二十一世紀福斯 (FOX) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the FOX Corporation Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions). As a reminder, this conference is being recorded.

女士們，先生們，謝謝你們的支持。歡迎來到 FOX Corporation 2023 財年第三季度收益電話會議。 （操作員說明）。提醒一下，這次會議正在錄製中。

I'll now turn the conference over to Chief Investor Relations Officer, Ms. Gabrielle Brown. Please go ahead, Ms. Brown.

我現在將會議轉交給首席投資者關係官 Gabrielle Brown 女士。請繼續，布朗女士。

Thank you, Kiley. Good morning, and welcome to our Fiscal 2023 Third Quarter Earnings Call. Joining me on the call today are Lachlan Murdoch, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer; John Nallen, Chief Operating Officer; and Steve Tomsic, our Chief Financial Officer. First, Lachlan and Steve will give some prepared remarks on the most recent quarter, and then we'll take questions from the investment community.

謝謝你，基利。早上好，歡迎來到我們的 2023 財年第三季度財報電話會議。今天和我一起參加電話會議的有執行主席兼首席執行官拉克蘭·默多克 (Lachlan Murdoch)；約翰·納倫，首席運營官；和我們的首席財務官 Steve Tomsic。首先，Lachlan 和 Steve 將就最近一個季度發表一些事先準備好的評論，然後我們將回答投資界的問題。

Please note that this call may include forward-looking statements regarding Fox Corporation's financial performance and operating results. These statements are based on management's current expectations, and actual results could differ from what is stated as a result of certain factors identified on today's call and in the company's SEC filings.

請注意，此次電話會議可能包含有關 Fox Corporation 財務業績和經營業績的前瞻性陳述。這些陳述基於管理層當前的預期，實際結果可能與今天的電話會議和公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件中確定的某些因素所陳述的結果不同。

Additionally, this call will include certain non-GAAP financial measures, including adjusted EBITDA or EBITDA, as we refer to it on this call. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release and our SEC filings, which are available in the Investor Relations section of our website.

此外，本次電話會議將包括某些非 GAAP 財務指標，包括我們在本次電話會議上提到的調整後 EBITDA 或 EBITDA。非 GAAP 財務指標的對賬包含在我們的收益發布和我們的 SEC 文件中，這些文件可在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到。

And with that, I'm pleased to turn the call over to Lachlan.

有了這個，我很高興把電話轉給拉克蘭。

Thank you, Gabby, and thanks, everyone, for joining us this morning. FOX's strong fiscal third quarter operating results once again demonstrate the power of our content and the brands it underpins and the repeated capability of our focused strategy to deliver solid financial results.

謝謝 Gabby，也謝謝大家今天早上加入我們。 FOX 強勁的第三財季運營業績再次證明了我們的內容及其所支持的品牌的力量，以及我們專注戰略的反復能力，以提供穩健的財務業績。

In the quarter, we grew top line revenue by 18%, led by the remarkable 43% growth in advertising and a solid 3% growth in affiliate revenue. Underpinning this performance was a record Super Bowl LVII on the FOX Broadcast Network, which generated approximately $650 million of gross advertising revenue across our businesses and was the key driver of our 61% advertising revenue growth at our Television segment.

本季度，我們的收入增長了 18%，其中廣告收入增長了 43%，聯盟收入增長了 3%。支撐這一業績的是 FOX 廣播網絡創紀錄的第五屆超級碗，它為我們的業務創造了約 6.5 億美元的廣告總收入，是我們電視部門廣告收入增長 61% 的主要推動力。

This year's Super Bowl matchup between Kansas City and Philadelphia delivered 115 million viewers across FOX platforms, making Super Bowl LVII the most watched program in U.S. television history and the pinnacle of an extraordinary year for FOX Sports.

今年堪薩斯城和費城之間的超級碗比賽在 FOX 平台上吸引了 1.15 億觀眾，使超級碗 LVII 成為美國電視史上收視率最高的節目，也是 FOX Sports 非凡一年的巔峰之作。

The strong lineup of programming and advertising demand for FOX Sports continues into our fourth quarter, which includes the return of NASCAR, the second season of the USFL, the start of Major League Baseball's 2023 season, the finals of the UEFA Nations League and a first for FOX the Belmont Stakes. Leveraging the reach of a Super Bowl lead-in, we launched the second season of Next Level Chef, which promises to be the next big lifestyle franchise from our Studio Ramsay partnership. Our entertainment business also found success with the #1 new series and new drama over the year in Accused and the #1 new unscripted series in Special Forces: World's Toughest Test. FOX has now debuted the top new unscripted series for 5 consecutive seasons.

FOX Sports 強大的節目和廣告需求陣容一直持續到我們的第四季度，其中包括 NASCAR 的回歸、USFL 的第二個賽季、美國職業棒球大聯盟 2023 賽季的開始、歐洲聯盟國家聯盟的決賽和第一個對於 FOX，Belmont Stakes。利用超級碗的影響力，我們推出了 Next Level Chef 的第二季，這有望成為我們與拉姆齊工作室合作的下一個大型生活方式特許經營權。我們的娛樂業務也取得了成功，在《被告》中獲得了全年排名第一的新劇集和新劇，在《特種部隊：世界最艱難的考驗》中獲得了排名第一的無劇本新劇集。 FOX 現已連續 5 季推出頂級新即興劇集。

In fact, the combined power of our sports and entertainment programming places FOX at #1 amongst broadcast network season to date in the key 18 to 49 demo.

事實上，我們的體育和娛樂節目的綜合力量使 FOX 在迄今為止的 18 到 49 關鍵演示中在廣播網絡季節中排名第一。

Our strong sports calendar also had a halo effect at the FOX Television stations, which saw many local advertising verticals higher in the quarter. In what continues to be mixed local advertising market conditions, we are encouraged by growth in categories, including auto, restaurants and entertainment, but are watchful across other categories, including bedding, retail and telecom.

我們強大的體育賽事日曆也對 FOX 電視台產生了光環效應，本季度許多本地垂直廣告都出現了增長。在繼續混雜的本地廣告市場條件下，我們對包括汽車、餐飲和娛樂在內的類別的增長感到鼓舞，但對包括床上用品、零售和電信在內的其他類別保持警惕。

Meanwhile, Tubi's performance in the third quarter was nothing short of stellar with revenue growth of 31% supported by sustained gains and engagement, where total view time increased 38% year-on-year. And while still early in the fourth quarter, the April results for Tubi show the momentum across the platform accelerating. Having recently marked the 3-year anniversary of our acquisition of Tubi, our progress over this longer-term time frame is just as impressive, having grown quarterly TBT by over 200% and revenue by 400%.

與此同時，Tubi 在第三季度的表現非常出色，在持續增長和參與度的支持下，收入增長了 31%，總觀看時間同比增長了 38%。雖然仍處於第四季度初期，但 Tubi 4 月份的業績顯示整個平台的勢頭正在加速。最近是我們收購 Tubi 的 3 週年紀念日，我們在這個長期框架內取得的進展同樣令人印象深刻，季度 TBT 增長了 200% 以上，收入增長了 400%。

Just as importantly, the Tubi brand has asserted itself on the broader media landscape. Our viral Tubi spot in the Super Bowl, which received massive press coverage, had almost 7 billion impressions. And our strong growth and engagement has now led to Tubi's inclusion in Nielsen's The Gauge, marking the first time Tubi has reached 1% of total TV viewing minutes and making Tubi the most watched fast service in the United States.

同樣重要的是，Tubi 品牌已經在更廣泛的媒體領域確立了自己的地位。我們在超級碗中病毒式傳播的 Tubi 廣告獲得了大量媒體報導，獲得了近 70 億次展示。我們的強勁增長和參與度現已使 Tubi 被納入尼爾森的 The Gauge，這標誌著 Tubi 首次達到電視總觀看分鐘數的 1%，並使 Tubi 成為美國收視率最高的快速服務。

And just last month, we announced the formation of Tubi Media Group, under Paul Cheesbrough, which brings together our digital capabilities in a more formalized and coordinated way to help us better monetize our digital touch points across all our FOX properties. We thank Farhad for his entrepreneurial leadership at Tubi over the last 3 years and, of course, before he leaves the business in terrific shape with an outstanding team to drive continued strong growth.

就在上個月，我們宣布成立 Tubi Media Group，由 Paul Cheesbrough 領導，以更加正式和協調的方式匯集我們的數字能力，幫助我們更好地通過我們所有 FOX 資產的數字接觸點獲利。我們感謝 Farhad 過去 3 年在 Tubi 的企業家領導，當然，在他離開公司之前，他擁有一支出色的團隊，以推動持續強勁增長。

At FOX News Media, we retained our leadership position amongst our peers. The FOX News Channel ended the third quarter as the most watched cable network in total day and prime time while maintaining its lead as the most watched cable news network beating CNN and MSNBC combined. Also notably, the FOX Business Network ended the quarter as the most watched business cable network, leading CNBC in total viewers during the business day and market hours for the fourth consecutive quarter.

在 FOX News Media，我們在同行中保持領先地位。福克斯新聞頻道在第三季度結束時成為全天和黃金時段收視率最高的有線電視網絡，同時擊敗 CNN 和 MSNBC 的總和，保持其作為收視率最高的有線電視新聞網絡的領先地位。同樣值得注意的是，FOX 商業網絡在本季度結束時成為收視率最高的商業有線網絡，連續第四個季度在工作日和市場時段的總觀眾人數中領先 CNBC。

Let me briefly address the settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems. We made the business decision to resolve this dispute and avoid the acrimony of a divisive trial and a multiyear appeal process. Our decision clearly in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. The settlement in no way alters FOX's commitment to the highest (inaudible) standards across our company or our passion for unabashedly reporting the news of the day. We're proud of our FOX News team, the exceptional quality of their journalism and their stewardship of the FOX News brand.

讓我簡要談談我們與 Dominion Voting Systems 之間爭端的解決。我們做出了解決此爭議的商業決定，並避免了分裂審判和多年上訴程序的激烈爭吵。我們的決定顯然符合公司及其股東的最佳利益。和解決不會改變 FOX 對我們公司最高（聽不清）標準的承諾，也不會改變我們毫不掩飾地報導當天新聞的熱情。我們為我們的 FOX 新聞團隊、他們卓越的新聞質量以及他們對 FOX 新聞品牌的管理感到自豪。

Whether it be our coverage of politics and elections, world events such as the war in Ukraine or domestic issues, such as the crisis at the border, our journalists bring compelling news home to our viewers every day. The standards behind this reporting are not only what makes us the #1 cable news network by the #1 network in all of cable. In fact, in a recent poll, 41% of respondents chose FOX News as their most trusted network news provider.

無論是我們對政治和選舉、烏克蘭戰爭等世界大事，還是邊境危機等國內問題的報導，我們的記者每天都會為觀眾帶來引人入勝的新聞。該報導背後的標準不僅使我們成為所有有線電視網絡中排名第一的有線電視新聞網絡。事實上，在最近的一項民意調查中，41% 的受訪者選擇 FOX News 作為他們最信任的網絡新聞提供商。

So as we look ahead, we are confident in the strength of the FOX brands and the strength of our balance sheet. And while we are not completely immune to the headwinds facing the broader industry and the general economy, we are well positioned given our areas of differentiation. Nonetheless, you can expect us to be even more focused on our cost base as we look to reinforce our strategy for future growth.

因此，展望未來，我們對 FOX 品牌的實力和資產負債表的實力充滿信心。雖然我們不能完全免受更廣泛行業和整體經濟面臨的不利因素的影響，但鑑於我們的差異化領域，我們處於有利地位。儘管如此，您可以期望我們在尋求加強未來增長戰略時更加關注我們的成本基礎。

We remain committed to driving long-term shareholder value creation through the thoughtful management of our existing business, the pursuit of new and exciting adjacencies and returning capital to our shareholders.

我們仍然致力於通過對現有業務的深思熟慮管理、尋求新的和令人興奮的鄰接關係以及向股東返還資本來推動長期股東價值創造。

With that, I'll turn it over to Steve to take you through the details of the quarter.

有了這個，我會把它交給史蒂夫來帶你了解這個季度的細節。

Thanks, Lachlan, and good morning, everyone. FOX again delivered strong underlying financials in our fiscal third quarter with 18% revenue growth and 3% EBITDA growth, bolstered by a record-breaking Super Bowl LVII. Our advertising revenues increased 43%, led by the Super Bowl, along with the higher volume of NFL playoff windows and accelerating growth at Tubi.

謝謝，拉克蘭，大家早上好。 FOX 在我們的第三財季再次提供了強勁的基礎財務數據，收入增長 18%，EBITDA 增長 3%，這得益於創紀錄的超級碗 LVII。我們的廣告收入增長了 43%，在超級碗的帶動下，NFL 季后賽窗口的數量增加以及 Tubi 的加速增長。

Meanwhile, our affiliate revenues grew 3% on the back of pricing benefits from recent renewals, partially offset by trailing 12-month subscriber losses continuing to run in the 7% range. Quarterly adjusted EBITDA was $833 million, up $22 million over the prior year quarter as these revenue increases were partially offset by higher expenses. This was primarily due to higher sports rights amortization and production costs associated with our NFL, Super Bowl and playoff schedule.

與此同時，由於最近續約帶來的定價優勢，我們的附屬公司收入增長了 3%，部分被過去 12 個月的訂戶損失繼續保持在 7% 的範圍內所抵消。季度調整後的 EBITDA 為 8.33 億美元，比上年同期增加 2200 萬美元，因為這些收入增長部分被更高的支出所抵消。這主要是由於與我們的 NFL、超級碗和季后賽時間表相關的更高的體育權利攤銷和製作成本。

The net loss attributable to stockholders was $54 million or negative $0.10 per share compared to net income of $283 million or $0.50 per share reported in the prior year period. The variance was primarily due to other net where we recognize charges associated with the FOX News Media litigation, partially offset by the gain associated with the change in fair value of the company's investments. Excluding these and other noncore items, earnings growth was strong with adjusted net income growing 8% to $494 million and adjusted EPS of $0.94 per share, up $0.13 against last year's $0.81 per share.

歸屬於股東的淨虧損為 5400 萬美元或每股負 0.10 美元，而去年同期報告的淨收入為 2.83 億美元或每股負 0.50 美元。差異主要是由於我們確認與 FOX 新聞媒體訴訟相關的費用的其他淨額，部分被與公司投資公允價值變化相關的收益所抵消。排除這些和其他非核心項目，收益增長強勁，調整後淨收入增長 8% 至 4.94 億美元，調整後每股收益為 0.94 美元，比去年的每股 0.81 美元增加 0.13 美元。

Now turning to our segments. Starting with Television, where revenue grew an impressive 36% in the quarter. Television advertising revenues led this growth with a 61% increase fueled by Super Bowl LVII, which, as Lachlan mentioned, generated over $650 million in gross revenue. We also benefited from 2 additional NFL playoff games, 1 divisional and 1 wildcard, partially offset by the timing of 1 less regular season game.

現在轉向我們的細分市場。首先是電視，該季度的收入增長了 36%，令人印象深刻。電視廣告收入引領了這一增長，在超級碗 LVII 的推動下增長了 61%，正如 Lachlan 提到的那樣，它產生了超過 6.5 億美元的總收入。我們還受益於 2 場額外的 NFL 季后賽，1 場分區賽和 1 場外卡，部分被減少 1 場常規賽的時間所抵消。

Momentum at Tubi remained strong with advertising revenues up 31% to $170 million on the back of increased engagement and stable pricing. These strong advertising tailwinds in the Television segment were partially offset by lower prime time ratings at the FOX Network and mixed base market conditions at our local stations when excluding the Super Bowl. Television affiliate fee revenues were up 9%, as healthy growth in pricing across FOX-owned and operated and affiliated stations continued to outpace the impact from subscriber declines. Other revenues remained essentially unchanged from the prior year quarter.

Tubi 的勢頭依然強勁，廣告收入增長了 31%，達到 1.7 億美元，這得益於參與度的提高和定價的穩定。電視部門的這些強勁的廣告順風被 FOX 網絡較低的黃金時段收視率和我們當地電視台的混合基礎市場條件（不包括超級碗）所部分抵消。電視附屬費用收入增長了 9%，因為 FOX 擁有和運營的及其附屬電視台的定價健康增長繼續超過訂戶下降的影響。其他收入與去年同期基本持平。

EBITDA at our Television segment was up $82 million to $117 million. Expenses increased in the quarter driven by higher costs related to the Super Bowl and a higher volume of NFL games. The increase in expenses was partially offset by lower costs at FOX Entertainment, including the absence of a write-down of certain scripted programming in the prior year quarter.

我們電視業務的 EBITDA 增長了 8200 萬美元，達到 1.17 億美元。由於與超級碗相關的成本增加以及 NFL 比賽的數量增加，本季度的費用有所增加。費用的增加部分被 FOX Entertainment 的成本降低所抵消，包括上一季度某些腳本節目沒有減記。

Our net EBITDA investment in Tubi of approximately $60 million was broadly in line with the prior year quarter. At Cable, we saw revenues generally in line with the prior year. Cable advertising revenues were down 7% due to the impact of the softer direct response marketplace at FOX News Media, while being partially offset by the benefit of the World Baseball Classic on the national sports networks. Cable affiliate fee revenues were broadly flat, coming in at $1.1 billion with rate growth broadly offset by subscriber declines. Cable other revenues were up 10% in the quarter, led by higher FOX Nation subscription revenues.

我們在 Tubi 的 EBITDA 淨投資約為 6000 萬美元，與去年同期大致持平。在 Cable，我們看到收入與上一年基本持平。由於 FOX News Media 直接響應市場疲軟的影響，有線廣告收入下降了 7%，同時被世界棒球經典賽在全國體育網絡上的優勢所部分抵消。有線電視附屬費用收入基本持平，為 11 億美元，而費率增長被訂戶下降所抵消。在 FOX Nation 訂閱收入增加的帶動下，有線電視其他收入在本季度增長了 10%。

EBITDA at our Cable segment was $792 million compared to the $864 million reported last year largely due to these revenue impacts along with elevated legal costs at FOX News Media and higher expenses associated with the second season of the USFL and the World Baseball Classic at FOX Sports.

我們有線電視部門的 EBITDA 為 7.92 億美元，而去年報告的 8.64 億美元主要是由於這些收入影響以及 FOX News Media 的法律費用增加以及與 USFL 第二季和 FOX Sports 的世界棒球經典賽相關的更高費用.

Now turning to cash flow, where we generated strong free cash flow of $1.48 billion in the quarter, reflecting our normal seasonal cycle of collecting advertising revenues from our fall programming, coupled with our major sports rights payments being concentrated in the first half of our fiscal year. From a share repurchase perspective, as we foreshowed on our last call, we continued with our normal cost buyback activity of $250 million in the quarter and deployed $1 billion of additional capital to an accelerated share repurchase transaction. We retired approximately 80% of the shares associated with the ASR in the March quarter and expect the remainder to settle in the coming months.

現在轉向現金流，我們在本季度產生了 14.8 億美元的強勁自由現金流，反映了我們從秋季節目中收集廣告收入的正常季節性週期，加上我們主要的體育轉播權付款集中在我們財政的上半年年。從股票回購的角度來看，正如我們在上次電話會議上預示的那樣，我們在本季度繼續進行了 2.5 億美元的正常成本回購活動，並部署了 10 億美元的額外資本以加速股票回購交易。我們在 3 月季度退役了與 ASR 相關的大約 80% 的股份，預計其餘股份將在未來幾個月內結算。

We remain committed to fully utilizing our current $7 billion authorization, where we now cumulatively repurchased approximately $4.4 billion, representing 20% of our total shares outstanding since the launch of the buyback program in November 2019. These meaningful capital return measures are enabled by the strength of our financial position, where we closed the quarter with $4.1 billion in cash and $7.2 billion in debt. While this reported cash balance does not include the impact of the Dominion settlement, we continue to maintain a very robust balance sheet that supports our ongoing commitment to capital returns as well as flexibility to pursue value-accretive investment.

我們仍然致力於充分利用我們目前的 70 億美元授權，我們現在累計回購了約 44 億美元，占我們自 2019 年 11 月啟動回購計劃以來已發行股票總數的 20%。這些有意義的資本回報措施得益於實力我們的財務狀況，我們以 41 億美元的現金和 72 億美元的債務結束了本季度。雖然這份報告的現金餘額不包括 Dominion 和解的影響，但我們繼續保持非常穩健的資產負債表，支持我們對資本回報的持續承諾以及追求增值投資的靈活性。

And with that, let me turn it back to Gabby to open Q&A.

然後，讓我把它轉回 Gabby 來打開問答環節。

Thank you, Steve. And now we would be happy to take questions from the investment community.

謝謝你，史蒂夫。現在我們很樂意回答投資界的問題。

(Operator Instructions) We'll go to the line of Robert Fishman with MoffettNathanson.

（操作員說明）我們將與 MoffettNathanson 一起前往 Robert Fishman 的線路。

I have a couple of related questions, if I can. Lachlan, after the Dominion settlement, is there anything that you can share to better understand the future settlement risk? And then related, can you discuss whether the departure of Tucker Carlson will lead to changes in the prime time programming strategy and then potential opportunities for more national advertising? And then for John and Steve, just if you can expand on the early confidence you have from recent MVPD renewals? And after seeing the acceleration in retrans growth this quarter, any more insight on whether you can get better pricing to outpace the elevated levels of cord-cutting or just more economics from your affiliate partners?

如果可以的話，我有幾個相關的問題。 Lachlan，在 Dominion 結算之後，您有什麼可以分享的，以更好地了解未來的結算風險嗎？然後相關的，你能否討論一下塔克卡爾森的離開是否會導致黃金時段節目策略的變化以及更多國家廣告的潛在機會？然後對於 John 和 Steve，你是否可以擴大你從最近的 MVPD 續約中獲得的早期信心？在看到本季度轉譯增長的加速之後，是否有更多關於您是否可以獲得更好的定價以超越更高水平的剪線或從您的附屬合作夥伴那裡獲得更多經濟效益的更多見解？

Thanks, Robert. I don't know where to start. I'll talk about the 7 questions. So -- but thank you very much, and good to hear from you. On -- so let me start and hand over, I suppose, to Steve, for that -- the final questions. So I'm obviously limited about what I can say about any ongoing litigation, but I can make the following comments in regards to Dominion. And I referred to some of this in my prepared remarks.

謝謝，羅伯特。我不知道從哪裡開始。我會談談這7個問題。所以 - 但非常感謝你，很高興收到你的來信。關於——所以讓我開始吧，我想，為了這個——最後的問題交給史蒂夫。因此，對於任何正在進行的訴訟，我的發言權顯然有限，但我可以就 Dominion 發表以下評論。我在準備好的發言中提到了其中的一些內容。

Look, as we've stated many times, we always acted as a news organization reporting on the newsworthy events of the day. We certainly included allegations being made by the sitting President of the United States and his lawyers in the aftermath of a hotly-contested presidential election. Now we have been and remain confident in the merits of our position that the first amendment protects a news organization's reporting and allegations being made by a sitting President of the United States.

看，正如我們多次聲明的那樣，我們始終充當新聞機構，報導當天具有新聞價值的事件。我們當然包括美國現任總統及其律師在競爭激烈的總統選舉後提出的指控。現在，我們一直對我們的立場充滿信心，即第一修正案保護美國現任總統對新聞機構的報導和指控。

However, the Delaware court severely limited our defenses a trial through pre-trial rulings, one example of being not being able to point to the newsworthy nature of the allegations. So we determined that the best course of action for the company and its shareholders was to settle instead of proceeding with a 6-week trial and potentially 2 or even 3 years of appeals. As you know, we have a pending case with Smartmatic, which is a fundamentally different case than Dominion, and that all of our full complement of First Amendment defenses remain, and we'll be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely not until the calendar year 2025.

然而，特拉華州法院通過預審裁決嚴重限制了我們的辯護，這是無法指出指控具有新聞價值的一個例子。因此，我們確定公司及其股東的最佳行動方案是和解，而不是繼續進行為期 6 週的審判和可能長達 2 年甚至 3 年的上訴。如您所知，我們有一個與 Smartmatic 相關的懸而未決的案件，這與 Dominion 的案件根本不同，並且我們所有的第一修正案防禦的全部補充仍然存在，我們將準備圍繞極具新聞價值的事件為這個案件辯護去審判，可能要到 2025 年。

As regards to our programming strategy in prime time, there's no change to our programming strategy at FOX News. It's obviously a successful strategy. And as always, we are adjusting our programming and our lineup, and that's what we continue to do. We are pleased with the strength of the advertising demand throughout our schedule, but particularly prime time.

至於我們在黃金時段的節目策略，我們在 FOX News 的節目策略沒有改變。這顯然是一個成功的策略。和往常一樣，我們正在調整我們的節目和陣容，這就是我們繼續做的事情。我們對整個日程中的廣告需求強勁感到滿意，尤其是黃金時段。

Steve, do you want to talk to the MVPD?

史蒂夫，你想和 MVPD 談談嗎？

Yes, sure, on the affiliate. So Robert, yes, listen, we're pleased with the way our affiliate negotiations are going. You know that this year, we had roughly 34% of the total affiliate book up for renewal. We've been successful in generating and establishing new pricing benchmarks for the network in FOX Sports or retrans and Fox Sports in those negotiations. And so with another sort of 1/3 of our book due for renewal in fiscal '24 and a touch under 30% during fiscal '25, we feel pretty confident that we can continue to deliver pricing gains in subscribers. If the subscriber rate of attrition stays at the same level, we expect to post ongoing affiliate revenue growth for the company.

是的，當然，在附屬公司。所以羅伯特，是的，聽著，我們對聯盟談判的進展方式感到滿意。你知道今年，我們大約有 34% 的會員預訂需要續訂。在這些談判中，我們已經成功地為 FOX Sports 或 retrans 和 Fox Sports 的網絡生成和建立新的定價基準。因此，在 24 財年有另外 1/3 的圖書需要續訂，而在 25 財年有不到 30%，我們非常有信心我們可以繼續為訂戶帶來定價收益。如果訂戶流失率保持在同一水平，我們預計公司的附屬公司收入將持續增長。

And that will come from the line of Ben Swinburne with Morgan Stanley.

這將來自 Ben Swinburne 與摩根士丹利的合作。

I just want to ask about advertising. As you guys look into the rest of the year and head into the upfront, does Tubi give you guys an advantage as you go in to what is, at least, I would describe it as a soft demand environment for advertising and trying to drive pricing kind of across your properties? Particularly with the new Tubi Media Group, just wondering if you think that's going to matter enough this year for us to maybe notice as we head into the fall. And then just on the direct response weakness at FOX News, do you guys have any visibility on sort of whether that's improving here in Q4 or what the drivers of that are? Any relationship to sort of some of the broader volatility around FOX News? Just wanted to get your updated thoughts on that.

我只想問廣告。當你們回顧今年剩下的時間並進入前期時，Tubi 是否給你們帶來了優勢，至少，我會把它描述為廣告和試圖推動定價的軟需求環境有點跨越你的財產？特別是對於新的 Tubi Media Group，只是想知道您是否認為今年這對我們來說足夠重要，以便我們在進入秋季時可能會注意到。然後就 FOX 新聞的直接反應弱點而言，你們是否知道第四季度是否有所改善或驅動因素是什麼？與 FOX 新聞周圍的一些更廣泛的波動有什麼關係？只是想了解您對此的最新想法。

Thanks, Ben. I'm glad Robert left your question. But on advertising, look, we -- I think you've alluded to a softness in the market. We're really not seeing that across our major platforms. I'll give you a bit of the detail. The national market, the sports market for us is very strong, very robust. Obviously, as we enter the summer, it's a slower, a quieter -- always is a quieter period for us until the fall when our key marquee sports programming is on air, but we are seeing pretty robust demand for time and availability in the sports market. So we're very confident with sports.

謝謝，本。很高興羅伯特留下了你的問題。但在廣告方面，看，我們 - 我認為你已經暗示市場疲軟。我們真的沒有在我們的主要平台上看到這一點。我會給你一些細節。全國市場，體育市場對我們來說非常強大，非常強勁。顯然，當我們進入夏季時，它會變得更慢、更安靜——對我們來說一直是一個更安靜的時期，直到秋天我們的主要大型體育節目播出時，但我們看到對時間和可用性的體育需求非常強勁市場。所以我們對運動很有信心。

In news, the direct response issues, which is a market issue, it's not a FOX News issue, has stabilized. So we're not seeing any more deterioration in direct response pricing. So we feel pretty confident in the stabilization of that piece of revenue. Again, that's really a product or a result of oversupply in -- with our competitors with direct response. It's not so much a FOX News issue, but it's something that certainly has affected our ability to achieve the premium pricing that we've been used to. But again, that issue has stabilized, and we think it offers us a pretty good platform going forward.

在新聞方面，直接反應問題，這是一個市場問題，不是福克斯新聞的問題，已經穩定下來。因此，我們沒有看到直接響應定價進一步惡化。因此，我們對這部分收入的穩定性非常有信心。同樣，這實際上是一種產品或供過於求的結果——我們的競爭對手有直接反應。這與其說是福克斯新聞的問題，不如說是影響了我們實現我們已經習慣的溢價定價的能力的事情。但同樣，這個問題已經穩定下來，我們認為它為我們提供了一個非常好的前進平台。

Another thing to mention on news, which is just a small data point, we're seeing political revenue earlier than we've ever seen before. It's still small, but it's sort of unheard of to have it this early in the political cycle. So again, we think that bodes well for the fall and as we enter the more significant part of the political cycle.

新聞中要提及的另一件事，這只是一個小數據點，我們看到的政治收入比以往任何時候都早。它仍然很小，但在政治週期的這麼早就擁有它有點聞所未聞。因此，我們再次認為這預示著秋季以及我們進入政治週期中更重要的部分。

And then coming on to Tubi, the revenue is accelerating there. It's -- revenue is -- while it's accelerating pretty strongly, Gabby doesn't want me to give the number. It would break most of your models. But it's not keeping pace with TBT. TBT continues to grow even faster, which is a great metric. So we have the avails. We're looking forward to Tubi being a central part of our upfront negotiations. It's clearly not only a strategic driver for us, but have been an important driver going forward.

然後來到 Tubi，那裡的收入正在加速增長。它是——收入是——雖然它的增長非常強勁，但 Gabby 不想讓我給出這個數字。它會破壞你的大部分模型。但它跟不上技術性貿易壁壘的步伐。 TBT 繼續以更快的速度增長，這是一個很好的指標。所以我們有優勢。我們期待 Tubi 成為我們前期談判的核心部分。顯然，這不僅是我們的戰略驅動力，而且是我們前進的重要驅動力。

Then when you get down to local base markets, that's where we're seeing more mixed results in the different kind of verticals of revenue. We're very pleased to see auto, again, continuing its rebound with strong growth in the auto category. The entertainment category, we're also seeing growth in and the restaurant category, where we're seeing growth in. But this is offset by weakness across other categories such as retail, telecom, and sports wagering and betting. So the local market does feel -- overall. But again, we're looking forward for our businesses. Particularly in sports and news, we're looking forward to a strong -- a decent summer and a strong fall season. I think that's all the questions. Thanks, Ben.

然後，當您深入到本地基礎市場時，我們會在不同類型的收入垂直領域看到更多混合結果。我們很高興再次看到汽車繼續反彈，汽車類別強勁增長。在娛樂類別中，我們也看到了增長，在餐飲類別中我們也看到了增長。但這被零售、電信和體育博彩等其他類別的疲軟所抵消。所以本地市場確實感覺 - 總體而言。但是，我們再次期待我們的業務。特別是在體育和新聞方面，我們期待著一個強勁的——一個體面的夏季和一個強勁的秋季。我想這就是所有的問題。謝謝，本。

We'll go to the line of Phil Cusick with JPMorgan.

我們將與摩根大通聯繫 Phil Cusick。

A couple of questions and then a quick one. On Tubi, it sounds like your TBT is still outgrowing revenue, but are you starting to unleash the revenue and profit there a little bit. And then on the legal side, any direction on legal expenses from here? And then one stand-alone, any thoughts on appropriate leverage and capital return from here? We appreciate the $1 billion, but how should we think about this? Are you still going to sit on the cash until we get to the next sort of legal view? Or should something happen between now and then?

幾個問題，然後是一個快速的問題。在 Tubi 上，聽起來你的 TBT 仍然超過收入增長，但你是否開始釋放一點點收入和利潤。然後在法律方面，這裡有關於法律費用的任何指示嗎？然後是一個獨立的，關於適當的槓桿和資本回報的任何想法？我們感謝這 10 億美元，但我們應該如何考慮呢？在我們進入下一種法律觀點之前，您是否仍要坐擁現金？還是應該從現在到那時發生一些事情？

Thanks very much, Phil. On -- let me start with Tubi and I'd probably have Steve, for the -- some of the capital management element of the question. So on Tubi, we're going to continue to invest in Tubi. It's at the same levels we've been investing over the last year or so. We just think it's a tremendous opportunity for us. As I mentioned in my comments, the fact that we're now -- Nielsen's Gauge now has us over 1% of the U.S. television viewing is a tremendous sort of benchmark to have hit, and I see continued growth there.

非常感謝，菲爾。關於 - 讓我從 Tubi 開始，對於這個問題的一些資本管理要素，我可能會有史蒂夫。所以在 Tubi 上，我們將繼續投資 Tubi。它與我們在過去一年左右的投資水平相同。我們只是認為這對我們來說是一個巨大的機會。正如我在評論中提到的那樣，我們現在的事實——尼爾森的指標現在讓我們擁有超過 1% 的美國電視收視率，這是一個巨大的基準，我看到了那裡的持續增長。

So from a consumer aspect and from a marketer's aspect, Tubi is becoming more and more a central part of usage and sort of an opportunity. And this is really because the focus Tubi's had or not -- we think of it over the last 3 years with our involvement, but obviously, the team there has done a tremendous job not only over the last 3 years but before that in really sort of driving sort of the best-in-class personalized AVOD experience, building an incredible library with nearly 55,000 titles in the U.S. alone. And again, to put that in context, that's 5x the size of the Netflix library and now really being able to monetize that viewing in a more efficient, better way.

因此，從消費者和營銷人員的角度來看，Tubi 越來越成為使用的核心部分和某種機會。這真的是因為 Tubi 的關注點有沒有——我們在過去 3 年裡考慮過我們的參與，但很明顯，那裡的團隊不僅在過去 3 年里而且在此之前確實做了很多工作推動一流的個性化 AVOD 體驗，建立一個令人難以置信的圖書館，僅在美國就有近 55,000 個標題。再一次，把它放在上下文中，這是 Netflix 庫大小的 5 倍，現在真的能夠以更有效、更好的方式從觀看中獲利。

So we're incredibly optimistic. And I would say the results are -- and we're incredibly pleased with the performance of Tubi going forward, and we think it's an appropriate area for us to continue to invest in. On the -- I'll turn it over to Steve on the -- on sort of capital management. But just on it, I'll just start by saying, look, we have a $7 billion buyback authorization. I think we spent about $4.4 billion of that. So we've -- my math's incorrect this time of the morning, a $2.6 billion remaining of the authorization. We fully expect to deploy all of that capital back to shareholders through our buyback. And any litigation has no impact on that at all. Yes, Steve.

所以我們非常樂觀。我會說結果是——我們對 Tubi 未來的表現非常滿意，我們認為這是我們繼續投資的合適領域。關於——我會把它交給史蒂夫關於 - 關於某種資本管理。但就此而言，我首先要說，看，我們有 70 億美元的回購授權。我想我們花了大約 44 億美元。所以我們 - 早上這個時候我的數學不正確，授權剩餘 26 億美元。我們完全希望通過回購將所有這些資本部署回股東。任何訴訟對此都沒有任何影響。是的，史蒂夫。

Thanks, Lachlan. So Phil, just to go back on legal costs, legal costs over the last 2 or 3 quarters have been elevated. Obviously, we've been deep in the depositions and pretrial preparation for Dominion. So I'd expect that to subside over the next couple of quarters. And then to just pick up on Lachlan's point, listen, we -- the leverage is -- the debt we have, $7.2 billion, we've got a maturity in January, which we'll make a call on as to whether to repay or refinance. But the leverage feels about right where we are at the moment.

謝謝，拉克蘭。所以菲爾，為了收回法律費用，過去 2 或 3 個季度的法律費用有所增加。顯然，我們一直在深入研究 Dominion 的證詞和審前準備。所以我預計這種情況會在接下來的幾個季度內消退。然後接聽 Lachlan 的觀點，聽著，我們 - 槓桿是 - 我們擁有的債務，72 億美元，我們在 1 月份到期，我們將決定是否償還或再融資。但槓桿感覺就在我們目前所處的位置。

And our cash position is strong. And so we would anticipate whatever happens with future litigation, we can continue to go with our buyback pacing as it has been over the last couple of years now or a few years now as well as leaving us flexibility to invest in the business or take advantage of any inorganic opportunities, but we'll be balanced about it as we've been saying since the formation of the company.

我們的現金狀況很好。因此，我們可以預見未來訴訟發生的任何情況，我們可以繼續按照過去幾年或現在幾年的回購節奏進行，同時讓我們可以靈活地投資業務或利用任何無機機會，但正如我們自公司成立以來一直在說的那樣，我們會對此保持平衡。

And that will come from the line of John Hodulik with UBS.

這將來自 John Hodulik 與瑞銀集團的合作。

Great. Maybe getting back to the sports theme, where viewership remains strong, I'd say, across the board. I mean First of all, how would you gauge the success of the USFL? Second, anything you could tell us about your appetite for additional sports rights, especially to fill in the summer months? And then how does the sort of relative weighting on sports versus entertainment programming position you guys given what could be a protracted writer stretch?

偉大的。也許回到體育主題，我想說，收視率仍然很高。我的意思是首先，您如何衡量 USFL 的成功？其次，你能告訴我們你對額外體育權利的興趣，尤其是在夏季的幾個月裡嗎？那麼，考慮到可能是一個長期的作家，你們對體育節目和娛樂節目的相對權重如何定位？

Thanks, John. Look, USFL, it's still -- it's just the start of the second season. We're very pleased with it. We're pleased with both its ratings, the quality of the games, its performance on television and ratings. And also, frankly, it's a performance on the ground with ticket sales and engagement with football fans. So early days, but we couldn't be more happy with it -- with how it's tracking today.

謝謝，約翰。看，USFL，它仍然 - 這只是第二季的開始。我們對此非常滿意。我們對它的收視率、遊戲質量、它在電視上的表現和收視率都很滿意。而且，坦率地說，這是一場現場表演，包括門票銷售和與球迷的互動。這麼早的日子，但我們對它感到非常高興——它今天的追踪方式。

In terms of additional sports rights, we look across our portfolio of sports rights. We're constantly managing them. We look at sports rights as they come up. And we also look at them as they get renewed just to make sure that they are efficient for us and that we're paying a responsible and appropriate amount for those rights. So we're constantly adjusting, but we do it with, I think, a real commitment to discipline in terms of what rights we would acquire or dispose of. So it's a moving -- it's always a moving feast, but I wouldn't expect anything dramatic at all in that area.

在額外的體育權利方面，我們審視了我們的體育權利組合。我們一直在管理它們。我們會在體育權利出現時關注它們。我們還會在更新時查看它們，以確保它們對我們有效，並且我們為這些權利支付了負責任和適當的金額。所以我們在不斷調整，但我認為，我們真正致力於在我們將獲得或處置哪些權利方面遵守紀律。所以這是一場感人的——它總是一場感人的盛宴，但我不希望在那個地區有任何戲劇性的事情發生。

What was the last question? The writer strike. So thank you. On the writer strike, look, I think for us, we are well positioned for the writer strike. We think that with our strategic priorities and sort of strengths in sports but also in news, these are 2 areas that are not affected by the writer strike. And the audience will pivot on a -- when they're watching television to those categories. In entertainment, you have to remember as well, we only program 2 hours of entertainment at night. That's a mixture of both scripted and unscripted content. So we feel very well positioned there with that not to be affected by the writer strike really at all. There'll be some scheduling changes with some of the descriptive content, but it's not something that will have a significant financial impact on us.

最後一個問題是什麼？作家罷工。所以謝謝。關於作家罷工，看，我認為對我們來說，我們已經為作家罷工做好了準備。我們認為，憑藉我們的戰略重點和在體育以及新聞方面的優勢，這兩個領域不會受到作家罷工的影響。當觀眾看電視時，他們會轉向這些類別。在娛樂方面，您也必須記住，我們只安排晚上 2 小時的娛樂節目。這是有腳本和無腳本內容的混合體。所以我們感覺非常好，完全不受作家罷工的影響。一些描述性內容的時間安排會有一些變化，但這不會對我們產生重大的財務影響。

And that last question will come from the line of Jessica Reif Ehrlich with Bank of America.

最後一個問題將來自美國銀行的 Jessica Reif Ehrlich。

I just wanted to maybe follow up on Lachlan's first point that you're not overly dependent on live and unscripted -- I mean given your live and unscripted you not only depend on the writers for entertainment. So given that, like can you talk about your outlook for the upfront, also given macro? I mean, you seem to be in a very different position than most people, but the market is, as most people say, choppy. And then also given the decline in the pay TV universe, can you just talk about how you see FOX News and Sports transitioning over time?

我只是想跟進 Lachlan 的第一點，即您並不過分依賴現場直播和即興表演——我的意思是考慮到您的現場直播和即興表演，您不僅要依靠編劇來獲得娛樂。因此，鑑於此，您能否談談您對前期的展望，以及宏觀？我的意思是，你的處境似乎與大多數人截然不同，但正如大多數人所說，市場是波濤洶湧的。然後考慮到付費電視領域的衰退，你能談談你如何看待 FOX 新聞和體育隨著時間的推移而轉變嗎？

Great, Jessica. Thank you very much. So look, I agree with you on the writer strike. I think for us, our focus on sort of live news, live sports and frankly, in the network, a healthy balance of scripted and unscripted content on the network puts us in a tremendous position. I think what -- the timing of the strike, obviously, with the upfronts next week, creates some -- what's the word, hesitancy. It's hard to present an exact schedule, right, if you're only in entertainment. It's not, if you're in news and sport. So I think it positions us very well in the upfront. And that's, of course, as I mentioned before, not including the strength of Tubi going into this upfront as well. And Tubi will certainly be front and center in all of our upfront presentation but also in our negotiations going forward. So we feel very well positioned. It's early with the upfront. These negotiations will take time, but I think we're in best position as we could possibly hope for.

太好了，傑西卡。非常感謝。所以看，我同意你對作家罷工的看法。我認為對我們來說，我們專注於新聞直播、體育直播，坦率地說，在網絡中，網絡上有腳本和無腳本內容的健康平衡使我們處於有利地位。我認為 - 罷工的時間，顯然，下週的預付款，會造成一些 - 猶豫這個詞是什麼。很難給出一個確切的時間表，對吧，如果你只是在娛樂。它不是，如果你在新聞和體育。所以我認為它使我們處於領先地位。當然，正如我之前提到的，這還不包括 Tubi 在這方面的實力。 Tubi 肯定會在我們所有的前期介紹中以及在我們未來的談判中處於前沿和中心。所以我們感覺非常好。前期還早。這些談判需要時間，但我認為我們處於我們可能希望的最佳位置。

In terms of the -- so the cable universe and what we plan to do with news and sport going forward in terms of any sort of a direct-to-consumer or alternative kind of distribution strategy, as I think we've said before, we're ready to go. We have the technology in place. I think we have the teams and people in place to go D2C when we deem that necessary or prudent. But for the moment, we continue to drive industry-leading pricing out of the MVPD and DMVPD universes. Steve mentioned this before, our pricing has been -- it's not theoretical. Our pricing has now been set in contracts going forward.

就有線電視世界以及我們計劃在任何類型的直接面向消費者或替代類型的分銷策略方面對新聞和體育所做的事情而言，正如我認為我們之前說過的那樣，我們準備好了。我們擁有適當的技術。我認為當我們認為有必要或謹慎時，我們有團隊和人員去 D2C。但目前，我們繼續推動 MVPD 和 DMVPD 領域的行業領先定價。史蒂夫之前提到過這一點，我們的定價是——這不是理論上的。我們的定價現已確定在未來的合同中。

So for the -- we have 1/3 of our distribution deals by sort of volume this year -- this fiscal year and another 1/3 in the next fiscal year, and we're very pleased with where we sit and where we've established a market price for our brands. And when the -- just speaking of the brands, when you have the best sports business brand and the best news business and brand, these are products that ultimately, right, will be part of any scaled platform regardless of what technology is used to deliver that content in that platform. And so we see D2C in the future, and it will come eventually as just one component of a broader distribution strategy, but it's -- certainly across any of those platforms or technologies it's hard to see not having our sports and our news on those platforms. So we feel pretty well positioned, Jessica.

所以對於 - 我們今年有 1/3 的分銷交易按數量排序 - 本財政年度和下一個財政年度的另外 1/3，我們對我們所處的位置和我們的位置感到非常滿意'已經為我們的品牌確定了市場價格。當 - 就品牌而言，當你擁有最好的體育商業品牌和最好的新聞業務和品牌時，這些產品最終將成為任何規模化平台的一部分，無論使用什麼技術來提供該平台上的該內容。所以我們在未來看到 D2C，它最終將作為更廣泛的分發策略的一個組成部分出現，但它 - 當然在任何這些平台或技術上，很難看到我們的體育和我們的新聞不在這些平台上.所以我們感覺非常好，傑西卡。

At this point, we are out of time. But if you have any further questions, please give me or Dan Carey a call. Thank you once again for joining today's call.

在這一點上，我們沒時間了。但是，如果您有任何其他問題，請給我或 Dan Carey 打電話。再次感謝您參加今天的電話會議。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference call for today. Thank you for your participation and for using AT&T Executive Teleconference. You may now disconnect.

女士們，先生們，今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與和使用 AT&T Executive Teleconference。您現在可以斷開連接。