Paramount Global (PARA) 2022 Q4 法說會逐字稿

Good morning. My name is Nadia, and I'll be the conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Paramount Global's Q4 2022 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

早上好。我叫 Nadia，今天我將擔任會議運營商。此時，歡迎大家參加派拉蒙全球 2022 年第四季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Anthony DiClemente, Paramount Global's EVP, Investor Relations. You may now begin your conference call.

此時，我想將電話轉給派拉蒙全球執行副總裁投資者關係部 Anthony DiClemente。您現在可以開始電話會議了。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to join us for our fourth quarter 2022 earnings call. Joining me for today's discussion are Bob Bakish, our President and CEO; and Naveen Chopra, our CFO. Please note that in addition to our earnings release, we have trending schedules containing supplemental information available on our website.

大家，早安。感謝您抽出寶貴時間參加我們的 2022 年第四季度財報電話會議。和我一起參加今天討論的是我們的總裁兼首席執行官 Bob Bakish；和我們的首席財務官 Naveen Chopra。請注意，除了我們的收益發布外，我們的網站上還有包含補充信息的趨勢時間表。

Before we start this morning, I want to remind you that certain statements made on this call are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties are discussed in more detail in our filings with the SEC.

在我們今天早上開始之前，我想提醒您，在本次電話會議上所做的某些陳述是前瞻性陳述，涉及風險和不確定性。我們在提交給美國證券交易委員會的文件中更詳細地討論了這些風險和不確定性。

Some of today's financial remarks will focus on adjusted results. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP financial measures can be found in our earnings release or in our trending schedules, which contain supplemental information and, in each case, can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website.

今天的一些財務評論將重點關注調整後的結果。這些非 GAAP 財務指標的對賬可以在我們的收益發布或我們的趨勢表中找到，其中包含補充信息，並且在每種情況下，都可以在我們網站的投資者關係部分找到。

And now I will turn the call over to Bob.

現在我將把電話轉給鮑勃。

Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. Today, I'm excited to provide our perspective on Paramount's performance as we closed out 2022, and I'll give you a preview of where we're driving in 2023 and beyond.

大家早上好，感謝您加入我們。今天，我很高興在 2022 年結束時提供我們對派拉蒙業績的看法，我將向您預覽我們在 2023 年及以後的發展方向。

Let me begin by noting that almost 1 year ago, we announced that ViacomCBS would become Paramount, reflecting our determination to streamline operations and become a single integrated company. We've increasingly worked together as One Paramount with one vision: to make popular content, to make that content popular and to drive long-term value for our shareholders.

首先讓我指出，大約一年前，我們宣布 ViacomCBS 將成為 Paramount，這反映了我們精簡運營並成為一家綜合性公司的決心。作為 One Paramount，我們越來越多地以一個願景合作：製作受歡迎的內容，使該內容受歡迎並為我們的股東創造長期價值。

And our One Paramount has had one approach: a multi-platform strategy that leverages our existing business, our distinct content strategy and our expansive relationships to evolve successfully through an industry-wide transformation. That approach is delivering, and, as I will describe, made 2022 a milestone year for Paramount with incredible momentum across our content and platforms.

我們的 One Paramount 採取了一種方法：一種多平台戰略，利用我們現有的業務、我們獨特的內容戰略和我們廣泛的關係，通過全行業的轉型成功發展。這種方法正在交付，並且正如我將描述的那樣，使 2022 年成為派拉蒙的里程碑年，在我們的內容和平台上取得了令人難以置信的勢頭。

As planned, 2022 was also an investment year in our streaming business. Those investments, coupled with a challenging economic environment, including softness in the ad market, impacted earnings and cash flow. But it only sharpened our focus on delivering bottom line growth once we pass peak streaming investment this year.

按照計劃，2022 年也是我們流媒體業務的投資年。這些投資，加上充滿挑戰的經濟環境，包括廣告市場疲軟，影響了收益和現金流。但一旦我們今年通過了流媒體投資高峰期，它只會讓我們更加專注於實現利潤增長。

I'm incredibly proud of our progress, hitting and, in most cases, exceeding the key streaming metrics we set out to achieve. The differentiated strategy we committed to is working, and we're going to continue to execute on our plan.

我為我們的進步感到無比自豪，達到並在大多數情況下超過了我們設定的關鍵流媒體指標。我們承諾的差異化戰略正在奏效，我們將繼續執行我們的計劃。

As we moved into 2023, we see a year of continued content and platform momentum ahead of us; a year of further scaling streaming as we hit the peak investment point; a year where we further harness the power of One Paramount, including importantly with our Paramount+-Showtime integration; and a year where we look to the ad market to turn as we get to the back half. Importantly, the execution of our 2023 plan will set the stage for a return to significant earnings growth in 2024 and a return to positive free cash flow.

隨著我們進入 2023 年，我們看到了內容和平台持續增長的一年；隨著我們達到投資頂峰，進一步擴展流媒體的一年；這一年，我們進一步利用派拉蒙影業的力量，包括重要的派拉蒙+-Showtime 整合；這一年我們期待廣告市場在我們進入後半段時轉向。重要的是，我們 2023 年計劃的執行將為 2024 年恢復顯著的盈利增長和恢復正的自由現金流奠定基礎。

Let me get into this a bit more. First, looking back at 2022 and then looking ahead to '23. In 2022, our content engine definitively proved itself at the highest level. Think the year's biggest domestic film Top Gun: Maverick and 5 other #1s in the theaters; the #1 show on television, Yellowstone and its expanding universe; mass market broadcast hits like FBI, NCIS and Fire Country; and popular Paramount+ originals like Tulsa King, 1923 and Criminal Minds: Evolution. We know our audiences, which enables us to efficiently manage content spend across platforms.

讓我再深入一點。首先，回顧 2022 年，然後展望 23 年。 2022 年，我們的內容引擎最終證明了自己處於最高水平。想想今年最賣座的國內電影《壯志凌雲：特立獨行》和其他 5 部在影院上映的第一部電影；電視上排名第一的黃石公園及其不斷擴大的宇宙；大眾市場廣播熱門節目，如 FBI、NCIS 和 Fire Country；以及熱門的派拉蒙 + 原創作品，如 Tulsa King, 1923 和 Criminal Minds: Evolution。我們了解我們的受眾，這使我們能夠有效地管理跨平台的內容支出。

To that end, we focused on developing, expanding and exploiting the premium content franchises fans love, an approach we'll lean into more and more. The results are powerful. Our world-class content engine has driven the biggest subscriber additions in paid streaming since launch, including an industry-leading 9.9 million new Paramount+ subscribers in Q4.

為此，我們專注於開發、擴展和利用粉絲喜愛的優質內容特許經營權，我們將越來越多地採用這種方法。結果是強大的。自推出以來，我們世界一流的內容引擎推動了付費流媒體用戶的最大增長，其中包括在第四季度行業領先的 990 萬派拉蒙+ 新用戶。

It led to continued leadership in free ad-supported streaming television, with 6.5 million new monthly active users of Pluto TV in Q4 as Pluto TV grew not just in the U.S. but globally. In 2022, our content engine also drove huge success at the U.S. box office, with 6 Paramount Pictures films opening at #1 and the strongest performance in broadcast, fueling CBS' 14-year streak as the #1 network.

由於 Pluto TV 不僅在美國而且在全球範圍內都有增長，因此它在免費廣告支持的流媒體電視領域繼續保持領先地位，第四季度 Pluto TV 每月新增 650 萬活躍用戶。 2022 年，我們的內容引擎也推動了美國票房的巨大成功，派拉蒙影業公司的 6 部影片首映時排名第一，在廣播方面表現最強勁，推動了 CBS 連續 14 年蟬聯第一的網絡票房。

When you combine that with our cable performance, it's why Paramount regained the crown as the most-watched media family on linear TV in Q4. And important to note that our content engine, combined with our disciplined execution and tight expense management, also enabled continued stability of TV Media earnings in Q4 despite ongoing ad revenue headwinds.

當您將其與我們的有線電視性能相結合時，這就是為什麼派拉蒙在第 4 季度重奪線性電視上收視率最高的媒體家族的桂冠。值得注意的是，我們的內容引擎，結合我們嚴格的執行和嚴格的費用管理，儘管廣告收入持續逆風，但也使第四季度的電視媒體收益持續穩定。

2022 was also an important year of expansion, where we gained important streaming footholds in international markets, including launches in the U.K., Ireland, Italy, France, Germany, the Nordics, Canada and South Korea and where we created new and expanded partnerships with the likes of Walmart, Delta, Sky, Canal+, Corus, Amazon, Roku and others to rapidly become a streaming partner of choice in the transforming media landscape globally.

2022 年也是重要的擴張年，我們在國際市場上獲得了重要的流媒體立足點，包括在英國、愛爾蘭、意大利、法國、德國、北歐、加拿大和韓國推出，我們與Walmart、Delta、Sky、Canal+、Corus、Amazon、Roku 等公司將迅速成為全球媒體格局轉型中的首選流媒體合作夥伴。

Looking back at 2022, our differentiated strategy is clearly working, and our execution is strong. So let's talk about 2023. 2023 will be another year of content momentum. Our '23 film slate is strong and driven by some of our most popular franchises, including Scream, Mission Impossible, Transformers and Paw Patrol.

回望2022年，差異化戰略明顯奏效，執行力強。那麼讓我們談談 2023 年。2023 年將是又一個內容髮展勢頭強勁的一年。我們的 23 部電影名單很強大，並且受到我們一些最受歡迎的特許經營權的推動，包括《驚聲尖叫》、《碟中諜》、《變形金剛》和《狗狗巡邏隊》。

And CBS' momentum is only getting stronger. The network is on the verge of achieving #1 status for the 15th straight broadcast year. And we see great stability in the schedule with very few slots to fill and thus limited and very focused pilot activity, which is also good for our economics.

CBS 的勢頭只會越來越強。該網絡即將連續第 15 個廣播年度獲得第一名。我們看到時間表非常穩定，需要填補的空檔很少，因此試點活動有限且非常集中，這對我們的經濟也有好處。

On Paramount+, you will see all of this plus more great Paramount+ originals. Sure, Criminal Minds, Tulsa King, 1923 and all your other favorites will return. Add to that great new series like Fatal Attraction with Lizzy Caplan and Joshua Jackson, Rabbit Hole with Kiefer Sutherland and Lioness with Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman.

在 Paramount+ 上，您將看到所有這些以及更多偉大的 Paramount+ 原創作品。當然，《犯罪心理》、《塔爾薩國王》、《1923》和您最喜歡的所有其他影片都將回歸。添加到這個偉大的新系列，如麗茲卡普蘭和約書亞傑克遜的致命吸引力，基弗薩瑟蘭的兔子洞和妮可基德曼和摩根弗里曼的母獅。

2023 will also be an important year with respect to advertising, where we are looking forward to an improvement in the market in the back half of the year. The ad market, as we know, has been cyclically tough. And like our peers, we felt its impact in 2022. But our portfolio puts us in an excellent position to build on the early stabilization we're seeing, and we are seeing some early signs of stabilization in advertising.

2023年對於廣告也將是重要的一年，我們期待下半年市場有所改善。正如我們所知，廣告市場一直處於週期性的艱難時期。和我們的同行一樣，我們在 2022 年感受到了它的影響。但我們的投資組合使我們處於一個很好的位置，可以在我們看到的早期穩定的基礎上繼續發展，而且我們看到了廣告穩定的一些早期跡象。

The sports marketplace continues to be active across the NFL, PGA and NCAA. We like what we're seeing in travel and pharma, and recent activity in auto is encouraging. More importantly, because we bring together broadcast, free and pay ad-supported streaming on a turnkey basis, Paramount is positioned to strongly benefit as the market improves.

體育市場在 NFL、PGA 和 NCAA 中繼續活躍。我們喜歡我們在旅遊和製藥領域看到的情況，最近在汽車領域的活動令人鼓舞。更重要的是，由於我們以交鑰匙方式將廣播、免費和付費廣告支持的流媒體結合在一起，派拉蒙有望隨著市場的改善而受益匪淺。

2023 will also be an important year in the multiyear evolution of streaming as a business. We are now at the point where we are getting to scale, with streaming generating over $5.5 billion in annual revenue on a run rate basis as we exit Q4.

2023 年也將是流媒體業務多年發展的重要一年。我們現在正處於擴大規模的階段，在我們退出第四季度時，流媒體按運行率計算產生了超過 55 億美元的年收入。

Since day 1, we have executed against a plan to build a profitable streaming business, one that achieves TV Media-like margins. To get there necessitates an investment phase. And now in 2023, entering the third year of Paramount+ in the marketplace, we are at peak investment. And I'd note again that the recent macro headwinds have only sharpened our execution and the discipline with which we are managing this investment.

從第一天起，我們就執行了一項計劃，建立一個盈利的流媒體業務，實現與電視媒體類似的利潤率。要到達那裡需要一個投資階段。現在是 2023 年，Paramount+ 進入市場的第三個年頭，我們正處於投資高峰期。我要再次指出，最近的宏觀逆風只會加強我們的執行力和我們管理這項投資的紀律。

As in 2022, the combination of streaming investment and the current state of the ad market will impact earnings and cash flow in '23, but we have the scale and flexibility to support it. And importantly, we see losses narrowing significantly in 2024, resulting in meaningful total company earnings growth and a return to positive free cash flow.

與 2022 年一樣，流媒體投資和廣告市場現狀的結合將影響 23 年的收益和現金流，但我們有規模和靈活性來支持它。重要的是，我們預計 2024 年虧損將大幅收窄，從而導致公司總收益顯著增長並恢復正自由現金流。

As you think about our streaming path to profitability, it's important to understand 3 distinct drivers: D2C revenue growth, content spending and operational efficiencies. Let me tackle each in turn.

當您考慮我們的流媒體盈利路徑時，了解 3 個不同的驅動因素非常重要：D2C 收入增長、內容支出和運營效率。讓我依次解決每個問題。

First, we will continue to drive D2C revenue growth. Subscriptions are important, and the number of subscribers will continue to grow in '23, but the real focus is revenue. Revenue at scale is critical to building a profitable streaming business. Across the globe, we will pursue this first and foremost by leveraging our compelling content.

首先，我們將繼續推動 D2C 收入增長。訂閱很重要，訂閱者數量將在 23 年繼續增長，但真正的重點是收入。規模收入對於建立有利可圖的流媒體業務至關重要。在全球範圍內，我們將首先利用我們引人入勝的內容來實現這一目標。

We'll also drive revenue growth with price increases. We all know streaming represents incredible value for consumers. And the Paramount+ offering is far from the industry price leader. We are on the value end of the pricing spectrum. And so in 2023, we will raise price, both for Paramount+ Premium and Essential, both in the U.S. and select international markets. Naveen will get into this a bit more.

我們還將通過提價來推動收入增長。我們都知道流媒體對消費者來說代表著難以置信的價值。 Paramount+ 產品遠非行業價格領導者。我們處於定價範圍的價值端。因此，在 2023 年，我們將在美國和部分國際市場提高 Paramount+ Premium 和 Essential 的價格。 Naveen 將深入探討這一點。

Growth in advertising will also benefit D2C ARPU. And finally, we see partnerships as another lever for revenue growth, including new relationships with Delta, Three and Orange, among others.

廣告的增長也將有利於 D2C ARPU。最後，我們將合作夥伴關係視為收入增長的另一個槓桿，包括與 Delta、Three 和 Orange 等公司的新關係。

Second, we will drive towards profitability by continuing to efficiently manage our content spend. By far, our biggest lever to manage spending is to focus on franchises. The higher levels of consumer awareness and built-in fan bases associated with this IP drive strong subscriber acquisition volume, lower acquisition costs, lower churn and extend the LTVs.

其次，我們將通過繼續有效地管理我們的內容支出來推動盈利。到目前為止，我們管理支出的最大槓桿是專注於特許經營。與此 IP 相關的更高水平的消費者意識和內置粉絲群推動了強勁的訂戶獲取量、更低的獲取成本、更低的流失率並延長了 LTV。

Put simply, franchises give the people what they want. We see this with Paramount Films, with CBS series, with the Taylor Sheridan universe, with Nick's kids product and more. And while we will, of course, continue to take selective swings on new IP, there's no question that franchises are a powerful advantage.

簡而言之，特許經營權給了人們他們想要的東西。我們在派拉蒙影業、CBS 系列、泰勒·謝里丹 (Taylor Sheridan) 宇宙、尼克的兒童產品等中看到了這一點。當然，雖然我們會繼續對新 IP 進行有選擇的搖擺，但毫無疑問，特許經營權是一個強大的優勢。

We'll also manage spending by continuing to lean into our multi-platform advantage. This increases the size of our total addressable market, gives us access to broader revenue streams and maximizes our return on content investments. You see us doing this with Paramount Films crossing theatrical and streaming, which are among the most efficient on a cost-per-start basis.

我們還將通過繼續利用我們的多平台優勢來管理支出。這增加了我們總目標市場的規模，使我們能夠獲得更廣泛的收入來源，並最大限度地提高我們的內容投資回報。您會看到我們通過派拉蒙電影公司在院線和流媒體上這樣做，它們在每次啟動成本的基礎上是最有效的。

You see us doing this with the CBS fleet, where we exposed product to a wider audience, including, importantly, a streaming audience that is nearly 20 years younger than our broadcast audience. As an aside, I'd point out that CBS original cross-platform content is performing at a level comparable to Netflix. In Q4, U.S. viewers spent 370 billion minutes consuming CBS content alone on both linear and digital. That's virtually the same amount of time as viewers spent with Netflix's substantially larger entire slate of originals.

您會看到我們在 CBS 機隊中這樣做，在那裡我們將產品展示給更廣泛的受眾，重要的是，包括比我們的廣播受眾年輕近 20 歲的流媒體受眾。順便說一句，我要指出 CBS 原創跨平台內容的表現與 Netflix 相當。在第四季度，美國觀眾僅通過線性和數字方式消費 CBS 內容就花費了 3700 億分鐘。這幾乎與觀眾花在 Netflix 更大的整個原創劇集上的時間相同。

You're also seeing us doing this more broadly across our multi-platform ecosystem as we have done with the Taylor Sheridan universe. To give you a sense of the power of this approach at the consumer level, in just a 3-month span, from early November to late January, more than 58 million Taylor Sheridan fans around the world watched over 32 billion minutes of the Taylorverse on both streaming and linear on our platforms.

您還看到我們在我們的多平台生態系統中更廣泛地這樣做，就像我們對 Taylor Sheridan 宇宙所做的那樣。為了讓您了解這種方法在消費者層面的力量，在短短 3 個月的時間裡，從 11 月初到 1 月下旬，全球超過 5800 萬泰勒·謝里丹 (Taylor Sheridan) 粉絲在我們平台上的流媒體和線性。

The third way we drive to profitability is through a continued focus on operational efficiencies and portfolio optimization. As I've mentioned, our transformation as One Paramount is ongoing, with recent initiatives on studios, global operations and ad sales.

我們實現盈利的第三種方式是持續關注運營效率和投資組合優化。正如我所提到的，我們作為 One Paramount 的轉型正在進行中，最近在工作室、全球運營和廣告銷售方面採取了舉措。

In the journey to become One Paramount, our next step is to integrate Paramount+ with Showtime. As you know, later this year, both our premium streaming tier on Paramount+ and the Showtime linear network will become Paramount+ with Showtime in the United States. This move makes Paramount+ the definitive multi-platform service in the streaming space whereas Showtime will contribute its distinctive content with more from the franchises you love.

在成為 One Paramount 的旅程中，我們的下一步是將 Paramount+ 與 Showtime 整合。如您所知，今年晚些時候，我們在 Paramount+ 上的優質流媒體層級和 Showtime 線性網絡都將在美國與 Showtime 一起成為 Paramount+。此舉使 Paramount+ 成為流媒體領域權威的多平台服務，而 Showtime 將通過您喜愛的特許經營權貢獻其獨特的內容。

As Naveen will discuss in more detail, economically, the benefits include both revenue and cost. On the revenue side, the integrated product will be more engaging for consumers, supporting price increases and associated ARPU gains. We also expect that the integrated product will lower churn, something we've already seen with our bundles.

正如 Naveen 將更詳細地討論的那樣，從經濟上講，收益包括收入和成本。在收入方面，集成產品將更吸引消費者，支持價格上漲和相關的 ARPU 收益。我們還希望集成產品能夠降低客戶流失率，這一點我們已經在我們的捆綁產品中看到了。

On the cost side, there are multiple benefits, which include tech, organization, marketing and, of course, content. Put it all together, and it is accretive to the streaming path to profitability. And it also helps ensure a stable transition of our TV Media business, which remains a big revenue and earnings driver.

在成本方面，有多種好處，包括技術、組織、營銷，當然還有內容。將所有這些放在一起，它會增加盈利的流媒體路徑。它還有助於確保我們的電視媒體業務穩定過渡，該業務仍然是收入和盈利的重要驅動力。

Stepping back from the particulars, let me just say how incredibly proud I am of what our team has worked together to accomplish in 2022. And I'm even more excited about what's to come in 2023.

拋開細節不說，我只想說我對我們的團隊在 2022 年共同努力取得的成就感到無比自豪。我對 2023 年將要發生的事情更加興奮。

With that, let me turn it to Naveen to break down the financials in more detail. Naveen?

有了這個，讓我把它交給 Naveen 來更詳細地分解財務。納文？

Thank you, Bob, and good morning, everyone. Q4 demonstrated earnings resiliency in our traditional business, along with robust revenue growth in our D2C business, the combination of which puts us on a path toward meaningful earnings and free cash flow growth in 2024 as we transition out of peak streaming investment in '23.

謝謝鮑勃，大家早上好。第四季度展示了我們傳統業務的盈利彈性，以及我們 D2C 業務的強勁收入增長，這兩者的結合使我們在 2024 年從 23 年的流媒體投資高峰期過渡到有意義的盈利和自由現金流增長的道路上。

Today, I'm going to cover 3 things. First, I'll provide additional color on a few elements of our Q4 results. Second, I'm going to address specifics of our Showtime-Paramount+ integration plan, including its contribution to future expense savings so you can better understand how it affects our financial model in '23 and beyond. And third, I will explain how continued execution of our strategy delivers meaningful bottom line growth in 2024.

今天，我要介紹 3 件事。首先，我將對我們第四季度結果的一些元素提供額外的顏色。其次，我將介紹我們的 Showtime-Paramount+ 整合計劃的細節，包括它對未來費用節省的貢獻，以便您更好地了解它如何影響我們在 23 世紀及以後的財務模式。第三，我將解釋我們戰略的持續執行如何在 2024 年帶來有意義的利潤增長。

In Q4, Paramount delivered total company revenue and adjusted OIBDA growth despite increased investment in streaming and a difficult macroeconomic backdrop. Today's earnings press release includes a comprehensive review of key financial and operational results for the quarter. I'm going to focus my comments here on 3 items which deserve specific attention: affiliate and subscription revenue, advertising trends and free cash flow.

在第四季度，派拉蒙實現了公司總收入並調整了 OIBDA 增長，儘管流媒體投資增加且宏觀經濟背景困難。今天的收益新聞稿包括對本季度主要財務和運營結果的全面審查。我將在這裡集中評論 3 個值得特別關注的項目：會員和訂閱收入、廣告趨勢和自由現金流。

Affiliate and subscription revenue was a highlight in the quarter, growing 8% year-on-year, continued evidence that the ecosystem shift from Pay-TV to streaming yields net growth for our business. We benefited from record Paramount+ subscriber additions combined with ARPU growth, continued robust engagement and improvements in churn, resulting in 85% growth in Paramount+ subscription revenue and 48% growth in total D2C subscription revenue. In Q1, we expect similar levels of D2C subscription revenue growth, reflecting ongoing net subscriber additions and improvement in ARPU. At TV Media, we also expect the year-over-year trend in affiliate and subscription revenue to improve relative to Q4.

聯盟和訂閱收入是本季度的亮點，同比增長 8%，繼續證明生態系統從付費電視轉向流媒體為我們的業務帶來了淨增長。我們受益於創紀錄的 Paramount+ 訂戶增加以及 ARPU 增長、持續強勁的參與度和客戶流失率的改善，導致 Paramount+ 訂閱收入增長 85%，D2C 訂閱總收入增長 48%。在第一季度，我們預計 D2C 訂閱收入將出現類似水平的增長，反映出持續的淨用戶增加和 ARPU 的改善。在 TV Media，我們還預計聯盟和訂閱收入的同比趨勢將比第四季度有所改善。

Now let's turn to advertising trends. The ad market continued to experience weakness in Q4, resulting in a 5% decline in Paramount's quarterly advertising revenue. The majority of the decline came from international markets and FX impacts, while domestic advertising declined 2%.

現在讓我們轉向廣告趨勢。廣告市場在第四季度繼續疲軟，導致派拉蒙的季度廣告收入下降 5%。大部分下降來自國際市場和外匯影響，而國內廣告下降了 2%。

D2C advertising grew 4% despite the soft demand environment as a result of robust consumption growth on both Paramount+ and Pluto TV. As the marketplace improves, we expect this growth to accelerate. We're encouraged by the engagement trends in D2C and early signs of broader ad market stabilization.

儘管由於 Paramount+ 和 Pluto TV 的強勁消費增長導致需求環境疲軟，但 D2C 廣告仍增長了 4%。隨著市場的改善，我們預計這種增長會加速。我們對 D2C 的參與趨勢和更廣泛的廣告市場穩定的早期跡象感到鼓舞。

As a whole, we look to market recovery in the back half of the year. Shorter term, we expect Q1 to yield improved growth rates in the domestic national advertising business. The underlying local ad business is also improving, but lower political spend will be a headwind in Q1 relative to Q4. International ad markets remain relatively weak, and we expect a slower recovery there.

整體而言，我們期待下半年市場復甦。短期內，我們預計第一季度國內廣告業務的增長率將有所提高。基本的本地廣告業務也在改善，但相對於第四季度而言，較低的政治支出將成為第一季度的不利因素。國際廣告市場仍然相對疲軟，我們預計那裡的複蘇將放緩。

One final note related to advertising. We've now reached the point where our digital go-to-market strategy combines Pluto and Paramount+ in a fully integrated advertising product. As such, going forward, we plan to simplify our reporting to focus on total D2C advertising growth. This metric provides the best indication of progress against one of our key growth initiatives. And so starting in Q1 of 2023, we will no longer report stand-alone Pluto revenue.

最後一點與廣告有關。現在，我們的數字上市戰略已將 Pluto 和 Paramount+ 結合在一個完全集成的廣告產品中。因此，展望未來，我們計劃簡化我們的報告，以專注於 D2C 廣告的總體增長。該指標提供了我們一項關鍵增長計劃取得進展的最佳指示。因此，從 2023 年第一季度開始，我們將不再報告獨立的 Pluto 收入。

Moving on to cash flow. Free cash flow was a use of $500 million for the full year, reflecting streaming investment and weakness in the advertising market. This figure also includes $289 million in payments for restructuring, merger-related costs and transformation initiatives.

繼續現金流。全年自由現金流使用 5 億美元，反映了流媒體投資和廣告市場的疲軟。這一數字還包括 2.89 億美元的重組、合併相關成本和轉型計劃支出。

Consistent with our plans for peak streaming investment in 2023, we expect cash flow to continue to be impacted in advance of meaningful year-over-year improvement in 2024 when we return to positive cash flow. We will continue to manage our balance sheet with an eye to navigating the short-term cash flow dynamic.

與我們在 2023 年實現流媒體投資高峰期的計劃一致，我們預計在 2024 年恢復正現金流時，現金流將繼續受到影響，然後才能實現有意義的同比改善。我們將繼續管理我們的資產負債表，著眼於駕馭短期現金流動態。

Importantly, our focus on working capital optimization meant the year-over-year change in free cash flow in 2022 was better than the year-over-year change in OIBDA, a trend we expect will continue in 2023 as the gap between cash content spend and P&L content expense continues to narrow.

重要的是，我們對營運資本優化的關注意味著 2022 年自由現金流的同比變化優於 OIBDA 的同比變化，我們預計這一趨勢將在 2023 年持續，因為現金內容支出之間的差距損益內容費用繼續收窄。

I'd also like to share some information to help you better model earnings in 2023. In terms of the quarterly cadence of earnings, we expect Q1 adjusted OIBDA to be similar to Q4 2022. And we expect the year-over-year growth rate to improve in the back half of the year, reflecting the timing of several drivers Bob and I have discussed today.

我還想分享一些信息，以幫助您更好地模擬 2023 年的收益。就收益的季度節奏而言，我們預計第一季度調整後的 OIBDA 與 2022 年第四季度相似。我們預計同比增長率在下半年有所改善，反映了鮑勃和我今天討論的幾位車手的時機。

In terms of some below-the-line items, our equity in investee companies line, which primarily represents our investment in SkyShowtime, will result in a Q1 loss similar to what we experienced in Q4. Additionally, we're forecasting an adjusted tax rate of approximately 25% on a full year basis.

就一些線下項目而言，我們在被投資公司的股權，主要代表我們對 SkyShowtime 的投資，將導致與我們在第四季度經歷的類似的第一季度虧損。此外，我們預測全年調整後的稅率約為 25%。

Now let's discuss the integration of Showtime and Paramount+. We're highly enthusiastic about this combination because it provides a better experience for consumers while simultaneously unlocking material financial benefits for both our TV Media and D2C businesses.

現在讓我們討論一下 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 的整合。我們對這種結合充滿熱情，因為它為消費者提供了更好的體驗，同時為我們的電視媒體和 D2C 業務帶來物質經濟利益。

The most sizable of these benefits will be realized as a reduction in content expense and related marketing. Simply put, a single service requires less content to acquire and retain customers than 2 independent services.

這些好處中最可觀的將體現為內容費用和相關營銷的減少。簡而言之，與 2 項獨立服務相比，一項服務在獲取和留住客戶方面需要的內容更少。

Additionally, our analysis revealed that an overwhelming majority of Showtime engagement is driven by key franchises, which comprise less than half of the services content amortization expense. By extending and evolving these powerful Showtime franchises and supplementing them with the breadth of content on Paramount+, we're able to deliver a powerful consumer proposition in both linear and streaming formats, thereby preserving revenue while meaningfully reducing total content expense.

此外，我們的分析顯示，絕大多數 Showtime 參與度是由主要特許經營權推動的，這些特許經營權佔服務內容攤銷費用的不到一半。通過擴展和發展這些強大的 Showtime 特許經營權並用 Paramount+ 上的廣泛內容補充它們，我們能夠以線性和流媒體格式提供強大的消費者主張，從而在保留收入的同時顯著降低總內容費用。

This strategic shift will give rise to an impairment charge in Q1 of '23 as we realign the content portfolio. We estimate this charge will be in the range of $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion.

隨著我們重新調整內容組合，這一戰略轉變將在 23 年第一季度產生減值費用。我們估計這筆費用將在 13 億美元至 15 億美元之間。

When we launched the integrated service in Q3, subscribers to the premium tier of Paramount+ will enjoy a greatly expanded selection of content, reflecting the full suite of Showtime and Paramount+ originals, library content, movies, live sports and events. At that time, pricing for Paramount+ will also evolve, with our premium tier, which will then include Showtime moving from $9.99 to $11.99, and our essential tier, which will not include Showtime content, moving from $4.99 to $5.99. These price changes will apply to new and existing customers upon launch of the integrated service.

當我們在第三季度推出綜合服務時，Paramount+ 高級訂閱者將享受到更多的內容選擇，包括全套 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 原創作品、圖書館內容、電影、現場體育賽事和活動。屆時，Paramount+ 的定價也將發生變化，我們的高級層（包括 Showtime）將從 9.99 美元上漲到 11.99 美元，而我們的基本層（不包括 Showtime 內容）將從 4.99 美元上漲到 5.99 美元。這些價格變動將在綜合服務推出後適用於新客戶和現有客戶。

A couple of other important notes on this integration. Our current Showtime OTT base includes subscribers who use the Paramount+-Showtime OTT bundle or subscribe to both services independently. This means there will be some reduction in total subscribers when the services combine.

關於此集成的其他一些重要說明。我們當前的 Showtime OTT 基礎包括使用 Paramount+-Showtime OTT 捆綁包或獨立訂閱這兩種服務的訂戶。這意味著當服務合併時，總訂戶會有所減少。

Importantly, we don't expect the subscriber dynamic to negatively impact our D2C revenue expectations. On average, subscribers to the premium tier of Paramount+ have higher ARPU and lower churn than Showtime OTT customers. And our planned price increase for Paramount+ will further magnify the benefit of migrating customers to a single service.

重要的是，我們預計訂戶動態不會對我們的 D2C 收入預期產生負面影響。平均而言，與 Showtime OTT 客戶相比，Paramount+ 高級訂閱者的 ARPU 更高，流失率更低。我們計劃的 Paramount+ 價格上漲將進一步擴大將客戶遷移到單一服務的好處。

Also, with the consolidation of Showtime and Paramount+ taking place later this year, we plan to remove total D2C subscribers from our external reporting starting in Q1 of '23 as this metric will no longer be meaningful in tracking our subscriber growth trajectory. We will continue to provide subscriber and revenue metrics for Paramount+, which will comprise the vast majority of our D2C subscriptions and revenue.

此外，隨著今年晚些時候 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 的合併，我們計劃從 23 年第一季度開始從我們的外部報告中刪除 D2C 訂戶總數，因為該指標對於跟踪我們的訂戶增長軌跡將不再有意義。我們將繼續為 Paramount+ 提供訂戶和收入指標，這將占我們 D2C 訂閱和收入的絕大部分。

The Showtime-Paramount+ combination also represents an opportunity to reduce operating expenses in marketing, technology and operations. Over time and in combination with reductions in content expense, we expect to realize approximately $700 million of future annual expense savings. As Bob noted, the net financial result of the combination of Paramount+ and Showtime is a key component of our plan to return the company to earnings growth in 2024.

Showtime-Paramount+ 的組合也代表了減少營銷、技術和運營方面的運營費用的機會。隨著時間的推移，再加上內容費用的減少，我們預計未來每年可以節省大約 7 億美元的費用。正如 Bob 指出的那樣，Paramount+ 和 Showtime 合併後的淨財務結果是我們計劃在 2024 年使公司恢復盈利增長的關鍵組成部分。

Let me address that plan more holistically. While D2C losses will increase this year relative to 2022, we're approaching an important inflection point where the revenue scale, multi-platform content strategy and distribution footprint we've established together with the integration of Showtime and Paramount+ allow us to turn the corner toward streaming profitability.

讓我更全面地談談這個計劃。雖然今年 D2C 損失將比 2022 年增加，但我們正在接近一個重要的拐點，我們建立的收入規模、多平台內容戰略和發行足跡以及 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 的整合使我們能夠扭轉局面走向流媒體盈利能力。

In combination with continued cost optimization in our traditional business and recovery in the advertising marketplace, we're poised to deliver meaningful total company earnings and free cash flow growth in 2024. As Bob outlined, on the streaming side of our business, there are 3 key levers for earnings improvement: continued robust revenue growth, slowing growth in content expense and other operating efficiencies. I'll touch briefly on each of these.

結合我們傳統業務的持續成本優化和廣告市場的複蘇，我們準備在 2024 年實現可觀的公司總收益和自由現金流增長。正如 Bob 所概述的，在我們業務的流媒體方面，有 3盈利改善的關鍵槓桿：持續強勁的收入增長、內容費用增長放緩和其他運營效率。我將簡要介紹其中的每一個。

As you now know, in 2023, we will implement a price increase at Paramount+, which we expect to be a key driver of revenue growth, with 2024 incorporating a full year of this benefit. In addition to the domestic price changes, this year, we will also start to evolve pricing in core international markets from a single-tier to a multi-tier offering, resulting in higher blended ARPU for P+ international.

如您所知，2023 年，我們將在 Paramount+ 實施提價，我們預計這將成為收入增長的主要驅動力，2024 年將全年實現這一收益。除了國內價格變化，今年我們還將開始將核心國際市場的定價從單層產品演變為多層產品，從而為 P+ 國際帶來更高的混合 ARPU。

Our international distribution strategy will also contribute, where hard bundle launches have successfully catalyzed direct channel higher ARPU growth. And we expect growth in advertising ARPU at Pluto and Paramount+ as engagement trends drive inventory growth and expanded monetization opportunities. And of course, we expect continued improvement in churn as our content slate expands and user behavior evolves.

我們的國際分銷戰略也將有所貢獻，硬捆綁產品的推出已成功促進直接渠道更高的 ARPU 增長。我們預計 Pluto 和 Paramount+ 的廣告 ARPU 會增長，因為參與趨勢會推動庫存增長和擴大貨幣化機會。當然，隨著我們的內容範圍擴大和用戶行為的演變，我們預計流失率會持續改善。

Beyond 2023, our D2C P&L also benefits from improved leverage on content expense. You heard Bob speak about the benefits of a content strategy that is inherently multi-platform and franchise-oriented. It means we can generate more revenue for each dollar of incremental content and marketing expense.

2023 年以後，我們的 D2C P&L 也受益於內容費用槓桿的提高。您聽 Bob 談到了本質上是多平台和麵向特許經營的內容策略的好處。這意味著我們可以從每一美元的增量內容和營銷費用中獲得更多收入。

By 2024, the benefits of these strategies will become apparent in the P&L as our expected D2C revenue growth rate exceeds a slowing growth rate in the content amortization expense. 2024 should also see operating leverage in other components of the D2C business. At that time, our plan includes reductions in the growth rate of headcount, product and technology expenses as we capture the full year benefits of integrating Showtime and Paramount+ and we lap a full year of costs associated with international expansion.

到 2024 年，這些策略的好處將在損益表中顯現出來，因為我們預期的 D2C 收入增長率超過了內容攤銷費用的放緩增長率。到 2024 年，D2C 業務的其他組成部分也應該會出現運營槓桿。當時，我們的計劃包括降低員工人數、產品和技術費用的增長率，因為我們獲得了整合 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 的全年收益，並且我們承擔了與國際擴張相關的全年成本。

On the traditional side of the business, we continue to expect rate increases to partially offset ecosystem declines. We're also intensely focused on operating more efficiently through execution of previously announced transformation initiatives like the reorganization of our ad sales team, the realignment of our international operations and improved marketing efficiency.

在業務的傳統方面，我們繼續預計利率的提高將部分抵消生態系統的衰退。我們還非常專注於通過執行之前宣布的轉型計劃來提高運營效率，例如重組我們的廣告銷售團隊、調整我們的國際業務和提高營銷效率。

I'll close by reiterating that the combination of what we built in 2022 and the financial impact of what we have planned for 2023 gives us confidence we can continue to deliver compelling content to consumers and distributors, grow earnings and free cash flow in 2024 and create long-term value for shareholders.

最後，我要重申，我們在 2022 年構建的內容與我們為 2023 年計劃的內容的財務影響相結合，使我們有信心繼續向消費者和分銷商提供引人注目的內容，在 2024 年增加收入和自由現金流，並且為股東創造長期價值。

With that, operator, can we open the line for questions?

有了這個，接線員，我們可以打開問題熱線嗎？

(Operator Instructions) And our first question today goes to Bryan Kraft of Deutsche Bank.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題是德意志銀行的 Bryan Kraft。

Some of your peers are revisiting elements of their streaming strategies, whether it's the amount and types of content they're making, backing off from exclusivity and doing more licensing or resetting their approach in international markets. Are there any adjustments that you're looking to make to Paramount streaming strategy? Or is the current course the one that you plan to stay on from here?

您的一些同行正在重新審視他們的流媒體策略的要素，無論是他們正在製作的內容的數量和類型，從排他性中退出並獲得更多許可或重新設置他們在國際市場上的方法。您是否希望對派拉蒙的流媒體策略做出任何調整？或者你打算從這裡繼續學習當前的課程嗎？

Yes. Sure, Bryan. So look, I'd say 2 main things here. First, I'd note that our streaming investment and differentiated approach is clearly producing returns at the consumer level. I mean Paramount+ is going at the top end of the industry. It's clearly taking share. Our content on Paramount+ is on the rankers. People are talking about it. And really, in less than 2 years, Paramount+ has become a service to be reckoned with.

是的。當然，布萊恩。所以看，我想在這裡說兩件主要的事情。首先，我要指出的是，我們的流媒體投資和差異化方法顯然在消費者層面產生了回報。我的意思是 Paramount+ 正走在行業的最頂端。它顯然正在分享。我們在 Paramount+ 上的內容在排行榜上。人們正在談論它。實際上，在不到 2 年的時間裡，Paramount+ 已成為一項不可忽視的服務。

And that's because it's a compelling product for the whole household across the country and really around the world. And remember, we've always approached this space with a plan that was based on building a profitable streaming business, one with TV-like media -- TV Media-like margins over time.

那是因為它是一款對全國乃至全世界的整個家庭都具有吸引力的產品。請記住，我們一直通過一項基於建立盈利流媒體業務的計劃來接近這個領域，該業務具有類似電視的媒體——隨著時間的推移，類似電視媒體的利潤率。

And that gets me to my second point. Because we didn't have unlimited resources, we went at this differently. And in doing so, I note that many of these things, things we've been doing all along, are now being embraced by others.

這讓我想到了第二點。因為我們沒有無限的資源，所以我們採取了不同的方式。在這樣做的過程中，我注意到其中許多事情，我們一直在做的事情，現在正在被其他人接受。

So what does that include? Multi-platform, the power of films crossing theatrical and streaming of shows being what I call dual illuminated on networks and streaming, clear advantage.

那麼這包括什麼呢？多平台，電影跨越院線和流媒體的力量，我稱之為網絡和流媒體雙重照明，優勢明顯。

Franchises, the power of IP that people know, an IP that you can grow on a multiyear basis. That gets you a superior content ROI, including in streaming.

特許經營權，人們知道的知識產權的力量，你可以在多年的基礎上發展的知識產權。這將為您帶來卓越的內容投資回報率，包括流媒體。

Advertising, both FAST, i.e., Pluto and lower-priced ad-supported tier, i.e., Paramount+ Essential. It unquestionably grows the TAM, and you've seen other people start to move in that direction.

廣告，包括 FAST，即 Pluto 和價格較低的廣告支持層，即 Paramount+ Essential。毫無疑問，它會增加 TAM，並且您已經看到其他人開始朝這個方向發展。

Partnership. We believe in the power of partnership. It's a powerful element in leveraging their consumer connection. You see that in the performance of our hard bundles, channel stores, and then add in D2C, it's a powerful combination.

合夥。我們相信夥伴關係的力量。這是利用他們的消費者聯繫的強大元素。你看在我們的硬包、渠道商店的表現，然後加上 D2C，這是一個強大的組合。

International discipline. We never believed in a one-size-fits-all model. We believe in country-specific execution, including at the limit joint ventures that we're doing with SkyShowtime.

國際紀律。我們從不相信一種放之四海而皆準的模式。我們相信針對特定國家/地區的執行，包括我們與 SkyShowtime 開展的有限合資企業。

And finally, content licensing. We never took all our content and put in a walled garden. We continue to strategically monetize content outside our owned and operated ecosystem. And that drives incremental return and, frankly, drives incremental awareness.

最後，內容許可。我們從來沒有把我們所有的內容都放在一個有圍牆的花園裡。我們繼續戰略性地將我們擁有和運營的生態系統之外的內容貨幣化。這推動了增量回報，坦率地說，推動了增量意識。

Those elements are all important because they drive a mix of cost and revenue advantages that we've long pursued on the path to profitability because those advantages translate into lower aggregate investment levels and superior long-term streaming margins. So we continue to execute. We're very happy with our momentum to date.

這些要素都很重要，因為它們推動了我們長期以來在盈利之路上追求的成本和收入優勢的結合，因為這些優勢轉化為較低的總投資水平和較高的長期流媒體利潤率。所以我們繼續執行。我們對迄今為止的勢頭感到非常滿意。

We see the light at the end of the tunnel. And sure, others are seeing some of the things we saw early, but we're continuing to execute because we are going to be a profitable scale player in the streaming game, and it's exactly what's beginning to happen.

我們看到了隧道盡頭的曙光。當然，其他人看到了我們早先看到的一些事情，但我們將繼續執行，因為我們將成為流媒體遊戲中盈利規模的玩家，而這正是開始發生的事情。

The next question goes to Michael Morris of Guggenheim.

下一個問題是古根海姆的邁克爾莫里斯。

I wanted to follow up a little bit on the subscriber component on this path to profitability. You guys are at about 56 million Paramount+ subscribers as of year-end. You had a number of market launches in '22. How many subscribers does the Paramount+ product need to get to scale? And how does the growth trajectory for Paramount+ compare to the prior outlook you had for 100 million-plus combined subscribers by the end of '24?

在這條盈利之路上，我想對訂閱者組件進行一些跟進。截至年底，你們的 Paramount+ 訂戶約為 5600 萬。你在 22 年推出了許多市場產品。 Paramount+ 產品需要多少訂戶才能擴大規模？派拉蒙 + 的增長軌跡與你之前對 24 世紀末 1 億多用戶的預期相比如何？

And if I could also just on free cash flow. As you think about '23 in the investment year, can you give a little more color around how much cash investment you expect in '23 before you inflect into '24 and whether that has any impact on how you think about your dividend payout?

如果我也可以自由現金流。當您考慮投資年度的 23 年時，您能否更詳細地說明在進入 24 年之前您預計在 23 年有多少現金投資，以及這是否對您對股息支付的看法有任何影響？

Mike, it's Naveen. There's a lot in there. So I'll try to take those in order, starting with the questions on subscriber growth. So as you pointed out, '22 was a very, very successful year for Paramount+ in terms of subscriber growth, and we're enthusiastic about what's coming in '23 as well. I would point out that the dynamics around subscriber growth in '23 will be a little bit different.

邁克，我是納文。裡面有很多。因此，我將嘗試按順序處理這些問題，首先是關於訂戶增長的問題。因此，正如您所指出的那樣，就訂閱者增長而言，'22 年對於 Paramount+ 來說是非常非常成功的一年，我們也對 23 年即將發生的事情充滿熱情。我要指出的是，23 年訂戶增長的動態會有所不同。

On the P+ side, that growth is going to come from 2 main buckets. First is organic sub growth, both in the domestic markets and internationally. Domestic piece will be driven by a lot of the same drivers that we saw in '22: content, partnerships, churn improvement. Internationally, this year, we're going to focus on growing within the flagship markets that we launched in '22.

在 P+ 方面，增長將來自兩個主要方面。首先是國內市場和國際市場的有機次級增長。國內部分將由我們在 22 年看到的許多相同驅動因素驅動：內容、合作夥伴關係、客戶流失改善。在國際上，今年，我們將專注於在我們於 22 世紀推出的旗艦市場內實現增長。

And then the second big bucket of growth for Paramount+ will be the migration of Showtime subs later this year. And as I mentioned in prepared remarks, that's not a 1 for 1. There's a little bit of overlap there. We can take you through the details of that in the future.

Paramount+ 的第二大增長將是今年晚些時候 Showtime 訂閱者的遷移。正如我在準備好的評論中提到的那樣，這不是一對一。那裡有一點重疊。我們可以在未來為您詳細介紹。

So there are definitely a lot of moving pieces on the sub front in terms of where we see that going long term. We're increasingly focused on D2C revenue. And so when you look at the goals that we've outlined there in the past, we -- our goal was to hit $9 billion of D2C revenue by the end of 2024. There's some puts and takes there.

因此，就我們認為長期發展的方向而言，子戰線肯定有很多變化。我們越來越關注 D2C 收入。因此，當您查看我們過去在那裡概述的目標時，我們的目標是到 2024 年底達到 90 億美元的 D2C 收入。那裡有一些投入和投入。

The advertising marketplace has obviously been a little soft. But on the other hand, when we look at the trajectory on Paramount+ growth, we're extremely happy with that and, I think, have exceeded our expectations on that front. So that's kind of the story on subs.

廣告市場顯然有點疲軟。但另一方面，當我們審視派拉蒙+增長的軌跡時，我們對此感到非常高興，而且我認為，在這方面超出了我們的預期。這就是潛艇的故事。

I think the second part of your question was around free cash flow in '23, and there's some important things to note there. Most importantly, we expect the year-over-year change in free cash flow to be less than the year-over-year change in OIBDA.

我認為你問題的第二部分是關於 23 年的自由現金流，那裡有一些重要的事情需要注意。最重要的是，我們預計自由現金流的同比變化將小於 OIBDA 的同比變化。

And there's kind of a strategic explanation for that and a financial explanation. The strategic explanation is really that it reflects the evolution of our streaming content investment. We obviously ramped it up quite a bit over the last couple of years. Now it's starting to stabilize as we build scale and you start to see our multi-platform franchise focus rolling in as well as the savings that we're unlocking by integrating Showtime and Paramount+.

對此有一種戰略解釋和財務解釋。戰略解釋實際上是它反映了我們流媒體內容投資的演變。在過去的幾年裡，我們顯然提高了很多。現在，隨著我們擴大規模，它開始趨於穩定，您開始看到我們的多平台特許經營重點不斷湧現，以及我們通過整合 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 實現的節省。

Now the financial answer to that is really that it reflects a reduction in content working capital, meaning that over the last couple of years, cash content spend increased quite a bit faster than content expense because of the nature of amortization. But as we're reaching more stable levels of content investment, that dynamic flips.

現在對此的財務答案實際上是它反映了內容營運資本的減少，這意味著在過去幾年中，由於攤銷的性質，現金內容支出的增長速度比內容支出快得多。但隨著我們達到更穩定的內容投資水平，這種動態會發生逆轉。

So for the next couple of years, you will see content expense on the P&L will grow faster than cash content spend. And in fact, as we move from '23 to '24, this is important, we expect to see growth in free cash flow that is measurably larger than the growth in OIBDA.

因此，在接下來的幾年裡，您會看到 P&L 中的內容支出增長速度將快於現金內容支出。事實上，隨著我們從 23 歲到 24 歲，這一點很重要，我們預計自由現金流的增長將明顯大於 OIBDA 的增長。

And then I think the last part of your question related to the dividend. And what I'd say there is that our capital allocation strategy is well aligned with our operating plan. Yes, cash flow will be negative in 2023. That's sort of the nature of some of the context we're operating in, including the fact that we're going to be at peak losses for D2C in 2023, and there are some ad headwinds.

然後我認為你問題的最後一部分與股息有關。我要說的是，我們的資本配置策略與我們的運營計劃非常一致。是的，2023 年的現金流量將是負數。這就是我們所處環境的性質，包括我們將在 2023 年達到 D2C 虧損高峰的事實，並且存在一些廣告逆風.

But both of those things are short term in nature. We're going to start to grow D2C earnings next year, and we do expect the ad market to recover starting in the back half of '23, which means that we're going to see significant improvement in OIBDA and free cash flow in '24.

但這兩件事本質上都是短期的。我們明年將開始增加 D2C 收入，我們確實預計廣告市場將從 23 年下半年開始復蘇，這意味著我們將看到 OIBDA 和自由現金流的顯著改善24.

And in the interim, we've got a very strong balance sheet that includes over $3 billion of cash on the balance sheet. That's prior to incorporating any future asset sales. We finished last year with net leverage around 4x. We don't have any near-term debt maturities, and we have a $3.5 billion revolver that remains undrawn. So we feel good about that plan, both from a growth perspective and from a financial perspective.

在此期間，我們的資產負債表非常強勁，資產負債表上有超過 30 億美元的現金。那是在合併任何未來資產出售之前。我們去年的淨槓桿率約為 4 倍。我們沒有任何近期到期的債務，而且我們還有 35 億美元的左輪手槍未動用。因此，無論是從增長角度還是從財務角度來看，我們都對該計劃感到滿意。

The next question goes to Ben Swinburne of Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題交給摩根士丹利的本·斯溫伯恩。

Maybe 2. Bob, could you talk a little bit about the outlook on film with Paramount? You have a big slate for '23. And obviously, you had a lot of success last year. Can you just talk a little bit about the film strategy at Paramount and how you see that feeding Paramount+ growth over time?

也許 2. 鮑勃，你能和派拉蒙談一談電影的前景嗎？你有一個 23 年的大名單。顯然，你去年取得了很大的成功。你能談談派拉蒙的電影戰略，以及你如何看待派拉蒙+隨著時間的推移而增長？

And then, Naveen, maybe just to try to finish the sort of '23 conversation. You guys gave us some helpful guidance for Q1 OIBDA. Any help for the year on overall OIBDA versus '22 just so we can think about the right free cash flow comparison as well?

然後，Naveen，也許只是想結束那種 23 年的對話。你們為第一季度 OIBDA 提供了一些有用的指導。今年整體 OIBDA 與 22 年相比有何幫助，以便我們也可以考慮正確的自由現金流比較？

Yes. Sure, Ben. So the first part of your question, obviously, 2022, extremely successful year for Paramount Pictures, 6 #1s at the box office in the U.S. on an 8-picture slate, which gave us really a better hit rate certainly than the industry average.

是的。當然，本。所以你的問題的第一部分，很明顯，2022 年是派拉蒙影業極其成功的一年，在美國票房排名第一的 6 部影片中有 8 部電影，這給了我們比行業平均水平更好的命中率。

No question, our film investment is paying real dividends. As you know, we both monetize it in the theater and on Paramount+. And so we were early to that strategy, and others are sort of moving in that direction.

毫無疑問，我們的電影投資正在帶來實實在在的回報。如您所知，我們都在影院和 Paramount+ 上將其貨幣化。所以我們很早就採用了這個策略，其他人也在朝著這個方向發展。

When you look at Paramount+, movies are top performer on the service, extremely efficient, particularly on a cost-per-start basis. So we feel great about that. As we look forward to '23 and '24, we're very excited about what's going on in Paramount Pictures. You look at the slate, it's increasingly franchise-oriented. We believe in franchise, as you know.

當您查看 Paramount+ 時，電影在該服務中表現最佳，效率極高，尤其是在每次啟動成本的基礎上。所以我們對此感覺很好。在我們期待 23 年和 24 年的時候，我們對派拉蒙影業正在發生的事情感到非常興奮。你看看名單，它越來越以特許經營為導向。如您所知，我們相信特許經營權。

Talk about titles. Scream, which is coming this month. It's New York-located. A lot of buzz on that. We got our first Dungeon and Dragons movie. We're excited about that. Next Transformers movie. When we released a trailer, that blew up the Internet. The next Mission Impossible movie, which is totally out of control and a thrill ride, probably be the biggest Mission Impossible yet. The next Turtles movie. And next Paw Patrol movie, which I don't know if you hang out with any preschoolers, but they love Paw Patrol.

談論頭銜。尖叫，這個月就要來了。它位於紐約。對此有很多議論。我們拿到了第一部龍與地下城電影。我們對此感到興奮。下一部變形金剛電影。當我們發布預告片時，在互聯網上引起了轟動。下一部完全失控的碟中諜電影可能是迄今為止最大的碟中諜電影。下一部海龜電影。下一部 Paw Patrol 電影，我不知道你是否和任何學齡前兒童一起出去玩，但他們喜歡 Paw Patrol。

And then there's more to come. So we're very, very excited about what's going on at Paramount Pictures. And again, leveraging it both in the theatrical side and on the streaming side to great effect.

然後還有更多。因此，我們對派拉蒙影業公司正在發生的事情感到非常、非常興奮。再一次，在戲劇方面和流媒體方面都利用它來產生巨大的影響。

Naveen, the second part?

Naveen，第二部分？

Yes. So Ben, with respect to '23 OIBDA, we're not providing any sort of specific numerical guidance today, but I can give you a few additional notes to help you model the year. If you think first about the D2C segment, as we've made clear, this is the year of peak losses. So you should think about it as really reflecting the full year impact of investments that we made in 2022, most of those related to content and market expansion.

是的。所以本，關於 '23 OIBDA，我們今天不提供任何具體的數字指導，但我可以給你一些額外的註釋來幫助你為這一年建模。如果您首先考慮 D2C 細分市場，正如我們已經明確指出的那樣，今年是虧損高峰期。因此，您應該將其視為真正反映了我們在 2022 年進行的投資的全年影響，其中大部分與內容和市場擴張有關。

On the TV Media side of the business, we are looking to ad recovery in the back half of the year. I think TV Media will also reflect the impact of a number of the cost savings initiatives that we started talking about on our last call as well as some of the benefits that we'll unlock from Showtime and Paramount+ in the back part of the year.

在電視媒體業務方面，我們期待在今年下半年實現廣告復甦。我認為 TV Media 還將反映我們在上次電話會議上開始討論的一些成本節約計劃的影響，以及我們將在今年下半年從 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 獲得的一些好處。

And then on the Filmed Entertainment segment, we do expect slightly lower OIBDA on a year-over-year basis there, just given the timing of our film slate, which is a little more back-end loaded in '23 relative to '22. And then, of course, we're comping against '22, which included Top Gun, which was obviously a very large contributor.

然後在電影娛樂部分，我們確實預計那裡的 OIBDA 同比略有下降，只是考慮到我們的電影名單的時間，相對於 22 年，23 年的後端加載更多一些。然後，當然，我們正在與'22 進行比較，其中包括 Top Gun，這顯然是一個非常大的貢獻者。

Our next question goes to Rich Greenfield of LightShed Partners.

我們的下一個問題是 LightShed Partners 的 Rich Greenfield。

I got a couple of sort of big picture questions for Bob and then a quick financial one. So I've heard that there was credible multibillion-dollar offers for Showtime. Curious sort of how you thought about the value accretion of collapsing it into Paramount+ versus just selling it for cash?

我有幾個大問題要問 Bob，然後是一個快速的財務問題。所以我聽說 Showtime 有可靠的數十億美元報價。好奇你是如何考慮將其合併為 Paramount+ 而不是僅僅以現金出售它的價值增值的？

Disney then -- I think Iger, if you listened to him on my earnings call and certainly on CNBC, he's backing pretty far away from general entertainment content. Hulu's clearly for sale. Wondering, one, do you have interest in buying Hulu? Could that be an interesting asset for Paramount? And related to that, how do you react to sort of the -- what I guess he called undifferentiated general entertainment programming not being a great place to be?

那麼迪斯尼——我認為艾格，如果你在我的財報電話會議上聽過他的話，當然還有在 CNBC 上，他會遠離一般娛樂內容。 Hulu 顯然是待售的。想知道，第一，你有興趣購買 Hulu 嗎？這對派拉蒙來說可能是一項有趣的資產嗎？與此相關的是，您如何看待 - 我猜他稱之為無差別的一般娛樂節目不是一個好地方？

And then the financial housekeeping is just on the free cash flow. Are you committing to positive free cash flow in 2024 or just an improvement in losses in 2024? I wasn't sure how to take what you said. I know that's a lot.

然後財務管理就在自由現金流上。您是承諾在 2024 年實現正自由現金流，還是僅僅在 2024 年改善虧損？我不確定如何接受你說的話。我知道很多。

Sure, Rich, a 3-parter. So on Showtime, look, we think there is enormous value to unlock with the integration of Showtime and Paramount+. Both Naveen and I talked about that some today. So relative to that, if we were to divest the asset, it would have to create more value than our own operating plan. And as steward to shareholder value, we will always listen. But frankly, that bar is pretty high. So beyond that, I don't think anything to say.

當然，Rich，一個三人組。所以在 Showtime 上，看，我們認為通過 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 的整合可以解鎖巨大的價值。 Naveen 和我今天都談到了一些。因此，相對於此，如果我們要剝離資產，它必須創造比我們自己的運營計劃更多的價值。作為股東價值的管家，我們將始終傾聽。但坦率地說，這個門檻很高。所以除此之外，我認為沒有什麼可說的。

Moving to Mr. Iger and undifferentiated, et cetera, look, differentiation matters. And the general entertainment space may not make sense for everyone, but general entertainment clearly makes sense for us when you look at our asset composition and really the nuances of our content engine.

轉向艾格先生，無差別等等，看，差別很重要。一般娛樂空間可能對每個人都沒有意義，但當您查看我們的資產構成以及內容引擎的細微差別時，一般娛樂顯然對我們有意義。

And when we went to market with Paramount+, well, actually before we went to market, we thought a lot about this question because we knew we needed to be differentiated because we weren't first to market. For us, news, sports and amount of entertainment was a clear route to differentiated position and one that we knew or at least strongly believed would resonate with consumers and appeal to the whole household. And that's across this country and really around the world.

當我們帶著 Paramount+ 進入市場時，嗯，實際上在我們進入市場之前，我們對這個問題思考了很多，因為我們知道我們需要與眾不同，因為我們不是第一個進入市場的。對我們而言，新聞、體育和娛樂內容是獲得差異化定位的明確途徑，我們知道或至少堅信會引起消費者共鳴並吸引全家人。這在整個國家乃至全世界都是如此。

And when you look at Paramount+'s consumer traction, including having the most ads of any SVOD service in the U.S. since launch and the most ads in Q4 combined with 81% revenue growth, look, that positioning is clearly working. You look under the covers at what's driving it, it's the combination of Paramount films, CBS hits, Nickelodeon franchises, and our P+ originals, things like 23 and Tulsa King, Criminal Minds, Wolf Pack, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, I could go on, plus sports and news.

當您查看 Paramount+ 的消費者吸引力時，包括自推出以來在美國擁有所有 SVOD 服務中最多的廣告以及第四季度最多的廣告以及 81% 的收入增長，看，這種定位顯然是有效的。你看看幕後是什麼在驅動它，它是派拉蒙電影、CBS 熱門影片、Nickelodeon 特許經營權和我們的 P+ 原創作品的結合，比如 23 和 Tulsa King、犯罪心理、狼群、星際迷航：奇怪的新世界，我可以繼續，加上體育和新聞。

So there's no question that our content engine is delivering against our position. And with respect to the cost of general entertainment, which you didn't specifically ask but certainly was built into that conversation that you're referring to, look, our multi-platform strategy and franchise focus ensure we can build a differentiated content slate and simultaneously create a compelling content ROI. So again, general entertainment, it totally works for us in general and streaming, and maybe we're different because of our asset composition and strategy, but we're leaning into it.

因此，毫無疑問，我們的內容引擎正在違背我們的立場。關於一般娛樂的成本，您沒有具體詢問，但肯定已納入您所指的對話中，看，我們的多平台戰略和特許經營重點確保我們能夠建立差異化的內容板塊和同時創建引人注目的內容投資回報率。所以，再一次，一般娛樂，它在一般和流媒體上完全適合我們，也許我們因為我們的資產構成和戰略而有所不同，但我們正在傾向於它。

And Rich, with respect to your financial question, thank you for giving us a chance to clarify that. Our plan is to deliver positive cash flow in 2024.

Rich，關於你的財務問題，感謝你給我們機會澄清這個問題。我們的計劃是在 2024 年實現正現金流。

The next question goes to Jessica Reif Ehrlich of Bank of America.

下一個問題是美國銀行的 Jessica Reif Ehrlich。

I just wanted maybe a clarification on some of the things you said about pricing. Can you give some color on the economics of the partnership and how you would account for Delta in your sub numbers? But more specifically on the pricing, like how much -- what's the amount that you're thinking of raising prices and the timing? And on the impairment charge, what's included in that $1.3 billion plus?

我只是想澄清一下你所說的關於定價的一些事情。您能否說明合作夥伴關係的經濟性以及您將如何在您的子數據中計算 Delta？但更具體地說是關於定價，比如多少——你想提高價格的數量和時間是多少？關於減值費用，這 13 億美元以上包括什麼？

Yes. Sure, Jessica. I'll take the first piece of that. Look, we're super excited about the Delta partnership we did. It was a competitive process, and obviously, we won. It provides Sky members access to Paramount+ in the air and for a limited period on the ground. So you can think of it as promotional in nature.

是的。當然，傑西卡。我要拿第一塊。看，我們對我們所做的達美合作夥伴關係感到非常興奮。這是一個競爭過程，顯然，我們贏了。它為 Sky 會員提供在空中和地面有限時間內訪問 Paramount+ 的權限。所以你可以把它看作是促銷性質的。

Importantly, the subscriber numbers will not be in our sub count. So they will only -- what they do is they put in their frequent flyer mile, and that gives them temporary access. But it's only if they actually become a real subscriber that it will start to go to our sub count and drive revenue and all that.

重要的是，訂戶數量不會在我們的子計數中。所以他們只會 - 他們所做的就是將他們的飛行常客里程記入他們的飛行常客里程，這讓他們可以臨時訪問。但只有當他們真正成為真正的訂閱者時，它才會開始進入我們的子計數並推動收入等等。

But we think it's an awesome promotional platform. And I know the Delta folks are really excited about it today because it really showcases what they've done in broadband and their planes in the air. And we think it's going to be a nice plus for Paramount+.

但我們認為這是一個很棒的促銷平台。我知道 Delta 員工今天對此非常興奮，因為它真正展示了他們在寬帶和空中飛機方面所做的一切。我們認為這對 Paramount+ 來說是一個不錯的加分項。

And I'll jump in on the questions related to how we're thinking about pricing. We -- there's some, obviously, we have put a lot of thought into since the launch of Paramount+. That includes conducting a variety of conjoint analyses and also really studying some of the historical price increases that you've seen in the industry more broadly.

我將跳入與我們如何考慮定價相關的問題。我們 - 顯然，自派拉蒙 + 推出以來，我們已經考慮了很多。這包括進行各種聯合分析，並真正研究您在行業中更廣泛地看到的一些歷史價格上漲。

What we learned from that was that Paramount+ remains an incredible value proposition for consumers, particularly given the upward trajectory that you're seeing with pricing across the industry. And of course, that value proposition will get even stronger with the addition of Showtime content into the premium tier of Paramount+.

我們從中學到的是，Paramount+ 對消費者來說仍然是一個令人難以置信的價值主張，特別是考慮到您在整個行業中看到的定價上升趨勢。當然，隨著將 Showtime 內容添加到 Paramount+ 的高級內容中，該價值主張將變得更加強大。

We also learned that the headwind from price increases tends to fall more on new subscriber acquisition and less so on churn. And that's something that has certainly guided our thinking around the price increases.

我們還了解到，價格上漲帶來的逆風往往更多地體現在新用戶獲取上，而不是用戶流失上。這無疑引導了我們對價格上漲的思考。

So just as a reminder, the price on the premium-tier Paramount+, which will now include Showtime, will go up by $2, so from $9.99 to $11.99. We'll have a $1 increase on the essential tier from $4.99 to $5.99. And we think that makes sense because effectively, what we're doing is tying a bigger price increase on the premium tier to a significant expansion of content while keeping an easily accessible entry point on the essential tier. And we'll continue to take advantage of promotional pricing, annual plans and bundles as a way of both maintaining the funnel for new customer acquisition while optimizing churn and growing ARPU.

提醒一下，現在包括 Showtime 在內的高端 Paramount+ 的價格將上漲 2 美元，即從 9.99 美元漲到 11.99 美元。我們將在基本層上增加 1 美元，從 4.99 美元增加到 5.99 美元。我們認為這是有道理的，因為實際上，我們正在做的是將優質層的更大價格上漲與內容的顯著擴展聯繫起來，同時在基本層上保持易於訪問的入口點。我們將繼續利用促銷定價、年度計劃和捆綁銷售來維持新客戶獲取渠道，同時優化客戶流失率和增加 ARPU。

So we're excited about the contribution from pricing. And from a timing perspective, that will kick in when the new service launches in early Q3.

因此，我們對定價的貢獻感到興奮。從時間的角度來看，這將在第三季度初推出新服務時開始。

And then I think the last part of the question was on impairment. The impairment charge, which will come in Q1, is really all about content. And it's driven by the fact, as I said, that when we combine Showtime and Paramount+, we don't need the kind of content that you would need if they were operating on an independent basis. So that will provide a benefit in terms of reduced amort on a go-forward basis.

然後我認為問題的最後一部分是關於減值的。將在第一季度出現的減值費用實際上完全與內容有關。正如我所說，這是由這樣一個事實驅動的，即當我們將 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 結合起來時，我們不需要它們在獨立基礎上運營時所需的那種內容。因此，這將在前進的基礎上減少分期付款方面帶來好處。

The next question goes to Doug Mitchelson of Credit Suisse.

下一個問題交給瑞士信貸的道格·米切爾森。

Just a few cleanup questions. One, on the price increases, how does that function with the partnerships? I'm just trying to figure out kind of what percentage of subscribers I apply that price increase to or how I think about the magnitude of the benefit to ARPU.

只是幾個清理問題。第一，關於價格上漲，這與合作夥伴關係如何運作？我只是想弄清楚我將價格上漲應用於多少百分比的訂戶，或者我如何看待 ARPU 收益的大小。

The second piece is on that impairment charge. Could you share how that impacts 2023 EBITDA? Or how that kind of feathers in over time in terms of improving the content amortization? And I guess these are all for Naveen. Sorry, Bob.

第二部分是減值費用。您能否分享這對 2023 年 EBITDA 的影響？或者隨著時間的推移，這種羽毛在提高內容攤銷方面的表現如何？我想這些都是給 Naveen 的。對不起，鮑勃。

I think the last sort of big one is, can you help us understand when does the cash content spend and the content amortization equalize? So I understand it's going to improve in 2024 in particular. But can we look out, pick a number of 3 years and say, okay, we don't have a working capital burn related to content cash cost versus amortization?

我認為最後一個大問題是，您能否幫助我們了解現金內容支出和內容攤銷何時平衡？所以我知道它會在 2024 年有所改善。但是我們可以留意一下，選擇 3 年的數字然後說，好吧，我們沒有與內容現金成本與攤銷相關的營運資金消耗？

Thanks, Mike. And I say that on behalf of Bob, so let him...

謝謝，邁克。我代表鮑勃這麼說，所以讓他...

Doug.

道格。

Or Doug. Excuse me, Doug. But thanks for letting Bob off easy. I'll take those in order. With respect to how the price increases apply to partnerships, a couple of things. The price increases will take effect across both our direct channels and all of our third-party platforms. So that includes channel partners like Amazon, Roku, Apple, et cetera.

或者道格。對不起，道格。但是謝謝你放過 Bob。我會按順序處理的。關於價格上漲如何適用於合作夥伴關係，有幾件事。價格上漲將在我們的直接渠道和所有第三方平台上生效。因此，這包括亞馬遜、Roku、蘋果等渠道合作夥伴。

With respect to the bundles that we have with commercial partners, the timing of price increases in those relationships will be determined on a case-by-case basis. And obviously, we're not going to comment publicly on each of those deals.

對於我們與商業合作夥伴的捆綁包，這些關係中價格上漲的時間將根據具體情況確定。顯然，我們不會對每筆交易發表公開評論。

Your question on the impairment charge and its impact in '23, I think the way you should think about that is that in general, content on our streaming services has an amortization period of roughly 4 years, plus or minus, depends a little bit on the type of content. And so you're going to get the benefit over that period of time. It's going to be a little greater in '23 and then start to decrease a bit because there's more amort to roll off in the first year than in subsequent years.

你關於減值費用及其在 23 年的影響的問題，我認為你應該考慮的方式是，一般來說，我們流媒體服務上的內容的攤銷期大約為 4 年，加上或減去，有點取決於內容的類型。所以你會在那段時間裡受益。它會在 23 年稍微大一點，然後開始減少一點，因為第一年的攤銷比隨後幾年要多。

And then I think your last question was about when we start to see sort of neutralization of the working capital drag on between cash and OIBDA. I think the answer there is we're going to move for the next couple of years into this mode where the growth rate in cash content spend is going to be much lower than the growth rate that you'll see on the P&L. And then beyond that point in time, you'll start to see them move much more in line with each other.

然後我認為你的最後一個問題是關於我們什麼時候開始看到現金和 OIBDA 之間的營運資金拖累的某種中和。我認為答案是我們將在未來幾年進入這種模式，現金內容支出的增長率將遠低於您在損益表中看到的增長率。然後過了那個時間點，你會開始看到它們的移動更加一致。

The next question goes to Phil Cusick of JPMorgan.

下一個問題交給摩根大通的 Phil Cusick。

Bob, first, can you expand on your comment about stabilization in advertising? How should we think about indications for the current quarter and how you think about deeper in the year comping versus the fourth quarter?

鮑勃，首先，你能詳細談談你對廣告穩定性的評論嗎？我們應該如何考慮當前季度的跡象，以及您如何考慮與第四季度相比更深入的一年？

And then second, can you expand on the contribution from international from -- for Pluto?

其次，你能否擴大國際對冥王星的貢獻？

Yes. Sure, Phil. So in terms of the ad market, you look at Q1, which is probably the most timely read on the market, and as we said, we believe our domestic national ad sales growth will improve in Q1 relative to Q4.

是的。當然，菲爾。所以就廣告市場而言，你看看第一季度，這可能是市場上最及時的閱讀，正如我們所說，我們相信我們的國內全國廣告銷售增長將在第一季度相對於第四季度有所改善。

You look at what's going on in the categories, there are some bright spots for sure. Categories that are really working at the moment are food and beverage, pharma, travel and increasingly auto. So we like that.

你看看類別中發生了什麼，肯定有一些亮點。目前真正有效的類別是食品和飲料、製藥、旅遊和越來越多的汽車。所以我們喜歡這樣。

The strength really is much more so on the direct side of the business, and that's a place where Paramount has a real advantage. And in fact, we've recently reorganized our ad sales force around specific teams aligned with holding companies to kind of streamline access for them, make it more turnkey. And that's been very well received. So direct side of the business is a place where we're advantaged.

在業務的直接方面，實力確實要大得多，這是派拉蒙真正有優勢的地方。事實上，我們最近圍繞與控股公司結盟的特定團隊重組了我們的廣告銷售團隊，以簡化他們的訪問，使其更加交鑰匙。這很受歡迎。因此，業務的直接方面是我們有優勢的地方。

The indirect, really the programmatic side, is still soft. And we're looking for that to turn as the market improves. I'd also say in Q1 related to it, the local -- underlying local ad business is improving as well. It's not just a national thing, although when you look at local, obviously, you don't have the same political in Q1 that you had in Q4. So that's a bit of a headwind.

間接的，實際上是程序化的一面，仍然是軟的。隨著市場的改善，我們正在尋找這種情況。我還要說的是，在與此相關的第一季度，本地——潛在的本地廣告業務也在改善。這不僅僅是全國性的事情，儘管當你看當地時，顯然，你在第一季度的政治狀況與第四季度不同。所以這有點不利。

But net-net, we -- relative to Q4, we like what we're seeing kind of right at the moment in Q1. And that does make us optimistic on this second half recovery. And by the way, the second half recovery, when we said it's all about the growth rate, we just -- we believe there will be improvement in growth rate as the year goes on. And it is worth noting that the comps ease a bit moving forward. And so mathematically, that helps. But it's really the underlying tone that we think has stabilized, and we think that -- we know that's the first step before you get the real improvement, which, again, we're looking to the back half of the year 4.

但是，net-net，我們 - 相對於第四季度，我們喜歡我們目前在第一季度看到的那種情況。這確實讓我們對下半年的複蘇感到樂觀。順便說一句，下半年的複蘇，當我們說這完全取決於增長率時，我們只是 - 我們相信隨著時間的推移，增長率將會有所改善。值得注意的是，comps 向前邁進了一點。所以在數學上，這很有幫助。但這確實是我們認為已經穩定的基本基調，而且我們認為 - 我們知道這是您獲得真正改善之前的第一步，我們再次期待第 4 年的下半年。

There was a question about Pluto international.

有一個關於冥王星國際的問題。

You want?

你要？

Yes, I can take that if you like. Pluto in the international markets is certainly at an earlier stage of development and monetization than where we are in the United States. But it's grown at a nice rate. So we're enthusiastic about that.

是的，如果你願意，我可以接受。國際市場上的 Pluto 肯定比我們在美國處於更早的發展和貨幣化階段。但它的增長速度不錯。所以我們對此充滿熱情。

We saw a decent chunk of the MAU growth in Q4 was international, including in Canada, where we launched an exciting partnership with Corus. And from a monetization perspective, as I said, it's still relatively small scale internationally but very compelling growth rate. So we're looking forward to it being a bigger contributor over time.

我們看到第四季度 MAU 增長的很大一部分來自國際市場，包括在加拿大，我們在那裡與 Corus 建立了令人興奮的合作夥伴關係。從貨幣化的角度來看，正如我所說，它在國際上的規模仍然相對較小，但增長率非常引人注目。所以我們期待它隨著時間的推移成為一個更大的貢獻者。

Okay. Thanks a lot. So operator, we have time for one last question. Thanks.

好的。多謝。接線員，我們有時間回答最後一個問題。謝謝。

The final question goes to Kutgun Maral of RBC Capital Markets.

最後一個問題是 RBC Capital Markets 的 Kutgun Maral。

I wanted to follow up on the international DTC outlook more broadly. Paramount has had a differentiated rollout strategy abroad, whether we've gone at it alone, leaned on third-party distributors or have partnered with the likes of Comcast or Reliance in a fairly unique way. Some of your peers are exiting certain markets, and others have talked about plans to take a harder look at where they operate as they reset the economics. How do you see the opportunity abroad evolving? And are there any changes Paramount is looking to make in the strategy to best capitalize on the future of international streaming?

我想更廣泛地跟進國際 DTC 前景。派拉蒙在國外有一個差異化的推廣策略，無論我們是單獨行動、依靠第三方分銷商還是以相當獨特的方式與 Comcast 或 Reliance 等公司合作。您的一些同行正在退出某些市場，而另一些同行則談到了在重塑經濟的同時更仔細地審視他們在哪裡經營的計劃。您如何看待海外發展的機遇？派拉蒙是否希望在戰略中做出任何改變以最好地利用國際流媒體的未來？

Yes, sure. Kutgun, let me take that. And suffice to say, I was schooled in international, spent the better -- well, really spent a decade running our businesses. And so that's certainly informed what we're doing here.

是的，當然。 Kutgun，讓我拿走那個。可以說，我在國際學校接受過教育，度過了更好的時光——嗯，真的花了十年時間經營我們的業務。因此，這肯定是我們在這裡所做的事情的依據。

Start with the fact that streaming is definitely a global opportunity, and thus, the international markets are an important piece of the equation. And just to level set, as we come out of '22, we're obviously active in all Latin America, Western Europe as well as Canada, South Korea and Australia. And then we got our Sky JV, which is in Eastern Europe and the Nordics and the Netherlands but not consolidating our numbers.

從流媒體絕對是一個全球機遇這一事實開始，因此，國際市場是其中的重要組成部分。就水平而言，當我們從 22 年出來時，我們顯然在所有拉丁美洲、西歐以及加拿大、韓國和澳大利亞都很活躍。然後我們得到了我們的 Sky JV，它位於東歐、北歐和荷蘭，但沒有合併我們的數字。

So we're pretty well penetrated, and we're going to really focus '23 on deepening our participation in those markets. But to your point, I believe in a global strategy but local market execution. And you have to look at the nuances of the market as you go forward.

所以我們已經很好地滲透了，我們將真正把 23 年的重點放在深化我們對這些市場的參與上。但就你的觀點而言，我相信全球戰略和本地市場執行。在前進的過程中，你必須關注市場的細微差別。

I also believe in the power of partnership. That led us early on and really first to this hard bundle concept where we use existing relationships with what you could think of as MVPDs to kind of turbocharge our market entry. We did that in the U.K. We did that in Germany. We did that in Italy. We've done that a bit in Latin America. And that's all about getting a large chunk of subscribers out of the gate at 0 acquisition cost.

我也相信夥伴關係的力量。這讓我們很早就真正率先想到了這個硬捆綁概念，在這個概念中，我們使用現有的關係與你可以認為是 MVPD 的東西來推動我們的市場進入。我們在英國做到了。我們在德國做到了。我們在意大利做到了。我們在拉丁美洲已經做了一些。這就是以零獲取成本吸引大量訂戶。

And then now, as Naveen said, it really also was intended and, in fact, has catalyzed demand for the channel stores and the more direct business, D2C O&O, which we really like what we're seeing in the trend lines there. And that will certainly continue to play out in '23.

然後現在，正如 Naveen 所說，它確實也是有意的，事實上，它促進了對渠道商店和更直接的業務 D2C O&O 的需求，我們真的很喜歡我們在那裡的趨勢線中看到的。這肯定會在 23 年繼續發揮作用。

So we are very much looking at this market by market. And part of the peak operating losses, by the way, in '23 is driven by the fact that we launched all of Western Europe in the back half of '22. So that had some spillover effect to our financials. But as we get past that, that helps as well.

所以我們非常關注這個市場。順便說一下，在 23 年的營業虧損高峰部分是由於我們在 22 年下半年推出了整個西歐。因此，這對我們的財務狀況產生了一些溢出效應。但是當我們過去時，這也有幫助。

So really excited about the international market opportunity. We are going at it differently. And yes, you're right, I've talked to some folks who are thinking about scaling back their presence, but they basically launched a D2C O&O in all these independent markets around the world themselves and arguably are subscale, too. So I'm not surprised they're unwinding it, but we didn't go into it like that. We were very thoughtful in how we went into it, again, leveraging existing relationships and assets to both accelerate the growth of the business and really ensure it's an attractive longer-term business.

對國際市場機會感到非常興奮。我們正在採取不同的方式。是的，你是對的，我和一些正在考慮縮減其存在的人談過，但他們基本上在世界各地的所有這些獨立市場推出了 D2C O&O，而且可以說也是小規模的。所以我對他們解除它並不感到驚訝，但我們並沒有那樣進入它。我們對我們如何進入它非常深思熟慮，再次利用現有的關係和資產來加速業務的增長並真正確保它是一個有吸引力的長期業務。

And with that, I just want to wrap the call and leave you with a few key points to keep in mind. We believe in our differentiated strategy, our unique portfolio of assets and our ability to make popular content efficiently. And I think you saw that in '22, and you will see it in '23.

說到這裡，我只想結束電話會議，並留下幾個要點供您牢記。我們相信我們的差異化戰略、我們獨特的資產組合以及我們高效製作熱門內容的能力。我認為你在 22 年看到了這一點，你將在 23 年看到它。

We are focused on the turn towards streaming profitability. Our plan always contemplated that, and we are very much executing against that. We look at our approach as already creating value for shareholders given the strong Paramount+ revenue and subscriber growth.

我們專注於轉向流媒體盈利能力。我們的計劃始終考慮到這一點，而且我們非常反對這一點。鑑於派拉蒙+收入和用戶增長強勁，我們認為我們的方法已經為股東創造了價值。

Yes, you've got to break it out separately and look at it as sum of the parts, but there's no question we've already created a very material asset, and it's got a long attractive runway ahead of it. And as we continue to execute our '23 plan, it really sets the stage, as Naveen said, for a return to significant earnings growth and a return to positive free cash flow, thanks Rich, in '24.

是的，你必須將它單獨分解並將其視為各部分的總和，但毫無疑問，我們已經創造了一項非常重要的資產，並且它前面還有一條很長的有吸引力的跑道。隨著我們繼續執行我們的 23 年計劃，正如 Naveen 所說，它確實為恢復顯著的盈利增長和恢復正自由現金流奠定了基礎，感謝 Rich，在 24 年。

So thank you, everyone, for your support, and be well.

所以，謝謝大家的支持，祝你好運。

Thank you. This now concludes today's call. Thank you so much for joining. You may now disconnect your lines.

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。非常感謝您的加入。您現在可以斷開線路。