀在我們成功的預售會上分享的數字，這與我們數字廣告 40% 的增長有關，這實際上與 Charter 850,000 名廣告支持的訂閱用戶相吻合，並且也包括了這部分用戶。我們透過與 AMC+ 的合作夥伴不斷擴大我們的庫存。因此，我們繼續專注於以數位化或動態方式插入廣告，這實際上讓我們有機會在所有平台上進行交叉銷售，包括 CTV、我們支援廣告的串流媒體服務（我們將繼續增加 Shudder 的廣告支援服務，該服務即將推出）。只是——它正在擴大整體資金池，隨著時間的推移，這將趨於一致。

(Operator Instructions) Steven Cahall, Wells Fargo.

（操作員說明）史蒂文·卡哈爾，富國銀行。

I wanted to ask about advertising as well. So you talked about the growth in the FAST channels. I was wondering if you could give us the percentage of either domestic or total advertising revenue you're now recognizing from those FAST channels just so we get the relative size as it grows. And then just on the upfront, we've heard from some peers that at least entertainment linear pricing might have been down year-on-year. So I was wondering if you could give us any color there.

我還想問問廣告方面的問題。所以你談到了快速通道的成長。我想請問您能否提供您目前從這些 FAST 管道獲得的國內或總廣告收入的百分比，以便我們了解其成長後的相對規模。此外，我們從一些同行那裡了解到，至少娛樂線性頻道的定價可能比去年同期有所下降。所以我想知道您是否可以給我們一些顏色。

And then finally, you talked about streaming revenue as your biggest revenue bucket. Can you just confirm if that's subscription and advertising? And if we compare streaming subscription and advertising to linear subscription and advertising, is streaming now bigger, which I think would be a big turning point.

最後，您提到串流媒體收入是您最大的收入來源。請問這是否包含訂閱和廣告？如果我們把串流媒體訂閱和廣告與傳統電視訂閱和廣告進行比較，現在串流媒體規模更大，我認為這將是一個重大轉折點。

Steven, it's Patrick. I'll do the third piece first, and I'll flip it over to Kim on the advertising side of the business. Our streaming revenue is streaming revenue only. There's not the digital advertising embedded in that. So that's -- you can call it kind of a clean or pure number.

史蒂文，我是派崔克。我先做第三部分，然後把廣告的工作交給 Kim。我們的串流媒體收入僅指串流媒體收入。其中沒有嵌入數位廣告。所以，你可以稱它為一個比較乾淨或純粹的數字。

Obviously, we've got a number of products in the market from an ad-supported basis, but those dollars get captured in our advertising dollars, not the streaming dollars. So hopefully, that clears up.

顯然，我們有很多產品是透過廣告支援的方式投放市場的，但這些收入都計入了我們的廣告收入，而不是串流媒體收入。希望這樣就能解釋清楚了。

And I would just mention, as Kristin pointed out in her comments, we do have -- we have 33 FAST channels now across 22 platforms with over 250 global feeds, and that's creating a great deal of streaming digital inventory for us. We don't break that out, Steven. That's included in the overall digital inventory that we sell cross-platform. But what I would add is this is not just an advertising venture for us. We look at the FAST and AVOD marketplaces as an opportunity for us to garner interest for our programming with early seasons that actually help drive awareness and promotion and marketing towards our streaming services.

正如克里斯汀在她的評論中指出的那樣，我還要補充一點，我們現在在 22 個平台上擁有 33 個 FAST 頻道，超過 250 個全球訊號源，這為我們創造了大量的串流數位資源。我們不把那件事說出來，史蒂文。這包含在我們跨平台銷售的整體數位庫存中。但我還要補充一點，這對我們來說不只是廣告宣傳活動。我們認為 FAST 和 AVOD 市場是一個機會，讓我們能夠透過早期劇集吸引觀眾對我們的節目產生興趣，這實際上有助於提高人們對我們串流媒體服務的認知度、推廣和行銷。

So the majority of the new FAST channels we've launched recently are channels that actually sample our targeted streaming services like Acorn Mysteries or Scares by Shudder or ALLBLK Gems. These services samples the -- sample content from our streaming services and give us an opportunity to drive that kind of noncord connected audience to our streaming services directly. So we're really seeing them beyond just an advertising generator, but more of a marketing and promotional opportunity for us in streaming.

因此，我們最近推出的大多數新的 FAST 頻道實際上是對我們目標串流服務（如 Acorn Mysteries 或 Shudder 的 Scares 或 ALLBLK Gems）的試看。這些服務會提供我們串流服務中的一些範例內容，讓我們有機會直接將這類非有線電視用戶引導至我們的串流服務。因此，我們看到它們不僅僅是廣告生成器，更是我們在串流媒體領域進行行銷和推廣的機會。

And I would just add we have one partner right now who's trialing with us the opportunity to click through a FAST channel to purchase the corresponding TSVOD. So that's an interesting experiment for us. So it goes beyond just using FAST as a barker channel. It's actually an interactive mechanism to purchase the correlated streaming service. So we're excited about that and hoping for some positive results.

我還要補充一點，我們目前有一位合作夥伴正在與我們一起試用透過 FAST 頻道點擊購買對應 TSVOD 的機會​​。所以這對我們來說是一個有趣的實驗。所以，它不僅僅是將 FAST 用作廣播頻道。它實際上是一種購買相關串流媒體服務的互動機制。我們對此感到興奮，並希望能取得一些正面的結果。

This concludes the question-and-answer session. I would like to turn it back to Nick Seibert for closing remarks.

問答環節到此結束。我謹將發言權交還給尼克·塞伯特，請他作總結發言。

Thank you, everyone, for joining us this morning. We appreciate you giving us the time and your continued interest in AMC Networks. Have a nice day.

謝謝大家今天早上收看我們的節目。感謝您抽出寶貴時間，也感謝您一直以來對AMC Networks的關注。祝你今天過得愉快。

Thank you for your participation in today's conference. This concludes the program. You may now disconnect.

感謝您參加今天的會議。節目到此結束。您現在可以斷開連線了。