Paramount Global (PARAA) 2024 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Good afternoon. My name is Felicia and I'll be the conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to Paramount Global's Q2 2024 earnings conference call. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Jaime Morris, Paramount Global's EVP Investor Relations. You may now begin your conference call.

午安.我叫費莉西亞，今天我將擔任會議主持人。此時此刻，我謹歡迎大家參加派拉蒙全球 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指示）此時，我想將電話轉給派拉蒙全球投資者關係執行副總裁 Jaime Morris。您現在可以開始電話會議。

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to join us for our second-quarter 2024 earnings call. Joining me for today's discussion are Paramount's co-CEOs, Brian Robbins, Chris McCarthy, and George Cheeks; and our CFO, Naveen Chopra. Please note that in addition to the earnings release, we have trending schedules containing supplemental information available on our website.

大家下午好。感謝您抽空參加我們的 2024 年第二季財報電話會議。與我一起參加今天討論的還有派拉蒙的聯合首席執行官布萊恩·羅賓斯 (Brian Robbins)、克里斯·麥卡錫 (Chris McCarthy) 和喬治·奇克斯 (George Cheeks)；以及我們的財務長納文‧喬普拉 (Naveen Chopra)。請注意，除了收益發布之外，我們的網站上還提供包含補充資訊的趨勢表。

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

在今天下午開始之前，我想提醒您，本次電話會議中所做的某些聲明這些風險和不確定性在我們向 SEC 提交的文件中進行了更詳細的討論。

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 schedule, which contains 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放在調整後的業績上。這些非公認會計準則財務指標的調節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。

Now I will turn the call over to Brian.

現在我將把電話轉給布萊恩。

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining our second-quarter earnings call. I'm Brian Robbins, and I'm here with my fellow CEOs, Chris McCarthy and George Cheeks. Today, we look forward to updating you on the results of the quarter and the progress we have made on our strategic plan. That includes streamlining the organization, transforming D2C, and optimizing our asset mix.

大家下午好。感謝您參加我們的第二季財報電話會議。我是布萊恩·羅賓斯，我和我的執行長克里斯·麥卡錫和喬治·奇克斯一起來到這裡。今天，我們期待向您通報本季的業績以及我們在策略計劃方面取得的進展。這包括精簡組織、轉型 D2C 以及優化我們的資產組合。

We have been aggressively advancing this plan since we laid it out at our annual meeting of stockholders in early June, but before we jump in, we'd like to spend a few moments on the transaction with Skydance Media. As you know, on July 7, Paramount Global announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement with Skydance, which includes a 45-day go-shop period. We expect to be able to close in the first half of next year. In the meantime, the Skydance and RedBird teams support our strategic plan, and we are continuing to operate business as usual.

自從我們在六月初的年度股東大會上提出這項計劃以來，我們一直在積極推進這項計劃，但在我們開始之前，我們想花一些時間來討論一下與 Skydance Media 的交易。如您所知，7 月 7 日，派拉蒙全球宣布與 Skydance 簽署最終合併協議，其中包括 45 天的試用期。我們預計能夠在明年上半年完成。同時，Skydance 和 RedBird 團隊支持我們的策略計劃，我們將繼續照常經營業務。

With that, let's get into our second quarter results and share more details of our progress. Then Naveen will take us through the financials in depth.

接下來，讓我們了解第二季的業績並分享更多進度細節。然後納文將帶我們深入了解財務狀況。

In the quarter, we saw strong results, both in terms of our financials and our content. A few highlights include 43% growth in total company-adjusted OIBDA, largely driven by improvement in D2C. Paramount+ increased revenue 46% year-over-year. Our content continues to show strength across TV, streaming, and theatrical. And we renewed and expanded our long-standing partnership with one of our largest affiliates, Charter.

在本季度，我們在財務和內容方面都取得了強勁的業績。一些亮點包括公司調整後的 OIBDA 總額成長 43%，這主要是由 D2C 的改善所推動的。 Paramount+ 營收年增 46%。我們的內容持續在電視、串流媒體和戲劇領域展現實力。我們續簽並擴大了與我們最大的附屬公司之一 Charter 的長期合作夥伴關係。

As we've said before, we've been very focused on modernizing our relationships with distributors, and this innovative multi-year partnership with Charter is a prime example of how we're doing that. The renewal includes the continued carriage of our portfolio of linear cable networks and CVS-owned and operated broadcast stations. Also around Labor Day, our Paramount+ essential ad support interior will be available to Charter's linear customers.

正如我們之前所說，我們一直非常注重現代化我們與經銷商的關係，而與 Charter 的這種創新的多年合作夥伴關係就是我們如何做到這一點的一個很好的例子。此次更新包括繼續運營我們的線性有線網路以及 CVS 擁有和運營的廣播電台組合。同樣在勞動節前後，我們的 Paramount+ 基本廣告支援內裝將向 Charter 的線性客戶提供。

Together, we're enhancing the value we're delivering for our consumers, providing them even more ways to watch our big broad hits across linear and streaming. And for us, it has the potential to expand reach and engagement, lower our customer acquisition costs, and yield much lower churn. And we view this as one potential partnership roadmap for future distributor renewals.

我們共同努力，提升為消費者提供的價值，為他們提供更多方式來觀看我們在線性和串流媒體領域的熱門節目。對我們來說，它有潛力擴大覆蓋範圍和參與度，降低客戶獲取成本，並大幅降低客戶流失率。我們認為這是未來經銷商續約的一個潛在的合作路線圖。

In addition to Charter, just last week we announced a multi-year agreement with Nexstar to renew CBS television network affiliations in 40 markets across the country. So, we continue to have good momentum with our partners.

除了 Charter 之外，就在上週，我們還宣布與 Nexstar 達成多年協議，以更新 CBS 電視網絡在全國 40 個市場的關係。因此，我們與合作夥伴繼續保持良好勢頭。

Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Chris to take you through the upfront and the highlights of our plan.

現在，我想將電話轉給克里斯，讓他帶您了解我們計劃的前期內容和重點內容。

Thank you, Brian, and good afternoon, everyone. We are pleased with our upfront results, particularly in the context of the evolution of the ad market and the scale of new entrants. Linear volume trends were in line with last year, and CPMs were up on a blended basis, driven by sports and broadcasts, which were relatively strong.

謝謝你，布萊恩，大家下午好。我們對我們的前期結果感到滿意，特別是在廣告市場的發展和新進入者規模的背景下。線性數量趨勢與去年一致，在體育和廣播相對強勁的推動下，每千次展示費用混合成長。

The digital marketplace was also healthy. We secured commitments in excess of $1 billion across our streaming portfolio, reflecting both the quality and the scale of our assets. With our mix of pay and free, we offer the most efficient reach across premium video.

數位市場也很健康。我們在串流媒體投資組合中獲得了超過 10 億美元的承諾，這反映了我們資產的品質和規模。透過付費和免費的組合，我們可以最有效地覆蓋優質影片。

Now let's walk through the progress we're making against our strategic plan, starting with streamlining the organization. We announced in June that we've identified $500 million in annual run rate cost savings across the company. This $500 million is included in the $2 billion of cost efficiencies identified by Skydance.

現在，讓我們從精簡組織開始，回顧一下我們的策略計畫所取得的進展。我們在 6 月宣布，我們已確定全公司每年可節省 5 億美元的營運成本。這 5 億美元包含在 Skydance 確定的 20 億美元成本效益中。

To realize these savings, we are reducing our US-based workforce by approximately 15%, and we are primarily focused on two areas. First, redundant functions within marketing and communications. Second, streamlining our corporate structure, reducing our headcount in finance, legal, technology, and other support functions. These actions will take place in the coming weeks and will largely be completed by the end of the year.

為了實現這些節省，我們將在美國的員工數量減少約 15%，我們主要專注於兩個領域。首先，行銷和傳播方面的職能冗餘。其次，精簡公司結構，減少財務、法律、技術和其他支援職能部門的人員數量。這些行動將在未來幾週內進行，並將在年底前大部分完成。

As you can imagine, these are difficult decisions to make. We have incredibly talented people at Paramount, and these actions are not a reflection of their contributions. Rather, they are necessary to transform our organization for the future.

正如您可以想像的那樣，做出這些決定是困難的。派拉蒙擁有非常有才華的人才，這些行動並不能反映他們的貢獻。相反，它們對於我們的組織未來轉型是必要的。

Next, transforming streaming. We are pleased with the progress that we've made and the performance of our direct-to-consumer segment. In Q2, year-over-year profit growth was $450 million and totaled nearly $900 million for the past four quarters. For the fourth year in a row, Paramount+ is leading the industry in sign-ups, driven by our big, broad hit TV series and blockbuster films. And Pluto continues to be the most widely distributed global fast service, delivering 3.7 billion hours for the first half of 2024. That's up 8% year-over-year, and that marks our highest consumption ever.

接下來，轉變串流媒體。我們對我們所取得的進展和直接面向消費者部門的表現感到滿意。第二季度，利潤年增 4.5 億美元，過去四個季度總計近 9 億美元。在我們廣受歡迎的電視劇和大片的推動下，派拉蒙+連續第四年在註冊數量上領先行業。 Pluto 仍然是分佈最廣泛的全球快速服務，到 2024 年上半年將提供 37 億小時的服務。

Now, looking ahead, we remain confident that Paramount+ will reach domestic profitability in 2025. In addition, to further accelerate profitability and to increase our scale and engagement, we are exploring potential strategic partnerships with multiple parties and are in active discussions.

現在，展望未來，我們仍然對派拉蒙+在2025年實現國內盈利充滿信心。

Finally, optimizing our asset mix. We are aggressively evaluating our portfolio with the goal of improving our balance sheet. The set of assets that make up Paramount Global today were built up through the rise of linear. And while we have strong brands and businesses, we must reshape our portfolio to best compete in the future. The assets under consideration are undeniably strong with exciting futures ahead, but will be better served on their own or as the centerpiece of another business. We look forward to updating you on our progress against our three-chip plan over the coming quarters.

最後，優化我們的資產結構。我們正在積極評估我們的投資組合，以改善我們的資產負債表。構成今日派拉蒙全球的資產組合是透過線性公司的崛起而建立起來的。儘管我們擁有強大的品牌和業務，但我們必須重塑我們的產品組合，以便在未來發揮最佳競爭力。不可否認，正在考慮的資產實力雄厚，未來前景令人興奮，但單獨使用或作為其他業務的核心將得到更好的服務。我們期待向您通報未來幾季三晶片計畫的最新進展。

And now, I'll turn the call over to George to highlight our key content wins in the quarter and talk about what's coming next.

現在，我將把電話轉給喬治，強調我們在本季取得的關鍵內容勝利，並談論接下來的事情。

Thanks, Chris. Our core mission centers on what we do best, creating big, broad hits. This is our first priority as well as our competitive advantage.

謝謝，克里斯。我們的核心使命集中在我們最擅長的事情上，創造大而廣泛的成功。這是我們的首要任務，也是我們的競爭優勢。

Now, in Q2, we had a number of key wins. CBS finished the '23/'24 season as the number one broadcast network in total viewers for the 16th consecutive year, with eight of the top ten shows and the three most-watched new broadcast series with Tracker, Elsbeth, and NCIS Sydney.

現在，在第二季度，我們取得了一些關鍵的勝利。 CBS 在23/24 季結束時，連續16 年成為收視總數第一的廣播網絡，前十名節目中有8 部是哥倫比亞廣播公司(CBS) 佔據的，另外三部收視率最高的新廣播劇分別是《追蹤者》(Tracker)、《艾爾斯貝斯》(Elsbeth) 和《雪梨海軍罪案調查處》(NCIS Sydney)。

On Paramount+, our strong slate drove excellent results, including The Return of Mayor of Kingstown, Criminal Minds, Evil, RuPaul's Drag Race, and The Chi. We also launched new shows, like the South Park special The End of Obesity, the Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off series Knuckles, and A Gentleman in Moscow from Showtime. Q2 brought Bob Marley: One Love and the UEFA Champions League final to P Plus as well. On Comedy Central, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is posting significant performance gains, while Engagement on Paramount+ is outperforming last season by over 7 times.

在 Paramount+ 上，我們的強大陣容帶來了出色的成績，包括《金斯敦市長歸來》、《犯罪心理》、《邪惡》、《魯保羅變裝皇后秀》和《The Chi》。我們也推出了新節目，例如《南方公園》特別節目《肥胖的終結》、《刺蝟索尼克》衍生劇《指關節》以及 Showtime 的《莫斯科紳士》。 Q2 也將《鮑勃馬利：一個愛》和歐洲冠軍聯賽決賽帶到了八方網。在喜劇中心(Comedy Central) 上，《喬恩·斯圖爾特每日秀》(The Daily Show with Jon Stewart) 的業績顯著提升，而《派拉蒙+》(Paramount+) 上的《參與度》(Engagement ) 的表現比上一季高出7 倍以上。

Over at Paramount Pictures, John Krasinski's IF delivered another number one domestic box office launch. And A Quite Place: Day One saw a franchise best performance, beating industry expectations and grossing over $250 million in worldwide box office to date.

在派拉蒙影業公司，約翰‧卡拉辛斯基 (John Krasinski) 的《IF》再次創下國內票房第一名。 《噤界：第一天》系列的表現最為出色，超出了產業預期，迄今為止全球票房總收入超過 2.5 億美元。

And to keep this momentum going, we planned the most ambitious slate yet. This includes new seasons of Taylor Sheridan's hit series Tulsa King in September, Lioness in October, and the new series Landman in November, as well as the series finales of Evil and Seal Team.

為了保持這種勢頭，我們計劃了迄今為止最雄心勃勃的計劃。其中包括泰勒謝裡丹(Taylor Sheridan) 的熱門影集《塔爾薩之王》(Tulsa King) 九月的新季、十月的《母獅》(Lioness)、十一月的新影集《蘭德曼》(Landman)，以及《邪惡》(Evil) 和《海豹突擊隊》(Seal Team) 的系列結局。

The Showtime slate kicks off with the new series The Agency from George Clooney, and in December, Showtime's biggest franchise ever returns with Dexter: Original Sin. Also heading to Paramount+, our recent box office hits, the new CBS primetime slate, the new NFL season, and our first full season of Big Ten College Football.

Showtime 以喬治克隆尼(George Clooney) 的新劇集《特工局》(The Agency) 拉開序幕，12 月，Showtime 有史以來最大的系列劇《嗜血法醫：原罪》(Dexter: Original Sin) 回歸。另外還有派拉蒙+、我們最近的票房熱門、新的 CBS 黃金時段節目、新的 NFL 賽季以及我們的十大大學橄欖球的第一個完整賽季。

The next season's primetime schedule on CBS is one of the strongest I've seen. In addition to 16 returning series, the new shows will include a spinoff of Young Sheldon, the number one comedy on TV, a contemporary reimagining of the classic series Matlock, and a new addition to the NCIS universe.

哥倫比亞廣播公司下一季的黃金時段節目表是我見過的最精彩的節目表之一。除了16 部回歸劇集外，新劇還包括電視上排名第一的喜劇《少年謝爾頓》的衍生劇、經典劇集《馬特洛克》的當代重新演繹，以及海軍罪案調查處宇宙的新成員。

And coming soon to movie theaters, we're releasing the first animated Transformers film in nearly 40 years, starring voice cast Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson. That's followed by Smile 2, the sequel to one of the most profitable films in the studio's history.

我們即將在電影院上映近 40 年來第一部變形金剛動畫電影，由克里斯漢斯沃和史嘉蕾喬韓森配音。接下來是《微笑 2》，這是工作室歷史上最賺錢的電影之一的續集。

In November, Sir Ridley Scott returns to the arena with the highly anticipated Gladiator 2, which just saw its first trailer become one of the most viewed ever for Paramount. Then we'll finish the year with Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

11 月，雷德利·斯科特爵士帶著備受期待的《角斗士 2》重返舞台，該片的首部預告片剛剛成為派拉蒙有史以來收視率最高的預告片之一。然後我們將以《刺蝟索尼克 3》結束這一年。

We really want to underscore our commitment to operating the business with best-in-class content at the center. We'll continue to deliver for millions of fans around the world. We've got the best creatives in the business, and we're incredibly grateful for their contributions. Thanks so much for joining us today, and with that, I'll turn it over to Naveen.

我們確實想強調我們以一流內容為中心經營業務的承諾。我們將繼續為世界各地數百萬粉絲提供服務。我們擁有業界最優秀的創意人員，我們非常感謝他們的貢獻。非常感謝您今天加入我們，接下來我將把它交給 Naveen。

Thank you, George, and good afternoon, everyone. Our Q2 results demonstrate strong execution, continued evolution of our distribution and monetization strategies, and the ongoing power of our creative engines. Financially speaking, this translated to 43% growth in adjusted OIBDA, reflecting significant improvement in our D2C business, which is delivering healthy top-line growth and improved operating margin.

謝謝喬治，大家下午好。我們第二季的業績展示了強大的執行力、我們的分銷和貨幣化策略的持續發展以及我們創意引擎的持續力量。從財務角度來看，調整後的 OIBDA 成長了 43%，反映了我們的 D2C 業務的顯著改善，該業務帶來了健康的營收成長和營運利潤率的提高。

Additionally, balance sheet leverage improved by one-third of a turn since the end of Q1. As always, you'll find a comprehensive review of Q2 results in our press release. So today, I'm going to focus on a few areas of note.

此外，自第一季末以來，資產負債表槓桿率改善了三分之一。與往常一樣，您將在我們的新聞稿中找到第二季業績的全面回顧。所以今天，我將重點放在幾個值得注意的領域。

First, advertising. In Q2, direct-to-consumer advertising grew 16%, benefiting from increased viewing hours across Paramount+ and Pluto TV, along with higher CPMs. In TV media, overall domestic advertising trends were negatively impacted by the fact that sports comprised a smaller share of inventory than it has in recent quarters. This dynamic somewhat masks the fact that year-over-year growth in non-sports domestic advertising improved relative to Q1.

第一，廣告。第二季度，直接面向消費者的廣告成長了 16%，這得益於 Paramount+ 和 Pluto TV 觀看時間的增加以及每千次曝光費用的提高。在電視媒體中，體育廣告所佔廣告資源份額比最近幾季要小，這對國內整體廣告趨勢產生了負面影響。這種動態在一定程度上掩蓋了一個事實，即國內非體育廣告的同比增長相對於第一季有所改善。

On a total company basis, advertising declined 6% in the quarter. Looking ahead, we expect D2C advertising growth in Q3 to be similar to Q2. And in linear, we expect advertising trends in the second half of '24 to improve with the return of live sports, new fall programming, and contribution from political spend.

就公司整體而言，本季廣告下降了 6%。展望未來，我們預計第三季 D2C 廣告成長將與第二季相似。就線性而言，我們預計 24 年下半年的廣告趨勢將隨著體育直播、新秋季節目的回歸以及政治支出的貢獻而改善。

Next, let me turn to affiliate and subscription revenue, which grew 1% in Q2. As a reminder, last year's second quarter included a Showtime pay-per-view event that did not take place this year due to our exit from Showtime Sports at the end of 2023. This comparison reduced the Q2 growth rate by 250 basis points.

接下來，讓我談談聯盟和訂閱收入，第二季成長了 1%。提醒一下，去年第二季度包括 Showtime 按次付費活動，由於我們在 2023 年底退出 Showtime Sports，所以今年沒有舉行。

D2C subscription revenue grew 12% in the quarter, with Paramount+ subscription revenue up 50% year over year. Paramount+ finished the quarter with 68.4 million subscribers, which is 2.8 million lower than the end of Q1. Now, two factors impacted subscriber growth this quarter, both of which were built into our expectations for the full year.

本季 D2C 訂閱營收成長 12%，Paramount+ 訂閱營收年增 50%。 Paramount+ 本季末的訂戶數量為 6,840 萬，比第一季末減少了 280 萬。現在，有兩個因素影響了本季的用戶成長，這兩個因素都納入了我們對全年的預期。

The biggest factor by far was the planned exit of our hard bundle partnership with TVing in South Korea, which contributed a sizable number of subs but limited revenue in OIBDA.

到目前為止，最大的因素是我們計劃退出與韓國 TVing 的硬捆綁合作夥伴關係，這為 OIBDA 貢獻了大量的訂閱者，但收入有限。

Second, domestic sub growth, though still positive, was hindered by elevated churn from the cohort of subscribers that joined for the Super Bowl in Q1. And we expect Paramount+ to return to net subscriber growth in the second half of the year, as we benefit from a more consistent cadence of original content now that we're beyond the impacts of the strike. We also expect normalized international subscriber growth for the remainder of the year.

其次，國內訂閱者的成長雖然仍然積極，但受到第一季參加超級盃比賽的訂閱者群體流失率上升的阻礙。我們預計派拉蒙+將在今年下半年恢復淨訂戶成長，因為我們已經擺脫了罷工的影響，因此我們受益於更一致的原創內容節奏。我們也預計今年剩餘時間國際用戶成長將正常化。

Paramount+ global ARPU expanded 26% in the quarter, reflecting the impact of the price increase that took effect in Q3 of 2023. as well as a shift in the mix of our international subscriber base to higher ARPU markets.

Paramount+ 本季全球 ARPU 成長了 26%，反映了 2023 年第三季生效的價格上漲的影響，以及我們的國際用戶群向更高 ARPU 市場的轉變。

And as we announced in June, a subsequent domestic price increase will take effect later this month. Monthly pricing for new Paramount+ customers on our ad-supported tier will move to $7.99. Existing customers will be grandfathered at the current $5.99 price. Monthly pricing on our Paramount+ with Showtime tier will increase by $1 to $12.99 for both new and existing customers. We don't expect a meaningful financial impact from the new price increase until Q4, given the time required to implement the price changes across our distribution channels, and because the price increase on the ad-supported tier only applies to new customers.

正如我們在 6 月宣布的那樣，隨後的國內價格上漲將於本月晚些時候生效。我們的廣告支援層的新 Paramount+ 客戶的每月定價將升至 7.99 美元。現有客戶將享受目前 5.99 美元的價格。對於新客戶和現有客戶，我們的 Paramount+ with Showtime 等級的每月定價將上漲 1 美元，達到 12.99 美元。考慮到在我們的分銷管道中實施價格變化所需的時間，並且廣告支援層的價格上漲僅適用於新客戶，我們預計新的價格上漲在第四季度之前不會產生有意義的財務影響。

In the TV media segment, affiliate revenue declined 5% year over year, largely reflecting ecosystem trends. Recognizing ongoing changes in the pay TV ecosystem, in Q2 we announced an important multi-year distribution agreement with Charter, which seeks to modernize our long-standing relationship. Starting in Q3, Charter will be the first US MVPD to make the ad-supported tier of Paramount+ available to basic cable subscribers with no incremental cost to the consumer.

在電視媒體領域，聯盟行銷收入較去年同期下降 5%，很大程度上反映了生態系統趨勢。認識到付費電視生態系統正在發生的變化，我們在第二季宣布與 Charter 達成一項重要的多年分銷協議，旨在使我們的長期關係現代化。從第三季開始，Charter 將成為美國第一家向基本有線電視用戶提供由廣告支援的 Paramount+ 層的 MVPD，且不會增加消費者成本。

Accordingly, users who activate a Paramount+ essential subscription through an MVPD bundle will be counted as Paramount+ subscribers, and the revenue from Charter and future MVPD distribution deals that bundle Paramount+ will be shared between our TV media and D2C segments. We believe this type of bundle is an efficient way to grow Paramount+ and can yield many of the same benefits we've experienced in the international markets where we've adopted a similar approach. These bundles ensure that Paramount and our distributors are full participants in the transition of viewing from linear to streaming.

因此，透過 MVPD 捆綁啟動 Paramount+ 基本訂閱的用戶將被視為 Paramount+ 訂戶，來自捆綁 Paramount+ 的特許和未來 MVPD 發行交易的收入將在我們的電視媒體和 D2C 部門之間共享。我們相信，這種類型的捆綁是發展派拉蒙+的有效方式，並且可以產生許多與我們在國際市場上經歷過的相同的好處，我們在國際市場上採用了類似的方法。這些捆綁包確保派拉蒙和我們的發行商全面參與從線性觀看到串流觀看的轉變。

Looking ahead to Q3, we expect TV media affiliate revenue growth to decelerate modestly relative to Q2, reflecting the dynamics I just mentioned and the impact of exiting Showtime Sports.

展望第三季度，我們預計電視媒體附屬公司營收成長將相對第二季度小幅放緩，反映了我剛才提到的動態以及退出 Showtime Sports 的影響。

Next, I'll touch on licensing. Our licensing and other revenue declined 35%. As I've noted previously, licensing revenue growth tends to be bumpy due to the timing of deliveries. And that continued to be the case in Q2, as there were fewer deliveries in the period relative to Q2 of 2023. For example, Q2 of last year included delivery of the final season of Jack Ryan.

接下來，我將談談許可。我們的許可證和其他收入下降了 35%。正如我之前指出的，由於交貨時間的原因，許可收入的成長往往是坎坷的。第二季度的情況依然如此，因為與 2023 年第二季度相比，該時期的交付量有所減少。

The quarter was also impacted by a lower volume of licensing in the secondary market. And we expect licensing revenue to return to growth in the second half of the year, particularly with the return of a new fall slate on CVS in Q4. although we do expect a modest decline in licensing revenue for the full year.

該季度也受到二級市場許可數量減少的影響。我們預計授權收入將在今年下半年恢復成長，特別是隨著 CVS 在第四季度重新推出秋季版。儘管我們確實預計全年授權收入將小幅下降。

In parallel with our efforts to maximize revenue, we're also highly focused on unlocking incremental cost savings. And as you've heard Chris, George, and Brian describe, we've identified opportunities to streamline the organization that are expected to yield $500 million of annualized cost reductions. Importantly, this $500 million is included in the $2 billion of cost efficiencies identified by Skydance, and we're aligned in moving quickly to realize them.

在我們努力最大化收入的同時，我們也高度重視逐步節省成本。正如您所聽到的 Chris、George 和 Brian 所描述的，我們已經找到了精簡組織的機會，預計每年可節省 5 億美元的成本。重要的是，這 5 億美元包含在 Skydance 確定的 20 億美元成本效益中，我們將迅速採取行動以實現這些目標。

We expect to execute these actions in the coming weeks, such that we can reach the full $500 million run rate expense reduction as we enter 2025. And in connection with these actions, we expect to incur a restructuring charge of approximately $300 million to $400 million in Q3, the cash impact of which will occur over the next several quarters.

我們預計在未來幾週內執行這些行動，以便在進入 2025 年時，我們能夠實現 5 億美元的運行費用削減。季度的現金影響將在未來幾季發生。

The last part of our Q2 results I want to address is the goodwill impairment charge recorded in the quarter. During Q2, we assessed the relevant factors that could impact the fair value of our reporting units, including the estimated total company market value indicated by the Skydance transactions and recent indicators in the linear affiliate marketplace. As a result, we recorded a $6 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge for our cable networks reporting unit at TV Media.

我想討論的第二季業績的最後一部分是本季記錄的商譽減損費用。在第二季度，我們評估了可能影響報告單位公允價值的相關因素，包括 Skydance 交易中顯示的估計公司總市值以及線性聯盟市場的最新指標。因此，我們為 TV Media 的有線網路報告部門記錄了 60 億美元的非現金商譽減損費用。

Now, before moving on to questions, I'd like to share some additional information regarding our expectations for the remainder of the year. Our D2C segment was profitable this quarter, our first profitable quarter since Paramount+ launched 3.5 years ago. And although the segment will generate losses in Q3 and Q4 due to the timing of content expenses, we're on course to achieve Paramount+ domestic profitability in 2025.

現在，在繼續提問之前，我想分享一些有關我們對今年剩餘時間的預期的額外資訊。我們的 D2C 部門本季實現盈利，這是自 Paramount+ 3.5 年前推出以來我們第一個實現盈利的季度。儘管由於內容支出的時間安排，該部門將在第三季和第四季產生虧損，但我們預計在 2025 年實現派拉蒙+國內盈利。

And for the full year of 2024, The progress in D2C profitability means we continue to expect significant growth in total company OIBDA. And free cash flow will grow relative to 2023.

2024 年全年，D2C 獲利能力的進步意味著我們繼續預期公司 OIBDA 總額將顯著成長。自由現金流將相對 2023 年有所成長。

We continue to operate in a dynamic environment, but it's clear that our focus on execution is producing results. We're not standing still during this interim period before the transaction closes. We remain focused on achieving our goals for 2024, which means investing in key content assets, finding expense efficiencies, improving profitability, deepening partnerships, and deleveraging our balance sheet. We believe this approach will create value for shareholders over the long term.

我們繼續在動態環境中運營，但很明顯，我們對執行的關注正在產生結果。在交易結束前的這段過渡期間，我們不會停滯不前。我們仍然專注於實現 2024 年的目標，這意味著投資關鍵內容資產、尋找費用效率、提高盈利能力、深化合作夥伴關係以及去槓桿化我們的資產負債表。我們相信，從長遠來看，這種方法將為股東創造價值。

With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

那麼，接線員，請開通提問線路。

Michael Morris, Guggenheim.

麥可·莫里斯，古根漢。

Thank you. Good afternoon. I wanted to follow up first on Brian's comments about operating the business during the period between now and when the Skydance transaction will close. How are you ensuring that these steps that you're taking on things like strategic partnerships that you referenced, how are you making sure that those are aligned with the long-term goals after that transaction is completed? Is Skydance involved in these things during the interim period? And then also, how do you keep the teams motivated when there's some uncertainty about what the future may hold for the business? So that's my first question.

謝謝。午安.我想先跟進 Brian 關於從現在到 Skydance 交易結束期間運營業務的評論。您如何確保您在提到的策略夥伴關係等方面採取的這些步驟，如何確保這些步驟與交易完成後的長期目標保持一致？ Skydance在過渡期間是否參與了這些事情？另外，當企業的未來存在不確定性時，如何保持團隊的積極性？這是我的第一個問題。

And then maybe for Naveen, on the goodwill charge, you noted the recent indicators in the linear affiliate marketplace. were part of what triggered that. Can you expand on that at all? What were the recent indicators? Did it have to do with the Charter agreement? And given that cord cutting has been going on for quite a while, why was now the time that that was triggered beyond just the transaction, as you mentioned? Thank you.

然後，也許對於納文來說，關於商譽費用，您注意到了線性聯盟市場的最新指標。是觸發這事件的部分原因。您能對此進行擴充嗎？近期的指標是什麼？這與憲章協議有關嗎？鑑於斷線已經持續了很長一段時間，為什麼現在才觸發這種情況，而不僅僅是您提到的交易？謝謝。

Sure, Mike. This is Brian. I'll jump in first. As I said in the prepared remarks, Skydance is very supportive of our strategic plan. It's business as usual for us, and we continue to green light projects in the normal course of business.

當然，麥克。這是布萊恩.我先跳進去。正如我在準備好的演講中所說，Skydance 非常支持我們的策略計畫。我們的業務一切如常，我們將繼續在正​​常業務流程中批准專案。

Now, in terms of Skydance involvement, it is what you would expect in any M&A transaction. There are very specific, limited things that we will consult with them on.

現在，就 Skydance 的參與而言，這是您在任何併購交易中所期望的。我們將與他們協商一些非常具體、有限的事情。

But to the second part of your question, we are just aggressively advancing our strategic plan with our teams. We've talked during the prepared remarks about our actions to streamline the organization, our focus on exploring partnerships as we transform Paramount+ for the future, and the ongoing discussions to optimize our asset mix. And we believe our plan will create value for shareholders over the long term.

但對於你問題的第二部分，我們只是與我們的團隊積極地推進我們的策略計畫。我們在準備好的演講中談到了我們精簡組織的行動、我們在為未來轉型派拉蒙+時探索合作夥伴關係的重點，以及正在進行的優化我們資產組合的討論。我們相信我們的計劃將從長遠來看為股東創造價值。

Thanks, Brian. And so, Mike, let me respond to your question on the goodwill. There's really a couple of things going on there. So first, obviously linear declines are part of the analysis here.

謝謝，布萊恩。因此，麥克，讓我回答你關於商譽的問題。那裡確實發生了一些事情。首先，顯然線性下降是這裡分析的一部分。

But the other part of this is that really drives the magnitude of the goodwill impairment charge is the value that's implied by the Skydance transaction. Because the way the accounting works on this is we need to reconcile the value of our individual reporting unit with the enterprise value for the entire company that's implied by the transaction.

但另一方面，真正推動商譽減損費用規模的是 Skydance 交易所隱含的價值。因為會計處理此問題的方式是我們需要將單一報告單位的價值與交易所隱含的整個公司的企業價值進行核對。

So it's really the combination of those things. And what that results in is the basically $6 billion non-cash goodwill impairment charge that is specific to our cable network reporting unit.

所以這其實是這些東西的結合。這導致了我們有線網路報告部門特有的 60 億美元非現金商譽減損費用。

Thanks, Mike. Operator, next question, please.

謝謝，麥克。接線員，請下一個問題。

Robert Fishman, MoffettNathanson.

羅伯特‧菲什曼，莫菲特‧內森森。

Hi, good afternoon, everyone. Anything more that you all can share on how you're approaching exploring the licensing of Paramount+ content, maybe just originals or just broadly speaking, or are you evaluating that licensing in the context of the other JV structures that you are talking to?

嗨，大家下午好。關於如何探索派拉蒙+內容的許可，你們還有什麼可以分享的嗎？

And then on a separate note, just trying to understand any updated thoughts or how you guys are thinking about using premium sports as part of Paramount+ and whether or not the Charter deal or future distribution agreements that include Paramount+ influence those strategies given the importance that NFL and other content is to the exclusive within the pay TV ecosystem. Thank you.

然後，在單獨的說明中，只是想了解任何最新的想法，或者你們如何考慮將優質體育作為派拉蒙+的一部分，以及考慮到NFL 的重要性，包括派拉蒙+在內的特許協議或未來的分銷協議是否會影響這些策略和其他內容是付費電視生態系統內的獨家內容。謝謝。

Hey, Robert. It's Chris. I'll take the first half of that, and then I'll pass to George to talk about the sports piece. First, let me start by saying we're very pleased with the success that we've had to date with Paramount+. We've amassed 68 million global subscribers. And the power of our content, both our originals and our library, is doing the hard work here. It's driving a lot of that, those subscribers and driving our business.

嘿，羅伯特。是克里斯。我將講前半部分，然後我將交給喬治談論體育部分。首先，我首先要說的是，我們對迄今為止與 Paramount+ 合作所取得的成功感到非常高興。我們已在全球累積了 6,800 萬訂閱者。我們的內容（包括我們的原創內容和我們的內容庫）的力量正在於此進行艱苦的工作。它推動了許多訂閱者的發展，也推動了我們的業務。

Now, as we look forward, in 2025, we're on path to hit domestic profitability. But we think there's an opportunity to accelerate that both just in domestic and globally. And so we're looking at a series of opportunities, whether they come in the form of strategic partnerships or joint ventures.

現在，展望 2025 年，我們將實現國內盈利。但我們認為，在國內和全球都有機會加速這一進程。因此，我們正在尋找一系列機會，無論是策略夥伴關係還是合資企業的形式。

And really the benefit here is to get greater scale, better improve our content offering, reduce our costs, and drive long-term value and increase profits both in the short term and the long term. And we're exploring all these opportunities, and we're going to be very opportunistic about that. That includes a series of partnerships that could potentially involve some licensing, but we'll also be licensing content in addition to that.

實際上，這樣做的好處是獲得更大的規模，更好地改善我們的內容提供，降低我們的成本，並推動長期價值並增加短期和長期的利潤。我們正在探索所有這些機會，並且我們將對此非常投機。這包括一系列可能涉及一些許可的合作夥伴關係，但除此之外我們還將許可內容。

So let me toss it over to George to talk about sports.

那麼讓我把它交給喬治來談談體育吧。

Thanks, Chris. So on the sports point, so basically our strategy here and our focus is that broadcast and streaming together drive an unduplicated audience and really resolve linear in streaming growth. So when we look at our sort of sports portfolio, we're looking at it through both angles because the beauty of this is that we're seeing growth on both sides.

謝謝，克里斯。因此，在體育方面，基本上我們的策略和重點是廣播和串流媒體共同推動不重複的觀眾並真正解決串流媒體成長的線性問題。因此，當我們審視我們的體育投資組合時，我們會從兩個角度來看待它，因為這樣做的美妙之處在於我們看到了雙方的成長。

For example, last NFL season, NFL and CBS was up 5% year over year. And the streaming audience on Paramount+ was up more than 50%. So we're seeing growth for our affiliates and we're seeing growth in streaming.

例如，上個 NFL 賽季，NFL 和 CBS 年成長 5%。 Paramount+ 的串流觀眾數量增加了 50% 以上。因此，我們看到我們的附屬公司和串流媒體的成長。

Operator, next question please.

接線員，請下一個問題。

Ben Swinburne, Morgan Stanley.

本‧斯威本，摩根士丹利。

Thank you. Good afternoon, everybody. Naveen, could you tell us a little bit about how you're thinking about free cash flow, second half of the year, and kind of where you think leverage might end at year-end? I think you can share that with us.

謝謝。大家下午好。納文（Naveen），您能否告訴我們一些您對今年下半年自由現金流的看法，以及您認為槓桿率在年底可能會結束的情況？我想你可以與我們分享這一點。

And then I think one of the areas that you guys have talked about kind of reevaluating or evaluating are your international streaming plans. I know you mentioned the changes in South Korea, What's the update there? Do you guys see an opportunity to kind of optimize this business outside the United States and maybe improve the profitability or reduce the losses there? Just would be interested in an update on that front as well. Thank you.

然後我認為你們談論的重新評估或評估的領域之一是你們的國際串流媒體計劃。我知道你提到了韓國的變化，那裡有什麼更新？你們是否看到了在美國以外優化這項業務並可能提高盈利能力或減少損失的機會？只是也對這方面的更新感興趣。謝謝。

Yeah. So, Ben, I'll take the first part of your question on cash flow, and then I'll turn it over to Chris to comment on our thoughts on international streaming.

是的。所以，本，我將回答你關於現金流問題的第一部分，然後我將把它交給克里斯來評論我們對國際串流媒體的想法。

I think the cash flow answer is actually pretty straightforward. We said at the beginning of the year that our plan was to deliver growth in free cash flow in ''24 alongside significant growth in OIBDA, adjusted OIBDA. And I continue to see the year playing out that well, so -- excuse me, playing out that way. So, no real change to our expectations. Chris?

我認為現金流的答案其實非常簡單。我們在年初表示，我們的計劃是在 24 年實現自由現金流的成長，同時 OIBDA（調整後的 OIBDA）顯著成長。我仍然認為這一年的表現會很好，所以——對不起，就這樣。因此，我們的期望並沒有真正改變。克里斯？

Thanks, Naveen. Hey, Ben. Listen, today we have a global footprint with Paramount+ and Pluto. And moving forward, we continue, we expect to have, or we plan to have, excuse me, a global footprint. Now how that footprint looks may change. We're going to be very opportunistic about exploring all of our options here. You know, the overwhelming majority of the economics are going to be driven out of the US market as they are today in the content space. And so we want to take a thoughtful approach about how we look at each market internationally.

謝謝，納文。嘿，本。聽著，今天我們的 Paramount+ 和 Pluto 的足跡遍佈全球。展望未來，我們將繼續，我們期望擁有，或者我們計劃擁有，對不起，全球足跡。現在這個足跡的外觀可能會改變。我們將非常機會主義地探索這裡的所有選擇。你知道，絕大多數經濟將被趕出美國市場，就像今天在內容領域一樣。因此，我們希望對如何看待國際上的每個市場採取深思熟慮的方法。

Now, that can come in the form of strategic partnerships with maybe platforms who already have a great tremendous amount of reach and a platform, in which case we'll be reducing our cost by not having to have our own platform. Or they could come in the form of a joint venture with one or more SVOD players, in which case we could get greater scale, increase long-term value, and drive greater profits. So we have lots of interest from many different partners in this area, and we're exploring all that, and we look forward to updating you as we progress.

現在，這可以以與可能已經擁有巨大影響力和平台的平台建立戰略合作夥伴關係的形式出現，在這種情況下，我們將透過不必擁有自己的平台來降低成本。或者，它們可以以與一個或多個 SVOD 參與者合資的形式出現，在這種情況下，我們可以獲得更大的規模，增加長期價值，並帶來更大的利潤。因此，我們在這一領域有很多不同的合作夥伴感興趣，我們正在探索這一切，我們期待在我們取得進展時向您通報最新情況。

Thanks, Ben. Operator, next question, please.

謝謝，本。接線員，請下一個問題。

Rich Greenfield, LightShed Partners.

里奇·格林菲爾德，LightShed 合夥人。

Hi, thanks for taking the questions. I've got a couple. First, just from a very high level, I think You've all talked about the $500 million being inclusive of the $2 billion from Skydance. Skydance is a pretty small company in the scheme of the media world. Could you help us understand, what of the $2 billion couldn't you accomplish without Skydance? Meaning, could the $500 million be more like $1.5 on your own? Just trying to understand the difference between those two cost-cutting numbers.

您好，感謝您提出問題。我有一對。首先，從非常高的層面來看，我想你們都談到了 5 億美元，其中包括 Skydance 的 20 億美元。在媒體界中，Skydance 是一家相當小的公司。您能否幫助我們了解，如果沒有 Skydance，您無法完成 20 億美元的目標中的哪些項目？也就是說，這 5 億美元對你來說可能更像 1.5 美元嗎？只是想了解這兩個成本削減數字之間的差異。

And then on the Charter agreement that you referenced, you're going to obviously now be giving Paramount+ to, you know, I think about 9 million to 10 million Charter video subscribers. Do you actually shift the allocation, meaning if I think about how you account for this between your various divisions? Is there now a reduction in how much affiliate revenue is going to the linear networks with a commensurate allocation of dollars to Paramount+? I'm just trying to understand, as you turn this on to those subscribers.

然後，根據您提到的 Charter 協議，您現在顯然將向 900 萬到 1000 萬 Charter 視訊訂閱者提供派拉蒙+。您實際上是否會轉移分配，也就是說，如果我考慮您如何在各個部門之間解釋這一點？現在是否會減少流向線性網路的聯營收入，並相應地向派拉蒙+分配資金？我只是想了解一下，當你將其打開給那些訂閱者。

And then just a housekeeping point, I think you mentioned, is it only charters for some that activate that you get, that are counted, or does every subscriber get Paramount+ and is treated as a subscriber on Paramount's books? Thanks so much for taking the questions.

然後只是一個內務管理點，我想您提到過，是否只有您獲得的某些激活的特許證才被計算在內，或者每個訂閱者都獲得派拉蒙+並被視為派拉蒙書籍的訂閱者？非常感謝您提出問題。

Yeah, hi, Rich. It's Naveen. I'll try to touch on all of those. So starting with your question on cost savings, as you pointed out, we're moving forward on $500 million of cost savings.

是的，嗨，里奇。是納文。我將嘗試觸及所有這些。因此，正如您所指出的，從您關於成本節約的問題開始，我們正在努力實現 5 億美元的成本節約。

But I think it's important to understand that that's sort of step one. We are also working on a variety of other cost reduction plans that are part of our long-term plan. Those are significant, they're material, they won't all happen necessarily at the same point in time, and they go beyond headcount. We've made most of the $500 million savings that you'll see in the near term is headcount related, but we do think that there are opportunities to significantly reduce costs in other areas as well. And those plans, I think, have helped inform a number of the ideas that comprise the $2 billion that Skydance has referenced.

但我認為重要的是要明白這是第一步。我們也致力於制定各種其他成本削減計劃，這些計劃是我們長期計劃的一部分。這些都很重要，它們很重要，它們不一定都在同一時間點發生，而且它們超出了人員數量。短期內您將看到的 5 億美元節省大部分與員工人數相關，但我們確實認為其他領域也有機會大幅降低成本。我認為，這些計劃有助於傳達 Skydance 提到的 20 億美元資金中的一些想法。

With respect to your question on the Charter deal, sort of in reverse order, the way that this works is, yes, subscribers who activate that benefit, if you will, meaning they associate their Charter account with a set of P plus credentials, those are subs that we will count as Paramount+ subscribers.

關於您關於 Charter 交易的問題，有點相反，其工作方式是，是的，激活該權益的訂戶，如果您願意，這意味著他們將其 Charter 帳戶與一組 P plus 憑證關聯起來，這些憑證我們將其視為派拉蒙+訂閱者。

And if someone does not activate, then they don't count as a sub. And when they do activate, then we start to allocate a certain amount of the fees that we receive from Charter to P+. What you'll see in our externally reported financials as a result of that is that the revenue from deals like Charter where we're providing Paramount+ credentials in a bundle will be split or be shared between the TV media segment and the D2C segment.

如果有人沒有激活，那麼他們就不算替補。當它們啟動時，我們開始將從 Charter 收到的一定金額的費用分配給 P+。因此，您將在我們外部報告的財務數據中看到，像 Charter 這樣的交易（我們捆綁提供 Paramount+ 憑證）的收入將在電視媒體部門和 D2C 部門之間分割或共享。

Thanks, Rich. Operator, next question.

謝謝，里奇。接線員，下一個問題。

John Hodulik, UBS.

約翰‧霍杜里克，瑞銀集團。

Great. Thanks. Just to follow up to Rich's question, just anything you can tell us about -- and maybe it doesn't matter anymore because it's all blended together -- but just the linear pricing you got on the Charter side, on the Charter deal.

偉大的。謝謝。只是為了跟進里奇的問題，只是你可以告訴我們的任何事情——也許它不再重要了，因為它們都混合在一起了——但只是你在包機方面、包機交易中獲得的線性定價。

And then I guess from a D2C standpoint, the subscribers have to activate for you guys to get paid. But number one, are you guys going to sort of market the service or what can you do to sort of drive penetration within those Charter sub-base? And then is there an engagement or sort of consumption? issue as well is that once they activate once, then you sort of get paid going forward. Just any color. I'm just trying to get a sense of really what the overall economics of that deal are. Thanks.

然後我想從 D2C 的角度來看，訂閱者必須啟動才能讓你們獲得報酬。但第一，你們打算推銷這項服務嗎？那麼是否存在參與或某種消費？還有一個問題是，一旦它們啟動一次，你就可以繼續獲得報酬。任何顏色都可以。我只是想了解這筆交易的整體經濟效益。謝謝。

Yeah, sure, John. It's Naveen again. Let me try to clarify that a little bit. I think it may be helpful to remember that the way that we structure our deals with distributors, and I'm not going to get into any specific deal, is with a focus on total company economics. That used to be largely about cable and broadcast and premium linear networks. Now it includes all of those things plus, obviously, Paramount+.

是的，當然，約翰。又是納文。讓我試著澄清一下。我認為記住我們與分銷商建立交易的方式可能會有所幫助，而且我不打算討論任何具體交易，而是關注公司的整體經濟狀況。過去主要涉及有線、廣播和優質線性網路。現在它包括所有這些東西，顯然還包括派拉蒙+。

And so independent of how those things may be delineated for contractual purposes, for our financial reporting, we allocate those fees between, as I said earlier, our TV media segment and our D2C segment. So the revenue that we receive is not contingent on whether somebody activates or not. It's all part of the overall economics of our arrangement with the distributor.

因此，無論出於合約目的如何界定這些費用，對於我們的財務報告，我們都會在電視媒體部門和 D2C 部門之間分配這些費用。因此，我們收到的收入並不取決於有人是否啟動。這是我們與經銷商安排的整體經濟效益的一部分。

Thanks, John. Operator, next question.

謝謝，約翰。接線員，下一個問題。

Steven Cahall, Wells Fargo.

史蒂文卡霍爾，富國銀行。

Thanks. So, Naveen, just a few more on Paramount+ profitability. Can you talk about the value of content that you expect on Paramount+ this year from an amortization perspective, especially as you move into the back half of the year when it's a little heavier? And with the guidance you have for next year, how much do you think the content value is going to grow in '25? And just a housekeeping one on it. You said you'll be profitable for Paramount+ in 2025. Is that different from [425] as in a positive number for the full year?

謝謝。那麼，納文，請再介紹一下派拉蒙+的獲利能力。您能否從攤銷的角度談談您對派拉蒙+今年內容的預期價值，尤其是在進入下半年時，內容會變得更加重一些？根據明年的指導，您認為 25 年內容價值會成長多少？上面只是一個家事服務。您說派拉蒙+將在 2025 年實現盈利。

And then also, George, CBS affiliates, some out there have been indicating that reverse comp fees should really start to moderate or even decline because of the shift to streaming with things like Paramount+. How do you think about those station affiliate relationships and what their fair cost is of CVS national programming? I think a lot of TV station margins are a lot higher than the CVS network's margins, so I'm just wondering about what you think is a fair way to share those economics, especially as the company's entering into this cost-cutting and more cash-generative mode that you all talked about. Thank you.

然後，喬治、哥倫比亞廣播公司附屬機構以及一些人已經表示，由於派拉蒙+等串流媒體服務的轉變，反向補償費用應該真正開始放緩甚至下降。您如何看待這些電視台附屬關係以及它們在 CVS 全國節目中的合理成本是多少？我認為很多電視台的利潤率比 CVS 網路的利潤率高很多，所以我只是想知道你認為分享這些經濟的公平方式是什麼，特別是在公司正在削減成本和增加現金的情況下-你們都談到的生成模式。謝謝。

Yeah. Hey, Steve. It's Naveen. I'll start on the first part and then hand it to George to address the second part.

是的。嘿，史蒂夫。是納文。我將從第一部分開始，然後交給喬治處理第二部分。

So, in terms of content expense on Paramount+, a few things to keep in mind. So, number one, obviously 2024 is going to look sort of different on a year-over-year basis relative to '23, just given that it was a highly strike-impacted year in '23. We're going to have more content in the back half of '24 than we did last year.

因此，就 Paramount+ 的內容費用而言，需要牢記以下幾點。因此，第一，顯然 2024 年與 23 年相比會有所不同，因為 23 年是受罷工影響較大的一年。我們將在 24 年下半年推出比去年更多的內容。

Also, remember that there is seasonality in our content expense. So, one of the reasons that Paramount+ was profitable, excuse me, the D2C segment was profitable in Q2 was because it was a lighter quarter in terms of content. In particular, we don't have as much sports expense in the quarter as we do in the back half of the year.

另外，請記住，我們的內容支出存在季節性。所以，Paramount+ 獲利的原因之一，對不起，D2C 部門在第二季獲利是因為該季度內容較少。特別是，我們本季的體育支出沒有下半年那麼多。

And that, frankly, is one of the reasons why the main goal we're focused on, and this relates to the other part of your question, is driving domestic profitability for Paramount+ in 2025, which is intended to be a full year goal. And I think that is obviously the more important measure of profitability is making sure that the business is profitable, not just in a particular quarter, but on a full year basis. George?

坦白說，這就是我們關注的主要目標的原因之一，這與你問題的其他部分相關，即在 2025 年推動派拉蒙+的國內盈利能力，這本來是全年目標。我認為，顯然更重要的獲利能力衡量標準是確保業務獲利，不僅是在特定季度，而且是全年。喬治？

Sure. So Steve, we're keenly aware of the changing industry dynamics and the challenges that our affiliates are facing. Now, our role as a network in this partnership is to provide best-in-class content with maximum reach. And this means we've got to continue to invest in producing hit shows, our news programming, and investing in sports rights.

當然。史蒂夫，我們敏銳地意識到不斷變化的行業動態以及我們的附屬公司面臨的挑戰。現在，我們作為這個合作夥伴關係網絡的角色是提供具有最大影響力的一流內容。這意味著我們必須繼續投資熱門節目的製作、新聞節目以及體育賽事轉播權的投資。

Now, in terms of the fair value, the fair value is really determined by the strength of our content offering. And the good news here is that CBS is delivering on all fronts. I mean, we're number one in prime, number one in daytime, number one in late night. We have an incredible sports portfolio led by the NFL, but including college football, NCAA, and golf. So again, our job is to make sure that we're providing best-in-class content for our affiliates to justify the content fees that we charge them.

現在，就公允價值而言，公允價值實際上是由我們提供的內容的實力決定的。好消息是哥倫比亞廣播公司正在各方面取得成果。我的意思是，我們在黃金時段排名第一，在白天排名第一，在深夜排名第一。我們擁有以 NFL 為首的令人難以置信的運動產品組合，還包括大學橄欖球、NCAA 和高爾夫。再說一次，我們的工作是確保我們為我們的聯營公司提供一流的內容，以證明我們向他們收取的內容費用是合理的。

Thanks, Steve. Operator, we have time for one last question.

謝謝，史蒂夫。接線員，我們還有時間回答最後一個問題。

Bryan Kraft, Deutsche Bank.

布萊恩·克拉夫特，德意志銀行。

Thank you. I had two, if I could. First, how is the company approaching licensing Paramount's content to third parties relative to the prior regime? And related, I know Naveen talked about the outlook for the rest of this year for licensing, and I realize there are a lot of moving pieces with strikes, but the question is whether you think after 2024, licensing will still be a growth driver for the company.

謝謝。如果可以的話，我有兩個。首先，相對於先前的製度，該公司如何向第三方授權派拉蒙的內容？與此相關的是，我知道 Naveen 談到了今年剩餘時間的許可前景，我意識到有很多令人震驚的變化，但問題是你是否認為 2024 年之後，許可仍將是成長動力公司。

And then the second one is, just was wondering if you talked a bit about the importance of sports. Would you be interested in or will you pursue additional sports rights that might be coming up for renewal over the next couple of years that you don't currently have in this interim period before the merger closes? Or is that something that would be revisited kind of post-merger. Thank you.

第二個問題是，我想知道你是否談過運動的重要性。您是否有興趣或是否會尋求在未來幾年內可能會續訂的額外體育賽事轉播權，而您在合併結束前的這段過渡期內目前還沒有這些轉播權？或者是合併後會重新審視的事情。謝謝。

Sure, Bryan. This is Brian. I'll take the first part of the question.

當然，布萊恩。這是布萊恩.我將回答問題的第一部分。

For us, licensing is not either or. It's actually more. It's about driving more revenue, more reach, and more relevance for our content. But first and foremost, I think we're focused on maximizing the first run value of our content on our owned and operated platforms and channels, whether that's through advertising, affiliate, or subscription revenues.

對我們來說，許可不是非此即彼。實際上更多。這是為了增加我們內容的收入、影響範圍和相關性。但首先也是最重要的是，我認為我們的重點是最大化我們擁有和經營的平台和管道上內容的首次運行價值，無論是透過廣告、聯盟行銷或訂閱收入。

And then, of course, windowing is key, and it always has been key. And we will still continue to license our content to third-party platforms. And fortunately for us, our content is in demand. It's in demand from consumers, and it's in demand from other platforms. And we believe that not only do we drive more revenue by licensing to third-party platforms, but it also increases the demand of that content on our own platforms by opening it up to new eyeballs on other people's platforms and then driving back to our own.

當然，窗口化是關鍵，而且一直都是關鍵。我們仍將繼續向第三方平台授權我們的內容。對我們來說幸運的是，我們的內容很受歡迎。消費者有需求，其他平台也有需求。我們相信，我們不僅可以透過向第三方平台授權來增加收入，而且還可以透過在其他人的平台上吸引新的眼球，然後再回到我們自己的平台上來增加對我們自己平台上的內容的需求。

So we will continue to license. We're very focused on creating the greatest opportunity while continuing to control our IP. And there's always going to be timing dynamics that are reflected in performance. But given the power of our content and IP, long-term licensing is a compelling business for us.

因此我們將繼續許可。我們非常注重創造最大的機會，同時繼續控制我們的智慧財產權。而且總是會存在反映在效能中的時序動態。但鑑於我們內容和智慧財產權的力量，長期授權對我們來說是一項極具吸引力的業務。

And this is George then on your sports question, Brian. So first of all, I would say we feel really, really good about our current sports portfolio. We've got our core marquee franchises. But that being said, we'll always be opportunistic. In fact, we recently closed two soccer deals with EFL and Serie A. So we will always be open in the market, but we're going to always take this disciplined approach and make sure that our goal is to ensure that we're giving the right portfolio for both broadcast and for streaming.

這是喬治，關於你的體育問題，布萊恩。首先，我想說我們對目前的運動產品組合感覺非常非常好。我們擁有核心的特許經營權。但話雖這麼說，我們永遠都是機會主義的。事實上，我們最近與 EFL 和 Serie A 達成了兩項足球協議。廣播和串流媒體的正確產品組合。

Thanks, George. And this is Chris. I'm going to close it out. And on behalf of my fellow co-CEOs, we'd like to thank you for joining us for our call today. As you can see from our results, we're off to a very strong start in the first half of the year, executing well against our strategic plan.

謝謝，喬治。這是克里斯。我要把它關閉。我們謹代表我的聯合執行長同事，感謝您參加今天的電話會議。正如您從我們的業績中看到的那樣，我們在今年上半年有了一個非常強勁的開局，很好地執行了我們的策略計劃。

We continue to deliver some of the biggest, broadest hit TV series and blockbuster films with a high hit ratio. And our performance this quarter reflects the power of that content and the actions that we've taken to strengthen the company.

我們繼續推出一些最熱門、最熱門的電視劇和大片，點擊率很高。我們本季的業績反映了這些內容的力量以及我們為增強公司實力而採取的行動。

Now looking ahead, we're clear-eyed about the additional work that needs to happen and we are confident we will deliver. We look forward to updating on our progress. Thank you everyone for joining us and have a good evening.

現在展望未來，我們對需要開展的額外工作非常清楚，並且我們有信心完成任務。我們期待更新我們的進展。感謝大家加入我們，祝大家有個美好的夜晚。

Thank you everyone. This concludes today's call. You may now disconnect your line.

謝謝大家。今天的電話會議到此結束。現在您可以斷開線路。