Paramount Global (PARAA) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Portions of this transcript marked (audio in progress) indicate audio problems. The missing text will be supplied if a replay becomes available.

此文字記錄中標記為（音訊正在進行中）的部分錶示音訊問題。如果可以重播，將提供缺少的文字。

(audio in progress) (Operator Instructions) At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Jaime Morris, Paramount Global's EVP, Investor Relations.

（音訊正在進行中）（操作員指示）現在，我想將電話轉給派拉蒙全球投資者關係執行副總裁傑米·莫里斯 (Jaime Morris)。

You may now begin your conference call.

您現在可以開始電話會議。

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to join us for our third 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 our earnings release, we have trending schedules containing supplemental information available on our website.

大家早安。感謝您抽空參加我們的 2024 年第三季財報電話會議。與我一起參加今天討論的有派拉蒙聯合執行長 Brian Robbins、Chris McCarthy 和 George Cheeks 以及我們的財務長 Naveen Chopra。請注意，除了我們的收益發布之外，我們的網站上還提供包含補充資訊的趨勢時間表。

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

在今天早上開始之前，我想提醒您，本次電話會議中的某些陳述屬於前瞻性陳述，涉及風險和不確定性。我們向 SEC 提交的文件中更詳細地討論了這些風險和不確定性。今天的一些財務評論將重點放在調整後的業績上。這些非公認會計原則財務指標的調節可以在我們的收益發布或包含補充資訊的出席時間表中找到，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克里斯。

Thank you, Jaime, and good morning, everyone. I'm Chris McCarthy, and I'm joined here by my fellow Co-CEOs, George Cheeks and Brian Robbins. Together, we'll share the results of another very strong quarter, demonstrating the progress we are making against our strategic plan. And Naveen will take us through the financials.

謝謝你，海梅，大家早安。我是克里斯·麥卡錫，我的聯合執行長同事喬治·奇克斯和布萊恩·羅賓斯也加入了進來。我們將共同分享另一個非常強勁的季度的成果，展示我們在戰略計劃方面所取得的進展。納文將向我們介紹財務狀況。

Okay. Let's start with some headlines. We are pleased with our very strong performance this quarter, fueled by our hit content and our focus on execution. In DTC, we saw Pluto reach record engagement. And on Paramount+, we added 3.5 million subscribers, reinforcing our position as the #4 global streaming service.

好的。讓我們從一些頭條新聞開始。我們對本季的強勁表現感到滿意，這得益於我們的熱門內容和對執行的關注。在 DTC 中，我們看到 Pluto 達到了創紀錄的參與度。在 Paramount+ 上，我們增加了 350 萬訂閱者，鞏固了我們作為全球第四大串流媒體服務的地位。

Paramount+ continued its momentum with revenue growth up 25% year-over-year.

Paramount+ 繼續保持成長勢頭，營收年增 25%。

This quarter marks the second quarter in a row where D2C achieved profitability with adjusted OIBDA improving more than $1 billion over the past 4 quarters, and we remain on track to reach Paramount+ domestic profitability in 2025.

本季是 D2C 連續第二季獲利，調整後的 OIBDA 在過去 4 個季度中增加了超過 10 億美元，我們仍有望在 2025 年實現派拉蒙 + 國內盈利。

We also made progress in streamlining our organization as we continue to successfully execute cost reductions that will result in $500 million in annual run rate savings. And at the same time, we have not slowed down on doing what we do best, continue to produce some of the biggest and broadest hit films and television series.

我們在精簡組織方面也取得了進展，我們繼續成功地降低了成本，每年將節省 5 億美元的營運費用。同時，我們並沒有放慢做我們最擅長的事情，繼續製作一些最熱門、最廣泛的電影和電視劇。

In addition, the Skydance transaction achieved a few key milestones, including the conclusion of the go-shop period, the expiration of the HSR waiting period -- and on November 4, we filed our S-4 registration statement with the SEC.

此外，Skydance 交易還實現了一些關鍵的里程碑，包括 go-shop 期的結束、HSR 等待期的結束，以及 11 月 4 日，我們向 SEC 提交了 S-4 註冊聲明。

We continue to expect the deal to close in the first half of 2025 subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions. And now I'll pass it to George to update us on distribution and advertising.

我們仍預期該交易將於 2025 年上半年完成，但須獲得監管部門批准並滿足其他慣例條件。現在我將把它交給喬治，讓他向我們通報發行和廣告方面的最新情況。

Thanks, Chris. I'll start with distribution. In an evolving landscape, we continue to renew long-standing agreements with key partners including a number of distribution renewals this year. Our track record of getting deals done speaks to the power of our entertainment, news and sports content, and we'll continue to work with our partners to innovate and deliver for audiences.

謝謝，克里斯。我將從分發開始。在不斷變化的情況下，我們繼續與主要合作夥伴續簽長期協議，包括今年的多項分銷續約。我們完成交易的記錄證明了我們娛樂、新聞和體育內容的力量，我們將繼續與合作夥伴合作，為觀眾提供創新和服務。

As an example of that, our Paramount+ ad-supported tier is now available to charter customers, enhancing the value we're delivering across linear and streaming. Now it's early days, but we're pleased with the response so far.

舉個例子，我們的 Paramount+ 廣告支援層現在可供包機客戶使用，從而增強了我們在線上性和串流媒體領域提供的價值。現在還為時過早，但我們對迄今為止的反應感到滿意。

Now turning to advertising. Q3 benefited from record political spend as well as the return of NFL and college football. Digital ad growth remains strong showing notable increase in demand year-over-year, which reflects our value position from a price, quality and scale standpoint and will continue to drive growth. The scale of our digital advertising platform, spanning Paramount+, Pluto as well as other digital properties is 1 of the largest addressable footprint in the domestic marketplace.

現在轉向廣告。第三季受益於創紀錄的政治支出以及 NFL 和大學橄欖球的回歸。數位廣告成長仍然強勁，顯示需求較去年同期顯著成長，這反映了我們從價格、品質和規模角度的價值定位，並將繼續推動成長。我們的數位廣告平台的規模涵蓋 Paramount+、Pluto 以及其他數位資產，是國內市場上最大的可尋址足跡之一。

And it represents nearly half of our national domestic advertising revenue when you exclude sports. Major brands continue to tap into the power of Paramount. Recently, we launched the Summit a new offering that connects our key ad partners with priority Paramount launches across theatrical, linear and streaming.

如果不包括體育賽事，它占我們全國國內廣告收入的近一半。主要品牌繼續利用派拉蒙的力量。最近，我們在峰會上推出了一項新產品，將我們的主要廣告合作夥伴與派拉蒙在影院、線性和串流媒體領域的優先發布聯繫起來。

For our first Summit partnership, we brought Pepsi together with Gladiator 2, the campaign launched with the NFL on CBS and included immediate lists across all Paramount Global linear, digital and social platforms, yet another example of how we're leveraging our creative assets and capabilities to deliver unmatched impact for our biggest advertisers.

在我們的首次峰會合作中，我們將百事可樂與角鬥士2 結合在一起，該活動與NFL 在CBS 上推出，並包括派拉蒙全球所有線性、數位和社交平台上的即時列表，這是我們如何利用我們的創意資產和為我們最大的廣告商提供無與倫比的影響力的能力。

I also want to touch on our ongoing dispute with Nielsen. We remain engaged with them, and we're hopeful for a resolution. So far, we're encouraged by our partners' willingness to lean into innovation and adopt alternative measurement solutions. Bottom line, our brand and agency partners are the #1 priority. -- and we're proving every day that content, scale and value are what matters most to advertisers.

我還想談談我們與尼爾森之間持續的爭議。我們仍與他們保持接觸，並希望能找到解決方案。到目前為止，我們的合作夥伴願意致力於創新並採用替代測量解決方案，這讓我們深受鼓舞。最重要的是，我們的品牌和代理商合作夥伴是第一要務。 ——我們每天都在證明，內容、規模和價值對廣告主來說是最重要的。

And with that, over to Brian for an update on our strategic plan.

接下來，請布萊恩了解我們策略計畫的最新情況。

Thanks, George. We are pleased with the progress we have made in advancing our business by transforming D2C and streamlining our organization to reduce costs. Starting with DTC. The segment was profitable again in the quarter. sports, including the return of the NFL and UEFA, originals like Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King as well as post theatrical releases such as A Quiet Place: Day One and if all drove the acquisition in the quarter.

謝謝，喬治。我們對透過 D2C 轉型和精簡組織以降低成本來推進業務所取得的進展感到高興。從故障碼開始。該部門在本季再次實現盈利。體育賽事，包括NFL 和UEFA 的回歸，《金斯敦市長》和《塔爾薩·金》等原創影片，以及《寂靜之地：第一天》等院線上映後的影片，如果所有這些都推動了本季的收購。

For Pluto, we're continuing to see a strong performance. Year-to-date, Pluto delivered its highest consumption ever, up 5% to 5.6 billion viewing hours. Growth is being driven by increased use of video-on-demand with more available content, enhanced discoverability and a better user experience.

對於冥王星，我們繼續看到強勁的表現。今年迄今為止，《冥王星》的觀看時長創歷史新高，成長了 5%，達到 56 億小時。視訊點播的使用增加、更多可用內容、增強的可發現性和更好的用戶體驗推動了成長。

And as we said before, we are evaluating potential partnerships in streaming through a lens of creating value for the business and our shareholders over the long term. And given the complexity we are being deliberate and thoughtful in our approach and assessment.

正如我們之前所說，我們正在透過為企業和股東長期創造價值的角度來評估串流媒體領域的潛在合作夥伴關係。鑑於其複雜性，我們在方法和評估中都經過深思熟慮和深思熟慮。

Moving to streamlining our organization. We have made progress on realizing $500 million in noncontent cost savings, which will reduce our U.S.-based workforce by 15%. To date, we have executed 90% of these reductions and expect to have the remaining completed by the end of the year. Our objective has been to unlock operational efficiencies and rightsize the cost base while continuing to invest in the growth levers that are the key to the future, including content, streaming, and advertising.

轉向精簡我們的組織。我們在實現 5 億美元非內容成本節省方面取得了進展，這將使我們在美國的員工人數減少 15%。迄今為止，我們已經執行了其中 90% 的削減，預計剩餘的將在年底前完成。我們的目標是提高營運效率並調整成本基礎，同時繼續投資於未來關鍵的成長槓桿，包括內容、串流媒體和廣告。

In addition, we remain diligent as we optimize our asset mix. The sale of our equity interest in Viacom18 is a great example, which will result in an attractive financial return on our investment, we expect the sale to close in Q4.

此外，我們在優化資產結構時仍保持勤奮。出售我們在 Viacom18 的股權就是一個很好的例子，這將為我們的投資帶來有吸引力的財務回報，我們預計出售將在第四季度完成。

Now let's move to the core of what we do best, making some of the biggest and broadest hit films and TV series. I will pass to Chris to kick us off.

現在讓我們轉向我們最擅長的核心，製作一些最熱門、最廣泛的電影和電視節目。我將傳球給克里斯來讓我們開始。

Thanks, Brian. Let's start with Paramount+, where this fall, we kicked off 1 of our most ambitious slate to date, seeing the return of our biggest hit series like Mayor of Kingstown and Tulsa King, which returned to great fanfare, each quickly soaring into a top 10 streaming original across all SVOD services.

謝謝，布萊恩。讓我們從派拉蒙+開始，今年秋天，我們推出了迄今為止最雄心勃勃的一部劇，見證了我們最熱門的劇集《金斯敦市長》和《塔爾薩之王》的回歸，這兩部劇再次大張旗鼓，每部都迅速飆升至前十名在所有 SVOD 服務中流式傳輸原創內容。

And Tulsa King also broke records as the #1 global debut and Paramount+ history. Internationally, where we have Southpark exclusively for SVOD, it ranks as a top 5 start driver and the #2 engagement driver. And we're excited to have the South Park Series return to Paramount+ here in the U.S. starting in June of 2025.

塔爾薩金 (Tulsa King) 也打破了全球首映第一名和派拉蒙+歷史記錄。在國際上，我們專門為 SVOD 提供 Southpark，它被評為前 5 名起步車手和排名第 2 的參與車手。我們很高興南方公園系列將於 2025 年 6 月起重返美國 Paramount+。

We're confident this momentum will continue throughout the quarter with the return of Lioness, which premiered October 27 and is off to a great start, scoring as a top 5 global series premiere in Paramount+ history, followed by Landman, a new series from Taylor Sheridan, which will premiere November 17 and stars Billy Bob Thornton, Demi Moore and John Han. This series has all the makings of a great big hit and promises to do for the oil industry, what Yellowstone did for ranching.

我們相信，隨著《母獅》的回歸，這一勢頭將在整個季度持續下去，該片於10 月27 日首播，並取得了良好的開局，成為派拉蒙+歷史上全球首映劇集前5 名，緊隨其後的是泰勒的新劇集《蘭德曼》 《謝裡登》將於11 月17 日首映，由比利·鮑勃·松頓、黛米·摩爾和約翰·漢主演。這個系列具備了大受歡迎的所有要素，並有望為石油工業做出貢獻，就像黃石公園為牧場所做的那樣。

Now moving over to our premium tier. This quarter marks the beginning of a new adrenalized Showtime slate with cinematic high-stake originals and the return of some fan favorites. Starting with the Agency, a new global espionage series from executive producer, George Clooney, starting Michael Fassbender, Richard Gere, Jeffrey Wright and Jodie Turner-Smith, which will premiere later this month, and that's followed by the return of Showtime's most successful franchise ever Dexter, with a new origin story titled Dexter: Original Sin. And on cable, we also saw some impressive results. The Challenge, the series that created the reality competition genre celebrated its 40th season, with the highest share in franchise history, up 60% versus the previous season.

現在轉向我們的高級層。本季度標誌著新的令人興奮的 Showtime 名單的開始，其中包括高風險的電影原創作品和一些粉絲最愛的回歸。從《特工局》開始，這部新的全球間諜劇由執行製片人喬治克隆尼執導，邁克爾法斯賓德、理查基爾、傑弗瑞賴特和朱迪特納-史密斯主演，該劇將於本月晚些時候首映，隨後Showtime 最成功的系列劇將回歸曾經的《Dexter》，有一個名為《Dexter：原罪》的新起源故事。在有線電視上，我們也看到了一些令人印象深刻的結果。開創真人競技類型的影集《挑戰》迎來了第 40 季，其份額創系列歷史之最，比上一季成長了 60%。

This was followed by the MTV Video Music Awards, which attracted its biggest audience in 4 years on linear. And on social, it broke records as the #1 most social entertainment telecast in television history, vesting on entertainment and sports.

緊隨其後的是 MTV 音樂錄影帶大獎，吸引了 4 年來線性觀眾最多的觀眾。在社交方面，它打破了電視史上社交娛樂電視節目第一名的記錄，涉及娛樂和體育。

And on the Daily Show, the return of Jon Stewart continues to pay off having won our second prime time Emmy row and a Monday Night with [indiscernible] , the daily show remains the #1 late-night show across linear and social, and it's working hard for us on Paramount+ with engagement up 10x, and Jon is not going anywhere as we just announced he's extended a stay through 2025.

在《每日秀》中，喬恩·斯圖爾特的回歸繼續帶來回報，他贏得了我們的第二個黃金時段艾美獎和周一晚間的[音頻不清晰]，《每日秀》仍然是線性和社交領域排名第一的深夜節目，而且它是他在Paramount+ 上為我們努力工作，參與度提高了10 倍，而喬恩不會去任何地方，因為我們剛剛宣布他將停留期限延長至2025 年。

And to continue our momentum this Sunday, Yellowstone, 1 of the most eagerly anticipated shows of the year will return on the Paramount Network in the U.S. and internationally on Paramount+ where it's been the #1 start driver and the #1 engagement driver for the full year to date.

為了繼續我們的勢頭，今年最受期待的節目之一《黃石公園》將在美國派拉蒙網絡和國際派拉蒙+上回歸，在派拉蒙電視網中，它一直是全場排名第一的起始驅動因素和第一大參與驅動因素。

And now I'll turn it over to George to walk us through CVS Entertainment, Sports and news.

現在我將把它交給 George，讓他帶我們了解 CVS 娛樂、體育和新聞。

For CBS, fall means football and the launch of our new prime time schedule. The network is coming off a record-setting '23-'24 NFL season as well as the top rated prime time schedule, that includes the return of last year's #1 show. In the first 5 weeks of this season, the NFL on CBS is averaging more than 20 million viewers. That's up 5% from last year. And streaming of the games on Paramount+ is up over 50% year-over-year.

對於哥倫比亞廣播公司來說，秋天意味著足球和我們新的黃金時段的推出。該網絡即將迎來創紀錄的“23-24 NFL 賽季”以及收視率最高的黃金時段節目，其中包括去年排名第一的節目的回歸。在本賽季的前 5 週，CBS 上 NFL 的平均觀眾人數超過 2000 萬。比去年增加了 5%。 Paramount+ 上的遊戲串流播放量較去年同期成長超過 50%。

CBS Primetime, which just launched its new season is off to a great start. Trackers once again the most watched series on TV, Matlock is the #1 new show, and Georgie & Mandy, a spinoff of Young Sheldon is the most watched comedy.

剛推出新一季的哥倫比亞廣播公司黃金時段迎來了一個好的開始。 《追蹤者》再次成為收視率最高的電視連續劇，《馬特洛克》是排名第一的新劇，而《小謝爾頓》的衍生劇《喬吉與曼迪》則是收視率最高的喜劇。

And our shows are winning across platforms. Matlock's first episode reached more than 22 million viewers in its first 30 days. Trackers season 2 premier delivered over 15 million multi-platform viewers in just its first 7 days. That's up 25% from its time period premier last year.

我們的節目在各個平台上都取得了成功。馬特洛克的第一集在播出的前 30 天內就吸引了超過 2200 萬觀眾。 《追蹤者》第二季首播僅在前 7 天就吸引了超過 1500 萬多平台觀眾。這比去年同期增長了 25%。

Now turning to news. The total minutes watched on our CBS News 24/7 streaming network continues to grow, up 56% over 2023 and up 78% versus third quarter last year. We expanded and rebranded the platform with more live programming, and the increased presence of key CBS News talent. All of this speaks to the collective power of broadcast and streaming working together to aggregate more unduplicated viewership while optimizing the value and efficiency of our content investments.

現在轉向新聞。我們的 CBS 新聞 24/7 串流媒體網絡的總觀看分鐘數持續增長，比 2023 年增長 56%，比去年第三季度增長 78%。我們透過更多的現場節目以及哥倫比亞廣播公司新聞主要人才的增加來擴展和重新命名該平台。所有這些都說明了廣播和串流媒體的集體力量，可以聚集更多不重複的收視率，同時優化我們內容投資的價值和效率。

Our programming strategy remains laser-focused on entertainment, news and sports that excel on both CBS and Paramount+. Over to you, Brian.

我們的節目策略仍然專注於娛樂、新聞和體育，這些內容在哥倫比亞廣播公司 (CBS) 和派拉蒙+ (Paramount+) 上均表現出色。交給你了，布萊恩。

On the Paramount Pictures front, at the end of the second quarter, A Quiet Place: Day One opened to nearly 100 million worldwide and set the franchise record for the biggest opening at the global box office. To date, the film has grossed $261 million worldwide. Transformers One also gave you as the first animated transformers film in nearly 4 decades, grossing $127 million at the global box office to date and most recently, the October release of Smile 2 from homegrown talent, Parker Finn, saw a record-breaking global Premier outearning its predecessor's debut weekend. It also makes Smile 2 Paramount's fourth #1 opening this year after Mean Girls, Bob Marley: One Love and If, we're confident that the rest of Q4 will build on this momentum, thanks to an impressive roster of upcoming releases, including, next up, Ride Scott, Gladiator 2, one of the most anticipated films of the year with a phenomenal cast including Paul Mescal an Academy Award winner, Denzel Washington. Early tracking and first reactions are generating optimism and excitement for the movies release and award season prospects.

派拉蒙影業方面，第二季末，《噤界：第一天》在全球上映票房接近 1 億，創下了該系列電影全球首映票房最高紀錄。迄今為止，該片在全球的票房收入已達 2.61 億美元。 《變形金剛一號》也是近4 年來第一部變形金剛動畫電影，迄今為止全球票房收入達1.27 億美元，最近，本土演員帕克·芬(Parker Finn) 於10 月上映的《微笑2》(Smile 2) 創下了全球首映票房紀錄其首個週末的收入超過了其前身。這也讓《微笑2》成為繼《賤女孩》、《鮑伯馬利：一個愛》和《如果》之後派拉蒙今年第四部排名第一的影片，我們相信第四季的剩餘影片將在此勢頭基礎上再接再厲，這要歸功於一系列令人印象深刻的即將上映的影片，其中包括：接下來是《Ride Scott》《角斗士2》，這是今年最受期待的電影之一，演員陣容十分出色，其中包括奧斯卡金像獎得主保羅梅斯卡爾(Paul Mescal)、丹佐華盛頓(Denzel Washington)。早期追蹤和第一反應為電影上映和頒獎季的前景帶來了樂觀和興奮。

Now rounding out our diverse slate, we're excited to be bringing audiences the journalistic Thriller, September 5, which has been on the festival circuit generating awards buzz, also the third installment of fan favorite Sonic the Hedgehog with Jim Carrey and the original cast reprising their roles and then Better Man, from the Director of The Greatest Showman, Michael Gracey and based on the life and music of Robin Williams.

現在，我們的多元化片單即將完善，我們很高興能在9 月5 日為觀眾帶來新聞驚悚片，該片在電影節上引起了獎項熱議，同時也是粉絲最喜愛的《刺猬索尼克》的第三部，由金凱瑞和原班演員主演重新演繹他們的角色，然後是《馬戲之王》導演邁克爾格雷西根據羅賓威廉斯的生活和音樂改編的《更好的人》。

And looking ahead to 2025, we have a fantastic robust lineup with something for everyone. That includes an age Mission: Impossible, the reboot of The Naked Gun franchise, starring Liam Neeson, new installments are beloved animated franchises like Spurs and SpongeBob, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary and Running Man from Director Edgar Wright and starring Glen Powell, to name just a few. Taken together, all of our content reinforces that we have so much to be excited about in this period of evolution and transformation for our business and the industry. It is what continues to create value for our partners, investors and the broader media landscape, both now and well into the future.

展望 2025 年，我們擁有強大的陣容，適合每個人。其中包括年代久遠的《碟中諜》、連恩尼遜主演的《裸槍》系列的重啟版、深受喜愛的動畫系列新作，例如慶祝上映25 週年的《馬刺》和《海綿寶寶》，以及導演艾德格萊特、葛倫鮑威爾主演的《跑男》，僅舉幾個例子。總而言之，我們所有的內容都強調，在我們的業務和行業的發展和轉型時期，我們有很多值得興奮的事情。無論是現在還是未來，它都會繼續為我們的合作夥伴、投資者和更廣泛的媒體領域創造價值。

With that, let me turn it over to Naveen for more detail on our Q3 financials. We'll then look forward to taking your questions.

接下來，讓我將其交給 Naveen，以了解有關我們第三季財務狀況的更多詳細資訊。我們將期待回答您的問題。

Thank you, Brian. Good morning, everyone. Q3 demonstrated the progress we've made in transforming Paramount for the future. We delivered adjusted OIBDA of $858 million in the quarter, up 20% year-over-year. reflecting significant improvement in our D2C business, which continues to deliver healthy top line growth and improved operating leverage.

謝謝你，布萊恩。大家早安。第三季展示了我們在派拉蒙未來轉型方面所取得的進展。我們本季調整後的 OIBDA 為 8.58 億美元，年增 20%。這反映了我們的 D2C 業務的顯著改善，該業務繼續實現健康的營收成長並提高營運槓桿。

As always, you'll find a comprehensive review of financial results in our press release. For today's call, I'll focus on a few areas of note, starting with advertising. Total company advertising grew 2%, powered by direct-to-consumer, which delivered strong growth of 18%, an acceleration versus the 16% growth we saw in Q2. D2C advertising growth was driven by a double-digit increase in sold impressions and higher CPMs. And these trends have continued in Q4 and where we expect another quarter of double-digit D2C advertising growth.

與往常一樣，您將在我們的新聞稿中找到對財務表現的全面回顧。在今天的電話會議中，我將重點放在幾個值得注意的領域，首先是廣告。在直接面向消費者的推動下，公司廣告總量成長了 2%，實現了 18% 的強勁成長，較第二季 16% 的成長有所加速。 D2C 廣告的成長是由銷售展示次數的兩位數成長和更高的每千次曝光費用所推動的。這些趨勢在第四季度持續存在，我們預計 D2C 廣告將在第四季度實現兩位數成長。

In TV media, advertising revenue declined 2%, an improvement versus last quarter reflecting the return of football and higher political spend. Similar to last quarter, international advertising benefited from the recognition of revenue that was underreported by an international sales partner in prior periods.

在電視媒體方面，廣告收入下降 2%，較上季度有所改善，反映出足球的回歸和政治支出的增加。與上季類似，國際廣告受惠於國際銷售合作夥伴在前期少報的收入確認。

Looking ahead, we expect TV media advertising growth in Q4 to be similar to the reported growth rate in Q3. In Q4 growth will benefit from record political spend but we'll also have less sports inventory compared to the prior year. Our forecast for Q4 does not assume any additional revenue true-ups from a third-party under reporting.

展望未來，我們預計第四季電視媒體廣告成長將與第三季報告的成長率相似。第四季的成長將受益於創紀錄的政治支出，但與去年相比，我們的體育庫存也將減少。我們對第四季度的預測並未假設第三方報告中的任何額外收入真實情況。

Next, let me turn to affiliate and subscription revenue, which declined 1% in Q3. Now as a reminder, last year's third quarter included Showtime pay-per-view events that did not recur this year as we exited Showtime Sports at the end of 2023. This comparison reduced the Q3 growth rate by 270 basis points. Absent the impact of Showtime pay-per-view, Affiliate and subscription revenue increased 1%, with growth in direct-to-consumer, more than offsetting declines in linear.

接下來，讓我談談聯盟和訂閱收入，第三季下降了 1%。現在提醒一下，去年第三季包括 Showtime 按次付費賽事，但由於我們在 2023 年底退出 Showtime Sports，這些賽事今年沒有再發生。在沒有 Showtime 按次付費的影響的情況下，聯盟和訂閱收入成長了 1%，直接面向消費者的成長足以抵消線性下降。

In the TV Media segment, affiliate revenue declined 6.6% year-over-year. reflecting ecosystem trends and the Showtime pay-per-view headwind I just mentioned. D2C subscription revenue grew 6.8% in the quarter. with Paramount+ subscription revenue up 27% year-over-year. Paramount+ added 3.5 million subscribers in the quarter, reaching 72 million subscribers overall.

在電視媒體領域，聯營營收年減 6.6%。反映了生態系統趨勢和我剛才提到的 Showtime 按次付費的逆風。本季 D2C 訂閱營收成長 6.8%。 Paramount+ 訂閱營收年增 27%。 Paramount+ 本季新增訂戶 350 萬，訂閱者總數達到 7,200 萬。

Subscriber trends benefited from the expansion of an international hard bundle deal and the return of NFL and College Football new originals and theatrical releases. And in Q4 we expect continued subscriber growth at Paramount+, driven by a strong slate of originals and the CBS fall schedule.

訂戶趨勢受益於國際硬捆綁交易的擴展以及 NFL 和大學橄欖球新原創作品和影院上映的回歸。在第四季度，我們預計派拉蒙+的訂戶將持續成長，這主要得益於大量原創作品和哥倫比亞廣播公司秋季節目表的推動。

Unlike Q3, we do not expect to add new hard bundle partnerships in Q4. Global ARPU for Paramount+ grew 11% in the quarter. ARPU growth was tempered by the lapping of last year's price increase and a greater-than-expected shift in the mix of our subscriber base toward our essential tier and hard bundled subscribers.

與第三季不同，我們預計第四季不會增加新的硬捆綁合作夥伴關係。 Paramount+ 的全球 ARPU 本季成長了 11%。 ARPU 的成長受到去年價格上漲的影響以及我們的用戶群向基本層和硬捆綁用戶的轉變超出預期的影響。

Additionally, the price change we announced in August of 2024 will take some time to be reflected in ARPU due to the grandfathering of existing essential tier subscribers. And these dynamics will continue to influence ARPU growth in Q4. The combination of continued healthy revenue growth and expense discipline in Q3 and helped deliver our second consecutive quarter of D2C profitability.

此外，由於現有基本層訂戶的祖父待遇，我們在 2024 年 8 月宣布的價格變化需要一段時間才能反映在 ARPU 中。這些動態將持續影響第四季的 ARPU 成長。第三季持續健康的收入成長和支出紀律相結合，幫助我們實現了連續第二季的 D2C 獲利能力。

In Q4, we expect continued top line growth. However, the timing of content and marketing spend will result in a quarterly loss for the D2C segment. That said, we like the trajectory of the business over the last few quarters and believe we're well positioned to reach Paramount+ domestic profitability in 2025.

在第四季度，我們預計收入將持續成長。然而，內容和行銷支出的時機將導致 D2C 部門出現季度虧損。也就是說，我們喜歡該業務在過去幾季的發展軌跡，並相信我們有能力在 2025 年實現派拉蒙+國內盈利。

Next, I'll touch on licensing. Licensing and other revenue declined 9% in the quarter, primarily reflecting a lower volume of licensing in the secondary market and lower home entertainment revenues. Now as I've previously noted, licensing revenue can be fairly uneven from quarter-to-quarter. And for the full year 2024, we expect licensing revenue to decline relative to 2023.

接下來，我將談談許可。本季授權和其他收入下降 9%，主要反映二級市場授權量減少以及家庭娛樂收入減少。正如我之前指出的，每季的授權收入可能相當不平衡。對於 2024 年全年，我們預計授權收入相對 2023 年將有所下降。

More than half the year-over-year decline will come from made for third-party productions. And these productions are strategically valuable but the scale of our business has been impacted by the decision to steer more content to internal platforms. A smaller part of the year-over-year decline in licensing is related to our second run and library licensing activity partially reflecting lingering strike impact on the business. Even though we'll benefit from the return of the CBS fall late in Q4, it will take longer than expected to return to our pre-strike level of output.

超過一半的同比下降將來自第三方製作。這些作品具有戰略價值，但我們的業務規模受到了將更多內容轉移到內部平台的決定的影響。許可證同比下降的一小部分與我們的第二次運作和圖書館許可活動有關，部分反映了罷工對業務的持續影響。儘管我們將受益於哥倫比亞廣播公司第四季末秋季的回歸，但要恢復到罷工前的產出水準將需要比預期更長的時間。

Turning to the balance sheet. In Q3, we delivered $214 million of free cash flow and reduced leverage to 3.8x. Free cash flow in Q4 will be negative given the timing of content spend and the headwind of approximately $150 million of cash restructuring payments. However, this shouldn't negatively impact leverage as we expect to receive nearly $500 million of proceeds from the Viacom18 transaction, which is expected to close this quarter. Putting it all together, we remain on track to achieve our key financial goals for 2024, that includes significant growth in total company OIBDA enabled by the progress in D2C profitability you've seen over the last few quarters and the execution of cost savings initiatives across the company.

轉向資產負債表。第三季度，我們交付了 2.14 億美元的自由現金流，並將槓桿率降低至 3.8 倍。考慮到內容支出的時間安排以及約 1.5 億美元現金重組付款的不利因素，第四季度的自由現金流將為負值。然而，這不會對槓桿率產生負面影響，因為我們預計將從 Viacom18 交易中獲得近 5 億美元的收益，該交易預計將於本季完成。總而言之，我們仍有望實現 2024 年的關鍵財務目標，其中包括過去幾個季度 D2C 盈利能力的進步以及整個公司成本節約計劃的執行，從而使公司總體 OIBDA 顯著增長。

Similarly, our expectations for full year free cash flow growth remain unchanged. Overall, I think 2024 will demonstrate meaningful progress in the ongoing transition of Paramount, encompassing streaming growth, enhanced cost efficiency and, of course, continued investment in our renowned content portfolio. With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

同樣，我們對全年自由現金流成長的預期保持不變。整體而言，我認為 2024 年派拉蒙的持續轉型將取得有意義的進展，包括串流媒體成長、成本效率提高，當然還有對我們著名內容組合的持續投資。那麼，接線員，請開通提問線路。

(Operator Instructions) Ben Swinburne, Morgan Stanley.

（操作員指示）Ben Swinburne，摩根士丹利。

Brian, you talked about being deliberate given the complexity around direct-to-consumer and partnerships. Just wondering if you could talk a little bit more now that you guys have been working on it as to sort of what you're solving for, what are the key variables you're looking for, would lead the company to kind of pull the trigger on either a partnership or a change in how you're kind of working internationally. I think that's been kind of 1 of your focus areas in streaming.

布萊恩，你談到了考慮到直接面向消費者和合作夥伴關係的複雜性，要深思熟慮。只是想知道你們現在是否可以多談談你們正在解決的問題，你們正在尋找的關鍵變數是什麼，這會導致公司有點拉動觸發合作夥伴關係或改變你們的國際工作方式。我認為這是您在串流媒體領域關注的重點領域之一。

And then Naveen, it's been, I think, almost a year since you talked about domestic streaming profitability next year. Given the progress we've seen this year and the cost action you've taken, how far away are you from overall D2C profitability? Any way to kind of update us and dimensionalize sort of the international versus domestic D2C situation as we look at '25 would be helpful.

然後納文，我想，自從你談到明年的國內串流媒體盈利能力以來，已經快一年了。鑑於我們今年所取得的進展以及您所採取的成本行動，您距離 D2C 整體獲利能力還有多遠？當我們審視 25 年時，任何能讓我們了解最新情況並詳細了解國際與國內 D2C 情況的方法都會有所幫助。

Ben, this is Chris. I'll take your first part of your question, and then I'll pass to Naveen for the second part of that. First, let me start by saying that we're very proud of the success that we've had with Paramount+. This quarter saw revenue growth up 27%. It's our second quarter of profitability.

本，這是克里斯。我將回答你問題的第一部分，然後我將把第二部分交給納文。首先，我首先要說的是，我們對 Paramount+ 所取得的成功感到非常自豪。本季營收成長 27%。這是我們第二季的獲利情況。

And for 2025, we're on track for full year domestic profitability. So we feel good about our position and our ability to remain a stand-alone. Now that being said, you can absolutely count on us to be opportunistic. We're looking at partnerships from a strategic lens to drive more value. And you can be sure that in deciding that, will take key factors into consideration.

到 2025 年，我們有望實現全年國內盈利。因此，我們對自己的地位和保持獨立的能力感到滿意。話雖如此，您絕對可以相信我們會提供機會主義。我們正在從策略角度看待合作關係，以推動更多價值。您可以確信，在做出決定時，我們會考慮關鍵因素。

But the ultimate value will be, is this going to drive increased value for our business today, our consumers and our investors. But as it stands today, we have a momentum driven by our strategy, our execution and are driven by our hit content. And so we feel good about our position as a stand-alone, and we'll continue to look for opportunities. Naveen?

但最終的價值是，這是否會為我們今天的業務、我們的消費者和投資者帶來更大的價值。但就目前情況而言，我們的策略、執行力和熱門內容推動了我們的發展動能。因此，我們對我們作為獨立公司的地位感到滿意，我們將繼續尋找機會。納文？

Great. Thanks, Chris. Ben, with regard to your question on D2C profitability in '25, as you said, we've made tremendous progress this year. Chris mentioned some of the stats. I think it's fair to say that progress has been really multidimensional between subscriber growth, improvements in ARPU, strong digital advertising growth.

偉大的。謝謝，克里斯。 Ben，關於您關於 25 年 D2C 盈利能力的問題，正如您所說，我們今年取得了巨大進步。克里斯提到了一些統計數據。我認為可以公平地說，用戶成長、ARPU 提高、數位廣告強勁成長等方面的進步確實是多方面的。

and, by the way, some real efficiency improvements on the marketing side of the equation.

順便說一句，行銷方面的一些真正的效率提高。

So I think we're well set up for 2025. And as you heard us say, we do continue to expect the business to get to domestic profitability next year. In terms of how that translates to the segment as a whole, I'd note a few things.

因此，我認為我們已經為 2025 年做好了準備。就如何將其轉化為整個細分市場而言，我要指出一些事情。

First, domestic, we do expect to be profitable next year. Pluto is already a profitable business. And so the real variable is what the P&L for the Paramount international business looks like. And I've generally described that as tracking somewhere in the sort of 12 to 18 months behind the domestic business, just given the relative maturity and the timing of when we launched internationally versus domestic. And I think that's still the right way to think about the business as a whole.

首先，在國內，我們預計明年將獲利。 Pluto 已經是一項有利可圖的業務。因此，真正的變數是派拉蒙國際業務的損益表。我一般將其描述為落後於國內業務 12 到 18 個月，只是考慮到相對成熟度以及我們在國際市場和國內市場推出的時間。我認為這仍然是思考整個業務的正確方式。

And obviously, we'll keep you updated on progress as we continue to move down that path.

顯然，隨著我們繼續沿著這條道路前進，我們將隨時向您通報最新進展。

Bryan Kraft, Deutsche Bank.

布萊恩·克拉夫特，德意志銀行。

I guess the last answer, Naveen, was a good segue to my question, which was you've been making various moves in international markets, but I think you've also been reviewing the strategy on a market-by-market basis. So I wanted to ask if at this point, there is a clear path forward yet for Paramount+ in international markets?

我想納文的最後一個答案很好地回答了我的問題，即您一直在國際市場上採取各種舉措，但我認為您也一直在逐個市場地審查該策略。所以我想問，目前派拉蒙+在國際市場上是否有明確的前進道路？

And if so, if you could talk about what that looks like and how it's differed from the approach up until now, and then just a housekeeping question, Naveen -- and sorry if I missed it, but would you be able to quantify for us the impact of the revenue for prior period international ad sales under that partner under reporting?

如果是這樣，你能否談談它是什麼樣子的以及它與迄今為止的方法有何不同，然後只是一個內務問題，納文——如果我錯過了，抱歉，但你能為我們量化嗎報告中該合作夥伴對前期國際廣告銷售收入的影響？

This is Chris. Listen, let me start by saying we think it is very important to globally monetize our content in the widest possible basis, and our success to date really proves that out. Now we're taking a market-to-market approach when we're looking through the lens of how do we drive the most value. In some cases, that will be an owned and operated situation where we control. In other cases, it will be a hard bundle, we're the market leader, and in other cases, it may make more sense for us to really go in the licensing model.

這是克里斯。聽著，首先我要說的是，我們認為在盡可能廣泛的基礎上在全球範圍內透過我們的內容貨幣化非常重要，我們迄今為止的成功確實證明了這一點。現在，當我們審視如何實現最大價值時，我們正在採取市場對市場的方法。在某些情況下，這將是我們控制的擁有和經營的情況。在其他情況下，這將是一個硬捆綁，我們是市場領導者，在其他情況下，對我們來說真正採用許可模式可能更有意義。

But you can rest assured, our goal here is to maximize the value for our hit content and look at all opportunities very opportunistically through that lens. And now I'll pass it on to Naveen for the second half of that.

但您可以放心，我們的目標是最大化我們熱門內容的價值，並透過這個鏡頭非常機會主義地看待所有機會。現在我將把後半部的內容交給 Naveen。

Yes. Brian, with respect to your question on the size of the underreported revenue in Q3, it is a relatively important factor in the year-over-year trend for international advertising, similar in magnitude to Q2, actually, I think a little larger in magnitude in Q3 versus Q2. It's -- I'd size it in the, call it, plus or minus $50 million range. And importantly, as I said in our prepared remarks, our forecast for next quarter assumes that there is no further true-up required due to the underreporting.

是的。 Brian，關於你關於第三季漏報收入規模的問題，這是國際廣告同比趨勢中一個相對重要的因素，與第二季度的規模類似，實際上，我認為規模更大一些在第三季度與第二季。我認為它的規模在正負 5000 萬美元的範圍內。重要的是，正如我在準備好的演講中所說，我們對下季度的預測假設，由於報告不足，不需要進一步進行調整。

Rich Greenfield, LightShed Partners.

里奇·格林菲爾德，LightShed 合夥人。

I've got a couple. First on Nielsen, I think you've dropped -- I think it's been now over a month, maybe it's been 5 weeks. I think the last time you had an impact, it was only like 14 or 15 days. was -- I think there's been a lot of speculation in the market that you've saved or that you're in the run rate savings are hundreds of millions of dollars on the cost side. But

我有一對。首先關於尼爾森，我認為你已經放棄了——我想現在已經一個多月了，也許已經五週了。我想上次你產生影響的時間只有 14 或 15 天。我認為市場上有很多猜測，認為您已經節省了費用，或者您在成本方面節省了數億美元。但

on the other side, I want to understand what's happening in terms of not being able to sell advertising against Nielsen data, have you seen any material impact in Q4 from not having Nielsen data? And I guess, related to any top advertisers that have left CBS or your cable networks because you can't sell against Nielsen, and I think you're using video app.

另一方面，我想了解無法根據尼爾森數據銷售廣告方面發生的情況，您是否看到第四季度沒有尼爾森數據帶來的任何重大影響？我想，這與任何離開哥倫比亞廣播公司或有線網路的頂級廣告商有關，因為你無法針對尼爾森進行銷售，而且我認為你正在使用視訊應用程式。

And then just maybe a housekeeping question for Chris or George, I guess. On the TV media side of the equation, I think everyone's trying to understand sort of the potential of cost cutting longer term. Could you just give us a sense in TV media today, how many employees roughly do you still have in that division after all of the cost cuts that you've done to date?

我想，然後可能只是克里斯或喬治的家政問題。在電視媒體方面，我認為每個人都在試圖了解長期削減成本的潛力。您能否在今天的電視媒體中向我們介紹一下，在迄今為止進行的所有成本削減之後，該部門大約還有多少員工？

Rich, it's George. I'll take this. So starting with Nielsen. I want to level set this really is not about affordability. It's about getting the value we need for what we pay.

里奇，是喬治。我要這個。那就從尼爾森開始吧。我想澄清這確實與負擔能力無關。這是為了讓我們付出的代價來獲得我們所需要的價值。

And I think it's important to consider all of this in the context of the media industry. I mean as we all know, linear audiences, especially basic cable linear, are declining and shifting to streaming. This, of course, is going to affect how we look at the appropriate spend here.

我認為在媒體行業的背景下考慮所有這些很重要。我的意思是，眾所周知，線性觀眾，尤其是基本的有線線性觀眾，正在下降並轉向串流媒體。當然，這將影響我們如何看待這裡的適當支出。

I mean, for example, we wouldn't want the Nielsen fee for certain networks to be greater than the ad revenue those networks actually generate. Now as to your point on impact, we haven't seen any adverse impact on ad revenue to date, and we don't expect a material impact in Q4. But I do want to be clear, Rich that we do recognize that Nielsen can be a valuable resource, it's just that the economics have to make sense for the business.

我的意思是，例如，我們不希望某些網路的尼爾森費用高於這些網路實際產生的廣告收入。至於您關於影響的觀點，迄今為止，我們尚未看到廣告收入受到任何不利影響，我們預計第四季度不會產生重大影響。但我確實想澄清，里奇，我們確實認識到尼爾森可以成為寶貴的資源，只是經濟學必須對業務有意義。

Now as to your second question, (inaudible) setting right now, the number is about 6,000-plus in domestic and about 3,000-plus, now you have to remember that, that also big sports production infrastructure and our 27 local stations, which obviously require a lot of employees as well. But as Chris mentioned before, we're

現在關於你的第二個問題，（聽不清楚）現在的情況，國內大約有6000多個，大約有3000多個，現在你必須記住，還有大型體育生產基礎設施和我們27個地方電視台，這顯然也需要大量員工。但正如克里斯之前提到的，我們

(technical difficulty)

（技術難度）

is there a second question about TV media, I'm sorry, operator next question please.

還有關於電視媒體的第二個問題嗎？

Steven Cahall, Wells Fargo.

史蒂文卡霍爾，富國銀行。

So another 1 on streaming. The S4 indicated that 1 of the parties might have been interested in a combination or even licensing Paramount+. And you've done bundles. We've seen a lot of bundles in the industry. I don't think we've actually seen any app integration or streaming integration deals.

所以還有一個關於串流媒體的 1。 S4 表明，其中一方可能對合併甚至許可 Paramount+ 感興趣。而且你已經完成了捆綁。我們在業界看到過很多捆綁包。我認為我們實際上沒有看到任何應用程式整合或串流媒體整合交易。

So I'm wondering how you think about that. One of your peers also has a streaming product that has a lot of sports, has a good film library.

所以我想知道你對此有何看法。你的一位同行也有一個串流媒體產品，有很多體育賽事，有一個很好的電影庫。

It seems like very strong customer overlap. So how do you think about the opportunities in streaming to go beyond just bundle deals and into something that's a little bit deeper from a consumer perspective.

客戶重疊似乎非常嚴重。那麼，您如何看待串流媒體的機會，使其超越捆綁交易，並從消費者的角度進入更深入的領域。

And then, Naveen, just an accounting question, what's the method for allocating content costs like sports and series between DTC and TV media when the air on both. You're growing revenue and subscribers so strongly at Paramount+, and you've given the domestic profitability guidance. So just wondering if there's a way for us to think about how content expense grows there since it's shared between the 2 segments.

然後，納文，只是一個會計問題，當 DTC 和電視媒體同時播出時，如何在體育和連續劇等內容之間分配內容成本？派拉蒙+的營收和訂戶成長如此強勁，並且給出了國內獲利能力指引。因此，我想知道是否有辦法讓我們考慮內容費用如何成長，因為內容費用是在兩個細分市場之間共享的。

Steve, it's Chris. I'll take the first part of that question, and then I'll pass it to Naveen. As we talked about, we are seeing real momentum at Paramount+ and across Pluto, we've got great growth, second quarter profitability and on track in '25. So we feel really good about the position and frankly, our ability to remain as a stand-alone. Now you talk about bundles.

史蒂夫，是克里斯。我將回答該問題的第一部分，然後將其傳遞給納文。正如我們所討論的，我們看到了派拉蒙+和整個 Pluto 的真正勢頭，我們實現了巨大的增長，第二季度實現了盈利，並且在 25 年步入正軌。因此，我們對這個職位感到非常滿意，坦白說，我們有能力保持獨立。現在你談論捆綁。

And we've got some great partnerships and great bundles in the way of Walmart and with Delta Airlines. Now these are ones that are very specific that add incremental value to us, they bring new consumers and really enhance the value proposition from a total business perspective for us.

我們與沃爾瑪和達美航空建立了一些良好的合作夥伴關係和優質的捆綁服務。現在，這些都是非常具體的，可以為我們增加增量價值，它們帶來新的消費者，並從整體業務角度真正增強我們的價值主張。

Now that being said, you can always count on us to be strategically looking through the lens of creating value. Now part of that exercise is really to be opportunistic about both looking at things from a market-to-market perspective. and from a broader partnership perspective.

話雖如此，您始終可以信賴我們會從創造價值的角度進行策略性審視。現在，這項工作的一部分實際上是從市場到市場的角度看待事物，並保持機會主義。以及從更廣泛的夥伴關係角度來看。

And in doing that, we ask ourselves, is this the right market? Or is there something better that we can get in something more value. And you can count on us to continue to do that. But as of today, there's no change. We feel great about where we are, and we feel really strong about the position moving forward.

在這樣做的過程中，我們問自己，這是正確的市場嗎？或者有沒有更好的東西我們可以得到更有價值的東西。您可以信賴我們會繼續這樣做。但到今天為止，沒有任何變化。我們對自己所處的位置感覺很好，並且對未來的發展感到非常堅定。

Naveen?

納文？

Thanks, Chris. Steve, the question regarding how we allocate the cost of content that is shared between our streaming business and in our traditional linear businesses. I think there's a couple of important concepts to understand. Number one, it does differ somewhat based on the type of content. But it's all based on the principle that the allocations of that cost should reflect the relative value of the content windows that each of the platforms has rights to.

謝謝，克里斯。史蒂夫，關於我們如何分配串流媒體業務和傳統線性業務之間共享的內容成本的問題。我認為有幾個重要的概念需要理解。第一，它確實根據內容類型有所不同。但這一切都基於這樣的原則：成本的分配應該反映每個平台有權獲得的內容視窗的相對價值。

So what that means is that effectively, as more of the viewership moves to streaming, you will see more of the cost being allocated to streaming and moving away from linear. And that's certainly been reflected in the way that we do that allocation for sports, for movies, library and the like.

因此，這實際上意味著，隨著越來越多的觀眾轉向串流媒體，您將看到更多的成本被分配給串流媒體並逐漸遠離線性。這當然反映在我們對運動、電影、圖書館等的分配方式。

Michael Morris, Guggenheim.

麥可·莫里斯，古根漢。

I wanted to ask first about the DTC trends. And specifically, you said you were pleased with the response so far from Charter customers. I'm hoping you can share a little bit more detail on whether the third quarter results reflected the full impact from that charter partnership at both TV and at DTC. And anything you can share about customer activation and any churn from charter subs who are already Paramount+ subs.

我想先問一下 DTC 的趨勢。具體來說，您說您對迄今為止 Charter 客戶的反應感到滿意。我希望您能分享更多細節，說明第三季業績是否反映了 TV 和 DTC 特許合作夥伴關係的全部影響。以及您可以分享的有關客戶啟動以及已經是派拉蒙+訂閱者的包機訂閱者的任何流失的任何資訊。

Those types of things I'd love to hear any additional detail you can share. And then secondly, it was a very strong EBITDA quarter, growing 20% year-over-year. kind of begs the question whether we should expect any incremental cost in 4Q to maybe offset the strength that you had in the third quarter, whether this outperformance kind of flows through to the full year.

對於這些類型的事情，我很想聽聽您可以分享的任何其他細節。其次，這是一個非常強勁的 EBITDA 季度，較去年同期成長 20%。這就引出了一個問題，我們是否應該預期第四季度的任何增量成本可能會抵消第三季的實力，這種優異的表現是否會延續到全年。

Yes. Mike, it's Naveen. I'll take both of those. Starting with the question on third quarter sub growth and specifically the impact of Charter. So -- just summing out a little bit, the 3.5 million subs that we added in the quarter, I'd note that there's a contribution from both international and domestic, as I noted in prepared remarks, international did have a new hard bundle that we signed.

是的。麥克，我是納文。我會接受這兩個。從第三季的子成長問題開始，特別是憲章的影響。所以 - 只是總結一下，我們在本季度添加的 350 萬訂閱者，我注意到國際和國內都有貢獻，正如我在準備好的發言中指出的那樣，國際確實有一個新的硬包我們簽了。

So that was an important contributor.

所以這是一個重要的貢獻者。

And on the domestic side, we did see some sub growth coming out of the Charter bundle, though I would note that it's still relatively early in terms of time since the launch of that bundle. And I expect the contribution will continue to grow over time. That being said, when we look at the first few months, if you will, we're actually quite pleased with the results, both in terms of the take-up from charter subs and the impact on direct sub acquisition.

在國內方面，我們確實看到了特許捆綁包帶來的一些次級增長，儘管我要指出的是，自從該捆綁包推出以來，現在還相對較早。我預計隨著時間的推移，貢獻將繼續增長。話雖這麼說，當我們回顧前幾個月時，如果你願意的話，我們實際上對結果非常滿意，無論是在包機潛艇的吸收還是對直接潛艇收購的影響方面。

So we continue to like the trends there. Then moving to your second question on fourth quarter and how that is impacted by some of the overperformance in the third quarter.

所以我們繼續看好那裡的趨勢。然後轉向第四季度的第二個問題，以及第三季的一些超額表現對其有何影響。

Let me give you sort of a big picture answer on that, too. If you think about the third quarter, the overperformance was really driven by the DTC segment, which came in better than we expected. As I mentioned earlier, that's multidimensional.

讓我也給你一個大致的答案。如果你想想第三季度，你會發現超額表現實際上是由 DTC 部門推動的，該部門的表現比我們預期的要好。正如我之前提到的，這是多維的。

But in particular, we saw some real strength in marketing efficiency that we were able to realize in the quarter. I would say that the restructuring work had a relatively modest impact in Q3, just given the timing of when those actions were taken more of that benefit is going to be realized in Q4.

但特別是，我們在本季實現了行銷效率方面的真正優勢。我想說，重組工作在第三季的影響相對較小，只是考慮到採取這些行動的時間，更多的好處將在第四季實現。

So then if you think about Q4 specifically, there are some moving pieces that are probably worth calling out. First, some of the tailwinds, we will see more of that restructuring benefit that I mentioned. There will also be, as you would anticipate some real strength in political advertising that will benefit Q4.

因此，如果你具體考慮第四季度，有一些可能值得一提的動態部分。首先，一些有利因素，我們將看到更多我提到的重組好處。正如您預期的那樣，政治廣告也會出現一些真正的優勢，這將使第四季度受益。

And Q4 tends to be relative to the first 3 quarters of the year, the strongest quarter for advertising generally. And so I think that will benefit us relative to Q3. There are a couple of headwinds to keep in mind. We will have higher content expenses in Q4 than we did in Q3, just given the timing of sports and some of the streaming originals.

第四季往往是相對於今年前三個季度而言的，前三個季度是廣告業務最強勁的季度。因此，我認為這將使我們相對於第三季受益。有一些不利因素需要記住。考慮到體育賽事和一些串流原創節目的時間安排，我們第四季度的內容支出將比第三季度更高。

And as I mentioned, we do not expect to have any incremental true-ups for past period under reporting on those third-party advertising partnerships. And then there is some shift of marketing expense from Q3 into Q4. But when you put all of that together, I think the key takeaways for you should be that number one, the vast majority of the overperformance that we saw in Q3, I do expect to flow through to the full year. And number two, I think we're really well set up for 2025, particularly given the progress in B2C and the significant improvements that we've made in profitability for that part of the business.

正如我所提到的，我們預計在報告這些第三方廣告合作夥伴關係時不會對過去一段時間進行任何增量調整。然後行銷費用從第三季轉移到第四季。但當你把所有這些放在一起時，我認為你的關鍵收穫應該是第一，我們在第三季度看到的絕大多數超額表現，我確實預計會延續到全年。第二，我認為我們已經為 2025 年做好了充分準備，特別是考慮到 B2C 領域的進展以及我們在這部分業務的盈利能力方面取得的顯著改善。

Michael Ng, Goldman Sachs.

邁克爾吳，高盛。

I wanted to just follow up on the last question around DTC efficiencies. Naveen, you talked about the marketing efficiencies. I was wondering if you could just expand on that a little bit in DTC because obviously, DTC OpEx was an area of positive surprise. And then relatedly, I was wondering if any of the programming charges taken earlier in the year had any potential benefit to cost amortization for DTC in the quarter as well?

我想跟進有關 DTC 效率的最後一個問題。納文，您談到了行銷效率。我想知道您是否可以在 DTC 中對此進行一些擴展，因為顯然，DTC OpEx 是一個令人驚訝的領域。與此相關的是，我想知道今年早些時候收取的任何編程費用是否也對本季度 DTC 的成本攤銷有任何潛在的好處？

Yes, sure. Mike, I'll take both of those. The D2C improvement that we saw, as I mentioned, did benefit from marketing efficiency, but there's kind of a bigger story behind that. which relates to the composition of our subscriber base.

是的，當然。麥克，我兩個都要。正如我所提到的，我們看到的 D2C 改進確實受益於行銷效率，但這背後還有更大的故事。這與我們的訂戶群的組成有關。

We've talked about for some time now, the importance of having a diverse subscriber base that spans multiple channels, the direct channel, partner-based distribution on platforms like Amazon, Roku, Apple, hard bundles, both domestically and internationally, commercial bundles like what we have with Walmart+ and when you have that sort of go-to-market approach, there are some real benefits with respect to acquisition costs and churn.

我們已經討論了一段時間了，擁有跨多個管道、直接管道、基於合作夥伴的亞馬遜、Roku、Apple 等平台上的分銷、國內和國際硬捆綁、商業捆綁的多元化訂戶基礎的重要性就像我們在沃爾瑪+上所做的那樣，當你採用這種進入市場的方法時，在收購成本和客戶流失方面會帶來一些真正的好處。

And I think we're starting to see those fall into the P&L of the business, which is why I called out the marketing efficiencies, that is enabled by the fact that we have these channels where we're able to acquire and keep subscribers very, very efficiently, and that's really flowing through to the bottom line.

我認為我們開始看到這些落入業務的損益表中，這就是為什麼我強調行銷效率，這是因為我們擁有這些管道，我們能夠在這些管道中獲得併留住訂閱者，非常有效，而且這確實流向了底線。

And then with respect to your second question regarding programming charges, yes, that does obviously have some and more benefit in future periods. But I think we're really focused on driving the top line growth, continued sub growth, ARPU growth and capturing these improvements in marketing and churn reduction, as a way of continuing to drive the business toward profitability.

關於你關於程式費用的第二個問題，是的，這顯然在未來一段時間內有一些甚至更多的好處。但我認為我們真正專注於推動營收成長、持續的子市場成長、ARPU 成長，並抓住行銷和減少客戶流失方面的這些改進，以此作為繼續推動業務實現盈利的一種方式。

Thanks, Naveen. This is Brian. And on behalf of my fellow co CEOs, we'd like to thank you all for joining the call today. We had another very strong quarter with continued strength in streaming, improving momentum in advertising and meaningful progress in making the business more efficient, all of which sets us up well for the future.

謝謝，納文。這是布萊恩.我們謹代表我的聯合執行長同事，感謝大家今天加入電話會議。我們又度過了一個非常強勁的季度，串流媒體業務持續強勁，廣告勢頭不斷增強，業務效率提高方面取得了有意義的進展，所有這些都為我們的未來奠定了良好的基礎。

All at the same time, while we've been doing what we do best, which is making some of the biggest and broadest hit TV series and blockbuster films, thanks to our tremendously talented teams and creative partners. We look forward to updating you all on our progress again soon. Thank you, and have a great day.

同時，我們一直在做我們最擅長的事情，即製作一些最受歡迎、最熱門的電視劇和大片，這要歸功於我們才華橫溢的團隊和創意合作夥伴。我們期待很快能再次向大家通報我們的進展。謝謝您，祝您有美好的一天。

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

謝謝。今天的電話會議到此結束。感謝大家的加入。現在您可以斷開線路。