Charter Communications Inc (CHTR) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the Charter Communications Q3 conference call. (Operator Instructions) Also as a reminder, this conference is being recorded today. If you have any objections, please disconnect at this time.

您好，歡迎參加Charter Communications第三季電話會議。 （操作員提示）另請注意，本次會議正在錄音。如果您有任何異議，請立即斷開連接。

I'll now pass you over to Stefan Anninger.

現在我將把麥克風交給斯特凡·安寧格。

Thanks, operator, and welcome, everyone.

謝謝接線員，歡迎各位。

The presentation that accompanies this call can be found on our website at ir.charter.com. I would like to remind you that there are a number of risk factors and other cautionary statements contained in our SEC filings, which we encourage you to read carefully.

本次電話會議的簡報可在我們的網站ir.charter.com上找到。我想提醒各位，我們向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中包含一些風險因素和其他警示性聲明，我們建議您仔細閱讀。

Various remarks that we make on this call, concerning expectations, predictions, plans and prospects, constitute forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ from historical or anticipated results. Any forward-looking statements reflect management's current view only, and Charter undertakes no obligation to revise or update such statements.

我們在本次電話會議中就預期、預測、計畫和前景所作的各種評論均構成前瞻性陳述，這些陳述受風險和不確定性因素的影響，可能導致實際結果與歷史結果或預期結果存在差異。任何前瞻性陳述僅反映管理層目前的觀點，Charter公司不承擔修訂或更新此類陳述的義務。

On today's call, we have Chris Winfrey, our President and CEO; and Jessica Fischer, our CFO.

今天的電話會議上，我們有總裁兼執行長克里斯·溫弗瑞，以及財務長傑西卡·費雪。

With that, let's turn the call over to Chris.

那麼，讓我們把電話交給克里斯吧。

Thanks, Stefan. During the third quarter, we added 63,000 Internet customers, as we continue to benefit from growth in both our existing footprint and new subsidized rural footprint. We also added nearly 600,000 Spectrum Mobile lines, benefiting from our Spectrum One offering.

謝謝斯特凡。第三季度，我們新增了6.3萬網路用戶，這得益於我們現有用戶群和新增的農村補貼用戶群的持續成長。此外，我們還新增了近60萬條Spectrum Mobile移動線路，主要得益於我們的Spectrum One服務。

At the end of the third quarter, we had over 7 million total mobile lines, and over 12% of our Internet customers now have mobile service. We expect mobile penetration to meaningfully grow over the next several years as the quality and the value of our converged connectivity service gains wider recognition.

第三季末，我們的行動線路總數超過700萬條，超過12%的網路用戶現在使用行動服務。我們預計，隨著我們融合連結服務的品質和價值獲得更廣泛的認可，未來幾年行動普及率將顯著增長。

Revenue was essentially flat year-over-year, with some temporary headwinds within the quarter. And adjusted EBITDA grew at 0.7% year-over-year, moving past the low point last quarter. We expect that upward trend to continue as we realize the benefit of our operating investments. More importantly, we're making significant progress against the multiyear strategic initiatives we outlined late last year.

營收與去年同期基本持平，本季受到一些暫時性不利因素的影響。調整後 EBITDA 年成長 0.7%，擺脫了上季的低點。我們預計隨著營運投資效益的逐步顯現，這一成長趨勢將持續下去。更重要的是，我們在去年底制定的多年戰略計劃方面取得了顯著進展。

Our footprint expansion initiative remains on track. We expect to add approximately 300,000 new subsidized rural passings in 2023 and to accelerate that pace in 2024. Our penetration gains in subsidized rural passings continues to grow at a better-than-expected pace. At the 12-month mark, our rural builds are achieving nearly 50% penetration, faster than our initial expectations.

我們的道路建設擴張計劃進展順利。預計2023年將新增約30萬個農村補貼通道，並在2024年加快建設速度。農村補貼通道的普及率持續成長，且成長率超乎預期。截至目前，農村通道建設的普及率已接近50%，高於我們最初的預期。

Our execution initiative also continues to progress, and we remain committed to prioritizing the customer experience. We continue to see the benefits of our investments in employee tenure and training, including better employee retention, higher quality service transactions and better sales yields. Additionally, the increasing digitization of our service platforms for both customers and employees will further reduce transactions, driving higher levels of customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction, driving tenure and quality.

我們的執行計畫也持續推進，我們始終致力於優先提升客戶體驗。我們持續看到在員工任期和培訓方面的投入所帶來的益處，包括更高的員工留任率、更高品質的服務交易以及更高的銷售收益。此外，我們面向客戶和員工的服務平台日益數位化，這將進一步減少交易次數，進而提高客戶和員工的滿意度，進而提升員工的任期和服務品質。

And finally, our evolution initiative, which is comprised of our network evolution project, our convergence efforts and our video product transformation, all of which remain on track. Our network evolution project continues to progress well and will allow us to maintain our fastest Internet and WiFi service claims in front of customers and competitors everywhere we operate.

最後，我們的演進計劃，包括網路演進項目、融合計劃和視訊產品轉型，目前均按計劃進行。我們的網路演進專案進展順利，將使我們能夠在營運的各個地區，繼續保持對客戶和競爭對手最快的網路和WiFi服務承諾。

Unlike the telcos, which prioritize the most attractive footprints for upgrades, our multi-gig speed offerings will be available across our entire footprint. Our network evolution is good for the communities we serve, and it's good for Charter.

與那些優先升級最具吸引力區域的電信業者不同，我們的多千兆速度服務將涵蓋我們所有的網路服務區域。我們的網路升級不僅有利於我們服務的社區，也有利於Charter公司本身發展。

And excluding the benefit of any savings that result from the project, we continue to expect our network evolution to cost a very low $100 per passing. We're very much on target. Whether we finish our network evolution initiative by the end of 2025 or mid-2026 will really depend on the supply chain for distributed access architecture components and managing annual capital spend, given the larger customer growth opportunity and construction speed of RDOF, where we're ahead of the build requirements and we'll end up with more passings than originally expected, state grants and hopefully BEAD passings. However, I want to reiterate and be very clear that where state BEAD rules are not conducive to private investment, we will not participate in those states.

不計入項目帶來的任何節省，我們仍然預計網路升級的成本將非常低，每次通過僅需 100 美元。我們目前進展順利。能否在 2025 年底或 2026 年年中完成網路升級計劃，將取決於分散式存取架構組件的供應鏈以及年度資本支出的管理。考慮到 RDOF 更大的客戶成長機會和更快的建設速度，我們的進度領先於建設需求，最終通過的認證數量將超過預期，同時我們還能獲得州政府撥款，並有望獲得 BEAD 認證。然而，我想再次強調並明確指出，如果某個州的 BEAD 規則不利於私人投資，我們將不會參與這些州的計畫。

Our converged product offering also continues to evolve and succeed. Spectrum One is performing well and offers the fastest connectivity, with differentiated features like mobile Speed Boost and the Spectrum Mobile Network. Spectrum One also offers significant savings for customers, with market-leading pricing at both promotion and retail.

我們的融合產品組合也不斷發展壯大。 Spectrum One 表現出色，提供最快的網路連接，並擁有行動速度提升和 Spectrum 行動網路等差異化功能。 Spectrum One 還為客戶節省大量成本，無論促銷價或零售價，都具有市場領先的價格優勢。

Finally, turning to the evolution of our video product. Earlier this month, we launched our Xumo platform across our entire footprint. This industry-leading video platform allows our customers to access their linear and direct-to-consumer video content with unified search and discovery within one easy-to-use interface. Combined with our Spectrum TV app, the most viewed linear MVPD streaming service in the U.S., Xumo is now our go-to-market platform for new video sales.

最後，我們來談談視訊產品的演進。本月初，我們在所有業務覆蓋區域推出了 Xumo 平台。這個業界領先的視訊平台讓我們的客戶能夠在一個易於使用的介面中，透過統一的搜尋和發現功能存取其線性視訊和直接面向消費者的視訊內容。結合我們 Spectrum TV 應用程式（美國觀看量最高的線性多頻道視訊節目分銷商 (MVPD) 串流服務），Xumo 現在已成為我們面向新影片銷售的市場推廣平台。

In September, we announced an agreement to carry Disney's linear networks and direct-to-consumer services for our customers. This new hybrid distribution model is good for consumers, and we believe a significant step forward for the video ecosystem. For Charter, the agreement adds value to our video packages and better aligns linear content and DTC apps, which will be included for free in our video products.

9月，我們宣布與迪士尼達成協議，將為我們的客戶提供迪士尼的線性電視網絡和直接面向消費者的服務。這種新的混合分發模式對消費者有利，我們相信這是視訊生態系統向前邁出的重要一步。對於Charter而言，該協議提升了我們視訊套餐的價值，並更好地整合了線性電視內容和直接面向消費者的應用，這些應用將免費包含在我們的視訊產品中。

We also maintained flexibility to offer lower cost packages. Disney gets broader distribution of its DTC products with ad revenues from our video customers and upgrade subscriptions to ad free. We'll also sell Disney's DTC apps to our Internet customers, including via Xumo over time.

我們也保持了靈活性，提供價格更低的套餐。迪士尼透過視訊用戶的廣告收入和無廣告升級訂閱服務，擴大了其直接面向消費者（DTC）產品的分銷範圍。我們也將逐步透過包括Xumo在內的管道，向我們的網路用戶銷售迪士尼的DTC應用程式。

Together with Disney, we created a glide path to bridge from linear video into new growth with both linear and DTC services. Disney and ESPN were a key first step to repairing the video ecosystem, but our goal is to have a product that is valuable and that we're proud to sell. We plan to modernize all of our distribution agreements upon renewal in a way that works for customers. That means packaging flexibility, value and not asking customers or us to pay twice for similar DTC and linear programming.

我們與迪士尼攜手打造了一條從線性視訊過渡到線性視訊和直接面向消費者 (DTC) 服務的新增長路徑。迪士尼和 ESPN 的加入是修復視訊生態系統的關鍵第一步，但我們的目標是打造一款真正有價值且值得我們引以為傲的產品。我們計劃在續約協議時對所有分銷協議進行現代化改造，使其更符合客戶的需求。這意味著提供更靈活的套餐組合和更高的性價比，避免客戶或我們為類似的 DTC 和線性視訊節目支付雙重費用。

If programmers insist on customers paying twice, we just won't carry those channels. But we'd still be happy to sell their content in an a la carte app, same way as they do. Our goal is to modernize these agreements quietly and seamlessly for our mutual customer base.

如果節目製作方堅持讓用戶支付兩次費用，我們將不會播出這些頻道。但我們仍然樂意像他們一樣，透過點播應用程式銷售他們的內容。我們的目標是悄無聲息、無縫地推進這些協議的現代化，從而更好地服務我們雙方的用戶群體。

Our new hybrid distribution model, combined with Xumo's content forward interface, provides a clear path to solve key customer issues of choice, value and utility, with seamless linear DTC and SVOD integration in advanced search and discovery functionality. For Charter and programmers, this creates a state-of-the-art video marketplace, supported by our scaled distribution, sales and service infrastructure, and we believe a glide path to broader distribution, better economics and more choice for everyone.

我們全新的混合分發模式，結合Xumo的內容前向接口，為解決客戶在選擇、價值和實用性方面的關鍵問題提供了清晰的途徑，並在高級搜索和發現功能中實現了線性DTC和SVOD的無縫集成。對於Charter和節目製作方而言，這將打造一個先進的視訊市場，並由我們規模化的發行、銷售和服務基礎設施提供支援。我們相信，這將為更廣泛的分發、更優的經濟效益和更多選擇鋪平道路。

Through expansion, network evolution, convergence, video transformation and investing in quality, we are executing successfully the strategy we laid out last December. Our strategy remains to provide the highest quality products, which we then priced and packaged in customer-friendly ways to drive higher penetration of our services across our footprint. We then combined that with investments in high-quality service, which also increases our competitiveness to acquire more customers. Ultimately, continued execution of our strategy will drive significant long-term value for shareholders, and we continue to make good progress.

透過擴張、網路演進、整合、視訊轉型以及對品質的投入，我們正成功執行去年12月制定的策略。我們的策略始終是提供最高品質的產品，並以客戶友好的方式進行定價和包裝，從而提高我們服務在覆蓋區域內的滲透率。同時，我們也增加對高品質服務的投資，這進一步增強了我們獲取更多客戶的競爭力。最終，持續執行我們的策略將為股東創造顯著的長期價值，而我們也持續取得良好進展。

Before handing the call over to Jessica, I want to note that earlier this week, we announced Tom Rutledge's plan of retirement, and that Eric Zinterhofer is reassuming the non-Executive Chairman role at Charter. I'm pleased that Tom will remain as director emeritus, and grateful to Tom, Eric and our full Board, including two of the most successful cable investors in Liberty Media and Advance Newhouse, for their work to achieve a smooth CEO transition for Charter. Jessica?

在把電話交給傑西卡之前，我想提一下，本週早些時候，我們宣布了湯姆·拉特利奇的退休計劃，以及埃里克·津特霍弗將重新擔任Charter的非執行董事長一職。我很高興湯姆將繼續擔任名譽董事，並感謝湯姆、艾瑞克以及我們全體董事會成員，包括Liberty Media和Advance Newhouse這兩家最成功的有線電視投資者，感謝他們為Charter執行長的平穩過渡所做的工作。傑西卡？

Thanks, Chris. Let's turn to our customer results on Slide 5. Including residential and SMB, we added 63,000 Internet customers in the third quarter. We estimate that approximately 15,000 third quarter Internet disconnects were driven by the temporary loss of ESPN in September.

謝謝，克里斯。我們來看投影片5的客戶業績。包括住宅用戶和中小企業用戶在內，第三季我們新增了63,000名網路用戶。我們估計，第三季約有15,000次網路斷網是由於9月ESPN的暫時停播造成的。

Video customers declined by 327,000 in the third quarter, with about 100,000 video disconnects driven by the Disney programming dispute. The overall impact to customer relationships was less than we expected, facilitated in part by the wide availability of over-the-top alternatives.

第三季影音用戶減少了32.7萬，其中約10萬用戶因迪士尼節目版權糾紛而斷開影音服務。由於OTT（Over-the-Top）替代方案的廣泛普及，此事件對客戶關係造成的整體影響小於預期。

The loss of Disney programming occurred both at the beginning of football season and in the midst of a programming cost pass-through and the launch of our new auto pay discount incentive on Internet. Nonetheless, operationally, we handled the Disney dispute very well. But our billing and retention call centers were not fully back to normal until early October, so there was lingering customer net add impact early in the fourth quarter.

迪士尼節目的停播恰逢橄欖球賽季伊始，同時正值節目成本轉嫁和我們推出新的網路自動付款折扣優惠之際。儘管如此，我們在營運方面處理迪士尼的糾紛非常得當。但我們的帳單和客戶維繫呼叫中心直到10月初才完全恢復正常，因此第四季初客戶淨成長仍受到一定影響。

Turning to mobile. We added 594,000 mobile lines in the third quarter. Wireline voice customers declined by 286,000 in the third quarter. Overall market activity, churn and gross adds, remained well below pre-COVID levels, partly driven by persistently low move rates.

再來看行動業務。第三季我們新增了59.4萬條行動線路。固話用戶在第三季減少了28.6萬。整體市場活躍度、用戶流失率和新增用戶數均遠低於新冠疫情前的水平，部分原因是用戶遷移率持續走低。

We continue to compete well in a portion of our footprint that is overlapped by fiber, but we also continue to see some impact from fixed wireless access competitors in the lower usage and price-sensitive customer segments of our residential and SMB businesses. That product remains slower and less reliable than what we can deliver, and will be additionally constrained as consumers demand more and more data. In fact, high data usage customers that switched to fixed wireless have a higher propensity to return to our Internet service.

在光纖覆蓋區域與我們服務範圍重疊的部分，我們仍然保持著良好的競爭力。然而，在住宅用戶和中小企業客戶中，那些使用量較低且對價格較為敏感的客戶群，我們也持續感受到來自固定無線接取競爭對手的衝擊。與我們提供的服務相比，固定無線存取產品的速度和穩定性仍然較差，而且隨著消費者對資料需求的不斷增長，其效能還將受到更多限制。事實上，曾經使用固定無線存取的高數據用戶，更有可能重新選擇我們的網路服務。

Despite our Disney dispute, third quarter residential Internet churn was at a new record low for the third quarter. Our Spectrum Mobile product also continued to perform well in the quarter. The majority of new lines continue to come from existing Internet customers, though the percentage of lines coming from new customers has continued to increase.

儘管我們與迪士尼有爭議，但第三季住宅網路用戶流失率仍創下歷史新低。我們的Spectrum Mobile產品在本季也持續表現良好。新增線路主要來自現有網路用戶，但新用戶新增線路的比例持續成長。

Port ins from other carriers as a portion of our gross additions grew year-over-year, despite much higher mobile sales. We also continue to see healthy data usage on our Spectrum One promotional lines and remain confident that these lines should perform well as long-term customers.

儘管行動端銷售額大幅成長，但從其他業者攜號轉網的用戶在我們新增用戶中所佔的比例仍較去年同期成長。此外，我們Spectrum One促銷線路的數據使用量持續保持良好勢頭，並堅信這些線路的用戶未來作為長期客戶也將表現出色。

In the third quarter of last year, we launched Spectrum One pilot programs in a handful of markets. The pilot program customers reached their 12-month anniversary during the third quarter of this year, and incremental churn on those lines was small and even less than we expected.

去年第三季度，我們在部分市場推出了Spectrum One試點計畫。這些試點計畫的客戶在今年第三季達到了12個月的服務年限，而這些線路的客戶流失率增量很小，甚至低於我們的預期。

Turning to rural. Subsidized rural passings growth accelerated in the third quarter, with 78,000 passings activated. And we continue to expect approximately 300,000 new subsidized rural passings this year. As our RDOF build has progressed, we have identified roughly 300,000 adjacent passings along the way that are not in the census block groups we want, but we will add to our network as we complete the RDOF build. Because of these adjacent passings, we now expect that our RDOF initiative will yield a total of 1.3 million passings to be constructed over a multiyear period.

轉向農村地區。第三季度，農村補貼通道的成長速度加快，新增通道達7.8萬個。我們預計今年將新增約30萬個農村補貼通道。隨著農村發展機會框架（RDOF）建設的推進，我們沿途發現了約30萬個相鄰通道，這些通道不在我們計劃的普查區組內，但我們將在RDOF建設完成後將其納入我們的網路。由於這些相鄰通道的存在，我們現在預計RDOF計劃將在未來幾年內建成總計130萬個通道。

And while labor and equipment costs have both increased, we expect the average net cost per passing of these 1.3 million passings to be similar to our original RDOF net cost per passing estimate. We don't expect any potential BEAD build, subject to what Chris mentioned, to begin until 2025.

儘管人工和設備成本均有所增加，但我們預計這130萬次通行的平均每次淨成本將與我們最初對RDOF每次通行淨成本的估算相近。根據克里斯提到的情況，我們預計任何潛在的BEAD建設項目最早也要到2025年才會啟動。

Moving to financial results, starting on Slide 6. Over the last year, residential customers grew by 0.2%, with new customer growth driven by Internet, partly offset by video-only customer churn. Residential revenue per customer relationship declined by 0.6% year-over-year, given a higher mix of non-video customers, growth of lower-priced video packages within our base and $63 million of residential customer credits related to the Disney lockout, partly offset by promotional rate step-ups, rate adjustments and the accelerated growth of Spectrum Mobile.

接下來是財務表現部分，從第6頁開始。過去一年，住宅用戶成長了0.2%，新增用戶主要來自網路業務，但部分被僅使用視訊服務的用戶流失所抵銷。由於非視訊用戶佔比上升、低價視訊套餐用戶群成長以及因迪士尼停播而獲得的6300萬美元住宅用戶信用額度，住宅用戶每客戶關係收入同比下降了0.6%，但部分被促銷價格上調、價格調整以及Spectrum Mobile業務的加速增長所抵消。

Excluding Disney-related credits, residential revenue per customer relationship was flat year-over-year. As Slide 6 shows, in total, residential revenue declined by 0.3% year-over-year. Excluding Disney-related credits, residential revenue grew by 0.3% year-over-year.

剔除迪士尼相關抵免額後，每位顧客關係的住宅收入與前一年持平。如投影片6所示，住宅總收入年減0.3%。剔除迪士尼相關抵免額後，住宅收入較去年同期成長0.3%。

Turning to commercial. SMB revenue declined by 0.9% year-over-year, reflecting lower monthly SMB revenue per SMB customer, primarily due to a higher mix of lower-priced video packages and a lower number of voice lines per SMB customer. These factors were partly offset by SMB customer growth of 1.3% year-over-year.

轉至商業業務方面，中小企業收入年減0.9%，主要原因是每位中小企業客戶的月度收入減少，而這主要是由於低價視頻套餐佔比上升以及每位中小企業客戶的語音線路數量減少所致。不過，中小企業客戶數量較去年同期成長1.3%，部分抵銷了上述不利因素的影響。

Enterprise revenue grew by 3.7% year-over-year, driven by enterprise PSU growth of 5.9% year-over-year. Excluding all wholesale revenue, enterprise revenue grew by 5.5%. Third quarter advertising revenue declined by 20.3% or $97 million year-over-year due to less political revenue.

企業營收年增3.7%，主要得益於企業公共服務單位（PSU）較去年同期成長5.9%。剔除批發收入後，企業收入成長5.5%。第三季廣告收入較去年同期下降20.3%，即9,700萬美元，主因是政治廣告收入減少。

Core ad revenue was down 1.8%, due to a more challenged advertising market, partly offset by our growing advanced advertising capabilities. Other revenue grew by 28.8% year-over-year, driven by higher mobile device sales. In total, consolidated third quarter revenue was up 0.2% year-over-year, and up 1.5% year-over-year when excluding advertising and the impact of the $68 million in total Disney-related customer credits.

核心廣告收入下降1.8%，主要受廣告市場挑戰的影響，但部分被我們不斷增強的高級廣告能力所抵銷。其他營收年增28.8%，主要得益於行動裝置銷量的成長。第三季合併總營收年增0.2%，若剔除廣告收入及總計6,800萬美元的迪士尼相關客戶信用額度的影響，則較去年同期成長1.5%。

Moving to operating expenses and adjusted EBITDA on Slide 7. In the third quarter, total operating expenses were approximately flat year-over-year. Programming costs declined by 9.6% year-over-year due to a decline in video customers of 6% year-over-year, a higher mix of lighter video packages and a $61 million benefit related to the temporary loss of Disney programming in early September. These factors were partly offset by higher programming rates.

接下來請看投影片7中的營運費用和調整後EBITDA。第三季度，總營運費用與去年同期基本持平。由於影音用戶較去年同期下降6%，輕量級影音套餐佔比增加，以及9月初迪士尼節目暫時停播帶來的6,100萬美元收益，節目製作成本較去年同期下降9.6%。這些因素被較高的節目製作費率部分抵消。

We now expect that for the full year 2023, programming cost per video customer will decline by approximately 3% year-over-year. Other cost of revenue increased by 15.2%, primarily driven by higher mobile device sales and other mobile direct costs, partly offset by lower regulatory and franchise fees and lower ad sales costs.

我們現在預計，2023年全年，每位視訊用戶的節目製作成本將年減約3%。其他收入成本增加了15.2%，主要原因是行動裝置銷售增加和其他行動直接成本上升，部分被監管費、特許經營費和廣告銷售成本的下降所抵消。

Cost to service customers increased by 3.7% year-over-year, driven by previous adjustments to job structure, pay and benefits to build a more skilled and longer tenured workforce, resulting in lower frontline employee attrition compared to 2022 and additional activity to support the accelerated growth of Spectrum Mobile. Those were partly offset by productivity improvements, including from tenure investments, lower service transactions per customer and lower bad debt.

客戶服務成本年增3.7%，主要原因是先前對職位結構、薪資和福利進行了調整，旨在打造一支技能更精湛、服務年限更長的員工隊伍，從而降低了2022年一線員工的流失率，並增加了支持Spectrum Mobile加速增長的額外活動。這些成本成長部分被生產力提升所抵消，生產力提升包括員工年限投資帶來的收益、每位客戶的服務交易次數減少以及壞帳減少。

Sales and marketing costs declined by 1.4%, primarily driven by lower labor costs, as we've lapped our prior year employee investments in sales and marketing. Overall, while we certainly had some additional overtime in our call centers, given the Disney dispute, it was not a material expense driver this quarter. Finally, other expenses grew by 2.5%, driven by labor costs. Adjusted EBITDA grew by 0.7% year-over-year in the quarter.

銷售和行銷成本下降了1.4%，主要原因是勞動成本降低，因為我們已收回了前一年在銷售和行銷方面的員工投入。總體而言，儘管由於與迪士尼的糾紛，我們的呼叫中心確實出現了一些額外的加班，但這並非本季度的主要支出驅動因素。最後，其他支出成長了2.5%，主要受勞動成本的影響。本季調整後EBITDA年增0.7%。

Turning to net income on Slide 8. We generated $1.3 billion of net income attributable to Charter shareholders in the third quarter, up from $1.2 billion last year, driven by higher adjusted EBITDA and lower other operating expense, partly offset by higher interest expense.

請參閱第 8 頁的淨利。第三季度，歸屬於 Charter 股東的淨利潤為 13 億美元，高於去年的 12 億美元，這主要得益於調整後 EBITDA 的增加和其他營運費用的降低，但部分被更高的利息支出所抵消。

Turning to Slide 9. Capital expenditures totaled $3 billion in the third quarter, above last year's third quarter spend of $2.4 billion. The increase was primarily driven by higher spend on upgrade rebuild due to our network evolution initiative, higher spend on line extensions driven by Charter's subsidized rural construction initiative and continued network expansion across residential and commercial greenfield and market selling opportunities, and higher CPE, driven by the purchase of Xumo devices for our launch earlier this month.

請看投影片9。第三季資本支出總額為30億美元，高於去年同期的24億美元。成長的主要原因是：由於網路升級改造計劃，升級改造支出增加；由於Charter的農村建設補貼計劃以及在住宅和商業新建項目和市場銷售機會方面的持續網絡擴張，線路擴展支出增加；以及由於本月初為推出Xumo設備而採購的設備終端設備（CPE）支出增加。

For the full year 2023, we now expect capital expenditures to total approximately $11.2 billion. Capital expenditures, excluding line extensions, should total approximately $7.2 billion, higher than our previous expectation. The increase reflects additional Xumo CPE purchases and an acceleration of network spend related to future high split markets, including inventory accumulation and other preparation activities like walk-out and design and proactive equipment swap-outs of both DTAs and MPEG2 boxes.

我們現在預計2023年全年資本支出總額約為112億美元。若不計入線路擴容，資本支出總額約72億美元，高於我們先前的預期。這一成長反映了Xumo CPE設備的額外採購，以及與未來高分割市場相關的網路支出加速成長，包括庫存累積和其他準備工作，例如現場勘測、設計以及DTA和MPEG2機上盒的主動設備更換。

As Chris noted, we continue to expect to spend approximately $100 per passing to evolve the network to offer multiple gigabit speeds. There has been no change to our longer-term network evolution CapEx outlook. We also continue to expect 2023 line extension capital expenditures to total approximately $4 billion.

正如克里斯所指出的，我們仍然預計每次線路升級需要花費約100美元，以提供多千兆速度的網路。我們對長期網路升級資本支出的預期並沒有改變。我們也仍預期2023年線路擴容的資本支出總額約為40億美元。

We are working through our 2024 operating plan right now. Given the greater subsidized rural passings and construction opportunity we currently see, we may partially fund that opportunity by very modestly slowing our network evolution plan, as Chris mentioned. And as we complete our 2024 plans, we will provide a more detailed outlook on our fourth quarter 2023 call in January.

我們目前正在製定2024年營運計畫。鑑於目前農村地區路段建設和補貼補貼力度較大，正如克里斯所提到的，我們可能會透過略微放緩網路升級計畫來部分籌集資金，以抓住這些機會。待2024年計畫最終完成後，我們將在2023年第四季財報電話會議上（1月）提供更詳細的展望。

I want to highlight that capital expenditures, excluding line extensions and network evolution as a percentage of total revenue, have remained consistent since 2021. And following the completion of our network evolution initiative, capital expenditures, excluding line extensions as a percentage of revenue, should decline to below 2022 level, which has important long-term cash flow implications.

我想強調的是，自 2021 年以來，不包括線路擴容和網路升級在內的資本支出佔總收入的比例一直保持穩定。隨著我們網路升級計畫的完成，不包括線路擴容在內的資本支出佔收入的比例應該會下降到 2022 年以下，這將對長期現金流產生重要影響。

As Slide 10 shows, we generated $1.1 billion of free cash flow this quarter versus $1.5 billion in the third quarter of last year. The decline was primarily driven by higher CapEx, mostly driven by our network evolution and expansion initiatives.

如幻燈片10所示，本季我們產生了11億美元的自由現金流，而去年第三季為15億美元。自由現金流下降的主要原因是資本支出增加，而資本支出主要來自我們的網路升級和擴張計畫。

A couple of brief comments on working capital and cash taxes before turning to the balance sheet. Excluding the impact of mobile devices, we now expect our full year 2023 change in working capital to be negative by a few hundred million dollars, given the timing of capital expenditures and lower-than-expected accrued programming at year-end.

在分析資產負債表之前，先簡單說明一下營運資本和現金稅項的情況。在剔除行動裝置的影響後，鑑於資本支出的時間安排以及年末應計項目低於預期，我們預計2023年全年營運資本變動將為負數億美元。

On cash taxes, we did have a lower cash tax payment in the third quarter, which is just a timing difference. The full year cash tax outlook, which I provided during our fourth quarter 2022 call, still stands.

關於現金稅款，我們第三季的現金稅款支出確實較低，這只是時間上的差異。我在2022年第四季財報電話會議上提供的全年現金稅預期仍然有效。

We finished the quarter with $97.6 billion in debt principal. Our current run rate annualized cash interest is $5.2 billion. At of the end of the third quarter, our ratio of net debt to last 12-month adjusted EBITDA was 4.45x, and we intend to stay at or just below the high end of our 4 to 4.5x target leverage range.

本季末，我們的債務本金為976億美元。目前的年化現金利息支出為52億美元。截至第三季末，我們的淨負債與過去12個月調整後EBITDA之比為4.45倍，我們計劃將槓桿率維持在4至4.5倍的目標區間上限或略低。

During the quarter, we repurchased 2 million Charter shares and Charter Holdings common units, totaling $854 million, at an average price of $421 per share. Our 2023 EBITDA growth has been pressured by significant investments we've made in the future growth of our business. As we move toward 2024, pressure on our EBITDA growth will begin to abate, with growing transaction efficiency as we benefit from building employee tenure and easier comps as we have now lapped the impact of those employee investments, lower transactions in our mobile business, which drove down -- which drive down our per-customer cost of service and building as we move into next year, revenue growth acceleration from the roll-off of our mobile free line offers and positive impact from political advertising.

本季度，我們以每股平均421美元的價格回購了200萬股Charter股票和Charter Holdings普通股，總計8.54億美元。由於我們對業務未來成長進行了大量投資，2023年的EBITDA成長受到一定壓力。隨著我們邁向2024年，EBITDA成長的壓力將開始緩解。這得益於員工任期延長帶來的交易效率提升，以及由於我們已消化了員工投資的影響，可比業績更容易比較；移動業務交易量下降，從而降低了我們每位客戶的服務成本；隨著我們邁入明年，移動免費線路優惠的取消以及政治廣告的積極影響，收入增長將加速。

In addition, faster pacing of our rural build should bring additional positive impact to customer net additions next year. In the longer term, the competitive impact in operational efficiencies from our network evolution will drive a stronger broadband business.

此外，加快農村地區網路建設步伐，預計明年為新增用戶帶來更多正面影響。從長遠來看，網路升級帶來的營運效率提升將增強我們的競爭力，進而推動寬頻業務的蓬勃發展。

Convergence momentum will improve our churn and generate financial growth for both broadband and mobile, and transformational changes to the video business can enhance the value of our product for our connectivity customers. The investments we have been making and will continue to make are set to drive the growth of our business going forward.

融合趨勢將改善我們的用戶流失率，並為寬頻和行動業務帶來財務成長；視訊業務的變革性調整將提升我們產品對連結客戶的價值。我們已經並將繼續進行的投資，必將推動我們業務的未來成長。

Operator, we're now ready for Q&A.

操作員，我們現在可以進入問答環節了。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question will come from Jonathan Chaplin with New Street Research.

（操作說明）我們的第一個問題來自 New Street Research 的 Jonathan Chaplin。

Two quick questions. Starting with broadband, it looks like your -- the progress in the new markets, the rural markets that you're pushing into is great. The 12-month penetration there is accelerating, which is fantastic. But it seems like the core markets are progressing a little bit more slowly than you expected.

兩個問題。先說寬頻方面，你們在新市場，特別是正在開拓的農村市場，進展似乎非常順利。這些地區的12個月普及率正在加速成長，這很棒。但核心市場的進展似乎比你們預期的還要慢。

And I'm wondering, Chris, if you can give us some context for what was different from what you maybe expected in the core markets as sort of function of just slower pull-through from Spectrum One or greater pressures from fixed wireless broadband or something else.

克里斯，我想知道，你能否為我們解釋一下，核心市場的情況與你預期的有何不同，這或許是因為 Spectrum One 的推廣速度較慢，或許是因為固定無線寬頻的壓力更大，又或許是其他原因。

And then I'm wondering, sort of taking a step back, whether you can give us a view of what you think the video business ultimately looks like 5 years down the line. It's sort of -- I can imagine an environment -- a world where you're collecting a platform fee, this lower ARPU, but very high margin from your -- from a large number of your customers, and it becomes a much more valuable business for you than the sort of the distribution business that you have today.

然後我想退一步想一想，您能否展望一下五年後視頻行業的最終發展趨勢？我設想這樣一種局面：您收取平台費，雖然每用戶平均收入 (ARPU) 較低，但從大量客戶身上獲得非常高的利潤，這將使您的業務價值遠高於您目前從事的那種分銷業務。

But I would love to get your thoughts on like how that business evolves, and when we sort of hit the point where it starts to become a growth driver for you as opposed to a drag on growth.

但我很想聽聽您對這項業務如何發展的看法，以及我們何時才能達到它開始成為您增長的驅動力而不是增長的拖累的臨界點。

Sure. And there's a lot in what you just asked. Broadband, so as you mentioned, our subsidized rural construction is going very well and it's pacing well. We're getting faster penetrations than we anticipated, probably argues for higher terminal penetration.

當然。你剛才問的問題資訊量很大。寬頻方面，正如你所提到的，我們補貼的農村寬頻建設進展非常順利，而且進度也很好。寬頻普及率比預期高，這可能預示著終端普及率也會更高。

As Jessica mentioned, as we get into next year, not only do we have the accelerated pace of construction that we get into Q4 and then into next year, but also the tailwind of the construction that we've already completed. So as a stand-alone investment, the transparency around that is actually pretty high.

正如傑西卡所提到的，進入明年，我們不僅會迎來第四季及明年施工進度加快的時期，還會受益於已完工工程的後續發展。因此，作為一項獨立投資，其透明度實際上相當高。

The core markets, I think similar to what you've heard probably from others, both in the second quarter as well as third quarter, the back-to-school and dynamics, both at disconnect in Q2 and at reconnect in Q3, has not gotten back to where it was several years ago. Some of that could tie into the low end of the market where you have some incremental fixed wireless access.

我認為，核心市場的情況與您可能從其他人那裡聽到的類似，無論是第二季度還是第三季度，返校季帶來的用戶流失以及第三季度重新連接的用戶數量，都沒有恢復到幾年前的水平。這可能與低端市場有關，因為低端市場的固定無線存取量略有下降。

I think, importantly for us, we're competing well in the fiber markets. And as it relates to fixed wireless access, where you have a lower quality, lower throughput, lower capacity product, that's really not even lower priced when you combine mobile and Internet together. But on the increment, it appears to be that way.

我認為，對我們來說至關重要的是，我們在光纖市場上的競爭力很強。至於固定無線接入，雖然它的品質、吞吐量和容量都較低，但即使將行動網路和網路服務合併起來，價格也不會更低。不過，從增量來看，情況似乎並非如此。

We feel pretty good about that space just given the amount of bandwidth usage that increases over time and the natural capacity constraints that we've all spoken about in the past. So I think some combination of that, as well as Jessica mentioned, we had a relatively modest, but small impact on the Disney programming dispute, which drove an additional 15,000 units.

考慮到頻寬使用量會隨著時間推移而增加，以及我們之前都討論過的自然容量限制，我們對這方面的情況相當滿意。所以我認為，正是這些因素，再加上傑西卡提到的那些，使得我們對迪士尼節目製作糾紛的影響相對較小，但也帶來了額外的15000台設備。

But just if you step back, for all the reasons that we know, the broadband market has been temporarily stunted for growth. But we are growing in both our existing footprint as well as in the rural subsidized footprint as well. And we're providing that so people can evaluate where both pieces are.

但退一步講，由於我們所知的種種原因，寬頻市場的成長暫時受到了阻礙。不過，我們在現有服務覆蓋範圍以及農村補貼覆蓋範圍方面都在不斷增長。我們提供這些信息，是為了讓人們能夠評估這兩個方面的發展狀況。

In terms of video, 5 years from now, I think there'll still be a traditional video business that exists. And then I'll talk a little bit about where it could evolve to. But a traditional video business that exists, hopefully with additional value in it with DTCs bundled in, in a way that increases the stickiness of the linear business, is just to the benefit of ourselves and programmers. We can do that through these renovated agreements with the programmers and the combination of Xumo that creates utility for customers to find content in an easier way and have a deeper library and availability of that content.

就影片而言，我認為五年後傳統視訊業務仍將存在。之後我會談談它可能的發展方向。但一個現有的傳統視訊業務，如果能透過整合直接面向消費者（DTC）服務來提升其價值，從而增強線性電視業務的黏性，對我們自身和節目製作方都有益處。我們可以透過與節目製作人重新簽訂協議，並結合Xumo平台，為使用者提供更便利的內容尋找方式，以及更豐富的內容庫和更充足的資源，來實現這一目標。

I do think, as you mentioned and as I mentioned in the prepared remarks, we have an opportunity to evolve to a state-of-the-art video marketplace where we can provide that type of traditional linear integrated DTC and SVOD product for customers who can afford it. It's a value. But when you get that, it's a very valuable product, and it's something that we'd be proud of.

正如您和我之前在準備好的演講稿中提到的，我認為我們有機會發展成為一個先進的視訊市場，為有能力購買的客戶提供那種傳統的線性整合式DTC和SVOD產品。這很有價值。但一旦實現，它就成為一款非常有價值的產品，也是我們引以為傲的。

And for those customers who are going to be coming more in and out of the video market with different packages because of affordability, that's been driven by the programmers and because of the availability of DTC's a la carte, that Xumo, for us, can provide a really good marketplace to sell those products, again, for the benefit of the programmers as well and gives customers options wherever they want to go.

對於那些因為價格實惠而頻繁進出視訊市場並選擇不同套餐的客戶來說，這主要是由於節目製作方和按需付費的DTC（直接面向消費者）服務所推動的。因此，Xumo 對我們來說可以提供一個非常好的市場來銷售這些產品，這同樣有利於節目製作方，並為客戶提供他們想要的任何選擇。

And to your point, not only do we have the traditional video business delivered by Spectrum, but we also have the ability to monetize, from an advertising revenue perspective, the platform through our equity investment in the 50-50 joint venture of Xumo.

正如您所說，我們不僅擁有 Spectrum 提供的傳統視訊業務，而且我們還可以透過對 Xumo 50-50 合資企業的股權投資，從廣告收入的角度實現平台變現。

So nobody's sitting here forecasting that traditional linear video is going to grow. But I do think it still remains very important to our connectivity relationships. I think we have a strategic advantage in the marketplace because of our capabilities as a broadband provider with a scaled video platform, with the programming relationships that we have and the ability to package together a hybrid model that creates value for customers and is also a distribution engine for these DTC apps, either on a standalone or a bundled basis, for customers and programmers in the future.

所以沒人會預測傳統線性視訊會成長。但我認為它對我們的連結關係仍然至關重要。我認為我們在市場上擁有戰略優勢，這得益於我們作為寬頻供應商的能力，以及我們擁有的節目製作資源，以及我們整合混合模式的能力。這種混合模式既能為客戶創造價值，又能成為未來客戶和節目製作方分發這些DTC應用程式（無論是獨立應用程式還是捆綁應用程式）的引擎。

So if I step back from a video perspective, again, I'm not forecasting growth, but the past 15 years, there's been very little to be optimistic about, either from a customer perspective because of what the programmers have done or for ourselves as a distributor. And for the first time, I see a path where we can create value for customers and create utility, and that ultimately will enhance the value of the connectivity services that we provide through our seamless connectivity in Spectrum One, which we're beginning to market now as part of Xumo.

所以，如果我從影片的角度來看待這個問題，我再次強調，我並不預測成長，但在過去15年裡，無論是從客戶的角度來看（因為程式設計師們的所作所為），還是從我們作為經銷商的角度來看，都鮮有令人樂觀的跡象。而現在，我第一次看到了一條能夠為客戶創造價值和實用性的道路，這最終將提升我們透過Spectrum One提供的無縫連接服務的價值，而我們現在正開始將Spectrum One作為Xumo的一部分進行推廣。

Our next question will come from Craig Moffett with MoffettNathanson.

下一個問題將來自 MoffettNathanson 公司的 Craig Moffett。

I wonder, maybe for Jessica, if we could drill down a little bit on the ARPU impacts of Spectrum One. And how we should expect -- as you start to see the first cohorts roll off, how should we expect ARPU to track for both broadband and for wireless, I guess, over the next -- not just the next quarter or so, but maybe a little bit longer term as you start to roll off those cohorts?

我想請Jessica幫忙，我們能否深入探討Spectrum One對ARPU的影響？隨著第一批用戶逐漸退出，我們應該如何預期寬頻和無線網路的ARPU在未來一段時間內——不僅僅是接下來的幾個季度，而是更長遠的時間——會如何變化？

Sure. Thanks, Craig. So I'm going to start on the wireless side, and then I'll come back and hit the Internet side. On the wireless side, our rate of net additions, it's been not perfectly steady, but fairly steady over the last 4 quarters now, with Spectrum One in place.

好的，謝謝，克雷格。那我先從無線網路方面說起，然後再回來談談網路方面。無線網路方面，過去四個季度以來，隨著Spectrum One的投入使用，我們的淨新增用戶數雖然並非完全穩定，但總體來說比較穩定。

And so as you lap and have the roll-off of those free lines that were in the fourth quarter of last year, and you create new free lines in the fourth quarter of this year, what I would say is that the impact that the free lines have on overall ARPU, it ceases to become a pressure on ARPU. And as the free lines as a portion make up a smaller and smaller percentage of the total lines, you'll -- over time, because the base is growing underneath them and the number of free lines sort of stabilizes, I think that you do have a little bit of remaining -- or you could have a little bit of positive pressure on ARPU.

因此，隨著去年第四季那些免費線路的到期和今年第四季新增免費線路的推出，我認為免費線路對整體ARPU（每位用戶平均收入）的影響將不再構成壓力。隨著免費線路在總線路中所佔比例越來越小，隨著時間的推移，由於其下方的用戶基數不斷增長，免費線路的數量趨於穩定，我認為ARPU可能會略微受到一些積極影響，甚至可能略微受益。

The other side of that, we do still have some legacy pricing in the mix that has to roll off. So probably on wireless, more stabilized next year. If you think about what the impact is that it's having on Internet, so Internet ARPU growth, if you sort of look at it at a product ARPU level, GAAP growth in the year-over-year was 2.6%. Without the Spectrum One mobile allocation in there, it would have been 3.7%. So you have about a 1.1% difference in product line ARPU growth that relates to that allocation from the free lines.

另一方面，我們仍然有一些遺留定價機制需要逐步取消。因此，明年無線業務可能會更加穩定。如果你考慮這對網路業務的影響，例如網路使用者平均收入（ARPU）的成長，如果你從產品層面來看，GAAP準則下的年成長率為2.6%。如果扣除Spectrum One行動業務的分配，成長率將達到3.7%。因此，由於免費線路的分配，產品線ARPU成長存在約1.1%的差異。

As those free lines start to roll off, I think actually, the dynamic is the same. The total free lines in the system become sort of steady in the year-over-year, so that mobile allocation becomes steady as you get into Q4. So there is the potential then that what you see from a GAAP reporting perspective is better ARPU growth on the sort of Internet component, but it's related to just not having the building of that GAAP allocation inside of the Internet product.

隨著免費線路逐漸減少，我認為實際情況是，動態變化仍然存在。系統中的免費線路總數會逐年趨於穩定，因此到了第四季度，移動線路的分配也會趨於穩定。所以，從GAAP報告的角度來看，網路業務的ARPU成長可能會更好，但這只是因為網路產品內部沒有建構對應的GAAP分配結構。

Our next question comes from Ben Swinburne with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的本·斯溫伯恩。

I'm hoping you could spend a little more time talking about the CapEx outlook and strategy around sort of three buckets: the digital evolution, the line extensions and then Xumo or, I guess, video.

我希望您能多花點時間談談資本支出前景和策略，主要圍繞三個面向：數位轉型、產品線延伸以及 Xumo（或說影片）。

It sounds like we should continue to assume about $5.5 billion for the network evolution spend, but it sounds like the timing of that may have moved, maybe some -- maybe less -- more this year, but less next couple of years, and then more maybe in '26. I wonder if you could help us there.

聽起來我們應該繼續假設網路演進支出約為55億美元，但時間安排似乎有所調整，今年可能會多一些，未來幾年會少一些，然後2026年可能會更多一些。不知道您能否在這方面幫我們解答一下。

Is there a change in the $4 billion a year of line extensions from the higher RDOF opportunity that you talked about? And then I don't think you've been spending much at all, I would guess, on video CPE, given recycling of set-tops, et cetera.

您之前提到的每年40億美元的產品線擴展資金，是否因更高的RDOF（研發支出回報率）而有所變化？另外，考慮到機上盒的回收等等，我認為您在視訊CPE（用戶端設備）方面的投入應該不多。

So can you fill us in a little bit on the Xumo plan? Because I'm trying to think about if whether you're sort of going to be slowly moving your video sub base over time to a whole new equipment fleet, so to speak, and trying to understand what that might look like from a CapEx point of view. So I know that's a lot, but you guys give us a lot to chew on, thought I'd ask for some help.

所以，可以給我們詳細介紹一下Xumo的計畫嗎？因為我正在考慮，你們是否會逐步將影片訂閱用戶群升級到全新的設備，並想從資本支出（CapEx）的角度了解一下這具體會是什麼樣子。我知道這個問題有點複雜，但你們提供的資訊很多，所以我想請教一下。

It was our fault then. That's true. Why don't I take two of those, being network evolution -- or start off with two of those, network evolution and video CPE, and let Jessica take expansion and any gaps that I missed on the first two.

那確實是我們的錯。沒錯。不如我來負責其中兩項，也就是網絡演進——或者先負責其中兩項，網絡演進和視頻CPE，然後讓傑西卡負責擴展以及我前兩項中遺漏的任何部分。

On network evolution, we -- I mentioned that we could potentially slow down by, call it, 6 months. And then the counter to that, obviously, is wait a second, I thought this is improving your competitive standpoint, it is. But I would flag that we're competing -- one, it's not that material of a time difference; and two, we're competing well against fiber today. And our goal remains to have the superior speed claims across everywhere we operate in our footprint.

關於網路演進，我之前提到過，我們的進度可能會放緩，大概六個月。當然，有人會反駁說，等等，我以為這會提升我們的競爭力，沒錯。但我要指出的是，我們目前正在與光纖競爭——首先，時間差並不算大；其次，我們現在已經能夠與光纖網路展開激烈的競爭。我們的目標仍然是，在我們營運的所有區域，都能提供卓越的速度。

That being said, we've always said that we'll accelerate investments wherever we can. And the trade-off to that is we also recognize there is value in showing some discipline to shareholders in terms of the overall envelope of capital and these rural investments, which continue to expand both in terms of size and our capabilities to deploy quickly. They produce immediate gains.

儘管如此，我們始終堅持盡可能加快投資步伐。但同時，我們也意識到，在整體資本規模和這些農村投資方面，保持一定的自律對股東的利益至關重要。這些農村投資的規模和我們快速部署的能力都在不斷擴大，並能帶來即時的收益。

So when you step back and think about trying to balance both our traditional approach, which is if there's capital returns, capital that can be deployed that has great ROI go as fast as you can, at the same time, balance investor expectations and show discipline there in terms of the overall envelope, a 6-month time line, it's not going to make that much of a difference long term.

所以，當你退後一步，思考如何平衡我們傳統的投資方式（即，如果有資本回報，可以部署的資本具有很高的投資回報率，那就盡快投入），同時平衡投資者的期望，並在整體預算範圍內（比如6個月的時間線）保持紀律，從長遠來看，這不會產生太大的影響。

There is an additional benefit operationally, which is that an extended time line allows some of our DAA or distributed access architecture suppliers to catch up with the latest technology at full scale so that we can deploy the most advanced gear as part of this wave of high split and DOCSIS, eventually DOCSIS 4.0 implementation. So that's my thoughts on network evolution. Jessica, if you can come back in a second, clean up on that, if I missed something.

從營運角度來看，還有一個額外的好處，那就是延長的交付週期可以讓一些分散式接入架構 (DAA) 供應商全面掌握最新技術，從而使我們能夠部署最先進的設備，以配合此次高分路和 DOCSIS（最終是 DOCSIS 4.0）的部署浪潮。以上就是我對網路演進的看法。 Jessica，如果我遺漏了什麼，請你等一下補充一下。

On video CPE, it's -- we have, over time, spent less on video CPE because we've been able to recycle Worldbox. At the initial beginning of deployment for Xumo, we needed to get a starting state inventory of Xumo Boxes, and that's captured in capital.

在視訊CPE方面，隨著時間的推移，我們的支出有所減少，因為我們能夠循環利用Worldbox設備。在Xumo部署初期，我們需要取得Xumo Box的初始庫存，這部分成本計入了資本支出。

On the increment, we will be deploying more new boxes than we have in the past because we're essentially using Xumo as our go-to-market deployment for video CPE. And that's going very well right now. And -- now the boxes are less expensive than what traditional boxes have been over the past, and we expect the cost of those boxes to continue to decline significantly.

此次增購，我們將部署比以往更多的新機上盒，因為我們基本上將 Xumo 作為視訊 CPE 的市場推廣平台。目前進展非常順利。而且，這些機上盒的價格比以往的傳統機上盒更低，我們預計其成本將繼續大幅下降。

So you'll have a combination of volume, which will be determined by our success, and a lower price point over time as well as lower need to build up inventory throughout all of our channels and throughout the country. So it's -- there's a step-up there. But long term, I don't expect it to be that material.

所以，銷售量會隨著時間推移而成長（銷售成長取決於我們的銷售業績），價格也會隨著時間推移而降低，同時我們在所有管道和全國範圍內的庫存需求也會減少。所以，這方面會有所提升。但從長遠來看，我預計提升幅度不會太大。

Yes. So maybe I'll try to help you with some numbers around network evolution and rural. I'm going to caveat it, that we're still working through our operating plan for next year, so I'm not going to give a 2024 guide.

是的。或許我可以試著用一些關於網路演進和農村地區的數據來幫助你。但我要先說明一點，我們仍在製定明年的營運計劃，所以我無法提供2024年的指導。

But just to help you frame the issue, if you think about where our run rate for rural passings will be in Q4 to reach our 300,000, you have to have 110,000 passings in Q4, which we're actually pretty confident that we will meet. If you take that run rate and sort of push it into 4 quarters of next year, we would build 440,000 passings, which is 140,000 more rural passings than what we built this year.

為了幫助您更好地理解這個問題，如果您考慮我們第四季度農村地區的通行量要達到30萬的目標，那麼第四季度就需要達到11萬，我們對此非常有信心。如果以這個速度推算到明年四個季度，我們將實現44萬的通行量，比今年多出14萬。

We've told you before, and it's true that passings timing isn't perfectly aligned with spend. So it's not a perfect guide. But if you put that at the net cost per passing, the $3,800 that we've talked about for RDOF, it would put the run rate next year on the order of $500 million higher than where we are inside of this year, assuming that all of the other components of line extensions remain the same, which there is a little variability there. But I think it's a good way to think about the issue overall.

我們之前說過，傳球時機確實與支出並不完全吻合。所以它並非完美的參考指標。但如果按照每次傳球的淨成本（我們之前討論過的RDOF的3800美元）來計算，假設其他所有產品線延伸的組成部分保持不變（當然，這些組成部分存在一些變數），那麼明年的運營成本將比今年高出約5億美元。但我認為這不失為一個思考這個問題的好方法。

I think you have to couple that on the other side, with an understanding that network evolution spend, sort of like our rural construction, is front loaded. There's a lot of costly preparation and inventory building work that needs to be done before you make it into the field to actually do the high split or to replace equipment.

我認為另一方面，你也必須認識到，網絡演進的投入，有點像我們農村地區的建設，是前期投入較大的。在真正進入現場進行高分流或更換設備之前，需要完成大量成本高昂的準備工作和庫存建設。

We expect that we're going to spend a little over $1 billion this year in 2023 on high split, which leaves a substantial -- a substantial amount of spend in the project and a large portion of which if we continue at our current pace would hit inside of next year. So adjusting the timing of high splits won't be enough probably to fully offset the additional line extension spend, but it can help. And as Chris said, we are looking at it sort of in the context of a total package to say, what's an appropriate amount of capital expense load to put against the business given where we sit.

我們預計2023年將在高利潤分成項目上投入略高於10億美元，這意味著該項目還有相當可觀的支出，而且如果我們繼續保持目前的速度，其中很大一部分支出將在明年內產生。因此，調整高利潤分成專案的啟動時間可能不足以完全抵消額外的產品線擴展支出，但這會有所幫助。正如克里斯所說，我們正在從整體角度考慮這個問題，以確定在我們目前的處境下，我們應該為業務承擔多少合理的資本支出。

No, you're all right. I wanted to say one more thing about it, though. So as we think about all of this investment that we're making in rural, I think it's probably -- we need to drive additional visibility around sort of the value that's related to having sort of unique onetime capital investments like that.

不，你們都說得對。不過，我還想再補充一點。當我們考慮在農村地區進行的所有投資時，我認為我們可能需要進一步提高人們對這類獨特的、一次性資本投資價值的認識。

We're taking a look at a lot of different ways we could think about that. We considered a JV, but the returns are so strong. I don't think we want to share them. We've considered a tracking stock. I think structurally, it's complicated, but it does sort of do what I'm thinking about in kind of trying to create focus on the spending on rural as really acquiring passings more like M&A, instead of thinking about it the way that you would think about CapEx. Absent doing one of those things, I am looking at additional disclosures to create more transparency. And so I think you should look for us to be trying to bring some of those disclosures early next year.

我們正在研究多種不同的解決方案。我們考慮過成立合資企業，但收益非常可觀，我們不想公開分享。我們也考慮過發行追蹤股票。我認為從結構上看，這很複雜，但它確實能實現我的想法，即把農村地區的支出重點放在收購土地上，更像是併購，而不是像資本支出那樣去考慮。如果以上方案都不行，我正在考慮增加資訊揭露，以提高透明度。因此，我認為大家可以期待我們在明年初公佈一些相關資訊。

And the other way that you can think about it with what's already been built, which I think is easier to sort of wrap your mind around as to what value has been created. Jonathan at New Street actually laid out a nice way to think about sort of what's the value of overall passing once it's built. His number came in around $9,000. And I'm not going to argue with him because I think it's a good space to think about it.

另一種思考方式是著眼於已建成的部分，我認為這種方式更容易理解它創造了什麼價值。新街的喬納森提出了一個很好的思路，來思考建成後整體的價值。他給的估計是大約9000美元。我不會和他爭論，因為我認為這是一個很好的思考方向。

So we built 315,000 rural passings so far. At $9,000 per passing, it's around $2.8 billion. Our average net cost per passing on the subsidized rural build is around $3,800. So you can assume something like $1.6 billion of capital has been spent against those completed passings.

目前我們已建成31.5萬座鄉村通道。以每座通道9000美元計算，總成本約為28億美元。在政府補貼的鄉村通道建設項目中，平均每座通道的淨成本約為3800美元。因此，您可以推斷，已建成的通道中大約投入了16億美元的資金。

And what that means is that we've created value, the current value of the passings at $2.8 billion versus the $1.6 billion that we've spent. We've already created value of $1.8 billion or $1.2 billion related to the building of those passings. And as we continue to accelerate the pace of the build, the pace at which we add that value to our business will increase.

這意味著我們已經創造了價值，目前這些通道的價值為28億美元，而我們投入了16億美元。我們已經創造了18億美元或12億美元的價值，這些價值都與這些通道的建設有關。隨著我們不斷加快建設步伐，我們為業務創造價值的速度也會加快。

So we are looking at additional transparency there and trying to help as we sort of think about what our total capital spend might look like for next year, also making sure that we pair it with good disclosure and help from a valuation perspective so that you can see the value that those are adding to the business as we get them built.

因此，我們正在考慮提高這方面的透明度，並努力提供幫助，以便我們能夠更好地思考明年的總資本支出情況，同時確保從估值角度進行良好的信息披露和幫助，以便您能夠看到這些項目在建設過程中為企業帶來的價值。

So Ben, you got probably more than you asked for. But Jessica was talking and I'll step back -- if you step it up one level from that, I think it's important just to reiterate that this company has a very strong focus on long-term capital allocation, long-term shareholder value creation. But we also understand the value of shareholder confidence along the way.

所以本，你可能得到的比你想要的還要多。不過傑西卡剛才說了，我就先退一步——如果從這個角度再談一點，我認為有必要重申，我們公司非常注重長期資本配置和長期股東價值創造。但我們也深知在過程中保持股東信心的重要性。

And so we're going to go outside of our comfort zone here before we finish our operating plan, try to provide some of that additional disclosure and transparency, and make sure that we've got the full buy-in of our shareholders along the way and demonstrate what we've always been, I think, is really good allocators of capital.

因此，在完成營運計劃之前，我們將走出舒適區，嘗試提供一些額外的資訊揭露和透明度，並確保在此過程中獲得股東的充分支持，並證明我們一直以來都是優秀的資本配置者。

Our next question will come from Vijay Jayant with Evercore.

下一個問題將來自 Evercore 的 Vijay Jayant。

Two, if I could. Jessica, you previously talked about cost items, cost to serve and sales and marketing sort of exiting this year close to 0. Obviously, cost of services elevated in the quarter. Can you just talk about where we are on the cost cycle, given you should be comping against some of your labor cost increases, and sort of what it sort of means sort of into 2024?

如果可以的話，我想問兩點。傑西卡，你之前提到成本項目，例如服務成本和銷售及行銷成本，今年基本上都接近零。顯然，本季服務成本有所上升。鑑於你們需要抵銷部分勞動成本的成長，你能談談我們目前在成本週期中的位置嗎？以及這對2024年意味著什麼？

And then Chris, you sort of mentioned, I think now 2 quarters in a row, about the BEAD process and the state process and how that may sort of play out and you may not participate kind of thing. Can you sort of talk about really what are the issues there? And if that is the case, are we still too optimistic on your line extension spend over the next few years, which I think is about $4 billion a year?

克里斯，你連續兩個季度都提到了BEAD流程和州級流程，以及這些流程可能會如何發展，你可能不會參與其中。能具體談談其中的問題嗎？如果是這樣，我們對你未來幾年的產品線延伸支出（我認為大約是每年40億美元）是否仍然過於樂觀？

Yes. So Vijay, first on the cost items, I don't have any change in my expectation relative to cost to serve and sales and marketing, exiting the year at close to 0. And I think we've talked in our remarks, and it is our expectation that as our -- as the tenure in those areas matures, and as we -- because now, as of the end of Q3, we've really lapped the onetime increase related to the investments that we made on the employee side...

是的。 Vijay，首先關於成本項目，我對服務成本和銷售及行銷成本的預期沒有變化，年底仍接近零。我想我們在之前的發言中已經提到過，我們預計隨著這些領域經驗的積累，以及我們——因為截至第三季度末，我們已經基本消化了與員工方面投資相關的一次性增長…

For sales and marketing.

用於銷售和行銷。

Well, as of the end of the quarter, I think you also lapped in cost to serve for the most part. And so the rate of increase -- or, I'd say that we should expect to be more efficient across those areas going forward, whether that's sort of an every quarter mix.

嗯，截至本季末，我認為你們在服務成本方面也基本上達到了預期水準。因此，成長率——或者說，我認為我們應該預期未來在這些領域會更加高效，無論這是否體現在每個季度。

I'm not going to be specific about where we'll be inside of next year in the quarters. But I do think our overall expectation is that from this point, we drive efficiency in those spaces.

我不會具體透露明年各季度的業績目標。但我認為，從現在開始，我們的整體目標是提高這些領域的效率。

Vijay, on BEAD, you talked about pipeline. BEAD has always been very difficult to forecast exactly what it will be because there's state allocations now, but how much of that is near our footprint. We're working through all of that. It's going to take a long time for that.

Vijay，關於BEAD項目，你談到了管道建設。 BEAD計畫的規模一直很難準確預測，因為現在有各州的撥款，但其中有多少計畫靠近我們的覆蓋區域卻不得而知。我們正在努力解決所有這些問題。這需要很長時間。

So -- and -- but in the meantime, RDOF and the state grants, they're going well. And there's a very large pipeline, as we've talked about, absent BEAD. I think it's fair to say that we were somewhat disappointed in the eventual guidelines that came out from NTIA. And all I'm trying to say, without getting too much in the detail, NTIA states they're all aware of the issues that we have.

所以——而且——但同時，RDOF和州政府的撥款進展順利。正如我們之前討論過的，在沒有BEAD的情況下，還有很多項目正在籌備中。我認為，我們對NTIA最終發布的指導方針感到有些失望，這應該算是公平的。我只想說，在不贅述細節的情況下，NTIA表示他們完全了解我們面臨的問題。

But to be clear, the states that adopt the NTIA's proposed guidelines on things such as Internet tiers, dictating Internet tiers, dictating pricing, labor practices, those just won't be attractive states for us to bid in. And so what we will do is we'll focus our investments on the states that allow us to retain flexibility to run the business, properly respond to market demand and ultimately, earn a healthy return. So that's our focus.

但需要明確的是，那些採納NTIA關於網路等級劃分、定價和勞工實踐等方面的指導方針的州，對我們來說就缺乏吸引力。因此，我們將把投資重點放在那些能夠讓我們保持業務營運靈活性、有效應對市場需求並最終獲得可觀回報的州。這就是我們的重點。

And so it's very difficult to forecast what, if any, BEAD investments will occur at this stage. And it's going to take us some time, I think, to figure that out as well as everybody else for that matter. So we're not unique.

因此，現階段很難預測BEAD專案是否會有投資，以及投資金額會是多少。我認為，我們需要一些時間才能弄清楚這一點，其他人也一樣。所以我們並非個案。

And as we have said all along in rural, we've been extremely disciplined from a financial perspective and looking at the specific passing that we're bidding on to make sure that we're comfortable that it will generate financial returns and all things factor into that, including the limitations that you have under the regulatory environment.

正如我們一直在農村地區所說的那樣，我們在財務方面一直非常自律，我們會仔細審查我們競標的具體項目，以確保我們確信它能夠產生財務回報，所有因素都會影響到這一點，包括監管環境下的限制。

Our next question will come from Phil Cusick with JPMorgan.

下一個問題將來自摩根大通的菲爾·庫西克。

I guess a couple of follow-ups. Jessica, I heard your comment, on October customer addition drag, do you think it's still a reasonable goal for 2023 to add more broadband subs year-over-year? And if not, do you think 4Q of last year is a reasonable proxy for this year? I know you love guidance.

我想再問幾個後續問題。傑西卡，我聽到了你關於10月份用戶增長放緩的評論，你認為2023年實現寬頻用戶同比增長的目標仍然合理嗎？如果不合理，你認為去年第四季的數據可以作為今年的參考嗎？我知道你喜歡給出業績指引。

And then second, as I'm thinking about your cost commentary as well as maybe some revenue pick up, what is the outlook for EBITDA acceleration from here? We've talked about EBITDA accelerating in the back half, but I'm also thinking about what your Disney content costs are going to do for the fourth quarter. Just how should we think about that from here?

其次，考慮到您之前提到的成本問題以及可能出現的營收成長，您認為EBITDA未來加速成長的前景如何？我們之前討論過下半年EBITDA加速成長，但我同時也在考慮迪士尼內容成本對第四季的影響。我們該如何看待這個問題？

Phil, on the -- let me take the customer one. The -- our goal has been to increase net adds for Internet year-over-year. I think given some of what we've seen just in early October, for the reasons that we talked about before, I think it would require a very successful November and December. So I think we're going to be hard-pressed to hit that.

菲爾，關於客戶方面－我來說說客戶的情況。我們的目標是實現互聯網淨新增客戶數量較去年同期成長。鑑於我們十月初看到的一些情況，以及我們之前討論過的原因，我認為我們需要在十一月和十二月取得非常出色的業績才能實現這個目標。所以我認為我們很難達到這個目標。

I think the underlying trends in the business we've talked about where that sets us up for 2024. And so we're really optimistic about that. But I think it requires a pretty -- a very healthy November and December in order to achieve what was our original goal.

我認為我們之前討論過的業務潛在趨勢，為我們2024年的發展奠定了基礎。因此，我們對此非常樂觀。但我認為，要實現我們最初的目標，需要一個非常健康的11月和12月。

On the EBITDA side, so thinking about what the components are, as you go into Q4 and next year, in Q4, you do still have an advertising headwind and actually the most significant advertising headwind of the year because of political advertising.

從 EBITDA 的角度來看，考慮到構成因素，進入第四季度以及明年第四季度，廣告業仍然面臨不利因素，而且由於政治廣告的影響，實際上是今年最大的廣告業不利因素。

But as you go into next year, then that turns around where you're back in a political year and you have the benefit of political advertising. As I said earlier, we've sort of lapped the last of our 2022 labor adjustments as of the end of Q3. So I think the trajectory from a cost perspective on cost to serve and sales and marketing is -- it gives -- you have easier comps and you have growing efficiencies sort of going into next year.

但到了明年，情況就不同了，因為明年又是政治年，政治廣告會扮演一定的角色。正如我之前所說，截至第三季末，我們已經基本完成了2022年勞動成本調整的最後一部分。所以我認為，從服務成本、銷售和行銷成本的角度來看，明年的走勢是──由於年比數據更容易比較，效率也會不斷提高。

In the fourth quarter, we'll start gaining revenue from the mobile free line roll-off. It's relatively small inside of Q4, but the impact builds as you go through next year. So we expect to have a good tailwind from that.

第四季度，我們將開始從行動免費線路的取消中獲得收入。雖然第四季初期影響相對較小，但隨著明年的推進，其影響將逐漸增強。因此，我們預計這將帶來良好的成長動能。

And then we continue to expect to have just overall efficiency from our tenure investments across the business. So as we said, I think that we recognized that EBITDA was challenged in 2023, by both the investments that we're making, doing it in a nonpolitical year. But as we get into Q4 and going into next year, our expectation is that we've pushed through most of that headwind and that we'll be in a better position.

我們預計，透過對整個業務的長期投資，將持續提升整體效率。正如我們所說，我們意識到，由於我們正在進行的投資以及2023年並非政治敏感年份，2023年的EBITDA將面臨挑戰。但隨著第四季和明年的到來，我們預計已經克服了大部分不利因素，並將處於更有利的地位。

Our next question will come from Steve Cahall with Wells Fargo.

下一個問題將來自富國銀行的史蒂夫·卡哈爾。

So you said that some of your initial Spectrum One roll-to-pay results were a little better than expected. Could you just expand on the tools you're employing to drive those retention rates, and what kind of targets you might have in mind for the Spectrum One mobile roll-to-pay as we think about how that retention could look going forward? And is it right to assume that it's about 300,000 lines per quarter that are up for grabs?

您提到Spectrum One的預付費模式初期效果略優於預期。能否詳細介紹您為提高用戶留存率所採用的工具，以及您對Spectrum One行動預付費模式未來用戶留存率的預期目標？另外，我們是否可以假設每季大約有30萬條線路可供用戶選擇？

And then additionally, we've received a lot of questions on the ACP program and what it means for Charter. Could you maybe just help us frame how you see that exposure? Do you think you require any contingency plans in case there's any changes to the political outlook for that? And is there a lot of overlap between ACP customers and Spectrum One customers? Or is that quite a different customer set?

此外，我們也收到了許多關於ACP計畫及其對Charter公司影響的問題。您能否幫我們闡述您如何看待這方面的風險？您認為是否需要製定任何緊急應變計畫來應對政治情勢的變化？ ACP客戶和Spectrum One客戶之間有許多重合之處嗎？還是說他們的客戶群完全不同？

I'll do my best to answer as much of that as I can. The mobile retention, we're not having to do much of anything at all, simply because these lines are being actively used. They have similar port-in rates to what we have elsewhere. They also have similar -- nearly similar device purchase rates. So they are real customers. They're looking very much like any other existing customer.

我會盡力回答這些問題。關於行動用戶留存，我們幾乎不需要做任何努力，因為這些線路都在積極使用。他們的攜號轉網率與其他地區的持卡人差不多。他們的設備購買率也幾乎相同。所以他們都是真正的客戶。他們看起來和其他現有客戶沒什麼兩樣。

When they roll, they go from a $0 price point for the first line, many of them are paying for a second line. But they go from a first line at $0 to $30, and that product is the fastest mobile product in the country, and it's providing it at the lowest rate relative to that speed. So at $30, you can't replicate that mobile product anywhere else in the country that's producing that speed.

他們推出這項服務時，首條線路的價格是0美元，很多人會選擇第二條線路。但首條線路的價格從0美元漲到了30美元，而這款產品是全國速度最快的行動產品，而且就速度而言，它的價格也是最低的。所以，30美元的價格，你在全國其他任何地方都找不到速度如此之快的行動產品。

And then all in, when you think about it from a convergence standpoint, it's a product that has a structural advantage that's difficult for anyone else to replicate. So we do have some small tactics around the edge that we can do to retain customers under different circumstances, but that's not being heavily used at this point, simply because it's sticking.

總的來說，從融合的角度來看，這款產品擁有其他任何產品都難以複製的結構性優勢。因此，我們確實有一些小的策略可以在不同情況下留住客戶，但目前這些策略並沒有被大量使用，原因很簡單，因為這款產品本身就非常成功。

On ACP, for the benefit of the broader audience, that's the Affordable Connectivity Program. This program, federal program, it's brought Internet connectivity to customers who really wouldn't have access to broadband otherwise. And -- it also allows existing customers who would have been coming in and out of the broadband marketplace, really given the affordability issues, to remain connected consistently.

為了方便更多人理解，這裡解釋一下ACP，它指的是「經濟實惠連接計畫」（Affordable Connectivity Program）。這項聯邦計畫為那些原本無法接觸寬頻的用戶提供了網路連線。同時，它也讓那些原本會因為價格問題而頻繁更換寬頻服務的用戶能夠保持穩定的網路連線。

So I think we think it's been a really effective program. We're proud to be the largest ACP provider in the country. Just this week, I understand the White House has asked Congress to authorize more money for ACP earlier. And I hope that Congress will fund it before running out next year.

所以，我認為這個項目非常有效。我們很自豪能成為全國最大的預先醫療照護計畫（ACP）提供者。就在本週，我了解到白宮已要求國會提前批准更多ACP資金。我希望國會能在明年資金耗盡之前撥款。

Now you ask the question, what happens to the extent it's not funded? Just as I mentioned, most of these customers receive -- that receive ACP support today were Internet customers before the program was founded. We have low-income broadband programs that existed before ACP began. And because of the value we provide and that connectivity, I do think that we'll continue to retain these customers.

現在您可能會問，如果資金不足會怎麼樣？正如我剛才提到的，目前接受ACP支援的大部分客戶在專案啟動前就已經是網路使用者了。我們還有一些面向低收入者的寬頻項目，這些項目在ACP計畫啟動之前就已經存在了。正因為我們提供的價值和網路連接，我相信我們能夠繼續留住這些客戶。

We have ways whether moving them into the lower speed products that we have to be able to save them money, or more importantly, if you think about the mobile bill the vast majority of these customers have inside their home, we can save them hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year, even though ACP disappeared simply by moving them over to our mobile.

我們有辦法讓他們使用速度較低的產品來省錢，或者更重要的是，想想這些客戶中的絕大多數人在家裡的手機賬單，即使 ACP 消失了，我們也可以每年為他們節省數百甚至數千美元，只需將他們轉移到我們的移動網絡即可。

So we have a lot of tools available to us for these customers to make sure that they stay. My hope is that we don't need to go down that path. My hope is that we can still save them that money by kind of getting them on to Spectrum Mobile and Spectrum One. But I'm hopeful that the program, which has been very successful, gets successfully renewed.

所以我們有很多工具可以幫助這些客戶留住他們。我希望我們不需要走到那一步。我希望我們仍然可以透過引導他們使用Spectrum Mobile和Spectrum One來幫他們省錢。但我希望這個非常成功的計畫能夠成功續約。

And that concludes our call. Thanks very much, everybody.

通話到此結束。非常感謝大家。

Thank you all. Appreciate it.

謝謝大家，感激不盡。

Thanks.

謝謝。