Paramount Global (PARA) 2023 Q1 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 Q1 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would now like to turn the call over to Kristin Southey, Paramount Global's EVP, Investor Relations. Kristin, you may now begin your conference call.

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 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。 （操作員說明）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的 Kristin Southey。克里斯汀，你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 first quarter 2023 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. 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.

大家，早安。感謝您抽出寶貴時間參加我們的 2023 年第一季度財報電話會議。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。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 contains supplemental information, and in each case, can be found in the Investor Relations section of our website. Now I will turn the call over to Bob.

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包含補充信息的趨勢表中找到，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。現在我將把電話轉給鮑勃。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us. Today, my remarks will cover Q1 highlights as well as some perspective on the balance of the year. But let me start with the big picture. The media landscape is evolving, and we are executing on our plan to transform Paramount with it. We're leveraging our traditional media base, both financially and operationally to invest in, build and scale a set of streaming networks for the 21st century. With a robust content engine at the core all in service of delivering long-term value to our shareholders.

大家，早安。感謝您加入我們。今天，我的發言將涵蓋第一季度的亮點以及對今年餘額的一些看法。但讓我從大局開始。媒體格局在不斷發展，我們正在執行我們的計劃，以此來改造派拉蒙。我們正在利用我們的傳統媒體基礎，在財務和運營上投資、構建和擴展一套面向 21 世紀的流媒體網絡。以強大的內容引擎為核心，為我們的股東提供長期價值。

We're also navigating a challenging and uncertain macroeconomic environment, and you see the impact of that in our financials. As the combination of peak streaming investment intersects with cyclical ad softness. All of this makes us even more focused on making the necessary decisions to return the company to earnings growth and positive free cash flow in 2024 and to that end, we continue to hone our cost structure, align resources with growth areas and divest noncore assets. Because at the fundamental level, our strategy is working, and our momentum is strong. We are producing popular content, adding subscribers, increasing engagement, growing streaming revenue and progressing towards key business objectives.

我們還在應對充滿挑戰和不確定的宏觀經濟環境，您會看到它對我們財務的影響。由於高峰流媒體投資與週期性廣告疲軟相交。所有這一切使我們更加專注於做出必要的決定，以使公司在 2024 年恢復盈利增長和正自由現金流，為此，我們將繼續完善我們的成本結構，使資源與增長領域保持一致並剝離非核心資產。因為在基本層面，我們的戰略正在奏效，我們的勢頭強勁。我們正在製作受歡迎的內容、增加訂閱者、增加參與度、增加流媒體收入並朝著關鍵業務目標邁進。

As we do that, we see several things that encourage us. First, we are seeing signs of stabilization in the ad market. But perhaps more importantly, we're seeing the unquestionable and growing value of our content and platforms to both the consumer and business community as exemplified by growing usage as well as a broadening range of deals and partnerships. Paramount is transforming. We are confident in the company's execution and shareholder value creation remains our top priority. With that, let's dive in. I'll begin with a look at our popular content, the foundation of Paramount and the engine that's powered our company for decades, and today, that engine is stronger than ever.

當我們這樣做時，我們看到了一些鼓勵我們的事情。首先，我們看到廣告市場趨於穩定的跡象。但也許更重要的是，我們看到了我們的內容和平台對消費者和商業社區的無可置疑且不斷增長的價值，這體現在使用量的增加以及交易和合作夥伴範圍的擴大上。派拉蒙正在轉型。我們對公司的執行充滿信心，創造股東價值仍然是我們的首要任務。有了這個，讓我們開始吧。我將首先看看我們的熱門內容、派拉蒙的基礎和幾十年來為我們公司提供動力的引擎，而今天，這個引擎比以往任何時候都更強大。

It's this content that underpins our D-to-C momentum, where revenue grew 39% year-over-year to an annual run rate of more than $6 billion. And this quarter, we reached 2 big global milestones for our flagship streaming services. Paramount+ grew to 60 million total subscribers, adding 4.1 million subs while Pluto TV hit 80 million monthly active users. Importantly, both are resonating globally, not just in the U.S. Paramount+ saw a 65% year-over-year revenue increase while total global viewing hours across Paramount+ and Pluto TV increased over 50% year-over-year and over 20% sequentially and viewers don't just subscribe to Paramount+ or watch Pluto TV because of a single hit. They come for our broad, bold slate of content, the film franchises they crave, the news they rely on and the TV series and sporting events they're obsessed with.

正是這些內容支撐了我們從 D-to-C 的勢頭，收入同比增長 39%，年運行率超過 60 億美元。本季度，我們的旗艦流媒體服務達到了兩大全球里程碑。 Paramount+ 的總訂戶增長到 6000 萬，增加了 410 萬訂閱者，而 Pluto TV 的月活躍用戶達到了 8000 萬。重要的是，兩者都在全球引起共鳴，而不僅僅是在美國。Paramount+ 收入同比增長 65%，而 Paramount+ 和 Pluto TV 的全球總觀看時長同比增長超過 50%，環比增長超過 20%，觀眾人數不要因為一次成功就訂閱 Paramount+ 或觀看 Pluto TV。他們來是為了我們廣泛、大膽的內容、他們渴望的電影專營權、他們依賴的新聞以及他們痴迷的電視劇和體育賽事。

In the quarter, we saw Paramount+ subscriber growth driven by newly released originals like Tulsa King, Mayor of Kingston, 1923 and Teen Wolf: The movie as well as from theatrical movies like Top Gun: Maverick. In sports like the NCAA and UEFA Champions League soccer. And on Pluto, we see the engagement of our broad and deep libraries, led by the CBS brand as well as great content we source from third parties. In Q1, the Paramount+ with Showtime bundle also benefited from strong Showtime content including Your Honor and Yellowjackets. Not only were they both top acquisition drivers in the quarter, the two shows also dominated consumption, driving nearly 30% of the hours streamed on Showtime.

在本季度，我們看到 Paramount+ 訂閱者的增長受到新發行的原創作品的推動，例如 Tulsa King，金斯敦市長，1923 和 Teen Wolf：電影以及 Top Gun：Maverick 等戲劇電影。在 NCAA 和歐洲冠軍聯賽等運動中。在 Pluto 上，我們看到了以 CBS 品牌為首的廣泛而深入的圖書館的參與，以及我們從第三方獲取的精彩內容。在第一季度，Paramount+ with Showtime 捆綁包也受益於強大的 Showtime 內容，包括 Your Honor 和 Yellowjackets。這兩個節目不僅是本季度的主要收購驅動力，而且還主導了消費，推動了 Showtime 近 30% 的流媒體播放時間。

This, thanks to our devoted enthusiastic fan basis. We see this as an extremely good sign as Paramount+ is about to transition to Paramount+ with SHOWTIME. Looking at the quarter more broadly, CBS programming strongly attracts viewers across linear and streaming to illustrate the power of CBS, I'd note that CBS programming accounted for 281 billion minutes of viewing in the quarter. That's nearly 50% more than the closest broadcast competitor and nearly 4x more than the combined total minutes spent watching original content on Amazon, Hulu, Disney+ and HBO Max, a testament to the power and scale of CBS content.

這要歸功於我們忠實的熱情粉絲基礎。我們認為這是一個非常好的跡象，因為 Paramount+ 即將通過 SHOWTIME 過渡到 Paramount+。從更廣泛的角度來看本季度，CBS 節目通過線性和流媒體強烈吸引觀眾，以說明 CBS 的力量，我注意到 CBS 節目在本季度的觀看時間為 2810 億分鐘。這比最接近的廣播競爭對手高出近 50%，比在亞馬遜、Hulu、Disney+ 和 HBO Max 上觀看原創內容的總時長高出近 4 倍，這證明了 CBS 內容的力量和規模。

I'd also note that CBS with its powerful entertainment lineup, essential news offerings and marquee sports is on track to be the most watched broadcast network for the 15th consecutive season. And in film, Paramount Pictures released the latest installment of the Scream franchise, Scream VI, which opened at #1 in March and is now the highest grossing installment domestically in the franchise. This, to us, is yet another example of the power of our franchises and how that power keeps growing. And it's not just a theatrical story. It extends to streaming, too.

我還要指出，CBS 憑藉其強大的娛樂陣容、重要的新聞產品和大型體育節目有望連續第 15 個賽季成為收視率最高的廣播網絡。在電影方面，派拉蒙影業發行了《驚聲尖叫》系列的最新一作《驚聲尖叫 VI》，該片在 3 月上映時排名第一，目前是該系列電影在國內票房收入最高的電影。對我們來說，這是我們特許經營權的力量以及這種力量如何不斷增長的又一個例子。這不僅僅是一個戲劇故事。它也擴展到流媒體。

With Scream VI debuting on Paramount+ on April 25 to great results, more on its performance next quarter. Big picture, our franchises deliver consistently excellent content and drive high fan-based engagement, advantages that you will see play out again and again as we look ahead. But it's not just content. It's how do we go to market and deploy that content, including in streaming. Since launch, our streaming strategy has been built on a dual revenue stream model, one that spans both subscription and advertising and benefits from strong innovative partnerships with iconic brands.

《驚聲尖叫 VI》於 4 月 25 日在 Paramount+ 上首次亮相並取得了不錯的成績，下個季度的表現將更加精彩。總體而言，我們的特許經營權始終如一地提供出色的內容並推動基於粉絲的高參與度，在我們展望未來時，您將看到這些優勢一次又一次地發揮作用。但這不僅僅是內容。這就是我們如何進入市場並部署該內容，包括在流媒體中。自推出以來，我們的流媒體戰略建立在雙收入流模式之上，該模式涵蓋訂閱和廣告，並受益於與標誌性品牌的強大創新合作夥伴關係。

To that end, we are very happy with our Walmart partnership, and we're thrilled that it now includes Pluto TV. And in March, Paramount+ launched on the subscription hub for Verizon +play customers. This partnership is another step forward as we continue to introduce third-party partnerships to deliver ubiquitous distribution to consumers. And coming soon, Delta Loyalty members on planes originating in the U.S. will have access to a special free trial of the Paramount+ premium service.

為此，我們對我們與沃爾瑪的合作夥伴關係感到非常高興，我們很高興它現在包括 Pluto TV。 3 月，Paramount+ 在 Verizon +play 客戶的訂閱中心推出。隨著我們繼續引入第三方合作夥伴關係以向消費者提供無處不在的分銷，這種合作夥伴關係是向前邁出的又一步。很快，從美國出發的飛機上的 Delta Loyalty 會員將可以免費試用 Paramount+ 高級服務。

Members will have the opportunity to customize their in-flight entertainment experience via Paramount+ on their personal mobile device with big, broad and beloved hits across every genre. These powerful partnerships represent just one component of a multifaceted strategy, a strategy that has led to a streaming business with total revenue that's more than double what it was 2 years ago, and a subscriber base on Paramount+ alone that has grown over 3.5x since launch.

會員將有機會通過 Paramount+ 在他們的個人移動設備上定制他們的機上娛樂體驗，其中涵蓋各種類型的熱門歌曲。這些強大的合作夥伴關係只是多方面戰略的一個組成部分，這一戰略使流媒體業務的總收入比 2 年前增加了一倍多，而且僅 Paramount+ 的訂戶群自推出以來就增長了 3.5 倍以上.

This business is, in fact, scaling at a rapid rate and one that benefits from a TAM that is much bigger than TV. Yes, this takes investment. And as we've described, 2023 represents our peak investment year. But there is no question that our investment is producing results and as we scale, we are very much on a related path to streaming profitability. Advertising, the health of the market and where we are in the cycle is a topic of industry conversation. As I mentioned earlier, there are signs of stabilization in the ad market. We like what we are seeing in many categories, and we would like what we're seeing in the direct side of digital.

事實上，這項業務正在快速擴展，並且受益於比電視大得多的 TAM。是的，這需要投資。正如我們所描述的，2023 年是我們的投資高峰年。但毫無疑問，我們的投資正在產生成果，隨著我們規模的擴大，我們正走在通往流媒體盈利的相關道路上。廣告、市場的健康狀況以及我們在周期中所處的位置是行業對話的話題。正如我之前提到的，廣告市場出現了企穩的跡象。我們喜歡我們在許多類別中看到的東西，我們希望我們在數字的直接方面看到的東西。

And as the market continues to turn, ad growth will improve. As it does, we are confident that the strength of our multiplatform strategy puts us in a unique position to capitalize on it, something my recent conversations with agency and client leaders during our series of upfront events has been more convinced than ever. We have the right strategy, assets and team in place to succeed in the evolving landscape. For example, EyeQ, our integrated suite of streaming and creative ad solutions helps brands place ads across all of our digital platforms with a combined reach of 90 million full-episode monthly unique viewers.

隨著市場繼續轉變，廣告增長將會改善。正如它所做的那樣，我們相信我們的多平台戰略的優勢使我們處於一個獨特的位置來利用它，我最近在我們的一系列前期活動中與代理和客戶領導的談話比以往任何時候都更加令人信服。我們擁有正確的戰略、資產和團隊，可以在不斷變化的環境中取得成功。例如，我們的流媒體和創意廣告解決方案集成套件 EyeQ 可幫助品牌在我們所有的數字平台上投放廣告，每月總計有 9000 萬整集獨立觀眾。

This proprietary advertising product is built on our investments in Pluto and Paramount+, and it is a product whose reach has grown more than 50% in 2 years, whose ad tech and targeting capabilities are advancing at a rapid pace. That is only one example. And across our company, there's no question that our investments are creating compelling sought-after products for consumers, advertisers and distributors. But at the same time, we recognize how these investments on top of the macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted the ad market also impact earnings in our balance sheet in the short term. So with creating shareholder value and financial flexibility as fundamental goals we're deploying three key tactics, all of which Naveen will provide additional color on.

該專有廣告產品建立在我們對 Pluto 和 Paramount+ 的投資之上，該產品的覆蓋面在 2 年內增長了 50% 以上，其廣告技術和定位能力正在快速發展。那隻是一個例子。在我們公司，毫無疑問，我們的投資正在為消費者、廣告商和分銷商創造引人注目的搶手產品。但與此同時，我們認識到這些投資在影響廣告市場的宏觀經濟逆風之上也會在短期內影響我們資產負債表的收益。因此，以創造股東價值和財務靈活性為基本目標，我們正在部署三個關鍵策略，Naveen 將在所有這些策略上提供額外的色彩。

First, we are implementing significant cost-saving measures across certain parts of our business. Second, we're assessing and executing on the value creation opportunities associated with the divestiture of noncore assets, like with respect to Simon & Schuster, where we have restarted the sale process. Finally, we are amending our dividend policy. This decision will further enhance our ability to deliver long-term value for our shareholders as we move towards streaming profitability. As we look ahead, we're producing popular content across owners and platforms. And while the writer strike may cause some disruption, we are confident in our ability to manage through it given the many levers we have to pull.

首先，我們正在我們業務的某些部分實施重大的成本節約措施。其次，我們正在評估和執行與剝離非核心資產相關的價值創造機會，例如 Simon & Schuster，我們已經重新啟動了出售流程。最後，我們正在修改我們的股息政策。隨著我們邁向流媒體盈利能力，這一決定將進一步增強我們為股東創造長期價值的能力。展望未來，我們正在製作跨所有者和平台的熱門內容。雖然作家罷工可能會造成一些破壞，但鑑於我們必須動用許多槓桿，我們相信我們有能力渡過難關。

We will continue to deploy content across platforms in an efficient way. From theatrical movies that create revenue at the box office, then move to Paramount+ to CBS entertainment, news and sports content, which drives massive reach and engagement in broadcast and in streaming and more. This multi-platform approach starts with our strong upcoming theatrical film slate including four franchises in just the next 4 months. The highly anticipated Transformers: Rise of the Beast in June, the return of Tom Cruise in July in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. Seth Rogen's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mutant Mayhem in August and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie in September, all of which have incredible buzz, including coming out of last week's CinemaCon in Vegas.

我們將繼續以高效的方式跨平台部署內容。從創造票房收入的院線電影，到 Paramount+，再到 CBS 娛樂、新聞和體育內容，這推動了廣播和流媒體等領域的廣泛影響和參與。這種多平台方法始於我們即將上映的強大的院線電影，其中包括在接下來的 4 個月內推出的四部特許經營權電影。備受期待的《變形金剛：野獸崛起》將於 6 月上映，湯姆·克魯斯將於 7 月在《碟中諜》- 航位推算第一部中回歸。塞斯·羅根 (Seth Rogen) 的忍者神龜 (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)、8 月的變種人混亂 (Mutant Mayhem) 和 9 月的狗狗巡邏隊 (PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie)，包括上週在維加斯的 CinemaCon 上映的影片，都引起了極大的反響。

Paramount+ is increasingly a destination for excellent streaming content. Sure. The films I just mentioned will make their way to Paramount+ after a theatrical run, but there is much more than that to it. Fatal Attraction just debut on the platform, and we're excited to release Taylor Sheridan's next show Special Ops: Lioness starting Zoe Saldana with Morgan Freeman and Nicole Kidman in the summer.

Paramount+ 越來越成為優秀流媒體內容的目的地。當然。我剛才提到的電影將在院線放映後進入派拉蒙+，但它的意義遠不止於此。 Fatal Attraction 剛剛在平台上首次亮相，我們很高興發布 Taylor Sheridan 的下一部劇集《特別行動：母獅》將在夏季與摩根弗里曼和妮可基德曼一起首演佐伊索爾達娜。

We will also shortly see the unscripted side of Sylvester Stallone in The Family Stallone. And in sports, the combination of CVS and Paramount+ has a strong slate coming including the UEFA Champions League Final and all of the PGA Tours FedEx Playoffs Cup events, followed by Big Ten football later in the year, accompanying the return of the NFL and SEC. Likewise, news will power engagement, both on CBS and Paramount+, including favorites like CBS Mornings, which has been consistently growing share. And from Nickelodeon Studios, we'll have all new series and movies based on classic Nick properties, including Good Burger 2, Zoey 102, The Thundermans and the Loudhouse coming to Paramount+ and Nickelodeon linear.

我們很快還會在《史泰龍家族》中看到西爾維斯特·史泰龍沒有劇本的一面。在體育方面，CVS 和 Paramount+ 的強強聯合即將到來，包括歐洲冠軍聯賽決賽和所有 PGA 巡迴賽 FedEx 季后賽杯賽事，隨後是今年晚些時候的十大橄欖球賽，伴隨著 NFL 和 SEC 的回歸.同樣，新聞將推動 CBS 和 Paramount+ 的參與度，包括最受歡迎的 CBS Mornings，它的份額一直在增長。從 Nickelodeon Studios，我們將推出基於經典 Nick 屬性的所有新系列和電影，包括 Good Burger 2、Zoey 102、The Thundermans 和 Loudhouse 來到 Paramount+ 和 Nickelodeon linear。

Finally, we are thrilled to begin to bring the integrated Paramount+ with SHOWTIME product to market this summer, a game-changing multi-platform offering we are very excited about. This product will integrate Paramount+ content with the SHOWTIME slate, including highly successful series like The Chi, which will be returning for Season 6 this summer. Along with a collection of Showtime franchises as we look to the balance of the year and early '24. So once again, there's a lot here for the whole household, and that will drive subs and engagement. As Paramount+ rapidly becomes a cornerstone streaming service.

最後，我們很高興在今年夏天開始將集成的 Paramount+ 與 SHOWTIME 產品推向市場，這是一個改變遊戲規則的多平台產品，我們對此感到非常興奮。該產品將 Paramount+ 內容與 SHOWTIME 計劃相結合，包括非常成功的劇集，如將於今年夏天回歸第 6 季的《氣》。連同一系列 Showtime 特許經營權，我們期待今年的餘額和 24 年初。所以再一次，這裡有很多適合全家的東西，這將推動訂閱和參與。隨著 Paramount+ 迅速成為流媒體服務的基石。

Before I hand it off to Naveen, I want to close by underscoring what remains our top priority, generating long-term shareholder value. From our franchise fueled content slate to our innovative partnerships to the powerful scale of our platforms, this is a company that knows its strengths, knows how to build on them and one that is positioned to succeed including as the macro environment continues to stabilize, which makes us excited about the path ahead. And with that, I'll hand it over to Naveen.

在我將其交給 Naveen 之前，我想通過強調仍然是我們的首要任務的事情來結束，即創造長期股東價值。從我們以特許經營為動力的內容板塊到我們的創新合作夥伴關係，再到我們平台的強大規模，這是一家了解自身優勢、知道如何在這些優勢的基礎上進一步發展的公司，並且有能力在宏觀環境持續穩定的情況下取得成功，這讓我們對前方的道路感到興奮。然後，我將把它交給 Naveen。

Thank you, Bob. Good morning, everyone. Our Q1 results reflect a combination of strong momentum from Paramount content, investment in our D2C business and the continued impact of macro headwinds. Today, I'm going to cover three things. First, I'll provide additional color on a few elements of our Q1 results. Second, I will talk about optimizing our capital allocation. And third, I'll discuss our expectations for earnings and free cash flow improvement in the back half of this year and into 2024. In Q1, we delivered total company revenue of $7.3 billion, and adjusted OIBDA of $548 million. Our press release includes a comprehensive review of key financial and operational results for the quarter.

謝謝你，鮑勃。大家，早安。我們第一季度的業績反映了派拉蒙內容的強勁勢頭、對我們 D2C 業務的投資以及宏觀逆風的持續影響。今天，我要講三件事。首先，我將為第一季度結果的一些元素提供額外的顏色。第二，我會談談優化我們的資本配置。第三，我將討論我們對今年下半年和 2024 年收益和自由現金流改善的預期。第一季度，我們實現了 73 億美元的公司總收入，調整後的 OIBDA 為 5.48 億美元。我們的新聞稿包括對本季度主要財務和運營結果的全面審查。

I'm going to focus my comments here on four specific areas, affiliate and subscription revenue, advertising, our filmed entertainment results and cash flow. Affiliate and subscription revenue growth accelerated to 12% this quarter. continued evidence that the ecosystem shift from pay TV to streaming yields material growth for our business. Notably, we saw improving trends in both linear and streaming. On the linear side, TV media affiliate revenue declined 1% year-over-year, an improvement versus Q4. And in streaming, D2C subscription revenue was up 50% year-over-year. Paramount+ subscription revenue saw even stronger growth driven by subscriber additions, an increase in ARPU and improvements in domestic churn. Looking ahead, we expect healthy levels of year-over-year affiliate and subscription revenue growth to continue over the next several quarters, aided in part by the integration of Showtime and Paramount+.

我將在這裡集中評論四個特定領域，附屬和訂閱收入、廣告、我們的電影娛樂結果和現金流。本季度附屬和訂閱收入增長加速至 12%。不斷有證據表明，生態系統從付費電視向流媒體的轉變為我們的業務帶來了實質性增長。值得注意的是，我們看到了線性和流媒體的改善趨勢。在線性方面，電視媒體聯盟收入同比下降 1%，與第四季度相比有所改善。在流媒體方面，D2C 訂閱收入同比增長 50%。在用戶增加、ARPU 增加和國內客戶流失改善的推動下，Paramount+ 訂閱收入增長更為強勁。展望未來，我們預計未來幾個季度聯屬網絡營銷和訂閱收入的同比增長將保持健康水平，這在一定程度上得益於 Showtime 和 Paramount+ 的整合。

From a subscriber perspective, we expect net adds in Q2 will be seasonally soft ahead of the release of key content titles and marketing initiatives aligned with the rollout of the integrated service, which will occur throughout Q3 and Q4. Now let's turn to advertising. The global ad market continued to experience weakness in Q1, resulting in a 7% decline in total advertising revenue. This consisted of 15% growth in D2C advertising and an 11% decline in TV media advertising.

從訂戶的角度來看，我們預計第二季度的淨增加將在發布關鍵內容標題和營銷計劃之前出現季節性疲軟，與集成服務的推出保持一致，這將在整個第三季度和第四季度進行。現在讓我們轉向廣告。全球廣告市場在第一季度繼續疲軟，導致廣告總收入下降 7%。其中包括 D2C 廣告增長 15% 和電視媒體廣告下降 11%。

The decline in TV media was impacted by international markets and fewer NFL games than in the prior year. However, we are seeing signs of market stabilization. Within the domestic ad market, sports remains an area of strength. We also saw improvement in key buying categories, including pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, travel and auto. Though categories like insurance, web services and big tech remain relatively weak. With respect to Q2, we expect the year-over-year trend in TV media advertising to be slightly favorable to what we reported in Q1. And in D2C advertising, we expect continued acceleration.

電視媒體的下滑受到國際市場和 NFL 比賽比上一年減少的影響。然而，我們看到了市場企穩的跡象。在國內廣告市場中，體育仍然是一個優勢領域。我們還看到關鍵購買類別有所改善，包括藥品、食品和飲料、旅遊和汽車。儘管保險、網絡服務和大型科技等類別仍然相對薄弱。關於第二季度，我們預計電視媒體廣告的同比趨勢略有利於我們在第一季度報告的情況。在 D2C 廣告方面，我們預計會繼續加速。

Related to digital advertising, Pluto TV hit a new milestone in Q1, reaching 80 million MAUs. We're proud of this milestone, and we expect global MAU growth to continue. However, the key driver of Pluto's future revenue growth will be the strong engagement trends we're seeing. In fact, total viewing hours on Pluto increased 35% in Q1 after growing nearly 20% in 2022. Going forward, we'll provide updates on engagement rather than reporting quarterly MAUs as we believe this is more indicative of Pluto's revenue growth opportunity.

與數字廣告相關，Pluto TV 在第一季度達到了新的里程碑，達到 8000 萬月活躍用戶。我們為這一里程碑感到自豪，我們預計全球 MAU 增長將繼續。然而，Pluto 未來收入增長的主要驅動力將是我們看到的強勁參與趨勢。事實上，在 2022 年增長近 20% 之後，第一季度 Pluto 的總觀看時長增加了 35%。展望未來，我們將提供參與度的最新信息，而不是報告季度 MAU，因為我們認為這更能說明 Pluto 的收入增長機會。

Moving on to Filmed Entertainment. Revenue and OIBDA were down versus the prior year, due in part to the timing and performance of the film slate. In terms of timing, Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves was released on the last day of the quarter such that expenses were incurred without significant revenue contribution. And in terms of performance, Q1 included operation fortune for Miramax which contributed to lower profitability of the film slate relative to the prior year. Filmed Entertainment OIBDA was also negatively impacted by macro-driven softness in consumer products licensing. Looking ahead to Q2, Filmed Entertainment revenue and OIBDA will be down significantly versus the prior year. due to the tough comp against Top Gun: MAVERICK. This year, Q2 will include Transformers: Rise of The Beast, our next big franchise film, which will be released on June 9.

繼續拍攝娛樂。收入和 OIBDA 與上一年相比有所下降，部分原因是影片的時間安排和表現。就時間而言，龍與地下城：盜賊之間的榮譽在本季度的最後一天發布，因此產生了費用，但沒有對收入做出重大貢獻。就業績而言，第一季度包括米拉麥克斯的運營運勢，這導致電影板塊的盈利能力低於上一年。電影娛樂 OIBDA 也受到宏觀驅動的消費品許可疲軟的負面影響。展望第二季度，電影娛樂收入和 OIBDA 將較上年大幅下降。由於對抗 Top Gun: MAVERICK 的強硬組合。今年第二季度將包括變形金剛：野獸崛起，這是我們的下一部大型特許經營電影，將於 6 月 9 日上映。

The quarter will also include significant marketing expenses related to Mission: Impossible, which will be released in early Q3. As a result of these timing dynamics, we expect a filmed entertainment OIBDA loss in Q2 that will be somewhat better than Q1. Given that the expenses for our biggest films this year are weighted to the front half, we expect significant improvement in Filmed Entertainment OIBDA in the back half of the year, driven by our strong lineup of franchise films, including Mission: Impossible 7, PAW Patrol and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

本季度還將包括與將於第三季度初發布的《碟中諜》相關的大量營銷費用。由於這些時間動態，我們預計第二季度電影娛樂 OIBDA 損失將略好於第一季度。鑑於我們今年最重要的電影的費用集中在上半年，我們預計下半年電影娛樂 OIBDA 將有顯著改善，這得益於我們強大的特許經營電影陣容，包括《碟中諜 7》、《狗狗巡邏隊》和忍者神龜。

Moving on to cash flow. In Q1, free cash flow was a use of $554 million. This reflects our previously shared expectations for negative free cash flow for the full year 2023, with the first half of the year showing a use of capital and the back half of the year turning positive. The improvement in the back half will be driven by the timing of our film slate, streaming ARPU growth and improvement in advertising trends. Now let's turn to capital allocation. As we stated in the past, our capital allocation goals are threefold. First, we want to invest in organic growth. Second, we want to delever the balance sheet; and third, to return capital to shareholders.

繼續現金流。第一季度，自由現金流使用了 5.54 億美元。這反映了我們之前對 2023 年全年負自由現金流的共同預期，上半年顯示資本使用，下半年轉正。後半部分的改善將受到我們的電影上映時間、流媒體 ARPU 增長和廣告趨勢改善的推動。現在讓我們轉向資本配置。正如我們過去所說，我們的資本配置目標有三個。首先，我們要投資有機增長。其次，我們要去槓桿化資產負債表；第三，向股東返還資本。

In order to continue to accomplish these goals in an uncertain macroeconomic environment, we're doing the following: First, with respect to organic growth, we're highly focused on efficiency. While growing our streaming business to an annual run rate of over $6 billion, we're capturing $700 million of future annual expense savings through the integration of SHOWTIME. And as we progress through the integration, we're increasingly confident about our ability to get even more from our core franchise content investments and believe we will ultimately capture more than the $700 million in future expense savings.

為了在不確定的宏觀經濟環境中繼續實現這些目標，我們正在做以下事情：首先，在有機增長方面，我們高度關注效率。在將我們的流媒體業務發展到年運行率超過 60 億美元的同時，我們通過整合 SHOWTIME 每年節省 7 億美元的費用。隨著我們在整合中取得進展，我們越來越相信我們有能力從我們的核心特許經營內容投資中獲得更多收益，並相信我們最終將在未來節省超過 7 億美元的費用。

In fact, the programming charge incurred in Q1 illustrates our ability to concentrate content investments going forward. Second, we continue to manage net debt by divesting noncore assets. We have restarted the sale process for Simon & Schuster, and we see a path to potentially closing a transaction this year. The combination of initial interest and strong operating performance of the business over the last several years gives us confidence in our ability to maximize the value of this asset for our shareholders. With respect to capital returns, we will be reducing Paramount's quarterly dividend on common shares to $0.05 or $0.20 annually.

事實上，第一季度產生的節目費用說明了我們有能力在未來集中內容投資。其次，我們繼續通過剝離非核心資產來管理淨債務。我們已經重啟了 Simon & Schuster 的銷售流程，我們看到了今年可能完成交易的途徑。最初的興趣和過去幾年業務的強勁經營業績相結合，使我們相信我們有能力為股東實現這一資產價值的最大化。關於資本回報，我們將派拉蒙的普通股季度股息減少至每年 0.05 美元或 0.20 美元。

This change provides additional financial flexibility and enhances long-term value creation while continuing to return capital to shareholders. The dividend modification will be effective as of our next payment and will result in approximately $500 million of annualized cash savings. We believe this combination of actions across organic investment and expense reduction, noncore asset sales and dividend policy reflect a prudent capital allocation strategy in an era which presents both macro uncertainty and tremendous growth opportunity.

這一變化提供了額外的財務靈活性並增強了長期價值創造，同時繼續向股東返還資本。股息修改將在我們下一次付款時生效，並將每年節省大約 5 億美元的現金。我們認為，有機投資和費用削減、非核心資產出售和股息政策等一系列行動的結合，反映了在這個既存在宏觀不確定性又存在巨大增長機會的時代，我們採取了審慎的資本配置策略。

Finally, I'd like to address our path to earnings and free cash flow improvement, which starts with our world-class studios who continue to deliver popular franchise content and leverages our global distribution platforms to monetize content across theatrical, linear streaming and licensing channels. At the same time, we are keenly focused on commercial execution, which preserves the earnings and cash flow from our traditional TV media businesses while also narrowing D2C losses. And there are several key levers that enable us to accomplish these goals. At TV media, OIBDA will benefit from contractual rate increases as well as ongoing cost rationalization. Importantly, we expect to generate meaningful revenue and OIBDA in this large segment of our business for the foreseeable future.

最後，我想談談我們改善收益和自由現金流的途徑，這始於我們的世界級工作室，他們繼續提供受歡迎的特許經營內容，並利用我們的全球發行平台通過影院、線性流媒體和許可渠道的內容獲利.同時，我們非常專注於商業執行，這可以保留我們傳統電視媒體業務的收益和現金流，同時縮小 D2C 虧損。有幾個關鍵槓桿可以使我們實現這些目標。在電視媒體方面，OIBDA 將受益於合同費率的提高以及持續的成本合理化。重要的是，我們預計在可預見的未來，我們的這一大部分業務將產生可觀的收入和 OIBDA。

And in streaming, B2C earnings improvement will be driven by a combination of subscriber growth and ARPU expansion as well as margin improvement unlocked by slowing growth in content expense and other operating efficiencies. We Overall, we remain on track for peak streaming investment in 2023, 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 growth and positive free cash flow in 2024.

在流媒體方面，B2C 收入的改善將受到訂戶增長和 ARPU 擴張的共同推動，以及內容費用和其他運營效率增長放緩帶來的利潤率改善。總的來說，我們仍有望在 2023 年實現流媒體投資高峰，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 年實現有意義的公司總收益增長和正的自由現金流。

We have taken steps to build a stronger, leaner, more integrated one Paramount while positioning the company for earnings growth and value creation. With that, operator, let's open the line for questions.

我們已採取措施打造更強大、更精簡、更整合的派拉蒙，同時將公司定位為盈利增長和價值創造。有了這個，接線員，讓我們打開問題熱線。

(Operator Instructions) Our first question today goes to Michael Morris of Guggenheim. Michael, please go ahead.

（操作員說明）我們今天的第一個問題是古根海姆的邁克爾莫里斯。邁克爾，請繼續。

Bob, first, maybe I'll ask you on direct-to-consumer. You've had strong subscriber and subscription growth, revenue growth of Paramount+. As you look forward this year, can you expand a little bit more on the balance of subscriber growth and pricing power that you expect to drive that continued subscription revenue growth from here? And then I apologize, I have to ask a second, though, Naveen, I need to ask you why now was the time to reduce the dividend so significantly so based on your comments overall, it seems that the level of investment that you're going through is consistent with the plan you've had all along.

鮑勃，首先，也許我會問你關於直接面向消費者的問題。您的訂戶和訂閱增長強勁，Paramount+ 的收入增長。正如您今年展望的那樣，您能否在用戶增長和定價能力的平衡上進一步擴展，您希望從這裡推動訂閱收入的持續增長？然後我道歉，我不得不再問一下，不過，Naveen，我需要問你為什麼現在是時候大幅減少股息，所以根據你的總體評論，你的投資水平似乎是經歷與你一直以來的計劃是一致的。

And that dividend level is such an important outward signal of your sustained confidence so I'm hoping you can dig in a little bit more and help us specifically with what drove that change now.

股息水平是你持續信心的一個重要外在信號，所以我希望你能多深入一點，幫助我們具體解決現在推動這種變化的因素。

Sure, Mike. Let me start and then I'll toss it to Naveen for a little more D2C and then the dividend piece. So look, we're thrilled with the momentum we continue to see for Paramount+. We talked about the $60 million subscriber milestone in the quarter. And we do look to grow both on a subscriber side and very importantly, a revenue side as we continue in the year and beyond, and that goes along the associated path to profitability.

當然，邁克。讓我開始，然後我會把它扔給 Naveen，以獲得更多的 D2C，然後是股息。所以看，我們對派拉蒙+繼續看到的勢頭感到興奮。我們談到了本季度 6000 萬美元的訂戶里程碑。我們確實希望在訂閱者方面和非常重要的收入方面實現增長，因為我們將在今年及以後繼續這樣做，並且沿著相關的盈利路徑發展。

Focusing on Paramount+ growth in the back half of the year, look, it starts with content. At the end of the day, some there said it, content is king. It is, what people come to any media service for, including Paramount+, and you saw our -- the success of our slate in the first quarter, and we feel really good about it for the balance of the year. And again, it's entertainment, which is a great driver of subscriber additions and engagement. It's news, which is more of an engagement vehicle and it's sports, which has been great for us on both.

關注 Paramount+ 下半年的增長，看，它從內容開始。歸根結底，有些人說，內容為王。這就是人們使用任何媒體服務的目的，包括派拉蒙+，你看到了我們的——我們在第一季度的成功，我們對這一年的剩餘時間感到非常滿意。再一次，它是娛樂性的，它是訂閱者增加和參與的重要驅動力。這是新聞，它更像是一種參與工具，它是體育運動，這對我們兩者都很好。

As the year tracks out, the second quarter for terms of subscriber addition is probably seasonally a little softer, and then we pick it up in the back half of the year again. Part of that is -- in the U.S., the combination of Paramount Plus with SHOWTIME, we think that is clearly additive to the Paramount+ sub base. And then -- but part of it is just the content slate at large. Add to that, the revenue side of this -- before I get to revenue, I want to also talk about the marketing. As you know, we continue to expand our partnership approach, including with Paramount+. The Walmart one is working very well for us. We're about to light up Delta. That's going to be interesting as well. So we're doing a bunch of stuff on the marketing side to add to it and then go to revenue, ARPU. As you know, we are effectuating a price increase as we move forward in the summer.

隨著今年的結束，第二季度用戶增加的季節性可能會稍微疲軟，然後我們會在今年下半年再次回升。其中一部分是——在美國，Paramount Plus 與 SHOWTIME 的結合，我們認為這顯然是對 Paramount+ 子基礎的補充。然後——但其中一部分只是整個內容。除此之外，這方面的收入——在我談到收入之前，我還想談談營銷。如您所知，我們繼續擴大我們的合作方式，包括與 Paramount+ 的合作。沃爾瑪的那個對我們來說效果很好。我們即將點亮 Delta。這也會很有趣。所以我們在營銷方面做了很多事情來增加它然後去收入，ARPU。如您所知，隨著夏季的推進，我們正在實施提價。

We feel really great about that. So the levers are in place to continue to drive Paramount+ subscribers, revenue and ultimately, continue down this path to profitability. Naveen?

我們對此感覺非常好。因此，槓桿已經到位，可以繼續推動 Paramount+ 的訂戶、收入，並最終繼續沿著這條盈利之路前進。納文？

Yes. Thanks, Bob. And Mike, I'll just add a few things on the D2C point and then address your question on the dividend. As Bob said, on D2C this is a combination of subscriber growth as well as ARPU growth. Bob talked about a number of the drivers on those. I would just add, particularly with respect to ARPU, we continue to see growth there, both from a favorable mix shift in terms of tiers, channels, geography, we're also seeing some good trends from an ad ARPU growth perspective.

是的。謝謝，鮑勃。邁克，我將在 D2C 點上添加一些內容，然後解決你關於股息的問題。正如 Bob 所說，在 D2C 上，這是用戶增長和 ARPU 增長的結合。鮑勃談到了這些方面的一些驅動因素。我只想補充一點，特別是在 ARPU 方面，我們繼續看到那裡的增長，無論是從層級、渠道、地理方面的有利組合轉變，我們也從廣告 ARPU 增長的角度看到一些好的趨勢。

So that's going to continue to grow -- continue to contribute to growth going forward and it benefits from nice growth that we're seeing in terms of engagement, hours per sub and the like. And then the pricing piece, which Bob mentioned, and I think is really worth reiterating -- all the pieces are in place for us to, I think, successfully raise pricing without a significant impact on churn and growth, the value proposition for P+ both relative to other streaming services and traditional pay television remains incredibly strong. And as I said, engagement on the service is only getting deeper. So we're very encouraged by what we can do there. And we're going to be taking really just the first step this year. I think there are also future opportunities to grow price down the road, both domestically and internationally.

所以這將繼續增長 - 繼續為未來的增長做出貢獻，並且它受益於我們在參與度，每個訂閱者的小時數等方面看到的良好增長。然後是 Bob 提到的定價部分，我認為真的值得重申——我認為，所有這些部分都已準備就緒，我們可以在不對客戶流失和增長產生重大影響的情況下成功提高定價，P+ 的價值主張既相對於其他流媒體服務和傳統付費電視仍然非常強勁。正如我所說，對服務的參與只會越來越深。因此，我們對在那裡可以做的事情感到非常鼓舞。今年我們將邁出真正的第一步。我認為未來還有機會在國內和國際上提高價格。

So that's B2C. And then with respect to your question on the dividend, Look, I think the capital allocation policy, the changes we made to our capital allocation policy are totally appropriate for a company that has both the compelling growth opportunity we see today. but operating in the current macro environment. There's no debate that our streaming momentum has obviously continued to build. But the reality is the macro environment has not gotten less complex so it's prudent really for all companies to optimize their balance sheet for flexibility.

這就是B2C。然後關於你關於股息的問題，看，我認為資本分配政策，我們對資本分配政策所做的改變完全適合一家擁有我們今天看到的令人信服的增長機會的公司。但在當前的宏觀環境中運作。毫無疑問，我們的流媒體勢頭顯然在繼續增強。但現實是宏觀環境並沒有變得不那麼複雜，因此所有公司優化資產負債表以提高靈活性確實是謹慎的做法。

And that's exactly what we're doing by reducing the quarterly dividend to $0.05. That does translate to significant cash savings, roughly $500 million annually, as I mentioned, while still returning some capital to shareholders. And to one of the elements of your question, I would emphasize that the reduction in the dividend does not mean that we intend to spend more than previously planned on streaming. You should really think of this as the cash benefit of reducing the dividend, along with other initiatives like noncore asset sales and continued cost management, is intended to help delever our balance sheet, which is generally a smart thing to do in an uncertain macro environment and is also a key ingredient in creating long-term shareholder value, which is, of course, the primary goal that we have.

這正是我們將季度股息減少至 0.05 美元所做的事情。這確實轉化為大量現金節省，正如我提到的那樣，每年大約節省 5 億美元，同時仍向股東返還一些資本。對於你問題的其中一個要素，我要強調的是，減少股息並不意味著我們打算在流媒體上花費比之前計劃更多的錢。您真的應該將此視為減少股息的現金收益，以及非核心資產出售和持續成本管理等其他舉措，旨在幫助我們的資產負債表去槓桿化，這通常是在不確定的宏觀環境中做的明智之舉並且也是創造長期股東價值的關鍵因素，這當然是我們的主要目標。

Okay Operator, we can take the next question.

好的接線員，我們可以回答下一個問題。

The next question goes to Brett Feldman of Goldman Sachs.

下一個問題是高盛的布雷特費爾德曼。

Yes. Naveen, you expressed a great deal of confidence that you'll continue to see significant cash generation out of the TV media segment for a number of years. I think we all appreciate the rate dynamic that you highlighted in terms of the opportunity to continue to get good rate out of the affiliate fees.

是的。 Naveen，你表達了極大的信心，你將在未來幾年內繼續看到電視媒體部門產生大量現金。我想我們都讚賞您強調的利率動態，即有機會繼續從附屬費用中獲得良好的利率。

I was hoping you could go a little deeper into the P&L and talk about some of the opportunities to drive OpEx efficiencies in the business. We get a lot of questions about the flexibility to contain non-sports related content costs. And then there are any other operating costs within the P&L you think you can make headway against as you sort of grapple with the cord cutting environment.

我希望您能更深入地了解 P&L，並談談推動業務運營支出效率的一些機會。我們收到很多關於包含非體育相關內容成本的靈活性的問題。然後，當您在某種程度上應對剪線環境時，您認為您可以在損益表中取得進展的任何其他運營成本。

Yes. Sure, Brett. Thanks for the question. And as you said, that the top line dynamics are important here as well because even though the traditional ecosystem is obviously evolving, the financial impact for us is somewhat mitigated with -- given the combination of rate increases in both the linear advertising side and linear affiliate revenues. Which offset some of that ecosystem shift.

是的。當然，布雷特。謝謝你的問題。正如你所說，頂線動態在這裡也很重要，因為即使傳統生態系統明顯在發展，但對我們的財務影響有所減輕 - 考慮到線性廣告方面和線性聯盟收入。這抵消了一些生態系統的轉變。

You saw that in Q1 where linear affiliate revenue declines were just 1%, which is much lower than what you see in terms of declines in the pay TV sub base overall. But with respect to the cost base, which you specifically asked about, there are numerous levers that we continue to exercise. That includes a variety of opportunities on programming, things like continuing to evolve the mix of genres, transitioning some of our programming to lower-cost formats. Moving more production offshore where factor costs are significantly lower.

你看到在第一季度，線性聯盟收入下降僅為 1%，這遠低於你所看到的付費電視子基數整體下降的情況。但是關於您特別詢問的成本基礎，我們將繼續使用許多槓桿。這包括各種關於節目的機會，比如繼續發展流派的組合，將我們的一些節目轉變為低成本格式。將更多的生產轉移到要素成本顯著降低的海外。

And we're even doing things like adopting AI for content localization, which, by the way, produces some really high-quality results at very, very compelling economics. So lots to do on the programming side. Beyond programming. We're taking a highly disciplined approach to headcount and continuing to find efficiencies there and also evolving marketing budgets where it makes sense and where we can do so efficiently. Then we're also doing some things around licensing, which is a little more revenue related. But we do see opportunities to expand our licensing business in call it, noncore international marketplace.

我們甚至正在做一些事情，比如採用 AI 進行內容本地化，順便說一下，這會以非常非常引人注目的經濟效益產生一些非常高質量的結果。在編程方面有很多事情要做。超越編程。我們正在對員工人數採取高度紀律的方法，並繼續在那裡尋找效率，並在有意義和我們可以有效地做到這一點的地方不斷發展營銷預算。然後我們也在做一些關於許可的事情，這與收入有關。但我們確實看到了擴大我們的許可業務的機會，稱之為非核心國際市場。

So the way I think about it, it's really the combination of our ability to mitigate some of the ecosystem declines on the top line. while also exercising a lot of these levers on the cost side, the combination of which means that TV Media OIBDA will continue to be a source of significant earnings and cash flow going forward.

所以我認為它的方式，它真的是我們減輕一些生態系統衰退的能力的結合。同時還在成本方面運用了很多這些槓桿，這意味著 TV Media OIBDA 將繼續成為未來重要收入和現金流的來源。

Operator?

操作員？

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 for Naveen. Just on the content spending front, you talked about the dividend saving the company a lot of money. But obviously, cash content spending is your biggest cash outflow. Can you give us any guidance on how you see cash content spending over time? That seems like another big lever, could that decline and then just back on the dividend's timing. I mean, I hear you on the macro, but you guys are also talking about the ad market getting better. You just mentioned your affiliate revenues improving. The ad market has been weak for a while. Were there other catalysts that the Board and the management team looked at that determined this was the right time to cut the dividend by this magnitude because a lot of these headwinds, I think, have been around for some time now. I just wanted to see if you had any more to add.

也許是為了納文。就內容支出而言，您談到了為公司節省大量資金的股息。但顯然，現金支出是您最大的現金流出。你能給我們任何關於你如何看待隨著時間的推移現金內容支出的指導嗎？這似乎是另一個重要的槓桿，它是否會下降，然後回到派息的時機。我的意思是，我在宏觀上聽到你們的聲音，但你們也在談論廣告市場變得更好。您剛剛提到您的會員收入有所提高。一段時間以來，廣告市場一直疲軟。董事會和管理團隊是否還有其他催化劑確定現在是將股息削減如此幅度的正確時機，因為我認為很多不利因素已經存在了一段時間。我只是想看看你是否還有更多要補充的。

Yes. Look, I think I'll go in reverse order there, Ben. With respect to the dividend, as I said, it really is about providing as much financial flexibility as possible. And finding ways to create the most value for our shareholders. And I think having a strong balance sheet is helpful to that. And the macro environment is something that we're conscious of as we think about what the balance sheet should look like.

是的。看，本，我想我會以相反的順序進行。關於股息，正如我所說，它實際上是提供盡可能多的財務靈活性。並尋找為我們的股東創造最大價值的方法。我認為擁有強大的資產負債表對此很有幫助。當我們考慮資產負債表應該是什麼樣子時，我們會意識到宏觀環境。

So that is very much the motivation there. With respect to your question on content spend over time, I'd say a few things. Number one, really, since we launched Paramount+, we have had an strategy which is very focused on being as efficient as possible in how we deploy cash related to content for building out streaming. If you remember, we embrace the concept of sharing content across platforms to reduce costs and maximize ROI. We leaned very heavily into franchises, which are fundamentally more cost efficient. We never abandoned third-party licensing.

所以這就是那裡的動機。關於您關於內容隨時間花費的問題，我想說幾句。第一，真的，自從我們推出 Paramount+ 以來，我們制定了一項戰略，該戰略非常注重盡可能高效地部署與內容相關的現金以構建流媒體。如果您還記得的話，我們接受跨平台共享內容以降低成本和最大化投資回報率的概念。我們非常依賴特許經營權，這從根本上講更具成本效益。我們從未放棄第三方許可。

And we took a very capital-efficient approach to international expansion. Now we're always looking for ways to be even more efficient with content spend. That's one of the reasons that we decided to integrate SHOWTIME and Paramount+, which as we said last quarter, means more than $700 million of future expense savings, not all of which is content. And I think I also noted at the time that, that does mean D2C content expense in 2024 should actually be less than what we originally indicated. And we're not stopping there. We're pushing even harder to unlock additional savings. That means an even bigger focus on franchises and some of the things that I referenced earlier, genre mix formats, order size, looking at the special effects budget, international development, et cetera.

我們採取了一種非常節省資本的方法來進行國際擴張。現在，我們一直在尋找提高內容支出效率的方法。這就是我們決定整合 SHOWTIME 和 Paramount+ 的原因之一，正如我們上個季度所說，這意味著未來可以節省超過 7 億美元的費用，而不是所有這些都是內容。我想我當時也注意到，這確實意味著 2024 年的 D2C 內容費用實際上應該低於我們最初指出的。我們並沒有就此止步。我們正在更加努力地推動更多的節省。這意味著更加關注特許經營權和我之前提到的一些事情，流派混合格式，訂單大小，查看特效預算，國際發展等等。

And I think the combination of those things means we will likely find even more efficiencies in content spend across both linear and streaming than what we've assumed today.

而且我認為這些因素的結合意味著我們可能會發現線性和流媒體內容支出的效率比我們今天假設的還要高。

Operator, you can take the next question.

接線員，你可以接下一個問題。

The next question go to Jessica Reif Ehrlich of Bank of America Securities.

下一個問題交給美國銀行證券公司的 Jessica Reif Ehrlich。

Maybe moving over to advertising. You've taken a different approach this year. Can you give us your current like upfront expectations given the macro and secular challenges and maybe talk about like AVOD versus linear? And then on the writer strike, how prepared do you think you are? And will it potentially reduce cash spend in -- at least in the near term?

也許轉向廣告。今年你採取了不同的方法。鑑於宏觀和長期挑戰，您能否給我們您目前的前期預期，並可能談談 AVOD 與線性？然後關於作家罷工，你認為你準備得如何？它是否有可能減少現金支出——至少在短期內如此？

Yes. Sure, Jessica. I'll take both of those. Let me do the writer strike first since it's a little bit shorter. Start with writers are an essential part of creating content that our audiences enjoy really across platforms. And we hope we can come to a resolution that works for everyone fairly quickly. But it's also fair to say there's a pretty big gap today, and it's really a multifaceted kind of bid mask.

是的。當然，傑西卡。這兩個我都要。讓我先做作家罷工，因為它有點短。從作家開始是創建我們的觀眾真正跨平台喜歡的內容的重要組成部分。我們希望我們能夠很快達成一項對所有人都適用的解決方案。但也可以公平地說，今天存在相當大的差距，而且它確實是一種多方面的出價掩碼。

So obviously, we've been planning for this. We do have many levers to pull. And that will allow us to manage through the strike even if it's for an extended duration. In terms of those levers, we have a lot in the can, so to speak, content in the can. So with the exception of things like Late-Night, consumers really won't notice anything for a while. Add to that a broad range of reality and unscripted, where we're definitely a leader as well as sports and that's not affected. And so look, we can do more in those areas if necessary. And again, we have a leadership position overall. Plus, we have offshore production. Which we've been moving to leverage prestrike anyway as part of our broader strategy, and Naveen touched on that.

很明顯，我們一直在為此做計劃。我們確實有很多槓桿可以拉動。這將使我們能夠度過罷工，即使罷工持續時間更長。就這些槓桿而言，我們有很多罐頭，可以說是罐頭中的內容。因此，除了 Late-Night 之類的東西之外，消費者暫時不會注意到任何東西。再加上廣泛的現實和即興表演，我們絕對是領導者和體育運動，這不受影響。所以看，如果有必要，我們可以在這些領域做更多的事情。再一次，我們總體上處於領先地位。另外，我們有離岸生產。不管怎樣，作為我們更廣泛戰略的一部分，我們一直在努力利用 prestrike，Naveen 談到了這一點。

Plus finally, one of the largest libraries in media features, television series, multiple demographics, et cetera, which we can pull from to fill the schedule. So we're well positioned to navigate that. And by the way, in case -- because I'm sure you're wondering, in terms of financial impact, it really ultimately depends on duration of strike. But at this point, we think it's probably slightly dilutive to revenue, flat on OIBDA and accretive to your question to cash.

最後，還有最大的媒體功能庫之一、電視連續劇、多個人口統計數據等，我們可以從中提取內容以填補日程安排。所以我們已經做好了導航的準備。順便說一句，以防萬一——因為我確定你想知道，就財務影響而言，它最終實際上取決於罷工的持續時間。但在這一點上，我們認為它可能會稍微稀釋收入，OIBDA 持平並增加你的現金問題。

But again, ultimately, really a function of how long it lasts. Over to the ad side, when you said we're doing something differently, you're referring to our upfront events, which I'll come to. Big picture, we feel great about our proposition to advertisers and their agencies I've been associated with it for a long time. And frankly, I think it's the strongest it's ever been, given our differentiated platform portfolio, industry-leading creative integration, advanced advertising a lot on alternate measurement. And of course, our popular content, including sports. And by the way, we have the next Super Bowl. So that's all good.

但同樣，歸根結底，這實際上取決於它持續多長時間。在廣告方面，當你說我們正在做一些不同的事情時，你指的是我們的前期活動，我會談到的。大局觀，我們對我們對廣告商及其代理機構的提議感覺很好，我已經與之聯繫了很長時間。坦率地說，考慮到我們差異化的平台組合、行業領先的創意整合、大量替代測量方面的高級廣告，我認為這是有史以來最強大的。當然，還有我們的熱門內容，包括體育。順便說一句，我們有下一個超級碗。所以這一切都很好。

We did realign our sales force in terms of doing something differently also. We realigned it. So now easier to do business with us, particularly if you're an agency holding company where you now have a dedicated team serving you that's knowledgeable about your business, and again, can give you turnkey access. With respect to the upfront, we did a couple of things differently this year. In fact, we just wrapped 9 upfront events in a new format that really strongly resonated with our clients in the room. They like targeting specific buyer groups. It was more intimate. It allowed for really quality two-way conversations.

我們確實在做一些不同的事情方面重新調整了我們的銷售隊伍。我們重新調整了它。所以現在與我們做生意更容易了，特別是如果你是一家代理控股公司，你現在有一個專門的團隊為你服務，他們了解你的業務，並且可以再次為你提供交鑰匙訪問。關於前期，我們今年做了一些不同的事情。事實上，我們剛剛以一種新的形式包裝了 9 個前期活動，這些活動在房間裡與我們的客戶產生了強烈的共鳴。他們喜歡針對特定的買家群體。它更親密。它允許真正高質量的雙向對話。

And that contrasts kind of with the old model of one big presentation event and then a huge party after, not really effective anymore for the day. By the way, we did it earlier. That's clearly better. And for us, it's one of those rare moves. It's both more effective based on the feedback we got and more efficient because in aggregated cost significantly less in the old model. So we feel great about that. And again, we're in the very early stages of the upfront. I'm not going to comment on what's going on, price volume, et cetera, because at the end of the day, it's an active negotiation, and it doesn't make sense to get into it live on the call.

這與一個大型演示活動然後是一個大型派對的舊模式形成了鮮明對比，這一天不再有效。順便說一下，我們之前做過。這顯然更好。對我們來說，這是罕見的舉措之一。根據我們得到的反饋，它更有效，而且效率更高，因為在舊模型中，總成本要低得多。所以我們對此感覺很好。再一次，我們處於前期的早期階段。我不會對正在發生的事情、價格量等發表評論，因為歸根結底，這是一場積極的談判，在電話會議上現場參與是沒有意義的。

So that's it. I will say, by the way, without getting into it, we definitely have a plan here. We are executing against that plan. And I do believe that when the dust settles, we will clearly demonstrate the power of Paramount in the ad space. So feeling good about it going in.

就是這樣了。順便說一下，我會說，不用深入，我們肯定有一個計劃。我們正在執行該計劃。而且我確實相信，當塵埃落定後，我們將在廣告空間中清楚地展示派拉蒙的力量。所以感覺很好。

Okay. Operator?

好的。操作員？

The next question goes to Rich Greenfield of LightShed Partners.

下一個問題是 LightShed Partners 的 Rich Greenfield。

I got a couple. I mean, first on Paramount Plus you're growing subs at a pretty healthy clip, leveraging a bunch of the structural deals that you've done with partners but I'm sort of wondering about through the engagement side of Paramount+. It looks like ad revenue is still relatively small on a per sub basis, somewhat sub-$2 versus your peers that are upwards of $9 or $10. And I assume that's engagement driven. And I'm just sort of wondering as advertising becomes a bigger part of Paramount Plus, what are you doing marketing spend or content production wise, meaning more to drive overall time spent per user per day on Paramount+.

我有一對。我的意思是，首先在 Paramount Plus 上，你正在以相當健康的速度增加潛艇，利用你與合作夥伴完成的一系列結構性交易，但我有點想知道通過 Paramount+ 的參與方面。看起來每個訂閱者的廣告收入仍然相對較小，低於 2 美元，而你的同行則超過 9 美元或 10 美元。我認為這是參與驅動的。我只是有點想知道，隨著廣告成為派拉蒙 Plus 的重要組成部分，你在營銷支出或內容製作方面做了什麼，這意味著更多地推動每個用戶每天在派拉蒙 + 上花費的總時間。

I'd love to get your sense there. And then just sort of following up on something that Bob and Naveen you were talking about before in terms of headcount or the cost side of the equation, I think you ended last year with like 24,000 employees I'm just wondering as sort of if you look at sort of the pressure on the cable network media network, CBS, MTV, et cetera. What's the right nudge, how much lower can that go without really eating into sort of the core strength? Like can employee count get cut in half over the next 5 years? Like how -- how much smaller can the employees get? How do you think about reducing headcount going forward?

我很想了解你的感受。然後只是跟進 Bob 和 Naveen 你之前在員工人數或等式的成本方面談論的事情，我想你去年結束時有大約 24,000 名員工，我只是想知道你是否看一下有線網絡媒體網絡、CBS、MTV 等的壓力。什麼是正確的微調，在不真正吃掉某種核心力量的情況下，可以降低多少？比如在未來 5 年內員工人數可以減少一半嗎？比如——員工能變小多少？您如何看待未來裁員？

Well, Naveen why don't you start with the ad price of D2C.

好吧，Naveen 你為什麼不從 D2C 的廣告價格開始。

Yes, sure. So Rich, as it relates to your question on engagement and ad monetization. Short answer is we are very bullish about the opportunity to grow, add ARPU on P+. That opportunity really begins with engagement, and we've seen really strong momentum there. In fact, if you look at our Q1 results, the viewing hours per sub actually grew double digits, both sequentially and year-over-year.

是的，當然。如此豐富，因為它與您關於參與度和廣告貨幣化的問題有關。簡短的回答是我們非常看好增長的機會，在 P+ 上增加 ARPU。這個機會真的始於參與，我們已經看到了那裡非常強勁的勢頭。事實上，如果你看看我們第一季度的結果，每個訂閱者的觀看時長實際上增長了兩位數，無論是環比還是同比。

And I expect we'll see further growth in engagement as the content slate continues to expand as awareness continues to grow and frankly, as we get even better at optimizing the programming strategy, recommendations and the like. I think there's a really interesting data point that is relevant there in the form of customers who use the current SHOWTIME P+ bundle. Those customers spend about 20% more time on the service, and they watch 40% more titles than the folks in stand-alone Paramount+. So there's clearly a significant opportunity for us to continue to grow engagement, which means significant opportunity for ad monetization, particularly when the ad market improves.

而且我希望我們會看到參與度的進一步增長，因為隨著意識的不斷增強和坦率地說，隨著我們在優化編程策略、建議等方面做得更好，內容範圍不斷擴大。我認為有一個非常有趣的數據點與使用當前 SHOWTIME P+ 捆綁包的客戶的形式相關。與獨立的 Paramount+ 中的用戶相比，這些客戶在這項服務上花費的時間多了大約 20%，他們觀看的影片也多了 40%。因此，我們顯然有一個重要的機會來繼續提高參與度，這意味著廣告貨幣化的重要機會，尤其是在廣告市場改善的時候。

Though quite frankly, even the current trajectory is encouraging. I think domestic ad ARPU, similar to engagement was up double digits this quarter on both a sequential and a year-over-year basis. So big value creation opportunity there.

坦率地說，即使是目前的軌跡也令人鼓舞。我認為國內廣告 ARPU，與參與度類似，本季度環比和同比增長了兩位數。那裡有如此巨大的價值創造機會。

Yes. And going to your question about the cost side, clearly, start with, it's something we are very focused on as an umbrella point. If you look and you could think, Rich, when we started this conversation 7 years ago, at the time, on the cable network side, we had probably five fully built-out groups organizationally programming each set of networks. Fast forward to today, through consolidation, call it, economics, we now have one kind of master cable networks group here in the U.S. And I'm going to come back to the international side in a second. And they're running all the networks with a slight exception, and we're in the middle of effectuating the latest step on that, which is the SHOWTIME consolidation into effectively the U.S. cable group.

是的。關於成本方面的問題，很明顯，首先，這是我們非常關注的一個總括點。 Rich，如果你仔細觀察，你會想，當我們 7 年前開始這個對話時，當時，在有線網絡方面，我們可能有五個完全建立起來的小組，有組織地對每組網絡進行編程。快進到今天，通過整合，稱之為經濟學，我們現在在美國這裡擁有一種主要的有線電視網絡集團，我將在一秒鐘內回到國際方面。他們正在運行所有網絡，只有一點點例外，我們正在實施最新的步驟，即 SHOWTIME 有效地整合到美國有線電視集團中。

And so there's all kind of economic savings there. And we continue to ask the question of how can we extract more from operating a set of networks as a portfolio managed in a single group. And that goes to organization, that goes to how we use content that goes to cross-promo, et cetera. And again, we've seen significant benefit along the way, and we think there is further road to go. And right now, we're just in the middle of integrating SHOWTIME. And if you look at, for example, what we did with 'Your Honor' most recently, we launched that show on the back of this second season on the back of what we call the Yellowstone launch pad on Paramount Network.

所以那裡有各種各樣的經濟儲蓄。我們繼續問這樣一個問題，即我們如何才能從將一組網絡作為一個組合管理的投資組合中獲取更多收益。這涉及到組織，涉及到我們如何使用交叉促銷等內容。再一次，我們已經看到了顯著的好處，我們認為還有更遠的路要走。而現在，我們正處於整合 SHOWTIME 的過程中。例如，如果你看一下我們最近對“法官大人”所做的事情，我們會在第二季之後在派拉蒙網絡上我們稱之為黃石發射台的地方推出該節目。

That probably would -- that was much easier to do as we integrated the structure into one than it was previously. And those are the kind of things we'll continue to model -- mine as you look outside the U.S. and the international, there's two things you should know, again, going to the cost. One is we've now globalized management of those networks. So Chris' team is ultimately thinking about how can we run that whole portfolio more efficiently and effectively. And related to that, we are going from a place where you have country-specific feeds to, in a way, it's back to the future, it's shared feeds with local opt-outs and multiple language tracks, which has all kind of efficiencies. So there is -- I'm not going to get into what the specific headcount could be -- but rest assured, that is something we are very focused on, and we will continue to extract benefits as we go forward.

這可能會 - 當我們將結構集成到一個結構中時，這比以前更容易做到。這些是我們將繼續建模的東西——當你在美國和國際以外的地方看我的東西時，你應該再次知道兩件事，那就是成本。一是我們現在已經對這些網絡進行全球化管理。因此，Chris 的團隊最終要考慮的是我們如何才能更有效地運行整個投資組合。與此相關的是，我們將從一個擁有特定國家/地區提要的地方，在某種程度上回到未來，它與本地選擇退出和多語言軌道共享提要，這具有各種效率。所以有——我不打算討論具體的員工人數——但請放心，這是我們非常關注的事情，我們將在前進的過程中繼續獲取收益。

Okay. Operator, we can take the next question.

好的。接線員，我們可以回答下一個問題。

The next question goes to Robert Fishman of MoffettNathanson.

下一個問題交給 MoffettNathanson 的 Robert Fishman。

I've got one for Bob and one related on for Naveen. First, Bob, can you give us your latest thoughts on keeping your key IP exclusive to your own platforms instead of selling it off to third parties? And specifically, maybe speak to the selling the Spongebob spin-off movie to Netflix whether we should interpret that as like a shift away from keeping content exclusive to Paramount+. And then for Naveen, how much does licensing content to third parties or the international licensing you called out earlier, help in terms of getting back to that free cash flow positive next year?

我為 Bob 準備了一份，為 Naveen 準備了一份相關資料。首先，Bob，你能告訴我們你關於將你的關鍵 IP 保留在你自己的平台上獨占而不是將其出售給第三方的最新想法嗎？具體來說，也許可以談談將海綿寶寶的衍生電影賣給 Netflix 的事情，我們是否應該將其解釋為從將內容獨家保留給派拉蒙 + 的轉變。然後對於 Naveen 來說，向第三方許可內容或您之前提到的國際許可對明年恢復自由現金流有多大幫助？

Yes. Sure, Robert. So look, there's been fundamentally no change to our views on content licensing. In general, we believe in a balanced strategy with two key components: keeping our franchise content for our owned and operated platforms on a first window basis. We think that's a real strategic advantage. It's certainly drive subscribers, and you've seen that to great effect with Paramount+.

是的。當然，羅伯特。所以看，我們對內容許可的看法基本上沒有改變。總的來說，我們相信有兩個關鍵組成部分的平衡戰略：在第一個窗口的基礎上為我們擁有和運營的平台保留我們的特許經營內容。我們認為這是一個真正的戰略優勢。它肯定會吸引訂閱者，而且您已經看到派拉蒙+ 的巨大影響。

But at the same time, and we used to be an outlier here, other people are pivoting back to the rationality of the approach. We do believe in monetizing content, mostly library content on a co-exclusive or nonexclusive basis with third parties because the fact is it generates incremental revenues, incremental margins, incremental franchise impressions, which are good for that and doesn't really adversely affect subscriber acquisition on the O&O side.

但與此同時，我們曾經是這裡的局外人，其他人正在轉向這種方法的合理性。我們確實相信將內容貨幣化，主要是與第三方在共同排他或非排他的基礎上的圖書館內容，因為事實是它會產生增量收入、增量利潤、增量特許經營印象，這對此有好處並且不會真正對訂戶產生不利影響O&O 方面的收購。

Yes, we do things from time to time particularly in international markets with the franchise. Remember, Paramount+ isn't fully penetrated yet on a global basis. It's very much -- we're in 9 of the top 10 streaming markets, but the world is a pretty big place, as you know. So content licensing can be very important on a rest of world basis. But the main thing is we haven't changed our point of view on licensing. We believe in this dual model of core IP and franchises to drive O&O, particularly streaming combined with a broader licensing strategy.

是的，我們不時做一些事情，特別是在擁有特許經營權的國際市場上。請記住，Paramount+ 尚未在全球範圍內完全滲透。這非常重要——我們在前 10 大流媒體市場中佔了 9 個，但正如你所知，世界是一個很大的地方。因此，內容許可在世界其他地方可能非常重要。但最主要的是我們沒有改變對許可的看法。我們相信這種核心 IP 和特許經營權的雙重模式可以推動 O&O，尤其是流媒體與更廣泛的許可策略相結合。

And we continue to evaluate opportunities against that framework, including, we believe there are some broader licensing opportunities that have financial upside, but that's licensing. Naveen?

我們繼續根據該框架評估機會，包括，我們認為有一些更廣泛的許可機會具有財務優勢，但這就是許可。納文？

Yes. So Rob, with respect to sort of the financial impact of that, particularly the international component. Obviously, we're not going to give you any specific numbers there, though I'd say a few things. Number one, that business is a high-margin business. And so it can be a nice contributor, it's largely about licensing stuff that has already been produced for other channels.

是的。所以 Rob，關於那種財務影響，特別是國際部分。顯然，我們不會在那裡給你任何具體數字，但我會說一些事情。第一，該業務是一項高利潤業務。所以它可以成為一個很好的貢獻者，它主要是關於許可已經為其他渠道製作的東西。

So unlike the original production business, which is a little lower margin this one can be a nice contributor, and I suspect it will grow over time. More importantly, there are multiple drivers for earnings and free cash flow growth in '24. And I think it's important to remember what those are and the potential that they have. We talked about them last quarter, and they continue to apply. We're expecting to see significant growth in Paramount+ subscribers and ARPU, i.e., revenue growth. We're tracking nicely in terms of the integration of SHOWTIME and Paramount+, which unlocks both top line benefits as well as significant savings in content in other places.

因此，與利潤率較低的原始製作業務不同，這個業務可以做出很好的貢獻，而且我懷疑它會隨著時間的推移而增長。更重要的是，24 世紀的收益和自由現金流增長有多種驅動因素。我認為重要的是要記住它們是什麼以及它們具有的潛力。我們在上個季度討論過它們，它們會繼續申請。我們預計派拉蒙+訂戶和 ARPU 將顯著增長，即收入增長。我們在 SHOWTIME 和 Paramount+ 的集成方面進行了很好的跟踪，這既釋放了頂線收益，又顯著節省了其他地方的內容。

That does mean you'll see slowing growth in streaming content spend as well as marketing efficiencies that we get through content leverage, more utilization of promotional inventory, et cetera. So those are the big drivers into '24, and we remain confident in what we'll deliver there.

這確實意味著你會看到流媒體內容支出的增長放緩，以及我們通過內容槓桿、更多地利用促銷庫存等獲得的營銷效率。因此，這些是進入 24 世紀的主要驅動因素，我們對我們將在那裡交付的產品仍然充滿信心。

Operator, we can take another question.

接線員，我們可以再回答一個問題。

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。

So I guess, I'm curious, are there other assets that you're considering selling beyond Simon & Schuster, I was just sort of unclear from the preamble, if you were thinking more broadly there? And then Naveen, on the positive free cash flow in 2024, I was just hoping you could outline the bridge, and you can kind of just mention part of it on D2C. Is it as simple as flowing through EBITDA growth? Or are there other drivers of free cash flow beyond operating growth?

所以我想，我很好奇，除了 Simon & Schuster，您是否正在考慮出售其他資產，我只是從序言中不清楚，如果您在那裡考慮得更廣泛？然後 Naveen，關於 2024 年的正自由現金流，我只是希望你能概述一下橋樑，你可以在 D2C 上提到它的一部分。是否像通過 EBITDA 增長一樣簡單？或者除了經營增長之外還有其他自由現金流的驅動因素嗎？

Yes, Doug, I'll speak to the asset sales and throw it to Naveen. Look, we're always looking for ways to maximize shareholder value. That might involve divesting, acquiring or potentially partnering on an asset. And by the way, we've done all three of those things. So we look at everything. As I indicated in my remarks, we are now back in the market with Simon & Schuster. We feel very good about the value creation opportunity there, given both its operating performance, which is substantially superior to what it was when we brought it to the market before.

是的，道格，我會談談資產銷售，然後把它交給納文。看，我們一直在尋找最大化股東價值的方法。這可能涉及資產的剝離、收購或潛在合作。順便說一句，我們已經完成了所有這三件事。所以我們看一切。正如我在發言中指出的那樣，我們現在與 Simon & Schuster 一起重返市場。考慮到它的經營業績，我們對那裡的價值創造機會感到非常滿意，這大大優於我們之前將其推向市場時的表現。

And frankly, the level of buyer interest has a lot of interest. So we feel good about that. And depending on who the ultimate buyer ends up being, we see a type of buyer really, we see a path to potentially closing that deal this year. I'm not going to comment on any other speculative -- there's a bunch of speculation out there, transactions what we might or might do, other than, again, to reinforce we are always looking for ways to maximize shareholder value. Naveen?

坦率地說，買家的興趣水平有很大的興趣。所以我們對此感覺很好。根據最終買家是誰，我們確實看到了一種類型的買家，我們看到了今年可能完成該交易的途徑。我不會對任何其他投機性發表評論——那裡有很多投機性，我們可能會或可能會做的交易，除了再次強調我們一直在尋找最大化股東價值的方法。納文？

Yes. And Doug, with respect to your question on free cash flow, I think I just took you through some of the sort of operational levers, if you will, that will drive the business into '24. If you think about it through more just a pure financial lens, yes, OIBDA improvement is a big contributor to the improvement that we expect to see in free cash flow but there are also benefits from a working capital perspective.

是的。道格，關於你關於自由現金流的問題，我想我只是帶你了解了一些運營槓桿，如果你願意的話，這將推動企業進入 24 世紀。如果你只是從純粹的財務角度考慮它，是的，OIBDA 的改善是我們期望在自由現金流方面看到的改善的重要貢獻者，但從營運資本的角度來看也有好處。

We've talked about this dynamic, where over the last few years, as we've ramped up in streaming, you saw significant growth in sort of cash content spend, and then it takes a little while for the expense side of that to the P&L side of that to show up because of the nature of amortization. What you will see going into '24 and beyond is actually that the cash content growth really starts to slow very significantly. And you start to get to a place where the rate of growth in cash content and P&L expense will start to converge but there's going to be real benefits from a working capital perspective over the next couple of years because of those dynamics.

我們已經討論過這種動態，在過去的幾年裡，隨著我們在流媒體方面的發展，你會看到現金內容支出的顯著增長，然後需要一段時間才能從支出方面到由於攤銷的性質，損益方面會出現。進入 24 世紀及以後，您將看到的實際上是現金含量增長確實開始非常顯著放緩。你開始到達一個地方，現金含量和損益費用的增長率將開始趨於一致，但由於這些動態，未來幾年從營運資本的角度來看將帶來真正的好處。

Okay. Operator, we can take our last question.

好的。接線員，我們可以回答最後一個問題。

Our final question goes to Phil Cusick of JPMorgan.

我們的最後一個問題是摩根大通的 Phil Cusick。

I heard the comment around lower content costs in '24 for B2C. How should we think about your '24 goals around revenue and subscribers given the SHOWTIME integration? And then maybe, Naveen, you have not talked about this before, but how is retail churn trending in the Paramount+ space, both overall and does the cohorts mature?

我在 24 年聽到了有關 B2C 降低內容成本的評論。考慮到 SHOWTIME 集成，我們應該如何考慮您圍繞收入和訂戶的 24 年目標？然後也許，Naveen，你以前沒有談過這個，但是 Paramount+ 空間的零售流失趨勢如何，無論是整體還是隊列成熟？

Yes. Thanks, Phil. So first, with respect to '24 goals. We talked about this a little bit on our last call. We continue to be very bullish about D2C growth overall. There are some puts and takes in terms of what's going on in terms of the ad market, but we're, I would say, ahead of our plans with respect to Paramount+ growth subs revenue, et cetera.

是的。謝謝，菲爾。首先，關於 24 年的目標。我們在上次通話中略微談到了這一點。我們繼續非常看好 D2C 的整體增長。就廣告市場正在發生的事情而言，有一些投入和投入，但我想說，我們在 Paramount + 增長訂閱收入等方面領先於我們的計劃。

I noted that with respect to content expense, the integration of SHOWTIME and Paramount+, we think does put us in a position where we'll actually be spending less in 2024 than we originally indicated. So I think in general, we continue to be very excited about the trajectory of the D2C business relative to our plan. Regarding the question on retail churn characteristics, I think the short answer is churn continues to improve. We saw that in Q1, and it's been a pretty consistent theme as we see really nice improvements in engagement.

我注意到，關於內容費用，SHOWTIME 和 Paramount+ 的整合，我們認為確實讓我們在 2024 年的實際支出比我們最初表示的要少。所以我認為總的來說，我們繼續對 D2C 業務相對於我們計劃的軌跡感到非常興奮。關於零售流失特徵的問題，我認為簡短的回答是流失持續改善。我們在第一季度看到了這一點，這是一個非常一致的主題，因為我們看到參與度有了很大的提高。

The content portfolio continues to expand. We get more partnerships in place. All of those things are beneficial from a churn perspective, and that's definitely one of the key ingredients that's going to drive revenue growth going forward. So we like what we're seeing there.

內容組合繼續擴大。我們建立了更多的合作夥伴關係。從客戶流失的角度來看，所有這些都是有益的，這絕對是推動收入增長的關鍵因素之一。所以我們喜歡我們在那裡看到的東西。

Yes. And with that, in closing, look, I want to emphasize that we have momentum. And importantly, we have conviction. So we're going to focus on driving market-leading streaming growth while navigating this dynamic macroeconomic environment, and know that the decisions we're making will position us well for our path to streaming profitability, significant earnings growth and a return to positive cash flow, free cash flow in 2024.

是的。最後，看，我想強調我們有動力。重要的是，我們有信念。因此，我們將專注於推動市場領先的流媒體增長，同時駕馭這個充滿活力的宏觀經濟環境，並且知道我們正在做出的決定將使我們在實現流媒體盈利、顯著盈利增長和回歸正現金的道路上處於有利地位流量，2024 年的自由現金流。

So we're laser-focused. Thank you, everyone. We appreciate your support and be well. We'll talk to you soon.

所以我們專注於激光。謝謝大家。感謝您的支持，祝您一切安好。我們會盡快與您聯繫。

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。