iHeartMedia Inc (IHRT) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon, and welcome to iHeartMedia's third-quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to Mike McGuinness, Head of Investor Relations. Thank you. Please go ahead.

下午好，歡迎參加 iHeartMedia 2025 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員說明）提醒各位，本次電話會議正在錄音。現在我將把電話交給投資者關係主管麥克·麥吉尼斯。謝謝。請繼續。

Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for taking the time to join us for our third quarter 2025 earnings call. Joining me for today's discussion are Bob Pittman, our Chairman and CEO and Rich Bressler, our President, COO and CFO.

各位下午好，感謝各位抽空參加我們2025年第三季財報電話會議。今天與我一同參與討論的有我們的董事長兼執行長鮑勃·皮特曼，以及我們的總裁、營運長兼財務長里奇·布雷斯勒。

At the conclusion of our prepared remarks, management will take your questions. In addition to our press release, we have an earnings presentation available on our website that you can use to follow along with our remarks.

在我們發言結束後，管理階層將回答各位的問題。除了新聞稿之外，我們還在網站上提供了一份收益報告演示文稿，您可以參考這份簡報來配合我們的演講。

Please note that this call may include forward-looking statements regarding our 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, including our recent 8-K filing.

請注意，本次電話會議可能包含有關我們財務績效及經營成果的前瞻性陳述。這些聲明是基於管理層目前的預期，實際結果可能與聲明有所不同，這是由於今天電話會議和公司向美國證券交易委員會提交的文件（包括我們最近提交的 8-K 文件）中確定的某些因素造成的。

Additionally, during this call, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are included in our earnings release, earnings presentation and our SEC filings, which are available in the Investor Relations section of our website.

此外，在本次電話會議中，我們將提及某些非GAAP財務指標。GAAP 和非 GAAP 財務指標之間的調節表包含在我們的獲利報告、獲利簡報和提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中，這些文件可在我們網站的投資者關係部分查閱。

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

現在我把電話交給鮑伯。

Thanks, Mike, and good afternoon, everyone. In the third quarter, even though 2025 is a nonpolitical year, we generated adjusted EBITDA of $205 million, slightly above the midpoint of our previously provided guidance range of $180 million to $220 million and flat to prior year. Our consolidated revenue for the quarter was at the high end of our guidance of down low single digits and was down 1.1% compared to the prior year quarter. Excluding the impact of political, our consolidated revenue was up 2.8%.

謝謝你，麥克，大家下午好。第三季度，儘管 2025 年是非政治年份，但我們調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.05 億美元，略高於我們之前提供的 1.8 億美元至 2.2 億美元指導範圍的中點，與上年持平。本季綜合收入處於我們先前預期的個位數低幅的高端，與上年同期相比下降了 1.1%。剔除政治因素的影響，我們的綜合收入成長了 2.8%。

Turning to our individual operating segments. The Digital Audio Group generated third quarter revenue of $342 million, up 13.5% versus prior year, above our previously provided guidance of up high single digits. The Digital Audio Group generated third quarter adjusted EBITDA of $130 million, up 30.3% versus prior year and the Digital Audio Group's adjusted EBITDA margins were 38.1% compared to 33.2% in the prior year. And we're making continued progress towards our stated goal of achieving full year adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid-30s.

接下來，我們來看看各個營運部門的狀況。數位音訊集團第三季​​營收達 3.42 億美元，較上年同期成長 13.5%，高於我們先前給出的高個位數成長預期。數位音訊集團第三季​​調整後 EBITDA 為 1.3 億美元，比去年同期成長 30.3%；數位音訊集團調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 38.1%，而去年同期為 33.2%。我們正朝著既定目標穩步邁進，即實現全年調整後 EBITDA 利潤率達到 30% 以上。

Within the Digital Audio Group, our podcast revenue was in line with our guidance of up low 20s, it grew 22.5% compared to prior year as we continue to feel the flywheel effect of our number one audience position in podcast publishing according to Podtrac. We believe we have the most profitable podcasting business in the United States. And importantly, our podcasting EBITDA margins remain accretive to our total company EBITDA margins.

在數位音訊集團中，我們的播客收入符合我們先前預期的 20% 左右，與前一年相比增長了 22.5%，這得益於我們繼續感受到 Podtrac 數據顯示的我們在播客發布領域排名第一的受眾地位所帶來的飛輪效應。我們相信我們擁有美國最賺錢的播客業務。更重要的是，我們的播客業務 EBITDA 利潤率持續提升公司整體 EBITDA 利潤率。

In Q3, approximately 50% of our podcasting revenue was generated by our local sales force, up from about 11% in Q3 of 2020 demonstrating the unique advantage of having what we believe is the largest local sales force and media with a presence across 160 markets in addition to our strong national sales force. In the third quarter, our non-podcast digital revenue grew 8% compared to prior year.

第三季度，我們約 50% 的播客收入來自本地銷售團隊，高於 2020 年第三季度的約 11%，這表明我們擁有獨特的優勢，即我們擁有我們認為最大的本地銷售團隊和媒體，業務遍及 160 個市場，此外我們還有強大的全國銷售團隊。第三季度，我們的非播客數位收入比去年同期成長了 8%。

Earlier today, we announced an exciting new partnership with TikTok that will bring TikTok creators into iHeart's ecosystem. This partnership will include a slate of podcast from TikTok creators, a dedicated broadcast radio station available across the country, and expanded access to our live events starting with a 2025 Jingle Ball Tour, which will deepen creator engagement across audio and video platforms, open new monetization opportunities through integrated sponsorships and cross-platform distribution and reinforce iHeart's unique position at the intersection of culture, content and scale.

今天早些時候，我們宣布與 TikTok 建立令人興奮的新合作關係，這將把 TikTok 創作者帶入 iHeart 的生態系統。此次合作將包括一系列 TikTok 創作者的播客節目、一個覆蓋全國的專屬廣播電台，以及從 2025 年 Jingle Ball 巡迴演唱會開始，擴大我們現場活動的參與度，這將加深創作者在音頻和視頻平台上的參與度，通過整合贊助和跨平台分發開闢新的盈利機會，並鞏固 iHeart 在交匯、內容和規模。

Turning now to the Multiplatform Group, which includes our broadcast radio networks and events businesses. In the third quarter, revenue was $591 million, down 4.6% versus prior year and in line with our previously provided guidance range of down mid-single digits. Excluding the impact of political advertising, Multiplatform Group revenue was down 2.5%. And the Multiplatform Group's adjusted EBITDA was $119 million, down 8.3% versus prior year.

現在讓我們來看看多平台集團，其中包括我們的廣播電台網路和活動業務。第三季營收為 5.91 億美元，年減 4.6%，與我們先前給出的個位數中段下降的預期範圍一致。剔除政治廣告的影響，多平台集團的收入下降了 2.5%。多平台集團的調整後 EBITDA 為 1.19 億美元，較上年下降 8.3%。

As we mentioned last quarter, historically, we've seen that the largest advertisers and advertising agency groups are a good indicator of what's to come and we continue to see growth in the performance of the top 50 advertisers and the four largest advertising agency groups for both the Multiplatform Group and the total company.

正如我們上個季度提到的，從歷史數據來看，最大的廣告商和廣告代理集團是未來趨勢的良好指標，我們繼續看到，無論是多平台集團還是整個公司，前 50 大廣告商和四大廣告代理集團的業績都在增長。

These results give us confidence that our plan to return the Multiplatform Group adjusted to revenue growth is on the right track. And what gives us further confidence in our ability to get the Multiplatform Group back in the growth mode is that it all starts with the audience. We have more broadcast radio listeners today than we had 10 years ago and even 20 years ago. Our challenge is one of monetization. A key component in meeting that challenge is to make our broadcast inventory transact like digital, unlocking a significant monetization opportunity for the company and which will greatly benefit our broadcast revenues.

這些結果讓我們確信，我們恢復多平台集團並使其收入成長的計劃正在朝著正確的方向發展。而讓我們更有信心讓多平台集團重回成長軌道的原因是，這一切都始於受眾。如今的廣播聽眾比 10 年前甚至 20 年前都要多。我們面臨的挑戰是如何獲利。應對這項挑戰的關鍵在於使我們的廣播庫存像數位庫存一樣進行交易，從而為公司釋放巨大的盈利機會，並極大地惠及我們的廣播收入。

On last quarter's call, we announced the hiring of Lisa Coffey as our Chief Business Officer, and I'm happy to report she's already making real progress. Including last week's announcement of our programmatic audio partnership with Amazon, which provides advertisers using Amazon DSP access to iHeart's vast audio portfolio. Our non-podcast digital inventory will be available immediately, and our podcast and broadcast radio inventory will follow in 2026.

在上個季度的電話會議上，我們宣布聘請 Lisa Coffey 擔任首席商務官，我很高興地報告說，她已經取得了實質進展。其中包括上周宣布的與亞馬遜的程式化音訊合作關係，該合作關係使使用亞馬遜 DSP 的廣告商能夠存取 iHeart 龐大的音訊產品組合。我們的非播客數位資源將立即上線，而我們的播客和廣播電台資源將於 2026 年上線。

One of the essential components of our programmatic capability is the digital iHeart Audience database, which includes the radio simulcast listing on our digital services. This enables our targeting, measurement and attribution tools to bridge between broadcast impressions and digital identity, enabling broadcast inventory to transact in DSPs alongside streaming, video and display. In essence, making our broadcast radio inventory look like digital inventory.

我們程序化能力的重要組成部分之一是數位 iHeart Audience 資料庫，其中包括我們數位服務上的廣播同步播出清單。這使得我們的定向、衡量和歸因工具能夠將廣播曝光量與數位身分連結起來，使廣播廣告資源能夠與串流媒體、影片和展示廣告一起在 DSP 中進行交易。從本質上講，就是讓我們的廣播電台資源看起來像是數位資源。

It's important that we continue to grow and improve the proprietary audience database and part of our investment in this initiative includes partnering with third parties through noncash marketing plans aimed at increasing our digital audience and engagement. And in turn, we provide meaningful marketing for those partners as part of this relationship.

我們必須繼續發展和改進專有受眾資料庫，而我們對這項計劃的部分投入包括透過非現金行銷計劃與第三方合作，旨在增加我們的數位受眾和參與度。反過來，作為這種合作關係的一部分，我們也為這些合作夥伴提供有意義的行銷。

Looking at our cost structure, we're still on track to generate $150 million net savings in 2025. Rich will get into more detail. But I want to take this opportunity to announce that we have taken actions that will generate an additional $50 million of incremental annual savings beginning in 2026. As a reminder, we run the company with a relentless focus on maximizing the efficiency of our operating structure, including using new technologies like AI-powered tools and services.

從我們的成本結構來看，我們仍然預計在 2025 年實現 1.5 億美元的淨節省。Rich會詳細解釋。但我想藉此機會宣布，我們已經採取了一些措施，從 2026 年開始，每年將額外節省 5,000 萬美元。再次提醒大家，我們公司始終致力於最大限度地提高營運結構的效率，包括使用人工智慧工具和服務等新技術。

Now let me share with you what we're currently seeing in the ad market. We're feeling similar momentum to what some of the other ad-supported companies have discussed. Right now, spending is holding up and discussions with advertisers are positive. At the same time, the government shutdown does add a level of uncertainty.

現在讓我來和大家分享一下我們目前在廣告市場看到的現象。我們感受到的發展動能與其他一些廣告支援型公司所討論的類似。目前，支出維持穩定，與廣告商的洽談也進展順利。同時，政府停擺也增加了一定程度的不確定性。

This year continues to be an important one for iHeart. The company continues to make significant progress in the growth of our digital business. We're seeing important signs of improvement in our broadcast business, specifically in the strength of our holdco and our biggest national advertising partners. We're making progress on our sales monetization efforts, which we expect to have wide-ranging implications for iHeart, and we remain committed to our culture of innovation and efficiency.

今年對iHeart來說依然是重要的一年。公司在數位業務成長方面持續取得顯著進展。我們看到廣播業務出現了重要的改善跡象，特別是控股公司和最大的全國性廣告合作夥伴的實力增強。我們在銷售貨幣化方面取得了進展，我們預計這將對 iHeart 產生廣泛的影響，我們將繼續致力於創新和效率文化。

And now I'll turn it over to Rich.

現在我把麥克風交給里奇。

Thank you, Bob, and good afternoon, everyone. Our Q3 2025 consolidated revenue was at the high end of our guidance of down low single digits and was down 1.1% compared to the prior year quarter. Excluding the impact of political, our consolidated revenue was up 2.8%.

謝謝你，鮑勃，大家下午好。我們 2025 年第三季的合併收入處於我們先前預期的個位數低幅的高端，與去年同期相比下降了 1.1%。剔除政治因素的影響，我們的綜合收入成長了 2.8%。

Let me provide you with some additional detail on our advertising revenue performance this quarter. As Bob mentioned, the continued strong performance of our largest clients and advertising agency partners is encouraging. And as a reminder, we have diversified advertising revenue. There is no advertising category, greater than about 5% of our total advertising revenue, and no individual advertiser that is more than about 2% of our total advertising revenue.

讓我向您提供一些關於我們本季廣告收入表現的更多細節。正如鮑伯所說，我們最大的客戶和廣告代理商合作夥伴持續強勁的業績令人鼓舞。另外提醒一下，我們的廣告收入來源多元。沒有哪個廣告類別的支出超過我們廣告總收入的 5% 左右，也沒有哪個單一廣告商的支出超過我們廣告總收入的 2% 左右。

As you can see on slide 11, in the third quarter, the largest category gainers in terms of absolute dollars were healthcare, telecom, professional services and retail. And the four categories that declined the most in terms of absolute dollars were political, financial services, food and beverage and entertainment.

如第 11 頁投影片所示，第三季度，以絕對金額計算，成長最快的類別是醫療保健、電信、專業服務和零售。以絕對金額計算，降幅最大的四個類別是政治、金融服務、食品飲料和娛樂。

And in the third quarter, our five largest advertising categories in terms of absolute dollars were healthcare, home building and improvement, financial services, auto, and entertainment. Our consolidated direct operating expenses decreased 2.6% for the quarter. This decrease was primarily driven by a decrease in employee compensation costs in connection with our modernization initiatives taken in 2024, partially offset by higher variable content costs associated with the revenue growth of our digital businesses.

第三季度，以絕對金額計算，我們最大的五個廣告類別是醫療保健、房屋建造和裝修、金融服務、汽車和娛樂。本季我們的綜合直接營運費用下降了2.6%。這一下降主要是由於我們在 2024 年採取的現代化措施導致員工薪酬成本下降，但部分被數位業務收入成長帶來的可變內容成本上升所抵消。

Our consolidated SG&A expenses decreased 1.1% for the quarter, driven primarily by our modernization initiatives, including decreased employee compensation costs, partially offset by increased employee health and benefit expenses. We generated a third quarter GAAP operating loss of $116 million, which includes the impact of a $209 million impairment charge directly related to the value of FCC licenses compared to an operating income of $77 million in the prior year quarter.

本季度，我們的綜合銷售、一般及行政費用下降了 1.1%，主要得益於我們的現代化舉措，包括降低員工薪酬成本，但部分被員工健康和福利支出的增加所抵消。第三季度，我們以美國通用會計準則 (GAAP) 計算的營業虧損為 1.16 億美元，其中包括與 FCC 許可證價值直接相關的 2.09 億美元減損支出，而去年同期營業收入為 7,700 萬美元。

We generated adjusted EBITDA of $205 million, slightly above the midpoint of our previously provided guidance range of $180 million to $220 million and flat to the prior year. As a reminder, Q3 of 2024 benefited from political spend related to the presidential election cycle. Before I turn to our segment performances, I also want to reiterate Bob's statement on our cost management work. We remain on track to generate $150 million of net savings in 2025.

我們調整後的 EBITDA 為 2.05 億美元，略高於我們之前提供的 1.8 億美元至 2.2 億美元的指導範圍的中點，與上年持平。需要提醒的是，2024 年第三季受益於與總統選舉週期相關的政治支出。在介紹我們各業務板塊的業績之前，我還想重申一下鮑伯關於我們成本管理工作的聲明。我們仍有望在 2025 年實現 1.5 億美元的淨節約。

And as a reminder, our Q3 results included the benefit of $40 million of net savings. In addition, this quarter, we took new actions that will generate $50 million of additional annual savings beginning in 2026, and the majority of these savings will benefit the Multiplatform Group. We have again included slides in our investor presentation, slide 5 and 6 that provide more details on our core savings.

再次提醒大家，我們第三季的業績包含了 4,000 萬美元的淨節省。此外，本季我們採取了新的措施，從 2026 年開始每年可節省 5,000 萬美元，其中大部分節省將使多平台集團受益。我們在投資者簡報中再次加入了幻燈片，第 5 和第 6 幻燈片提供了更多關於我們核心節省成本的詳細資訊。

Turning now to the performance of our operating segments. And as a reminder, there are slides in the earnings presentation on our segment performances. In the third quarter, the Digital Audio Group's revenue was $342 million, up 13.5% year-over-year and above our guidance of up high single digits.

現在來看我們各業務部門的業績。另外提醒一下，財報簡報中有關於我們各業務部門績效的投影片。第三季度，數位音訊集團的營收為 3.42 億美元，年增 13.5%，高於我們先前預期的高個位數成長。

The Digital Audio Group's adjusted EBITDA was $130 million, up 30.3% year-over-year and our Q3 adjusted EBITDA margins were 38.1%, up from 33.2% in the prior year. Within the Digital Audio group, our podcasting revenue was $140 million, which grew 22.5% year-over-year and in line with our guidance we provided of up low 20s. Our third quarter non-podcasting digital revenue grew 8% year-over-year to $202 million.

數位音訊集團的調整後 EBITDA 為 1.3 億美元，年成長 30.3%；第三季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 38.1%，高於去年的 33.2%。在數位音訊集團中，我們的播客收入為 1.4 億美元，年增 22.5%，與我們先前給出的 20% 左右的預期相符。我們第三季非播客數位營收年增 8%，達到 2.02 億美元。

Turning now to the Multiplatform Group. Revenue was $591 million, down 4.6% compared to the prior year and in line with our previously provided guidance range. Excluding the impact of political revenue, our Multiplatform Group revenue was down 2.5%. Adjusted EBITDA was $119 million, down 8.3% from $130 million in the prior year quarter. The Multiplatform Group's adjusted EBITDA margins were 20.2% compared to 21% in the prior year quarter.

現在轉向多平台組。營收為 5.91 億美元，比上年下降 4.6%，與我們先前提供的預期範圍一致。剔除政治收入的影響，我們的多平台集團收入下降了 2.5%。調整後 EBITDA 為 1.19 億美元，較上年同期的 1.3 億美元下降 8.3%。多平台集團的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 20.2%，而去年同期為 21%。

Turning to the Audio & Media Services Group. Revenue was $67 million, down 26% year-over-year. As a reminder, Q3 of the prior year benefited materially from political advertising. And excluding the impact of political revenue, the Audio & Media Services Group revenue was down 3.4%. Adjusted EBITDA was $23 million, down 49.1% compared to the prior year, again, due almost entirely to the impact of political advertising in the prior year quarter.

接下來是音訊和媒體服務群組。營收為 6,700 萬美元，年減 26%。需要提醒的是，去年第三季受惠於政治廣告的大幅成長。剔除政治收入的影響，音訊和媒體服務集團的收入下降了 3.4%。調整後的 EBITDA 為 2,300 萬美元，比去年同期下降 49.1%，幾乎完全是由於去年同期政治廣告的影響。

As Bob mentioned in his remarks, investment in our proprietary audience database is a key component of our sales modernization efforts, and some of that investment takes the form of marketing partnerships to drive engagement with the iHeartRadio digital services. In Q3, those relationships drove an increase in our noncash marketing revenues and due to the timing of our marketing campaigns, some of the corresponding expenses relating to those agreements will be recognized in subsequent periods.

正如鮑勃在演講中提到的那樣，對我們專有受眾資料庫的投資是我們銷售現代化工作的關鍵組成部分，其中一些投資採取了行銷合作的形式，以推動用戶參與 iHeartRadio 數位服務。第三季度，這些合作關係推動了我們非現金行銷收入的成長，並且由於我們行銷活動的開展時間，與這些協議相關的一些相應費用將在後續期間確認。

While we may continue to experience some quarterly mismatching of these noncash partnership marketing campaigns in both directions, we believe that obtaining these critical marketing resources for our sales modernization initiative on a noncash basis is a prudent way to preserve capital.

雖然我們可能會繼續遇到一些季度性的非現金合作行銷活動在雙向方面不匹配的情況，但我們相信，以非現金方式獲取這些對銷售現代化計劃至關重要的營銷資源是保住資本的明智之舉。

In the third quarter, our free cash flow was a negative $33 million compared to $73 million in the prior year quarter. This year-over-year variance has three main drivers. Q3 of last year benefited from approximately $40 million of political revenue, which is the only advertising category that is paid in advance of the advertisement.

第三季度，我們的自由現金流為負 3,300 萬美元，而去年同期為 7,300 萬美元。這種同比差異主要有三個驅動因素。去年第三季受惠於約 4,000 萬美元的政治廣告收入，這是唯一一種廣告投放前需要預付費用的廣告類別。

Second, as I mentioned earlier, we generated revenue from new marketing partnerships on a noncash basis as part of our sales modernization initiatives. And third, we were negatively impacted by the timing of working capital items that will positively impact Q4. We expect to generate meaningful free cash flow in Q4.

其次，正如我之前提到的，作為我們銷售現代化計劃的一部分，我們透過新的行銷合作夥伴關係以非現金方式創造了收入。第三，營運資金項目的時機對我們產生了負面影響，但這些項目將對第四季產生正面影響。我們預計第四季將產生可觀的自由現金流。

At quarter end, our net debt was approximately $4.7 billion. Our total liquidity was $510 million, and our cash balance was $192 million, which includes $100 million borrowed under the ABL facility, which we intend to pay back by year-end. Our quarter ending net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 6.6 times.

截至季末，我們的淨債務約為 47 億美元。我們的總流動資金為 5.1 億美元，現金餘額為 1.92 億美元，其中包括根據 ABL 融資安排借入的 1 億美元，我們打算在年底前償還。本季末淨負債與調整後 EBITDA 的比率為 6.6 倍。

Let me now turn to our fourth quarter guidance. We expect to generate fourth quarter adjusted EBITDA in the range of $200 million to $240 million compared to $246 million in the prior year quarter. As a reminder, the fourth quarter financial results of last year benefit from the presidential election cycle, which generated $83 million of political revenue for us.

現在讓我來談談我們第四季的業績預期。我們預計第四季度調整後 EBITDA 將在 2 億美元至 2.4 億美元之間，而去年同期為 2.46 億美元。需要提醒的是，去年第四季的財務表現得益於總統選舉週期，該週期為我們帶來了 8,300 萬美元的政治收入。

We expect our consolidated Q4 2025 revenue to be down low single digits compared to prior year and up mid-single digits, excluding the impact of political revenue. We are still closing the books for October, but we expect our total revenue to be down mid-teens at approximately flat, excluding the impact of political revenue from Q4 2024.

我們預計，2025 年第四季合併收入將比上年同期下降個位數百分比，如果排除政治收入的影響，則將比上年同期增長個位數百分比。我們仍在進行 10 月的財務結算，但預計總收入將下降 15% 左右，或基本持平，不包括 2024 年第四季政治收入的影響。

Turning to the individual segments for Q4. We expect the Digital Audio Group's revenue to be up high single digits with podcasting revenue expected to grow in the mid-teens. That would mean for the full year, we expect our podcasting revenue to grow in the low 20s. We expect the Multiplatform Group's revenue to be down low single digits and up low single digits, excluding the impact of political revenue. And we expect the Audio & Media Services Group revenue to be down approximately 20% and up approximately 15%, excluding the impact of political revenue.

接下來我們來看第四季的各個細分市場。我們預計數位音訊集團的收入將實現接近兩位數的成長，其中播客收入預計將實現兩位數中段的成長。這意味著，我們預計全年播客收入將成長 20% 左右。我們預期多平台集團的收入將出現個位數百分比的下降和個位數百分比的成長，不包括政治收入的影響。我們預計音訊和媒體服務集團的收入將下降約 20%，成長約 15%，不包括政治收入的影響。

Now we will turn it over to the operator to take your questions. Thank you.

現在我們將把電話交給接線員，由他來回答您的問題。謝謝。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作說明）

Aaron Watts, Deutsche Bank.

Aaron Watts，德意志銀行。

Hi, thanks for having me on. I've got a few questions, if I can sneak them in here. Rich, if I heard you correctly on the free cash flow, there were some timing items in there that skewed this year compared to last year. Fourth quarter is going to -- you're going to see that reverse.

您好，謝謝邀請。我還有幾個問題，如果可以的話，請容許我在這裡偷偷問一下。Rich，如果我沒理解錯的話，關於自由現金流，今年的自由現金流數據與去年相比存在一些時間因素造成的偏差。第四季將會出現—你會看到情況逆轉。

As cash flows in, after you repay the ABL, how do you think about using your excess cash towards whether it's front-end maturities or perhaps attacking some of the -- some of your debt that's trading at a larger discount in the market?

在償還ABL後，隨著現金流入，您打算如何利用多餘的現金來償還即將到期的債務，或償還一些在市場上折價較大的債務？

Aaron, thanks for the question. So just a couple of things. Yes, I think you've captured it correctly the point in terms of negative free cash flow for Q3 and the fact that we expect to generate meaningful cash flow and also to reiterate our plan on paying that the ABL in Q4 this year.

亞倫，謝謝你的提問。就幾件事。是的，我認為你已經正確地指出了第三季度負自由現金流的問題，以及我們預計將產生有意義的現金流，並重申我們今年第四季度償還ABL的計劃。

In terms of the maturities, look, I think we've always done a pretty good job historically in the company with looking to reduce the overall cost of our capital structure. And we're going to be opportunistic and continue to have that one goal in mind to create a more efficient capital structure for all of our stakeholders.

就到期債務而言，我認為公司在降低整體資本結構成本方面，一直以來都做得相當不錯。我們將繼續抓住機遇，牢記一個目標，那就是為所有利害關係人創造更有效率的資本結構。

Okay. And in your MPG group, I believe your third quarter revenues, excluding political, came in a little bit light relative to your expectations. That looks like it's trending better at 4Q overall, though I imagine crowd out is helping there.

好的。就您的 MPG 集團而言，我認為您第三季的收入（不包括政治支出）略低於您的預期。看起來第四季整體趨勢有所好轉，不過我認為擠出效應對此有所幫助。

Can you just talk a little bit more about the underlying ad environment, what's balancing the large -- the momentum you're seeing with your large clients? And then maybe relatedly, as you turn the corner into '26 how we should be thinking about political and the upside you see there perhaps versus past cycles for you?

您能否再詳細談談廣告環境的現狀，以及是什麼因素平衡了您從大客戶看到的成長勢頭？然後，或許與此相關的是，當我們邁入 2026 年之際，我們該如何看待政治，以及你認為與過去的周期相比，有哪些利好因素？

Well, maybe I'll just start on a couple of points. Actually, I think in terms of Multiplatform Group and the trends and everything that came in pretty much as we expected in the Q3 out there. So -- and obviously, Bob talked about in terms of our future, we'll talk about more about our confidence and continued strengthening of that group.

那我就先從幾個要點談起吧。實際上，我認為就多平台集團而言，第三季出現的各種趨勢和所有情況都基本上符合我們的預期。所以——很顯然，鮑勃談到了我們的未來，我們將更多地談論我們的信心以及該團隊的持續壯大。

Just to take your last question, second. On political, we're not going to talk anything about specifics on political going into the 2026 election cycle. The only couple of things I would say is we expect it to be a strong revenue cycle for us on a political front, without giving any details on any numbers.

第二，我先回答你最後一個問題。關於政治方面，我們不會討論2026年選舉週期的具體政治細節。我只想說兩點，我們預計在政治方面，這將是一個強勁的收入週期，但我不會透露任何具體數字。

And again, when you look at our capabilities, including the build-out of our audio tech stack and all of our recent announcements on things like with Amazon and broadcast and in the DSP, we're just going to continue to be better and better equipped to take more dollars as we go forward as a company out there.

再說一遍，看看我們的能力，包括我們音頻技術棧的構建，以及我們最近在亞馬遜、廣播和數字信號處理等領域發布的所有公告，我們作為一家公司，未來只會越來越有能力去賺取更多的錢。

But I think overall, it should be a good election year cycle based on everything we know today. And you guys are all seeing the same things on the phone that we know. Maybe Bob comment on the advertising environment.

但我認為，根據我們目前掌握的所有信息，今年的選舉週期總體上應該會比較順利。你們在手機上看到的情況和我們看到的一樣。或許鮑伯可以對廣告環境發表一些看法。

Yes. Look, I think the advertising environment is pretty good. We look at the -- looked at our big advertisers, our largest advertisers and our biggest advertising agencies, the big holdcos. And the trends are very good. I mean, obviously, sort of no one knows what the impact of government shutdown is. But right now, we're not feeling anything on it and continue to feel good about it.

是的。你看，我覺得現在的廣告環境相當不錯。我們考察了——考察了我們的大廣告商、最大的廣告商和最大的廣告代理商，也就是大型控股公司。而且發展趨勢非常好。我的意思是，很顯然，沒有人知道政府停擺會造成什麼影響。但目前我們沒有任何感覺，而且仍然感覺良好。

Okay. That's helpful. If I could just sneak one last one in. You mentioned and we've seen a couple of announcements this past week around advancing your programmatic initiatives, including with Amazon, StackAdapt I thought the inclusion of broadcast radio inventory was particularly interesting.

好的。那很有幫助。如果我能偷偷塞進去最後一個就好了。您提到了，而且我們上週也看到了一些關於推進程序化計劃的公告，包括與亞馬遜和 StackAdapt 的合作。我認為將廣播電台廣告資源納入其中尤其令人感興趣。

Can you remind us where you stand with the other major DSPs now? Should these agreements be incremental to the current revenue base? And what's the timeline for this to be a material mover for the P&L?

您能否提醒我們一下，您目前與其他主要數位服務提供者 (DSP) 相比處於什麼地位？這些協議是否應該在現有收入基礎上增加收入？那麼，這項業務要多久才能對損益表產生實質影響？

I think as we look at the DSPs, we are -- and we have agreements with all the major DSPs for at least part of our inventory. And in the case of Amazon, we announced we'll be adding a broadcast inventory next year in the case of DV360. We do have our broadcast inventory in there, Yahoo! as well. And so we're looking at the major DSPs. We have the relationships in place, and it's really building out.

我認為，當我們審視 DSP 時，我們——而且我們已經與所有主要的 DSP 達成協議，至少涵蓋我們部分庫存。至於亞馬遜，我們宣布明年將在 DV360 上增加廣播庫存。我們的廣播資源確實在那裡，雅虎！也一樣。因此，我們正在研究主要的DSP。我們已經建立了人脈關係，而且正在穩步發展。

And as we think about programmatic, very rough terms, Rich and I think about it as really we're building another podcast business. That we think it probably has that kind of flow through. And if you remember, I think it was 2020, we did about $50 million in podcast revenue, and you see how it's grown.

當我們考慮程序化廣告時，粗略地說，我和 Rich 認為我們實際上是在打造另一個播客業務。我們認為它可能具有那種流通性。如果你還記得的話，我想應該是 2020 年，我們的播客收入達到了 5,000 萬美元左右，你看它成長得多麼快。

So our expectation is that programmatic also grows. It's roughly sort of that same trajectory. And we think it's got the same kind of potential for us in terms of developing new incremental revenue sources for the company. And so for us, we think it's a very big positive for us, and it's the reason we've invested so much in building out that programmatic platform.

因此，我們預期程序化廣告也會成長。大致上是同樣的軌跡。我們認為它在為公司開發新的增量收入來源方面也具有同樣的潛力。因此，我們認為這對我們來說是一個非常積極的方面，這也是我們投入如此多資金來建立程式化平台的原因。

Aaron, the one thing I just might add in terms of what Bob built upon it and you mentioned about Amazon and Bob mentioned it in his opening remarks and the announcement that we made this morning with TikTok. The way -- and Bob gave the part of the analysis with respect to podcasting. The way we think about it is we've got, as Bob commented on our unparalleled audience and the value of that unparalleled audience.

Aaron，關於 Bob 在此基礎上所做的工作，我只想補充一點，你提到了亞馬遜，Bob 在他的開場白中也提到了這一點，以及我們今天早上與 TikTok 一起發布的公告。鮑伯對播客進行了分析，這是他分析的一部分。我們認為，正如鮑伯所說，我們擁有無與倫比的受眾群體，而這個無與倫比的受眾群體具有巨大的價值。

And we've got all of our platforms and what we are constantly focused on and continue to be monetization of our existing platforms is how do we continue to look at -- looking at are there potential new revenue streams off of those platforms on new revenue streams.

我們已經擁有了所有平台，我們一直關注並持續關注的是如何透過現有平台實現盈利，以及如何繼續尋找——尋找這些平台上的潛在新收入來源。

Podcasting, is an interesting one point. Bob pointed out what the numbers were. We just -- I just mentioned TikTok, we've talked about programmatic for broadcasting. So I think you should think about it as our constant focus to take the unique engaged audience we have and how do we continue to get new revenue from that audience revenue streams.

播客是一個很有意思的點。鮑伯指出了這些數字的具體內容。我們剛才——我剛才提到了TikTok，我們討論了廣播的程序化購買。所以我認為你應該把這看作是我們持續關注的重點，即如何利用我們獨特的、活躍的受眾群體，以及如何繼續從這些受眾群體中獲得新的收入來源。

Okay, great. I appreciate all the detail. Thanks guys.

好的，太好了。我很欣賞您提供的所有細節。謝謝各位。

Sebastiano Petti, JPMorgan.

塞巴斯蒂亞諾·佩蒂，摩根大通。

All right, thanks for taking the question, guys. Maybe just starting with podcasting for a minute there, both Bob and Rich. Third quarter numbers kind of came in a little bit better than expected. I feel like this has been a common theme with you guys. I mean anything to think about why the growth rate in podcasting might slow to the mid-teens level?

好的，謝謝各位回答這個問題。或許鮑伯和里奇可以先從播客開始做一段時間。第三季的數據比預期略好。我覺得這似乎是你們常遇到的問題。我的意思是，有沒有什麼因素會導致播客的成長率放緩至十幾個百分點的水平？

It seems like you have a relatively easier comp as you look at the prior year's growth rate relative to the first three quarters of 2024? And also, if you kind of look at it on like a two-year stack basis, seems to be yes, it seems to be a little conservative there. Is there anything that may be particular call out?

從前一年的成長率與 2024 年前三個季度的成長率來看，似乎比較基數較小？而且，如果你從兩年的累積收益來看，似乎是的，這似乎有點保守。有什麼需要特別指出的地方嗎？

And then relatedly, obviously, Netflix deal also announced to TikTok. Any way to perhaps unpack not necessarily looking for forward guidance related to those deals. But just maybe the phasing and the cadence and how long -- how that kind of comes on, how we should be thinking about that phasing into the P&L over time and what that could mean?

然後，很顯然，Netflix 也宣布與 TikTok 達成合作協議。或許可以找到一些方法來分析這些交易，不一定是為了尋求與這些交易相關的未來指引。但或許應該考慮的是階段安排、節奏以及持續時間——這種安排是如何進行的，我們應該如何考慮隨著時間的推移將這種階段安排納入損益表，以及這可能意味著什麼？

Yes. Thanks for the question, Sebastiano. Look, no surprise. We're not going to comment in terms of phasing of anything going forward in terms of that. And just back to the question I just answered before with Aaron, I think the whole bucket of things does come under that bucket of the focus of generating new revenue streams from our unique audience that's out there.

是的。謝謝你的提問，塞巴斯蒂亞諾。不出所料。對於未來任何階段性安排，我們不會發表評論。回到我之前和 Aaron 回答的問題，我認為所有這些事情都屬於同一個範疇，那就是從我們獨特的受眾群體中創造新的收入來源。

If you look at podcasting, just for a second, if you look at the first three quarters, the guidance Q4. Again, we look at everything in a couple of different ways. That gives you about a 23% growth rate on revenue for podcasting, but also it's a little misleading because you get numbers and percentages sometimes could be misleading.

如果你看一下播客，哪怕只是一秒鐘，如果你看一下前三個季度，以及第四季度的業績指引。我們再次從幾個不同的角度來看待所有事情。這意味著播客收入成長率約為 23%，但這有點誤導性，因為數字和百分比有時可能會產生誤導。

If you kind of take the guidance we've given for Q4 and compare it to the actual number we just reported on for Q3, the absolute dollars in podcast revenue growth is bigger in Q4 than Q3. And again, I think it could be middle suite. You just do percentages because you -- obviously, it's math, you're going on a bigger base and the numbers are getting bigger.

如果你把我們對第四季度的預測與我們剛剛公佈的第三季度實際數字進行比較，你會發現第四季度播客收入增長的絕對金額比第三季度更大。而且，我覺得它可能是中檔套房。你只需要計算百分比，因為——很明顯，這是數學，你的基數越來越大，數字也越來越大。

But if you look at the dollars that are there, I think Q3, we're up about $25 million in podcasting revenue sequentially. And if you kind of do the kind of range or middle of the range, we'd be up about $30 million in terms of Q4 out there for podcasting. So again, what counts is follow the money, the money, the money, not the percentages. And so it doesn't show any signs slowing down.

但如果你看看實際到手的金額，我認為第三季我們的播客收入環比增長了約 2500 萬美元。如果按照這個範圍或中間範圍來計算，那麼第四季度播客領域的營收將達到約 3,000 萬美元。所以再次強調，重要的是追蹤資金流向，資金流向，資金流向，而不是百分比。因此，它沒有表現出任何放緩的跡象。

And by the way, just to add, last year, it was a lower percentage in Q4 than earlier in the year, but it was just like this year, a higher number in terms of absolute dollars added in Q4. In terms of just the way we see podcasting and the way we see opportunities growing, we do think -- let's talk about video podcasting, I don't think there's any evidence that it's a transformation of audio to video, but what it is, is an opportunity to add video podcasting on top of the audio podcasting we have today.

順便補充一下，去​​年第四季的百分比低於年初，但與今年一樣，第四季新增的絕對金額更高。就我們看待播客的方式以及我們認為其發展機會的方式而言，我們確實認為——讓我們談談視頻播客，我認為沒有任何證據表明它是音頻到視頻的轉變，但它確實是一個在現有音頻播客的基礎上增加視頻播客的機會。

So again, our constant quest to find new revenue streams for our existing products. And so -- and if you sort of look at where's that big pool of money, everybody is shooting for these days, it's YouTube's got a lot on their video. And so I think it's -- if you look at the industry, there's a lot of discussion about that, and we sort of see it that way, not as a threat to audio, but as an adjunct.

因此，我們始終致力於為現有產品尋找新的收入來源。所以——如果你看看現在每個人都想賺多少錢，你會發現 YouTube 的影片平台賺了很多錢。所以我覺得──如果你看看這個產業，你會發現有很多關於這方面的討論，我們也差不多是這麼看待它的，它不是對音頻的威脅，而是它的輔助手段。

Richard, I could follow up with a phasing question you might be willing to answer. On the $50 million cost-cutting program that's going to be more hitting the numbers in 2026. Any way to perhaps think about the phasing of that in terms of when we kind of hit full run rate?

理查德，我還有一個關於相位的問題想請教您，您或許願意解答。這項耗資 5,000 萬美元的成本削減計畫將在 2026 年取得更大的成效。有沒有辦法考慮何時才能達到滿載運轉狀態，以及這個過程的分階段進行？

Is that a full run rate out the gate since you guys are kind of announcing it a couple of months in advance here? I mean, just maybe a way to think about the $50 million as it pertains to MPG Group's financials next year?

這是指一開始就達到的滿載運轉率嗎？因為你們提前幾個月就公佈了。我的意思是，或許我們可以從另一個角度來思考這 5000 萬美元與 MPG 集團明年財務狀況之間的關係？

I would -- it's a good question. I would think about it exactly in terms of the rhythm of coming in. Let me go back. Yes, it is a full run rate at the beginning of the year action. Very similar to where we had a $150 million program we did last year. If you look at the slides in the deck where we broke down this year's numbers on the cost program, I would look at taking the new program of $50 million and both think about it phasing in.

我會——這是一個很好的問題。我會從進入的節奏角度來考慮這個問題。讓我回去。是的，這是年初比賽的全速運轉率。這和我們去年所進行的1.5億美元計畫非常相似。如果你看一下簡報中我們詳細分析了今年成本計畫數據的投影片，我會考慮將新的 5,000 萬美元計畫分階段實施。

The same way in terms of -- a little smaller in Q1 and more evenly Q2, 3 and 4. And I would look at it when you look at the percentages, I think there's actually a slide on page 6 in there. It actually kind of breaks it out for you in the investor deck, which shows about 61% MPG. And I don't have to read through it, but it goes through all the different lines, and it's right behind the slide on the $150 million program.

同樣的情況是──第一季略小，第二、三、第四季則較為均勻。當你查看百分比時，我建議你看一下，我認為第 6 頁上實際上有一張投影片。實際上，投資者簡報中已經詳細列出了這一點，顯示每加侖行駛里程約為 61 英里。我不需要通讀全文，但它涵蓋了所有不同的項目，而且就在1.5億美元項目的幻燈片後面。

Stephen Laszczyk, Goldman Sachs.

Stephen Laszczyk，高盛集團。

Hey guys, great, thanks for taking the questions. Maybe just a follow-up on podcasting a little bit longer term. But just curious as you look out into '26, '27, you think these levels of growth that we're seeing in the podcast business, north of 20% is sustainable based on the pipeline of new content or visibility you might have into certain renewals that could potentially be up for grabs in terms of bringing new content on or the monetization levers you think could come into focus as some of these digital capabilities and inventory scale.

大家好，非常感謝你們回答問題。或許可以就播客的長期發展做一些後續報導。但我很好奇，展望 2026 年、2027 年，您認為目前播客產業 20% 以上的成長水準是否可持續？這基於新內容的儲備，或者您對某些可能出現的續約機會的了解，以及隨著一些數位能力和庫存規模的擴大，您認為哪些變現手段可能會成為現實。

I'd just be curious in your thoughts on the sustainability of either high teens or 20-plus percent revenue growth in that side of the business?

我很好奇您認為該業務領域實現 10% 甚至 20% 以上的營收成長是否可持續？

Well, look, I don't want to do any projections for the future. But I will say that if you look at the trends, what you're finding is, more people are listening to podcast today than ever. And the people who are listening are listening to more episodes than ever.

嗯，我不想對未來做任何預測。但我想說的是，如果你觀察趨勢，你會發現，如今聽播客的人比以往任何時候都多。而且，聽眾收聽的節目數量也比以往任何時候都多。

So we got two vectors of growth there. And of course, we're bringing more and more advertisers to podcasting as well. It's probably the hottest category in media right now. And so you're seeing the net impact of that, too.

所以，我們得到了兩個成長向量。當然，我們也正在吸引越來越多的廣告商進入播客領域。這可能是目前媒體界最熱門的類別。所以你也看到了由此產生的最終影響。

And Stephen, just one point. I think to build upon advertising because the one point you didn't say just to hit that head on is there is the demand out there, and I would use the word, the effectiveness of the advertising. There's a reason you're seeing the growth in podcasting revenue out there in terms of consumer use and by the way, the stickiness of it.

還有史蒂芬，就差一分。我認為應該在廣告的基礎上繼續發展，因為你沒有直接提到一點，那就是市場存在需求，而且，我更願意用「廣告效果」這個詞來形容。播客收入的成長是有原因的，這與消費者的使用率以及使用者黏性有關。

I think it's something like approximately, I don't know, 75%, 80% of all podcasts are listened all the way through, and you can fast forward, and you can do -- everything else you can do with online video out there. And just as a reminder, it's only been a relatively small number of years that big advertisers, to Bob's point, have really come to podcasting.

我認為大約有 75% 到 80% 的播客節目會被完整地收聽，而且你可以快進，你可以做所有你能對在線視頻做的事情。需要提醒的是，正如鮑伯所說，大型廣告商真正開始涉足播客領域也只是相對較短的幾年時間。

Prior to that, I mean, great advertisers, but it was much more a DR, direct response medium. And the reason why big advertisers coming to podcasting is so important is because it brings big dollars. And then the last point, just to close off that we started to talk about last quarter in Q2 and now Q3, now about 50% of our podcasting advertising revenue is originated locally. And if you go back, I don't know, three, four years ago, about 10% of our podcasting revenue was originated locally.

在此之前，雖然也有很棒的廣告商，但廣告業更像是一種直接回應（DR）媒介。大型廣告商之所以對播客如此重要，是因為它能帶來巨額資金。最後一點，總結我們上個季度（第二季）和現在的第三季開始討論的內容，目前我們播客廣告收入的約 50% 來自本地。如果回顧過去，大概三、四年前，我們播客收入的10%左右來自本地。

I just think you look at all those data points and from our standpoint as you look at projections by all these third parties that talk about the growth whether it goes to $4 billion, $5 billion, whatever, over a period of time, significant growth in projected revenue for US-based advertising podcasting revenue, no surprise because of the effectiveness of it. And you look at us continuing to take market share because of the position we have in podcasting. So I think it sets up very well.

我認為，看看所有這些數據點，從我們的角度來看，看看所有這些第三方預測，無論是增長到 40 億美元、50 億美元，還是其他什麼數字，隨著時間的推移，美國廣告播客收入的預計收入都會顯著增長，這並不奇怪，因為它的有效性很高。而我們之所以能夠持續擴大市場份額，是因為我們在播客領域佔據了重要地位。所以我覺得它安排得很好。

I want to just add one other thing. We talked about our ad tech platform, and we talked about programmatic. And we sort of focus on how that's going to help broadcast radio. But remember, it's also a vector of growth for podcasting as well, to get podcasting in the programmatic DSPs as well.

我只想補充一點。我們討論了我們的廣告技術平台，也討論了程序化廣告。我們主要關注的是這將如何幫助廣播電台的發展。但請記住，將播客引入程序化DSP也是播客發展的一個途徑。

That's helpful. And then maybe just one on the broadcast side, if I can. I'm curious, Bob, as you look at the competitive environment for advertising more holistically. There's been a lot of made on AVOD inventory coming on over the last year or two. Was just curious if you could speak to the visibility you have into that competitive intensity, where we are and really that playing out?

那很有幫助。然後，如果可以的話，也許在廣播方面再加一個職位。鮑勃，我很好奇，你如何更全面地看待廣告業的競爭環境。過去一兩年裡，AVOD平台上湧現了大量影片。我只是好奇您能否談談您對這種競爭強度的了解程度，我們目前所處的位置以及這種競爭的實際發展情況？

And if you think that impairs maybe some of the monetization points you would make on terrestrial radio, you're recovering from a monetization perspective over the next year. So how much of a headwind that is?

如果你認為這可能會影響你在地面廣播中獲得的一些盈利，那麼從盈利的角度來看，你將在未來一年內恢復過來。那麼，這究竟會造成多大的阻力呢？

I don't think it's a headwind at all. As a matter of fact, I think if you talk to people in the advertising business, radio has sort of got a little bit of a renaissance here. And people are talking about all the studies coming out. One just came out from WPP, major study, which if you have not looked at is probably worth looking at, which makes the point that adding radio early in a campaign preconditions the consumer and the best way to get more money is to add radio to the campaign. That's WPP saying that from their study.

我覺得這根本不算逆風。事實上，如果你和廣告業的人談談，你會發現廣播在這裡似乎正在經歷一場小小的復興。人們都在討論所有新發布的研究報告。WPP 最近發布了一項重要研究，如果你還沒看過，那可能值得一看。研究指出，在廣告活動早期加入廣播可以預先設定消費者的認知，而獲得更多資金的最佳方法就是在廣告活動中加入廣播。這是WPP根據他們的研究得出的結論。

And we've got a number of other studies, which are showing the same thing. We're showing that if you add radio to a social campaign, the response rate, I think, is up like 83% -- so as you think about -- as you're an advertiser, okay, I need more business. Well, I can either spend more money on the increasing my social spend or I can spend money on radio to get more response rate out of my existing social spend.

我們還有其他一些研究也顯示了同樣的情況。我們發現，如果將廣播添加到社交活動中，響應率我認為會提高 83%——所以當你思考——作為一個廣告商，好吧，我需要更多的業務。我可以選擇增加社群媒體投入，也可以選擇增加對廣播的投入，以提高現有社群媒體投入的回應率。

And I think they're finding that, that latter is a much more economic choice. And also at the same time, they get the added benefit of getting brand building as well on top of their performance marketing. So actually, we're quite encouraged about what's going on. I think sort of the final frontier for us is that you've got people who are planning and buying advertising almost all of it is on this one platform and on this one screen of digital, and then radio is over to the side, and it's a lot of extra work to buy it.

我認為他們發現，後一種選擇要經濟得多。同時，他們還能獲得額外的好處，也就是在效果行銷的基礎上，同時進行品牌建立。所以實際上，我們對目前的情況感到非常鼓舞。我認為我們面臨的最後一個挑戰是，幾乎所有的廣告投放和購買都集中在數位平台和螢幕上，而廣播則被放在一邊，購買廣播廣告需要花費很多額外的精力。

We think and we indeed talking to experts, all are encouraged by it, that as you move that to the same screen so they can easily buy radio and buy on the same criteria, they're buying their other digital, I think, breaks down the biggest hurdle because you say, when you've got the big reach you've got the impact.

我們認為，而且我們也確實與專家們交流過，他們都對此感到鼓舞，因為當您將這些內容轉移到同一個屏幕上，以便他們可以輕鬆地購買廣播並按照相同的標準購買他們購買的其他數字內容時，我認為這打破了最大的障礙，因為您說，當您擁有廣泛的覆蓋面時，您就擁有了影響力。

Almost every study shows radio has better engagement than almost any other medium. The results are great. You got more radio listeners today being had 10 or 20 years ago. Why isn't it performing as it should? And we think it's a structural issue, and we've invested heavily in fixing that structural issue.

幾乎所有研究都表明，廣播比幾乎任何其他媒體都更能吸引受眾。結果非常好。如今的廣播聽眾比 10 年前或 20 年前多得多。為什麼它沒有按預期運行？我們認為這是一個結構性問題，我們已經投入大量資金來解決這個結構性問題。

Yes. And can I just mention very quickly, just bring back, Stephen, because of your question then Bob's point, and then I'm just going to go back and repeat what we said a couple of times on this call.

是的。我能否快速提一下，史蒂芬，因為你提出了這個問題，然後鮑勃的觀點，然後我再重複我們在這次通話中說過幾次的話。

And here you have all within the last couple of days, Amazon, the Amazon announcement you saw and talking about getting our broadcast inventory into the DSP and the TikTok announcement that was made this morning with ourselves and TikTok in addition to other aspects of the announcement and podcasting and everything else, you'll see that there's also goes into our broadcast radio with the rollout of a TikTok radio, which will be a new iHeartRadio station that will be done with TikTok.

在過去的幾天裡，你會看到亞馬遜發布的公告，以及他們談到將我們的廣播資源引入數位服務提供者 (DSP) 的消息；還有今天早上我們和 TikTok 共同發布的公告，以及公告的其他方面，包括播客等等。你還會看到，我們的廣播電台也將推出 TikTok 電台，這將是一個全新的 iHeartRadio 電台，由 TikTok 製作。

So to me, all the data points from an iHeart standpoint, talk about the potential upside in the future and the recognition of the capabilities of broadcast radio to deliver results.

所以在我看來，從 iHeart 的角度來看，所有數據點都顯示未來有巨大的成長潛力，也體現了廣播電台在取得成效方面的能力。

And to be clear, one of our major goals is to get our Multiplatform Group back to revenue growth.

需要明確的是，我們的主要目標之一是使我們的多平台集團恢復收入成長。

That's helpful, thank you both.

這很有幫助，謝謝你們兩位。

Patrick Sholl, Barrington Research.

Patrick Sholl，巴林頓研究公司。

Hi, thanks for taking the question. Just another question on podcasting. I was kind of curious on how you view the longer-term opportunity within -- in podcasting to bring in political dollars, like how you think that's currently being monetized versus where you think it can go longer term with the increased ad sales from local if that helps maybe bias that higher?

您好，感謝您回答這個問題。關於播客還有個問題。我有點好奇您如何看待播客在吸引政治資金方面的長期機遇，例如您認為目前播客的盈利模式如何，以及隨著地方廣告銷售額的增長，播客的長期發展前景如何？如果這能幫助您提高對播客獲利前景的預期的話。

Well, it's a really good question. And if you look at all the chatter from last year's political spend, it's clear that people said, wow, one of the real variables was podcasting. And so we think it is a very positive for political advertising moving to podcasting as well.

嗯，這確實是個好問題。如果你看看去年政治支出的各種討論，你會發現人們都說，哇，播客是真正影響政治支出的因素之一。因此，我們認為政治廣告轉向播客也是一個非常正面的現象。

Okay. And then just in the ad market, is there any sort of variance across some of the local markets and how that is trending? Any local headwinds? Or is it more broad-based?

好的。那麼，就廣告市場而言，不同地區市場之間是否存在差異，以及這種差異的發展趨勢如何？當地有逆風嗎？或者它的基礎更廣泛？

Yes. I don't think we've seen any big --

是的。我認為我們還沒有看到任何大的--

Nothing unusual.

一切正常。

Yes. No changes there.

是的。沒有任何變化。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Ken Silver, Stifel.

Ken Silver，Stifel。

Hi, Bob. A lot of my questions were answered. So let me just ask you to I guess the first one is on the Sponsorship and events revenue line. I know it's a small line. It was down almost 10% in the third quarter, and it's down almost 6% year-to-date.

嗨，鮑伯。我的很多疑問都得到了解答。那麼，我想請您回答一下，第一個問題應該是關於贊助和活動收入的。我知道這是一條很短的線。第三季下降了近 10%，今年迄今下降了近 6%。

How -- like maybe help us understand that a little better? And like what's the outlook for '26? Is that going to sort of revert back to sort of stable or up? Or is there sort of something that's going on that's sort of going to continue to put pressure on this line item?

例如，能否幫我們更理解一下？那麼，2026 年的前景如何呢？這種情況會逐漸恢復穩定或上升嗎？或者說，是否存在某種情況，會持續給這個預算項目帶來壓力？

Yes. Look, I would just -- it's really small numbers in terms of some ups and downs. And remember, we've got all the large events that you guys all know about. We do 20,000 events in total as a company. So I think the small is just some -- not real small time issues. And as you think about it going forward, your question, again, we're not going to talk about anything specific going forward. But I think you can continue to expect the events business to be -- play the same role it has with iHeart.

是的。你看，我只是覺得——就一些波動而言，這些數字真的很小。記住，我們這裡舉辦的都是你們都知道的大型活動。我們公司總共舉辦20000場活動。所以我認為所謂的小問題只是一些——不是真正的小事。至於接下來要問的問題，我們還是不要再討論任何具體的事情了。但我認為，活動業務仍將繼續發揮與 iHeart 相同的作用。

Both from an absolute dollar and from a promotional standpoint and very importantly, one of our key multiplatforms. And again, I think if you -- again, another endorsement looking at our announcement this morning with TikTok and the connection that we're going to bring and step up even more between artists, and our creators and our community with the power of storytelling, this is going to be another really great ability to continue to demonstrate to artists and to the advertising community and our listeners what we can do.

無論從絕對金額還是從推廣角度來看，更重要的是，這是我們的關鍵多平台之一。而且，我認為，如果你——再一次，看看我們今天早上與 TikTok 的合作公告，以及我們將如何透過講故事的力量，進一步加強藝術家、我們的創作者和我們的社區之間的聯繫，這將是另一個非常棒的能力，可以繼續向藝術家、廣告界和我們的聽眾展示我們能做什麼。

Yes, let me just add on the events too, is if you look at the brand attributes of anybody doing music or audio or anything. The one area where iHeart goes bonkers in terms of consumer is they identify us as the brand that has the big events. It has been tremendous for us in building the iHeartRadio brand. And now you think about not only are we building the iHeartRadio brand, but we're making a profit on it.

是的，我還要補充一點，關於活動方面，如果你看看任何從事音樂、音頻或其他任何領域的人的品牌屬性。iHeart 在消費者方面最令人匪夷所思的一點是，他們將我們視為舉辦大型活動的品牌。它對我們打造 iHeartRadio 品牌起到了巨大的作用。現在想想，我們不僅在打造 iHeartRadio 品牌，而且還在從中獲利。

And the second issue, which is probably not fully captured in the numbers, is that when we do the big events -- so bring advertisers into them, and we use it as a marketing opportunity for us. And we often package together the events with other advertising as well, which show up on other lines.

第二個問題可能沒有完全體現在數字中，那就是當我們舉辦大型活動時——也就是引入廣告商，我們將其作為我們的行銷機會。我們經常將這些活動與其他廣告打包在一起，這些廣告會出現在其他版面上。

Okay. That's helpful. And so just to be clear, like you haven't lost any significant partner sponsors for your events?

好的。那很有幫助。所以，我確認一下，你們的活動沒有失去任何重要的合作夥伴贊助商嗎？

No. No. And that's implicit question.

不。不。這是一個隱含的問題。

Yes. Okay. And then the follow up -- the other one I wanted to ask you was this quarter, and I think last quarter, you started showing like the incrementals on margins on the digital and the decremental margins on the terrestrial -- the Multiplatform Group. And I think you're showing 90% decremental margin for Multiplatform. I'm just trying to get a sense, is there a way to like meaningfully improve that?

是的。好的。然後是後續問題——我想問你的另一個問題是，本季度，我認為上個季度，你開始展示數位業務利潤率的增量和地面業務利潤率的遞減——多平台集團。我認為你列出的多平台利潤率下降幅度高達 90%。我只是想了解一下，有沒有什麼方法可以實際有效地改善這種情況？

Well, again, if you remember to the Multiplatform Group, exact specifically your question. I would say two things. If you look back from a trending standpoint, we've continued to make improvement on that. And I think in terms of the flow, the improvement on that, for lack of a better term, negative flow-through on the flow-through. If you track that, we're happy to take you through that.

再次提醒，如果您記得聯絡多平台小組，請具體說明您的問題。我想說兩點。從發展趨勢來看，我們一直在不斷進步。我認為就流程而言，改進之處在於，如果非要用一個字來形容的話，那就是對流程的負面影響。如果你關注這一點，我們很樂意為你詳細介紹。

And then the second piece and most important is continue to show the progress we're making on the revenue side. Because remember Multiplatform has got a fixed element more than our other platforms in it, and the incremental flow-through is 75%, 80% EBITDA margin flow-through dollars, even 85%. I highlighted political last year, which is our highest flow-through business.

第二點也是最重要的一點，就是繼續展示我們在收入上的進展。因為請記住，多平台比其他平台包含更多固定元素，增量流通量為 75%、80% EBITDA 利潤率流通美元，甚至 85%。我去年重點介紹了政治領域，這是我們業務流動量最大的領域。

So it's a combination of continuing to get back to making improvement on revenue, then positive revenue growth. And as we just announced today, with our $50 million in terms of monetization program and taking more cost out, continue to make sure we're taking advantage of all technologies, AI and all the other investments to bring more down to the bottom line.

所以，關鍵在於持續改善營收，以及實現營收正成長。正如我們今天剛剛宣布的那樣，我們投入了 5000 萬美元用於貨幣化計劃，並進一步削減成本，繼續確保我們利用所有技術、人工智慧和所有其他投資，以降低利潤。

Yes. I mean, in summary, revenue growth is great because we've got high operating leverage on the Multiplatform Group and then add that to cost reductions. And we think it's the responsible way to impact that line.

是的。總而言之，收入成長非常可觀，因為我們在多平台集團擁有很高的營運槓桿，再加上成本削減。我們認為這是影響這條線路的負責任的方式。

Okay, all right. Thanks. I appreciate it. Happy holidays.

好的，沒問題。謝謝。謝謝。節日快樂。

Thank you.

謝謝。

With that, I'd like to thank everybody on the call and all of our shareholders and stakeholders for taking the time listening to the call. And Bob, myself, Mike and the rest of the iHeart team are available any time to answer any questions. Thank you.

在此，我要感謝所有參加電話會議的人員，以及所有股東和利害關係人抽出時間收聽本次電話會議。Bob、我、Mike 和 iHeart 團隊的其他成員隨時準備回答任何問題。謝謝。

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

今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線了。