二十一世紀福斯 (FOX) 2024 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Fox Corporation fourth quarter fiscal year 2024 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。歡迎參加福斯公司 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）謹此提醒，本次會議正在錄製中。

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

我現在將會議交給首席投資者關係官加布里埃爾布朗女士。請繼續，布朗女士。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, and welcome to our fiscal 2024 fourth quarter earnings call.

謝謝你，接線生。早上好，歡迎參加我們的 2024 財年第四季財報電話會議。

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.

今天與我一起參加電話會議的還有執行主席兼執行長拉克蘭默多克 (Lachlan Murdoch)；約翰‧納倫，營運長；以及我們的財務長 Steve Tomsic。

First, Lachlan and Steve will give some prepared remarks on the most recent quarter and then we will take questions from the investment community.

首先，拉克蘭和史蒂夫將就最近一個季度發表一些準備好的評論，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，本次電話會議可能包含福克斯公司財務業績和經營業績的前瞻性陳述。這些聲明是基於管理層目前的預期，由於今天的電話會議和公司向 SEC 提交的文件中確定的某些因素，實際結果可能與所述結果有所不同。

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公認會計準則財務指標，包括調整後的 EBITDA 或我們在本次電話會議中提到的 EBITDA。非 GAAP 財務指標的調節包含在我們的收益發布和 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.

至此，我很高興將電話轉給拉克蘭。

Thank you, Gabby, and thank you all for joining us this morning to celebrate our fiscal fourth quarter results. Fiscal 2024 was another successful year for Fox in which we delivered nearly $14 billion of revenue and $2.8 billion of EBITDA. The year that just ended and the momentum from the start of our new fiscal year underscore that the soundness of our strategy, the consistency of our delivery, and the strength of our financial position has never been more clear.

謝謝加比，也謝謝大家今天早上加入我們慶祝我們第四季的業績。 2024 財年是福斯又一個成功的一年，我們實現了近 140 億美元的營收和 28 億美元的 EBITDA。剛結束的一年和新財年伊始的勢頭凸顯出我們戰略的健全性、交付的一致性以及財務狀況的實力從未如此清晰。

Looking back, there were clear achievements across our businesses in fiscal '24, including delivering strong total company affiliate revenue growth each quarter from our ongoing renewals, cementing Tubi's position as the most watched free TV and movie streaming service in the United States, and generating a reinvigorated ratings and share growth at Fox News.

回顧過去，我們的業務在24 財年取得了明顯的成就，包括透過我們的持續續訂，每個季度實現公司附屬公司總收入的強勁增長，鞏固了Tubi 作為美國觀看次數最多的免費電視和電影串流媒體服務的地位，並創造了福克斯新聞的收視率和股價成長重新煥發活力。

The power of our brands and our ability to deliver engaged audiences at scale across our platforms remains remarkably strong. Total time spent viewing all Fox brands increased in fiscal '24 despite the absence of the Super Bowl and FIFA Men's World Cup. Tubi's viewing time as measured by Nielsen grew 57% in fiscal '24 for the absolute growth in minutes viewing easily surpassing the growth of leading subscription video-on-demand services.

我們的品牌力量以及在我們的平台上大規模吸引受眾的能力仍然非常強大。儘管沒有超級盃和 FIFA 男子世界杯，但 24 財年觀看所有 Fox 品牌的總時間有所增加。根據尼爾森的統計，Tubi 的觀看時間在 2024 財年增長了 57%，觀看分鐘數的絕對增長輕鬆超過了領先的訂閱視訊點播服務的增長。

Fox Sports Big Noon Saturday was the number one ranked window and college football for third straight year, while Americas game of the week hit an eight-year viewership high this fiscal year. And Fox News was again the most watched network in cable news in fiscal '24 with 52% more minutes of viewing than its closest competitor. Our foundation for this coming fiscal year is solid as we carry the momentum from fiscal '24 into another year of major events, particularly for our news and sports businesses.

福斯體育《週六大中午》連續第三年成為窗口和大學橄欖球排名第一的節目，而美洲本週的比賽則在本財年創下了八年來的收視新高。福斯新聞再次成為 24 財年收視率最高的有線電視新聞網，收視時間比最接近的競爭對手多出 52%。我們下一個財年的基礎是堅實的，因為我們將 24 財年的勢頭帶入又一個重大活動年，特別是對於我們的新聞和體育業務而言。

The recent news cycle has been nothing short of extraordinary. And when news breaks, people turn to the news brand they trust. The strength of our news coverage is unmatched, and Fox News remains the clear first choice for viewers during the most pivotal moment. The fourth quarter saw audience levels return to growth of the Fox News Channel, driven by our political coverage and strong primetime lineup. Fox News exited the fiscal year as the most watched network in all of cable in total day and in primetime and gained share amongst cable news networks in both prime and total day versus last year.

最近的新聞週期非同尋常。當新聞爆發時，人們會轉向他們信任的新聞品牌。我們的新聞報導實力無與倫比，福斯新聞在最關鍵的時刻仍然是觀眾的明確首選。在我們的政治報道和強大的黃金時段陣容的推動下，第四季福斯新聞頻​​道的觀眾數量恢復成長。福克斯新聞在本財年成為全天和黃金時段收視率最高的有線電視網絡，並且與去年相比，在黃金時段和全天的有線電視新聞網絡中所佔份額均有所增加。

Furthermore, the rating story at Fox News continue to improve into this fiscal year when, in July, total viewers grew nearly 80% and the 25-54 Demo grew 120% over last year. Fox News had its highest rated we can ever in primetime in July with other -- with over 5.7 million viewers tuning in to its extended coverage of the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

此外，福斯新聞的收視率在本財年繼續改善，7 月總觀眾數增長了近 80%，25-54 演示節目比去年增長了 120%。福斯新聞 (Fox News) 7 月黃金時段的收視率創歷史新高，超過 570 萬觀眾收看其對賓州巴特勒川普集會的延伸報道。

In fact, Fox News had a higher share of the cable news audience across the board in primetime since August 2015. And the Fox News Channel rated number one across all linear television in July for total viewers in weekday prime, beating the nearest broadcast competitor by nearly 10%. These positive trends bode well for news as we continue to this extraordinary news cycle.

事實上，自2015 年8 月以來，福斯新聞在黃金時段的有線新聞觀眾中所佔的比例更高。 ，擊敗了最接近的廣播競爭對手近10%。隨著我們繼續這個非凡的新聞週期，這些積極的趨勢對新聞來說是個好兆頭。

But news is not our only business [with great momentum]. Tubi is also enjoying impressive viewership metrics and revenue growth. Tubi improved upon its status as the most-watched free TV and movie streaming service in the US, finishing the fiscal year at a record high of 2% of total TV viewing. Tubi saw continued momentum in viewership during the fourth quarter, reaching an all-time high of 81 million monthly active users and growing total view time by 17% driven by expansive library that offers something for every consumer.

但新聞並不是我們唯一的業務（勢頭強勁）。 Tubi 還享有令人印象深刻的收視率指標和收入成長。 Tubi 進一步鞏固了其作為美國收視率最高的免費電視和電影串流服務的地位，在本財年結束時達到了電視總收視率 2% 的歷史新高。 Tubi 在第四季度的收視率持續成長，每月活躍用戶達到 8,100 萬的歷史新高，在為每位消費者提供內容的龐大內容庫的推動下，總觀看時間增加了 17%。

Not only is the Tubi library the largest in the US, but it also has unique content that audiences can only find on Tubi. Notwithstanding a complex digital advertising marketplace and a tough year-on-year comparison, this viewership grow 7% revenue growth during the quarter. Importantly, however, we ended the month of June with revenue growth in the teens, and that pace has continued into this quarter with steady pricing despite increased inventory in the overall market.

Tubi 圖書館不僅是美國最大的圖書館，而且還擁有觀眾只能在 Tubi 上找到的獨特內容。儘管數位廣告市場複雜且同比比較困難，但該季度的收視率收入成長了 7%。然而，重要的是，我們在 6 月結束時實現了十幾歲的收入成長，儘管整體市場庫存增加，但這一增長速度一直持續到本季度，價格穩定。

Over at Fox Sports, the fourth quarter was very active, thanks to Fox's somewhere Summer of Soccer, which exceeded all expectations and set viewership records. The UEFA European Championship averaged 1.7 million viewers across the Fox broadcast network and FS1, a 34% gain over 2021 tournament. And Copa America and an average 1.4 million viewers over 3 times increase above the 2021 tournament.

在福斯體育頻道，第四節非常活躍，這要歸功於福斯電視台的《足球之夏》，它超出了所有人的預期，創下了收視率記錄。福斯廣播網和 FS1 上的 UEFA 歐洲錦標賽平均有 170 萬觀眾，比 2021 年賽事增加了 34%。美洲盃的平均觀眾人數為 140 萬，比 2021 年賽事增加了 3 倍以上。

The two final also broke records and now rank of the most of our soccer matches ever on Fox other than World Cup matches. But it's not just soccer that our audiences are watching this summer. The regular season of Major League Baseball is also trending positively. And our special broadcast of the record game and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game each performed well above expectations.

這兩場決賽也打破了紀錄，現在是福斯電視台有史以來除世界盃比賽之外最多的足球比賽。但今年夏天我們的觀眾觀看的不僅僅是足球。美國職棒大聯盟的例行賽也呈現正面趨勢。而我們對創紀錄比賽和美國職棒大聯盟全明星賽的特別轉播都表現遠超預期。

And in just a few short weeks, we welcome back the NFL and College Football on Fox. Our 2024 NFL schedule will start strong. Fox's first for America's game of the week windows includes three Dallas Cowboys gains and our rematch of last year's (inaudible) Super Bowl

在短短幾週內，我們將迎來福克斯電視台 NFL 和大學橄欖球賽的回歸。我們的 2024 年 NFL 賽程開局強勁。福克斯的美國本週最佳比賽窗口的第一場比賽包括達拉斯牛仔隊的三場勝利以及我們去年（聽不清楚）超級碗比賽的重演

And of course, our schedule and strong queue culminating in Super Bowl LIX this February on Fox. Also debuting this fall will be a new lineup from Fox Entertainment with the return of popular shows like Hell's Kitchen and The Masked Singer and the debut of new dramas like Hi-Surf and Murder in a Small Town, which many of you saw a preview of our successful upfront presentation in May.

當然，我們的日程安排和強大的隊列在今年二月福克斯電視台的超級碗第五十九屆比賽中達到了頂峰。今年秋天，福克斯娛樂公司的新陣容也將首次亮相，其中包括《地獄廚房》和《蒙面歌王》等熱門節目的回歸，以及《衝浪》和《小鎮謀殺案》等新劇的首播，你們很多人都看過預告片。

Speaking of the upfront, we see a much healthier market than the nuanced one I referred to six months ago. As evidence, our upfront commitments were strong. Our focused portfolio of market-leading properties and sports, news, entertainment and streaming delivered year over year growth in both linear and digital advertising commitments as well as growth in the overall portfolio pricing in this year's upfront.

說到前期，我們看到了一個比我六個月前提到的細緻入微的市場健康得多的市場。作為證據，我們的前期承諾是強而有力的。我們專注於市場領先的資產和體育、新聞、娛樂和串流媒體產品組合，實現了線性和數位廣告承諾的逐年增長，以及今年前期整體投資組合定價的增長。

Notably, we saw double digit volume growth and stable pricing activity, which is testament to its incredible momentum in the streaming marketplace. At the local level, we are expecting a very robust selection advertising cycle that will be weighted to our second quarter. If anything, at the price as a whole and tightens the election may be extended to more of our markets in which we operate.

值得注意的是，我們看到了兩位數的銷售成長和穩定的定價活動，這證明了其在串流媒體市場上令人難以置信的勢頭。在地方層面，我們預計會有一個非常強勁的精選廣告週期，並將在第二季進行加權。如果有的話，整體價格和收緊選舉可能會擴展到我們經營的更多市場。

As we enter a very exciting fiscal 2025, we will continue to focus on execution with events such as the US election cycle at our local stations and Fox News Super Bowl LIX on Fox, the renewal of a one-quarter of our distribution revenue and the launch of the Venu Sports streaming service in the fall.

隨著我們進入非常令人興奮的 2025 財年，我們將繼續專注於執行活動，例如我們當地電視台的美國大選週期和福克斯新聞超級碗第五十九屆，續訂四分之一的發行收入以及秋季推出Venu Sports 串流服務。

Our strong differentiated position, coupled with the strength of our balance sheet underpin our confidence on continuing to deliver meaningful shareholder returns.

我們強大的差異化地位，加上我們的資產負債表的實力，增強了我們繼續為股東帶來有意義的回報的信心。

And with that, I'll hand over to Steve.

就這樣，我將把工作交給史蒂夫。

Thanks, Lachlan, and good morning, everyone. Fox once again delivered financially in fiscal 2024 with total company revenues of almost $14 billion and adjusted EBITDA of $2.88 billion. We successfully completed approximately one-third of our affiliate renewals this year.

謝謝拉克蘭，大家早安。福斯在 2024 財年再次實現財務業績，公司總收入接近 140 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 為 28.8 億美元。今年我們成功完成了約三分之一的會員續約。

With the financial benefits of these renewals driving 4% growth in total company affiliate fee revenues led by 9% growth at the television segment. As fiscal 2024 results compare against the prior year of marquee events, including the record pricing Super Bowl LVII, the FIFA Men's World Cup in the midterm election cycle.

這些續約帶來的財務收益推動公司聯盟費用收入總額成長 4%，其中電視業務收入成長 9%。 2024 財年的業績與上一年的大型活動進行了比較，包括創紀錄定價的第五十七屆超級盃、中期選舉週期中的國際足總男子世界盃。

As anticipated, the comparison to these cyclical events contributed to an 18% decline in total company advertising revenues. Total company other revenues were down 4% year over year, with higher sports sublicensing revenues more than offset by lower content revenues impacted by the SAG and WGA labor disputes.

正如預期的那樣，與這些週期性事件相比，公司廣告總收入下降了 18%。公司其他總收入年減 4%，體育轉授權收入的增加被 SAG 和 WGA 勞資糾紛影響的內容收入減少所抵銷。

Total company expenses decreased 5%, largely due to the absence of costs associated with the Super Bowl and Men's World Cup in the prior year. However, this was partially offset by the first year step up under our new NFL rights agreement. Also contributing to this overall decrease in expenses were lower entertainment programming costs due to the strikes.

公司總支出下降了 5%，主要是因為去年沒有與超級盃和男子世界盃相關的費用。然而，這被我們新的 NFL 權利協議第一年的升級部分抵消了。罷工導致的娛樂節目成本降低也是支出整體下降的原因之一。

Net income attributable to stockholders was $1.5 billion or $3.13 per share, up versus the $1.24 billion or $2.33 per share reported in fiscal 2023. Restructuring impairment and other corporate matters was impacted by charges associated with the FOX News Media litigation last year and non-operating other net was impacted by the change in fair value of the company's investment in [Slough], partially offset by the book gain on USFL assets contributed to the United Football League joint venture.

股東應佔淨利潤為15 億美元，即每股3.13 美元，高於2023 財年報告的12.4 億美元，即每股2.33 美元。訴訟相關指控的影響。

Excluding non-core items, full year adjusted net income was $1.65 billion and adjusted EPS was $3.43 a share.

不包括非核心項目，全年調整後淨利為 16.5 億美元，調整後每股收益為 3.43 美元。

Turning to our fiscal fourth quarter, Fox delivered total revenues of $3.09 billion, up 2% from the prior year quarter and quarterly adjusted EBITDA of $773 million, up 5% from the prior year quarter. Total company affiliate fee revenues grew 5% over the prior year, with growth at both our television and cable segments supported by our recent cycle as affiliate renewals.

談到第四財季，福斯的總營收為 30.9 億美元，比去年同期成長 2%，季調整後 EBITDA 為 7.73 億美元，比去年同期成長 5%。公司聯盟費用總收入比前一年增長了 5%，我們的電視和有線電視部門的成長受到我們最近的聯盟續約週期的支持。

Total company advertising revenues were flat as the revenue generated from a Summer of Soccer and growth of JV was offset by lower ratings and pricing of the Fox Network. Total company other revenues were down 11%, primarily due to a lower volume of third-party content sales in the current year quarter.

公司廣告總收入持平，因為「夏季足球」和合資企業的成長所產生的收入被福克斯電視網較低的收視率和定價所抵消。該公司其他總收入下降 11%，主要是由於本季第三方內容銷售量下降。

Growth in total company expenses was held to 1%. Here, costs associated with the broadcast of the UEFA and Copa America, along with digital investments at Tubi were partially offset by the deconsolidation of the USFL and lower programming and production costs at FOX Entertainment from the higher mix of unscripted versus scripted content.

公司總費用成長控制在1%。在這裡，與歐足聯和美洲杯的轉播相關的成本以及Tubi 的數字投資被USFL 的解散以及福克斯娛樂公司因無腳本內容與有腳本內容的更多混合而降低的節目和製作成本所部分抵消。

Net income attributable to stockholders of $319 million or $0.68 per share was down versus the $375 million or $0.74 per share reported in the prior year quarter. Excluding non-core items, adjusted net income in the quarter increased to $423 million, while adjusted EPS grew 2% to $0.90 a share.

股東應佔淨利潤為 3.19 億美元，即每股 0.68 美元，較去年同期的 3.75 億美元，即每股 0.74 美元有所下降。不包括非核心項目，該季度調整後淨利潤增至 4.23 億美元，調整後每股收益成長 2%，至每股 0.90 美元。

Now turning to the quarterly results of our main operating segments. At Cable Networks, fourth quarter revenue grew 2% year over year. Cable affiliate fee revenues increased 2%, with growth in pricing from our affiliate renewals outpacing the impact from industry subscriber declines running in the mid 8% range.

現在轉向我們主要營運部門的季度業績。 Cable Networks 第四季營收年增 2%。有線電視聯屬費用收入成長了 2%，聯盟續約帶來的定價成長超過了產業用戶下降 8% 左右的影響。

Cable advertising revenues grew 3% at the national sports networks, advertising benefited from the broadcast of CONMEBOL Copa America and the UEFA European Championship. At FOX News, ad revenues benefited from higher pricing, improved ratings and slightly lower preemptions.

國家體育網絡的有線廣告收入增長了 3%，廣告受益於 CONMEBOL 美洲杯和 UEFA 歐洲錦標賽的轉播。在福克斯新聞，廣告收入受益於更高的定價、更高的收視率和略低的搶佔率。

And whether revenues were essentially unchanged from the prior year quarter. Total expenses were 11% lower than the prior year quarter, primarily due to the deconsolidation of the USFL and lower programming costs at FOX News partially offset by the UEFA Euros and Copa America. All in quarterly adjusted EBITDA at the Cable segment grew 20% over the prior year quarter to reach $703 million.

以及收入與去年同期相比是否基本不變。總費用比去年同期下降 11%，主要是由於 USFL 的合併以及福克斯新聞頻道節目成本的降低，部分被歐足聯歐洲盃和美洲盃的費用所抵消。電纜業務的季度調整後 EBITDA 比去年同期成長 20%，達到 7.03 億美元。

Turning to our television segment, where we delivered 2% growth in quarterly revenues. This was led by 9% growth in television affiliate fee revenues as price increases across Fox owned and operated and Fox affiliated stations continued to outpace the impact from subscriber declines.

轉向我們的電視部門，我們的季度收入成長了 2%。電視聯營費用收入增長 9% 帶動了這一增長，因為福克斯擁有和運營的以及福克斯附屬電視台的價格上漲繼續超過了訂戶下降的影響。

Television advertising revenues fell 1% as the broadcast of the UEFA Euros and Copa America and growth at Tubi were offset by lower ratings and pricing at the Fox Network. Television other revenues fell 19% in the quarter, primarily a result of a lower volume of third-party content sales.

由於歐洲盃和美洲盃的轉播以及 Tubi 的成長被福克斯電視網收視率和定價的下降所抵消，電視廣告收入下降了 1%。該季度電視其他收入下降 19%，主要是由於第三方內容銷售量下降。

Expenses at the television segment grew 8% over the prior year quarter, primarily due to costs associated with UEFA Euros and Copa America and digital investment in Tubi, partially offset by lower programming and production costs at FOX Entertainment. Taking all these factors into account, quarterly adjusted EBITDA at the television segment declined 35% against the prior year quarter to $148 million.

電視部門的支出比去年同期增長了 8%，主要是由於歐洲杯和美洲杯的相關成本以及 Tubi 的數位投資，部分被福克斯娛樂公司較低的節目和製作成本所抵消。考慮到所有這些因素，電視部門的季度調整後 EBITDA 比去年同期下降了 35%，至 1.48 億美元。

During the full year, we generated free cash flow, which we define as net cash provided by operating activities less CapEx to $1.5 billion. Before we get to capital allocation and balance sheet, it is worth noting some key guidance for this coming fiscal year.

全年，我們產生了自由現金流，我們將其定義為經營活動提供的淨現金減去資本支出，達到 15 億美元。在我們討論資本配置和資產負債表之前，值得注意的是下一財年的一些關鍵指引。

Most notably, we returned to another major event cycle in fiscal 2025, led by Super Bowl LIX, which we expect will drive significant growth in both advertising revenues and free cash flow. However, this is the first Super Bowl under our new NFL contract and accordingly will have elevated rights amortization.

最值得注意的是，我們回到了 2025 財年以超級盃 LIX 為首的另一個重大活動週期，我們預計這將推動廣告收入和自由現金流的顯著增長。然而，這是我們新 NFL 合約下的第一個超級碗，因此權利攤銷將會增加。

We continue to expect strong political advertising in the first half of the fiscal year from the election cycle, which will particularly benefit our stations group. From an affiliate revenue perspective, we have a relatively light year of renewals with approximately one quarter of our total company distribution revenues up for renewal, which are more weighted to our cable segment.

我們仍然預計選舉週期將在本財年上半年帶來強勁的政治廣告，這將特別有利於我們的電視台集團。從聯營公司收入的角度來看，我們今年的續約相對較少，公司總分銷收入的大約四分之一用於續訂，這對我們的有線電視部門來說更重要。

We expect to continue to invest in our digital lead growth initiatives. Here, Tubi will continue to be the focus of investment spend with the collective digital portfolio expected to deliver improved EBITDA relative to 2024. We also look forward to the expected launch of Venu Sports this fall. As a reminder, our share of ownership results from Venu will be recorded below EBITDA in equity earnings.

我們預計將繼續投資於我們的數位潛在客戶成長計畫。在這裡，Tubi 將繼續成為投資支出的焦點，集體數位投資組合預計將帶來比 2024 年更好的 EBITDA。提醒一下，我們從 Venu 獲得的所有權份額將低於股本收益中的 EBITDA。

Returning to capital allocation. Over the course of the fiscal year, we returned $1 billion of capital through the repurchase of 40 million Class A shares and a further $250 million in dividend payments, underlining our continued commitment to shareholder returns. Today, we announced an increase in our semiannual dividend to $0.27 per share.

回到資本配置。在本財年中，我們透過回購 4,000 萬股 A​​ 類股票返還了 10 億美元的資本，並另外支付了 2.5 億美元的股息，這突顯了我們對股東回報的持續承諾。今天，我們宣布將半年度股息提高至每股 0.27 美元。

With the payment of this dividend and taking into account share repurchase activity since year end, we will cumulatively returned over $7.25 billion dollars of capital to our shareholders since the spin in 2019. This includes $5.65 billion of share repurchases, representing over 27% of our total shares outstanding since the launch of the buyback program in November 2019. This is all supported by the strength of our balance sheet, where we ended the quarter with $4.3 billion in cash and approximately $7.2 billion in debt.

支付此股利並考慮到年底以來的股票回購活動，自2019 年分拆以來，我們將累計向股東返還超過72.5 億美元的資本。 27% 以上。

And with that, I'll turn the call back to Gabrille to get started with Q&A.

然後，我會將電話轉回給 Gabrille，開始問答。

Great. Thanks, Steve. And now we will be happy to take questions from the investment community.

偉大的。謝謝，史蒂夫。現在我們很樂意回答投資界的問題。

(Operator Instructions) Ben Swinburne, Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指示）Ben Swinburne，摩根士丹利。

Thank you. Good morning. I want to ask about Venu, which is launching quite soon. You guys have announced, or they've announced the price point. I guess, Lachlan, how are you thinking about this product now that it's about to launch and pricings out? You've given us some sense of longer-term subscriber potential, but I didn't know if you wanted to revisit that or to share your thoughts on how you think that product fits to the audiences.

謝謝。早安.我想問一下即將推出的 Venu。你們已經宣布了，或者他們已經宣布了價格點。我想，Lachlan，既然這款產品即將推出並定價，您對此有何看法？您讓我們對長期訂閱者潛力有了一些了解，但我不知道您是否想重新審視這一點，或者分享您對產品如何適合受眾的想法。

And Steve, is there anything we should be thinking about in terms of the impact of the financials in fiscal '25 from Venu across the income statement or cash flow statement that we should be keeping our eyes on. I know you guys are obviously equity partners and also will benefit from any revenue generation product. Thanks so much.

史蒂夫，就 Venu 25 財年財務狀況對損益表或現金流量表的影響而言，我們是否應該考慮一些我們應該密切關注的事情。我知道你們顯然是股權合作夥伴，也將從任何創收產品中受益。非常感謝。

Hey, Ben, thank you very much for your question and good morning. Obviously, a number of our milestones have been achieved on the development of Venu as we've gone through the beta and as it leads towards the launch later this month. This new beta releases, we are practically every day and the product is looking both excellent, really good, but also in a quite revolutionary in the way Americans are going to view sport.

嘿，本，非常感謝你的提問，早安。顯然，隨著我們完成測試版以及本月稍後的發布，我們在 Venu 的開發過程中實現了許多里程碑。我們幾乎每天都會發布這個新的測試版，該產品看起來非常出色，非常好，而且對美國人看待體育的方式也具有相當的革命性。

And so, we remain incredibly excited about it. Venu announced their pricing and [42.99] as an initial launch price. We think that really hits the right mark and the target for where we want to be as a business, but also as a consumer proposition. And there's no update really on our expectations of 5 million subscribers over five years. That's what's in the business plan, and that's what we're in to achieve.

因此，我們對此仍然感到非常興奮。 Venu 宣布了他們的定價和 [42.99] 作為初始發行價。我們認為，這確實擊中了我們作為企業和消費者主張的目標。我們對五年內訂閱者達到 500 萬的預期沒有任何更新。這就是商業計畫中的內容，也是我們要實現的目標。

Obviously, it's very important that those subscribers are focused on cord cutters and cord nevers. We feel that and all the partners in Venu feel very strongly that we can target our marketing and our subscriber acquisition to sports fans that are not currently in the cable television bundle. That's important to us. And that really is what leads us to subscriber level in the mid single digit millions. Steve?

顯然，這些訂戶關注剪線鉗和剪線器非常重要。我們認為，Venu 的所有合作夥伴都強烈認為，我們可以將我們的行銷和訂閱用戶目標定位於目前不在有線電視捆綁中的運動迷。這對我們很重要。這確實是我們的用戶數量達到數百萬的原因。史蒂夫？

Yeah. Thanks, Ben. So in terms of impact in financial statements, obviously, we had a two sided relationship with Venu Sports. So as a shareholder, the business is going to take some time to sort of get the cash flow breakeven.

是的。謝謝，本。因此，就財務報表的影響而言，顯然我們與維納斯運動有著雙向的關係。因此，作為股東，企業將需要一些時間才能達到現金流量收支平衡。

So from a shareholder perspective, you'll see that investment come through. We'll take the deficit through equity earnings in the P&L and investment through the cash flow that obviously we're a key supplier to the JV being a content supplier of our sports networks.

因此，從股東的角度來看，您會看到投資得以實現。我們將透過損益表中的股本收益來彌補赤字，並透過現金流來進行投資，顯然我們是合資企業的主要供應商，也是我們體育網絡的內容供應商。

And so, the benefit that you'll see come through from their affiliate fee revenues, both in cable and TV. So it's a touch early. I think we've assumed 100% locked down in terms of launch date to give you any sort of guide on quantum in terms of fiscal '25 impact. But as I said, I think a couple of earnings calls ago, on a net-net basis, it should be accretive to us from a pretty quick basis.

因此，您將看到的好處來自於他們在有線電視和電視領域的聯盟費用收入。所以現在還為時過早。我認為我們假設發布日期已 100% 鎖定，以便為您提供有關 25 財年影響的量子指南。但正如我所說，我認為在幾次財報電話會議之前，在淨淨基礎上，它應該很快就會為我們帶來增值。

Operator, next question, please.

接線員，請下一個問題。

John Hodulik, UBS.

約翰‧霍杜里克，瑞銀集團。

Maybe a couple of quick questions on the ad market. First of all, on the TV side, you had mentioned lower pricing that you're seeing. Can you delineate what you're seeing on the sports side versus entertainment.

也許有幾個關於廣告市場的簡單問題。首先，在電視方面，您提到了您所看到的較低價格。你能描述一下你所看到的體育方面和娛樂方面的內容嗎？

And on cable, just any outlook you can provide on the cable ads outlook, just given the strong ratings we've seen thus far in 3Q? And then lastly, on political, as we head into this, what I would call unprecedented political situation, I mean, just any way to size what you expect from political spending versus other previous presidential elections would be great. Thanks

在有線電視方面，考慮到我們在第三季迄今為止看到的強勁收視率，您能提供有關有線電視廣告前景的任何展望嗎？最後，在政治方面，當我們進入這個我所說的前所未有的政治局勢時，我的意思是，與之前的其他總統選舉相比，任何方式來衡量你對政治支出的期望都會很棒。謝謝

Thanks very much, John. So overall, our pricing is very strong, and we had both pricing and volume increases are coming out of our upfront. We've now closed or upfront. We've -- 99% of the businesses in house. So the upfront processes is now completed. I'm happy to report it very successfully.

非常感謝，約翰。因此，總的來說，我們的定價非常強勁，而且我們的定價和銷售成長都是來自我們的前期。我們現在已經關閉或預付。我們 99% 的業務都是內部經營。至此，前期流程已經完成。我很高興能夠非常成功地進行報告。

Going into the upfront to be totally honest, there was internationals. There were some headwinds that you can see and we still remain cautiously optimistic about what could be achieved, but we actually came through the upfront above our expectations. And again, I'm pretty pleased with the momentum that we saw in our businesses.

老實說，首先是國際球員。你可以看到一些阻力，我們仍然對可以實現的目標保持謹慎樂觀，但我們實際上取得了超出我們預期的前期成果。再說一次，我對我們在業務中看到的勢頭感到非常滿意。

Of course, this was led by sport in both the sport inventory that we have and marquee events that we have are culminating in Super Bowl LIX this year. Sport was incredibly strong, not just in football, but also in Major League Baseball. So we're very pleased with that.

當然，這是由體育運動主導的，無論是我們擁有的體育項目還是我們擁有的大型賽事，都將在今年的超級碗第五十九屆比賽中達到頂峰。運動的力量非常強大，不僅在橄欖球領域，而且在美國職棒大聯盟也是如此。所以我們對此非常滿意。

In cable, Fox News also saw volume increases in the upfront most pleasingly. I think -- obviously, that's coupled with really remarkable ratings increases, but most important, and we've talked about this a number of times on previous calls, the strength in the direct response marketplace in the high-10s in terms of pricing is a great return to growth in pricing for our direct response and really bodes well for that line of our business.

在有線電視方面，福斯新聞也看到了預付費用數量的成長。我認為 - 顯然，這與真正顯著的收視率增長相結合，但最重要的是，我們在之前的電話會議中多次討論過這一點，直接響應市場在定價方面的實力在前十位是我們的直接反應帶來了定價成長的巨大回報，這對我們的業務線來說確實是個好兆頭。

When we then look at on political, we expect probably [Exxon], the Georgia runoff. If you look at -- so the apples to apples of political cycles, we would expect a record political cycle this year. And in particular as the race heats up, we're seeing more money flow into the marketplace and new marketplace is emerging as I mentioned in my prepared comments, the Races Titan's.

當我們考慮政治時，我們預計可能是[埃克森]喬治亞州決選。如果你仔細觀察政治週期，我們預期今年的政治週期將創歷史新高。特別是隨著比賽的升溫，我們看到更多的資金流入市場，並且新的市場正在出現，正如我在準備好的評論中提到的，“比賽泰坦”。

For instance, Atlanta and Phoenix, where there's a significant amount of money now being placed only in the last couple of weeks. So we do expect a very robust political cycle. And we think a record political cycle Exxon on the Georgia runoff four years ago.

例如，亞特蘭大和菲尼克斯，僅在過去幾週才投入大量資金。因此，我們確實預期會有一個非常強勁的政治週期。我們認為四年前埃克森美孚在喬治亞州決選時創下了創紀錄的政治週期。

Next question, please. Operator.

請下一個問題。操作員。

Robert Fishman, MoffettNathanson.

羅伯特‧菲什曼，莫菲特‧內森森。

Hi, good morning, everyone. Can you share your latest expectations to keep growing affiliate fees than fiscal '25 after the pricing increases roll through from your recent renewals? And how much more room is there to drive retrans price, given the importance of Fox's exclusive sports content in the pay TV ecosystem?

嗨，大家早安。您能否分享您最近的續訂後價格上漲後對聯屬費用比 25 財年保持增長的最新預期？考慮到福斯獨家體育內容在付費電視生態系統中的重要性，還有多少空間可以推動轉播價格？

And then just separately, if I can, how should investors think about the level of content spend across the company? Maybe just help us with the right balance between sport and scripted entertainment, unscripted and even Tubi? Thanks so much.

然後，如果可以的話，投資人應該如何考慮整個公司的內容支出水準？也許只是幫助我們在運動和有劇本的娛樂、無劇本甚至圖比之間取得適當的平衡？非常感謝。

Thank you very much, Robert. I think, on growing affiliate fees, we expect to continue to modestly grow our affiliate fees in light of, obviously, the declining volume of subscribers. I think from -- we called out in the past quarter or last quarter, sort of a reduction in subscribers of around 8%, mid 8%. And as that continues, we'll be able to grow our pricing above that, but it's going to be modestly above that number.

非常感謝你，羅伯特。我認為，在增加附屬費用方面，鑑於訂戶數量明顯下降，我們預計將繼續適度增加附屬費用。我認為，我們在上個季度或上個季度呼籲，訂戶數量減少了 8% 左右，中間為 8%。隨著這種情況的繼續，我們將能夠將定價提高到該數字之上，但會略高於該數字。

And that's really based on the focus of our core brands. The fact that we're not carrying the baggage of any entertainment cable channels or legacy channels which would you have to use or the leverage of FOX News or Fox Sports to support. We can be entirely focused on driving the appropriate value for our core cable brands and also for our television stations retransmission.

這實際上是基於我們核心品牌的重點。事實上，我們沒有攜帶任何娛樂有線頻道或傳統頻道的包袱，您必須使用這些頻道或福克斯新聞或福克斯體育的槓桿來支持。我們可以完全專注於為我們的核心有線電視品牌以及我們的電視台轉播創造適當的價值。

Yeah. And Robert, in terms of content standards, if I just go through the key verticals we have. At sports, we have regular (technical difficulty) increases. Obviously, the NFL is the single largest piece of that. In fiscal '25, that's partially offset by the fact that in October, we move away from WWE program with College Sports rights.

是的。羅伯特，就內容標準而言，如果我只介紹我們擁有的關鍵垂直領域。在體育運動中，我們會定期增加（技術難度）。顯然，NFL 是其中最大的一塊。在 25 財年，我們在 10 月放棄了擁有大學體育權利的 WWE 項目，這一事實部分抵消了這一影響。

Tubi, I think you should expect us to continue to grow content. Some of that is active in terms of license content in originals. And some of that is passive because so much of the revenues come from revenue share deals. And so, that just grows with the amount of usership and advertising growth. News is pretty modest growth, a lot of that to do with talent and breaking news coverage, and that's very predictable.

Tubi，我想你應該期待我們繼續增加內容。其中一些在原件的許可內容方面是活躍的。其中一些是被動的，因為大部分收入來自收入分成交易。因此，它只會隨著用戶數量和廣告的增長而增長。新聞的成長相當溫和，很大程度上與人才和突發新聞報道有關，這是非常可預測的。

And then the final one I think you were alluding to with entertainment and the shift from scripted to unscripted. With that, it's probably worth noting that fiscal '24 obviously was very impacted by the strikes. And so, you had a very significant shift from scripted to unscripted programming.

最後一個我認為你提到的是娛樂以及從有腳本到無腳本的轉變。因此，值得注意的是，24 財年顯然受到罷工的影響很大。因此，您從腳本編程到無腳本編程發生了非常重大的轉變。

And that is what has partially dramatic fiscal '24 was that trend was particularly amplified and it basically sizes north of $100 million in terms of entertainment programming costs. Don't expect that to continue to have an impact. It will swing back a little bit the other way as we sort of rebalance the portfolio the slight next year with a little bit more scripted way.

這就是 24 財年部分引人注目的原因，即這一趨勢特別放大，就娛樂節目成本而言，其規模基本上超過 1 億美元。不要指望這會繼續產生影響。當我們明年以更腳本化的方式稍微重新平衡投資組合時，它會以另一種方式回落。

I think when we look at entertainment, we look at it from the perspective of how do we get our cost per hour down when I compare what I think fiscal '25 will look like versus fiscal '23 that cost per hour is probably down 10% to 15%.

我認為，當我們考慮娛樂時，我們會從如何降低每小時成本的角度來看待它，當我將我認為的 25 財年與 23 財年的每小時成本可能下降 10% 進行比較時至15% 。

But we obviously want to have a balanced broadcast network that serves as cross promotional needs, sets that capacity monetize from an advertising perspective and sets our capacity to monetize our content in downstream windows and designing chips and the content. So we're going to be balanced about it.

但我們顯然希望擁有一個平衡的廣播網絡，滿足交叉促銷需求，從廣告角度設置貨幣化能力，並設定我們在下游窗口和設計晶片和內容中通過內容貨幣化的能力。所以我們會對此保持平衡。

Operator, we can go to the next question.

接線員，我們可以進入下一個問題。

Jessica Reif Ehrlich, Bank of America.

傑西卡·雷夫·埃利希，美國銀行。

Thanks. One follow-up and one questions. So on the follow-up, it sounds like you had a great upfront. I'm wondering this is the first year of your new [ad sales] team. Is there anything that they're doing that's like anything different in their approach? You've obviously had a great result, but you also have like great events.

謝謝。一項跟進和一項問題。所以在後續行動中，聽起來你的前期工作做得很好。我想知道這是你們新的[廣告銷售]團隊的第一年。他們正在做的事情有什麼與他們的方法不同的嗎？顯然你已經取得了很好的成績，但你也有類似的偉大事件。

And then secondly, one of the key assets of the company is your balance sheet front. And I'm just wondering since you're already in like live news and sports, like couple of areas of the traditional media industry that are still growing, where do you see your next opportunity, like where do you expect to deploy capital?

其次，公司的關鍵資產之一是資產負債表。我只是想知道，既然您已經進入了現場新聞和體育等仍在增長的傳統媒體行業的幾個領域，那麼您在哪裡看到下一個機會，例如您希望在哪裡部署資本？

Thanks very much, Jessica, good morning. First on the ad sales team up, thank you for calling them out. They've done a tremendous job and we're very happy with their performance. Jeff Collins has stepped into the role very, very well and is leading the team effectively. And obviously, monetizing all the impressions that we're able to generate. So we're very pleased with that.

非常感謝，傑西卡，早安。首先感謝廣告銷售團隊的邀請。他們做得非常出色，我們對他們的表現非常滿意。傑夫·柯林斯（Jeff Collins）非常非常出色地擔任了這個角色，並且有效地領導了團隊。顯然，將我們能夠產生的所有印象貨幣化。所以我們對此非常滿意。

Going into the upfront, we're structured I think a little bit differently some other media companies. I'm not aware of the structure of advertising sales organizations across the entire industry, but we retain expertise across the verticals. So we have a very focused sports team. We have a very focused news team, entertainment and importantly, more our digital team, which is obviously the great part is Tubi. So what we have is expertise in those teams.

首先，我認為我們的結構與其他媒體公司略有不同。我不了解整個行業的廣告銷售組織的結構，但我們保留了跨垂直行業的專業知識。所以我們有一支非常專注的運動隊伍。我們有一個非常專注的新聞團隊、娛樂團隊，更重要的是我們的數位團隊，這顯然是 Tubi 的重要組成部分。所以我們擁有的是這些團隊的專業知識。

In the upfront, we are able to sell across the entire portfolio under one Fox portfolio, and that proved to be very successful and very effective in this upfront. So I'm not sure of that very different from what everyone else is doing. But it's a structure that we think works for us and has certainly proven its value in the marketplace this year.

在前期，我們能夠在一個福斯投資組合下銷售整個投資組合，事實證明，這在前期是非常成功且非常有效的。所以我不確定這與其他人所做的有什麼不同。但我們認為這是一種適合我們的結構，並且今年已經在市場上證明了它的價值。

In terms of what we're doing with our balance sheet and how we deploy our capital, I think we are careful and prudent deployers of capital. That's going to continue. We have the right mix of investment, capital investment in the business of organic investment in our businesses in return to shareholders and then increasingly our focus on M&A.

就我們如何處理資產負債表以及如何部署資本而言，我認為我們是謹慎謹慎的資本部署者。這種情況將會持續下去。我們擁有正確的投資組合，對我們業務的資本投資和對我們業務的有機投資，以回報股東，然後我們越來越關注併購。

We have nothing to update you in the latter category, other than to say, we're going to be prudent and careful, but we are aware that M&A remains one of the important levers that we have and how we deploy our capital.

對於後一類，我們沒有什麼可以更新的，只是說，我們將保持謹慎和謹慎，但我們知道，併購仍然是我們擁有的以及我們如何部署資本的重要槓桿之一。

Next question, please.

請下一個問題。

Michael Ng, Goldman Sachs.

邁克爾吳，高盛。

Hey, good morning. Thank you very much for the question. I'll ask one on Tubi, mid-10s revenue growth, which is great in the quarter despite some heightened competition on the connected TV side. I was wondering if you could just talk a little bit more about that strength and then give us an update on what are the digital investment losses ended up this year in fiscal '24 and your outlook for fiscal '25. Thank you.

嗨，早安。非常感謝你的提問。我會問一個關於 Tubi 的問題，收入成長了 10 多歲，儘管連網電視方面的競爭加劇，但本季的營收成長還是不錯的。我想知道您是否可以多談談這種優勢，然後向我們介紹今年 24 財年數位投資損失的最新情況以及您對 25 財年的展望。謝謝。

Great. Let me start with Tubi, then I'll hand over to Steve. Tubi continues to go from strength to strength. I think importantly, exiting the fourth quarter with revenue growth in the mid to upper-10s. I think was very good to see that momentum as we moved into July. We've seen that momentum continue into this quarter in July.

偉大的。讓我從 Tubi 開始，然後我將交給 Steve。 Tubi 不斷發展壯大。我認為重要的是，第四季結束時收入成長在 10 左右。我認為當我們進入七月時看到這種勢頭非常好。我們看到這種勢頭一直持續到七月的本季。

You have to put that in context of a tremendous supply of advertising entering into the Austrian market with Amazon Prime entering the advertising supported streaming business, that caused a lot of other streamers to really fight hard for their revenue and drop pricing. Tubi did not have, Tubi have sustainable pricing in this market.

你必須把這一點放在大量廣告進入奧地利市場的背景下，亞馬遜 Prime 進入廣告支援的串流媒體業務，這導致許多其他串流媒體為他們的收入而努力奮鬥並降低價格。 Tubi沒有，Tubi在這個市場有可持續的定價。

And really our robust growth on the strength of the brand and the tremendous reach and quality of its audience. So we're very pleased with that and we're expecting further growth in Tubi as the year progresses.

事實上，我們的強勁成長依賴品牌的實力以及受眾的巨大影響力和品質。因此，我們對此感到非常滿意，並且預計隨著時間的推移，Tubi 將進一步成長。

Thanks, Lachlan. Good to hear from you, Mike. So just in terms of investment, if I look at where we landed for fiscal '24, Tubi was the single largest driver of the investment across our growth portfolio. So its level of investment was it a consistent clip to where we were in fiscal '23. [So to the mid $200 million range].

謝謝，拉克蘭。很高興收到你的來信，麥克。因此，就投資而言，如果我看看我們 24 財年的目標，Tubi 是我們成長投資組合中最大的投資驅動力。因此，其投資水準與我們 23 財年的投資水準一致。 [所以到 2 億美元中間]。

If I look across all the other growth businesses, whether it be nation, where the credible, the entertainment studios that we're building out, that collectively sum to about another $100 million rough -- in rough numbers.

如果我看看所有其他成長型企業，無論是國家級的、可靠的、我們正在建造的娛樂工作室，粗略計算，總價值約為 1 億美元。

Looking forward to fiscal '25, I think most of the improvement comes from a little less investment at Tubi, which should put us in the [high-twos], I think from a net investment perspective across those businesses.

展望 25 財年，我認為大部分改善來自於 Tubi 的投資減少，我認為從這些業務的淨投資角度來看，這應該使我們處於[高位]。

Okay. At this point, we are out of time. But if you have any further questions, please give me or Charlie Costanzo a call. Thanks so much for joining us today.

好的。此時，我們已經沒有時間了。但如果您有任何其他問題，請打電話給我或查理·科斯坦佐。非常感謝您今天加入我們。

Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude your conference call for today. Thank you 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。感謝您使用 AT&T 高階主管電話會議。您現在可以斷開連線。