Starz Entertainment Corp (STRZ) 2025 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good day, and welcome to the Lionsgate third-quarter 2025 earnings call. (Operator Instructions) Please note that this event is being recorded.

大家好，歡迎參加獅門影業 2025 年第三季財報電話會議。（操作員指示）請注意，此事件正在被記錄。

I would now like to turn the conference over to Nilay Shah, EVP of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

現在，我想將會議交給投資者關係執行副總裁 Nilay Shah。請繼續。

Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us for the Lionsgate Studios Corporation and Lionsgate Entertainment Corporation fiscal 2025 third-quarter conference call. We'll begin with opening remarks from our CEO, Jon Feltheimer; followed by remarks from our CFO, Jimmy Barge. After their remarks, we'll open the call for questions.

午安.感謝您參加獅門影業公司和獅門娛樂公司 2025 財年第三季電話會議。首先由我們的執行長 Jon Feltheimer 致開幕詞；然後由我們的財務長吉米巴奇 (Jimmy Barge) 致詞。在他們發言之後，我們將開始提問。

Also joining us on the call today are Vice Chairman, Michael Burns; COO, Brian Goldsmith; Chairman of the TV Group, Kevin Beggs; Chairman of the Motion Picture Group, Adam Fogelson; and President of Worldwide TV and Digital Distribution, Jim Packer. And from Starz, we have President and CEO, Jeffrey Hirsch; CFO, Scott MacDonald; and President of Domestic Networks, Alison Hoffman.

今天參加電話會議的還有副董事長邁克爾·伯恩斯 (Michael Burns)、首席營運官布萊恩·戈德史密斯 (Brian Goldsmith)、電視集團董事長凱文·貝格斯 (Kevin Beggs)、電影集團董事長亞當·福格爾森 (Adam Fogelson) 以及全球電視和數位發行總裁吉姆·帕克 (Jim Packer)。來自 Starz 的有總裁兼執行長 Jeffrey Hirsch、財務長 Scott MacDonald 和 Domestic Networks 總裁 Alison Hoffman。

The matters discussed on the call also include forward-looking statements, including those regarding the performance of future fiscal years. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. This includes the risk factors set forth in our public filings for Lionsgate Studios Corporation and Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation.

電話會議討論的事項還包括前瞻性陳述，包括有關未來財政年度業績的陳述。此類聲明受到許多風險和不確定性的影響。由於各種因素，實際結果可能與前瞻性陳述中所述的結果有重大差異。這包括我們在獅門影業公司和獅門娛樂公司的公開文件中列出的風險因素。

The companies undertake no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect any future events or circumstances.

本公司不承擔公開發布這些前瞻性陳述的任何修訂結果以反映任何未來事件或情況的義務。

I'll now turn the call over to Jon.

我現在將電話轉給喬恩。

Thank you, Nilay, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us. I'm pleased to report a solid quarter in which our business has performed well in a challenging environment. Our Motion Picture business is back on track, converting our last three mid-budget films to significant profitability with solid box office performance, strong business models, and steady execution. Our Television business continues to fight its way through the market correction, leaning into an extensive portfolio of content, shifting its business models, diversifying its buyer mix and cutting costs.

謝謝你，Nilay，大家下午好。感謝您加入我們。我很高興地報告，本季我們的業務在充滿挑戰的環境中表現良好。我們的電影業務重回正軌，憑藉穩健的票房表現、強大的商業模式和穩健的執行力，我們最近的三部中等預算電影已實現顯著盈利。我們的電視業務繼續在市場調整中奮力前行，依靠廣泛的內容組合，轉變商業模式，實現買家結構多樣化並削減成本。

Together, they contributed to a very busy quarter, with a total of 16 scripted television series, 36 unscripted series, and 9 films in production. Starz returned to domestic OTT subscriber growth on a sequential basis and continue to expand its distribution footprint with key partner renewals and new bundling deals. And our library turned in another stellar performance with a record $954 million in trailing 12-month revenue as we continue to pivot to new buyers, utilize innovative windowing strategies and incorporate advanced technologies.

他們共同打造了一個非常繁忙的季度，共製作了 16 部劇本電視連續劇、36 部非劇本連續劇和 9 部電影。Starz 的國內 OTT 用戶數量連續成長，並透過與主要合作夥伴續約和新的捆綁交易繼續擴大其分銷範圍。隨著我們繼續轉向新買家、利用創新的窗口策略並融入先進技術，我們的圖書館再次取得了出色的表現，過去 12 個月的收入創下了 9.54 億美元的新高。

Now, let me update you on each of our businesses. Within our Motion Picture Group, Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, and Flight Risk all demonstrated our strength in the mid-budget space. Last week, we announced plans to develop Den of Thieves 3, and we're already looking forward to our terrific fiscal '26 slate. The response to our early materials on Ballerina, the first film spin-off of our John Wick franchise, indicates that it delivers the level of action and excitement John Wick fans have come to expect. Ballerina opens on June 6.

現在，讓我向大家介紹一下我們各自的業務。在我們的電影組內，《史上最佳聖誕大片》、《賊巢 2：黑豹》和《飛行風險》都展現了我們在中等預算領域的實力。上週，我們宣布了開發《盜賊巢穴 3》的計劃，並且我們已經開始期待 26 財年的出色成績。《疾速追殺》系列的第一部衍生電影《芭蕾舞女演員》的早期素材反響表明，它達到了《疾速追殺》粉絲們所期待的動作和刺激程度。《芭蕾舞女演員》將於 6 月 6 日上映。

Ruben Fleischer just showed us an exciting new director's cut of the third installment of Now You See Me, extending a franchise whose first two films grossed nearly $700 million at the Worldwide Box Office. And we're well on our way to completing production on our highly anticipated event movie, Michael.

魯本弗雷斯徹剛剛向我們展示了《驚天魔盜團》第三部激動人心的新導演剪輯版，該系列電影的前兩部在全球票房收入近 7 億美元。我們備受期待的活動電影《麥可》的製作正在順利完成。

Rounding out a return to a strong, balanced and diversified fiscal '26 slate, Francis Lawrence has completed The Long Walk, adapted from the classic Stephen King thriller. Aziz Ansari's rag-to-riches comedy, Good Fortune, starring Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogen, and Ansari, is set for an October 17 release. And Paul Feig is shooting the thriller, The Housemaid, adapted from the runaway best seller and starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried for a Christmas Day release.

法蘭西斯勞倫斯完成了根據史蒂芬金經典驚悚小說改編的《漫漫長路》，為 26 財年強勁、均衡、多元化的回歸畫上了圓滿的句號。由阿茲安薩裡執導的白手起家喜劇片《好運》由基努李維、賽斯羅根和安薩裡主演，預定 10 月 17 日上映。保羅費格正在拍攝驚悚片《下女》，該片改編自暢銷書，由西德尼斯威尼和阿曼達塞弗里德主演，將於聖誕節上映。

In addition, we continue to welcome incredible new talent to the Lionsgate family, including Margot Robbie, whose LuckyChap banner is developing Monopoly; acclaimed filmmaker, Luca Guadagnino, directing the remake of American Psycho; and Grammy-winning recording superstar, The Weeknd, whose trailer for Hurry Up Tomorrow opened to a huge response this week. And as the demand for movies increases, the post-theatrical window becomes more valuable, and our slate is poised to benefit.

此外，我們繼續歡迎令人難以置信的新人才加入獅門影業大家庭，包括瑪格特·羅比 (Margot Robbie)，她的 LuckyChap 品牌正在開發《大富翁》；著名電影製片人盧卡·瓜達尼諾 (Luca Guadagnino)，執導《美國精神病人》的翻拍；以及格萊美獎唱片《流行》。隨著電影需求的增加，上映後的時間窗口變得更加寶貴，我們的影片也將從中受益。

Last week, we announced the extension through calendar year 2028 of our exclusive Pay 1 deal with Starz and a new exclusive pay deal with Amazon Prime Video immediately following the Starz window. The new agreements are a win-win for everyone, with Starz getting our films closer to their initial theatrical release and Amazon Prime Video securing an early window for several films from our 2025 slate and the full lineup of our 2026 through 2028 slates. The combination of these two deals will significantly increase the contribution from our Pay Television window.

上週，我們宣布將與 Starz 的獨家 Pay 1 協議延長至 2028 年，並在 Starz 窗口期結束後立即與 Amazon Prime Video 達成新的獨家付費協議。新的協議對各方來說都是雙贏的，Starz 使我們的電影更接近首次影院上映，而 Amazon Prime Video 則確保了我們 2025 年片單中的幾部電影以及 2026 年至 2028 年片單中全部電影的早期上映窗口。這兩項交易的結合將大大增加我們付費電視窗口的貢獻。

We continue to capitalize on ancillary opportunities for our franchises with a number of exciting developments in the quarter. We're opening the John Wick experience in Las Vegas later this month, which we expect to be very successful and serve as the model for similar John Wick experience around the country.

我們繼續利用特許經營的輔助機會，在本季度取得了一系列令人興奮的進展。我們將於本月晚些時候在拉斯維加斯推出約翰威克體驗，我們預計它將非常成功，並成為全國各地類似約翰威克體驗的典範。

The Hunger Games stage played debuts in London this fall. Dirty Dancing and La La Land lead a lineup of stage plays place targeted for Broadway beginning in 2026, and we're making great progress on the John Wick AAA video game. Together, I expect these ancillary opportunities to deliver significant incremental contribution to our business as they come online.

《飢餓遊戲》舞台劇於今年秋天在倫敦首演。《辣身舞》和《樂來樂愛你》等一系列舞台劇計畫於 2026 年開始在百老匯上演，而我們在《疾速追殺》 AAA 電子遊戲的製作上也取得了巨大進展。總之，我希望這些輔助機會上線後能為我們的業務帶來顯著的增量貢獻。

Turning to Television. Our current series, Ghosts and The Rookie, continue to be network leaders in their fourth and seventh season on CBS and ABC, respectively, with The Rookie spin-off and development at ABC from series creator, Alexi Hawley. Hawley has another new series, The Envoy, in fast track development at Hulu.

轉向電視。我們目前的系列劇《幽靈》和《菜鳥警察》分別在 CBS 和 ABC 播出，目前已播出第四季和第七季，繼續保持網絡領先地位，其中《菜鳥警察》是該劇的衍生劇，由該劇的創作者 Alexi Hawley 在 ABC 開發。霍利的另一部新劇《特使》正在 Hulu 快速開發中。

We ramped production in the quarter on three highly anticipated series, Spartacus and The Hunting Wives for Starz, and Seth Rogen's comedy, The Studio, debuting on Apple TV+ on March 26. Pivoting to fresh business models for new buyers, we're currently shooting The Rainmaker in partnership with Blumhouse for USA Network and preparing to start production on a new version of Robin Hood for MGM+.

本季度，我們加大了三部備受期待的電視劇的製作力度，分別為 Starz 頻道製作的《斯巴達克斯》和《獵殺妻子》，以及塞斯·羅根的喜劇《工作室》，該劇於 3 月 26 日在 Apple TV+ 上首播。為了吸引新買家，我們轉向了全新的商業模式，目前，我們正在與 Blumhouse 合作為 USA Network 拍攝《雨人》，並準備為 MGM+ 製作新版《羅賓漢》。

In our Lionsgate alternative unscripted business, led by Craig Piligian, we're coming off a very successful first season of Martin Scorsese's acclaimed docuseries, The Saints, for Fox Nation; and Scamanda, a four-part docuseries based on Lionsgate Sound's number one true crime podcast recently launched on ABC and Hulu.

在克雷格·皮利吉安 (Craig Piligian) 的帶領下，獅門影業的另類非劇本業務方面，我們剛剛為 Fox Nation 製作了馬丁·斯科塞斯 (Martin Scorsese) 廣受好評的紀錄片《聖徒》第一季，並取得了巨大成功；此外，我們還製作了四集紀錄片《斯卡曼達》，該片最近改編自網影業在 ABC 和 Hulu 影門上推出的真實主角 ABC 和 Hulu。

And we've been refilling our TV pipeline with a strong development slate led by Stephenie Meyer's Twilight animated TV series, Midnight Sun for Netflix; the Power Universe Prequel, Power Origins for Starz; Nurse Jackie at Amazon; the John Wick: Under the High Table TV series; the TV remake of our hit Draft Day movie with LeBron James and Maverick Carter SpringHill; a TV series adaptation of Oldboy led by Creator Park Chan-Wook; and a limited series Chronicling Shohei Ohtani interpreter gambling story.

我們一直在透過強大的開發計劃來補充我們的電視資源，其中包括史蒂芬妮·梅爾的《暮光之城》動畫電視連續劇、Netflix 的《午夜陽光》、Starz的《力量宇宙前傳》和《力量起源》、亞馬遜的《護士當家》、約翰·威克：高桌之下電視連續劇、勒布朗·詹姆斯和馬弗里克·卡特·斯普林希爾主演的熱門選秀日電影的電視翻拍、由創作者樸贊鬱領導的《老男孩》電視連續劇改編，以及一部講述大谷翔平賭博故事的限定劇。

Bolstering our television group performance, we expect a strong growth year in fiscal '26 from 3 Arts, a leader in the talent management and production space. The hit television series Mythic Quest from our 3 Arts/Lionsgate production partnership is performing well in its fourth season on Apple TV+. The Hunting Wives is being prepared for its Starz debut. And behind them, we have a strong pipeline of scripted series development. We intend to diversify the business into new areas of representation through a combination of organic growth and M&A to further cement 3 Art's leading position in one of the hottest sectors in the business.

為了增強我們電視集團的業績，我們預計人才管理和製作領域的領導者 3 Arts 在 26 財年將實現強勁成長。我們與 3 Arts/Lionsgate 合作製作的熱門電視劇《Mythic Quest》第四季在 Apple TV+ 上表現不俗。《狩獵妻子》正在為 Starz 的首播做準備。在他們背後，我們擁有強大的劇本系列開發管道。我們打算透過有機成長和併購相結合的方式，將業務多元化，拓展新的代理商領域，進一步鞏固 3 Art 在業界最熱門領域之一的領先地位。

Turning to Starz. A return to domestic OTT subscriber growth in the quarter was driven by the strong performances of the seventh season of Outlander; the drama series Three Women based on The New York Times Bestseller; and a strong slate of first-run movies from the Lionsgate theatrical output deal.

轉向 Starz。本季國內 OTT 用戶成長的回歸得益於《外鄉人》第七季的強勁表現、根據《紐約時報》暢銷書改編的電視劇《三個女人》以及獅門影業影院輸出協議中一系列強勁的首映電影。

On the distribution front, Starz has closed several new deals in the past few weeks, including two with Prime Video for Max and BET+ bundles, with VIZIO for an AMC+ bundle, and with YouTube TV for a strategic offer time to Super Bowl Weekend. Starz also secured three key linear partner renewals in the quarter.

在發行方面，Starz 在過去幾週內達成了幾項新交易，包括與 Prime Video 達成的 Max 和 BET+ 捆綁包交易、與 VIZIO 達成的 AMC+ 捆綁包交易，以及與 YouTube TV 達成的超級碗週末戰略優惠時間交易。Starz 也在本季與三家重要的線性合作夥伴續約。

As Starz prepares for the separation, it's instructive to recap how the platform has evolved over the past five years, successfully converting its revenue from 70% linear to 70% digital, more than doubling its domestic OTT subscriber base, achieving leadership in its two key demos with a strong core group of original hit series, ramping up a slate of world-class studio movies and establishing itself as a bundling partner of choice, all while remaining consistently profitable.

在 Starz 準備拆分之際，回顧一下該平台在過去五年中的發展歷程很有啟發，成功地將其收入從 70% 的線性收入轉變為 70% 的數位收入，使其國內 OTT 用戶群增加了一倍以上，憑藉一批強大的原創熱門劇集核心在其兩個關鍵演示中取得領導地位，推出了一系列世界級的首選合作夥伴關係，並確立了其持續的首選夥伴關係。

Now, the industry has reached an inflection point and the next phase of streaming plays to star it strengths, more bundles, the ability to provide digital services to linear platforms, and the opportunity to capitalize on a shifting and disruptive environment to scale its business.

現在，該行業已經到達了一個轉折點，串流媒體的下一階段將發揮其優勢、更多的捆綁服務、向線性平台提供數位服務的能力，以及利用不斷變化和顛覆性的環境來擴大業務的機會。

Turning to the separation. We're still in regulatory review of our joint proxy registration statement with the SEC. Given this timing, we will need to update the proxy with financials as of December 31, 2024, which will take a few additional weeks. Pending further SEC review, we expect this would lead to a shareholder meeting in mid- to late-April with separation shortly thereafter.

轉向分離。我們仍在與美國證券交易委員會對聯合代理註冊聲明進行監管審查。考慮到這個時間安排，我們需要使用截至 2024 年 12 月 31 日的財務狀況來更新代理，這將需要幾週的時間。等待美國證券交易委員會進一步審查，我們預計這將導致 4 月中下旬召開股東大會，並在不久後進行分離。

In closing, our hearts go out to the thousands of people and businesses impacted by the recent LA wildfires. A number of our employees, talent, and business partners lost their homes, and many more were affected. But I'm very proud of how our employees came together in this time of crisis, not only to help their colleagues, but with an employee-driven grassroots initiatives, serving the community with clothes and other basic goods, benefiting more than 500 people impacted by the fires. It's this aspect of our culture, resilience, innovation, compassion, and teamwork that gives me confidence that we will continue to rise to the occasion and thrive in the year ahead.

最後，我們向最近洛杉磯山火中受到影響的數千名民眾和企業表示深切慰問。我們的許多員工、人才和商業夥伴失去了家園，還有更多的人受到了影響。但我為我們的員工在危機時刻團結一致感到非常自豪，他們不僅幫助同事，而且還發起了由員工推動的基層倡議，為社區提供衣服和其他基本物品，使 500 多名受火災影響的人們受益。正是我們的文化、韌性、創新、同情心和團隊合作精神讓我相信，我們將繼續迎接挑戰，在未來一年蓬勃發展。

Now, I'd like to turn things over to Jimmy.

現在，我想把事情交給吉米。

Thanks, Jon, and good afternoon, everyone. I'll briefly discuss our third quarter-financial results and provide an update on the balance sheet. For the quarter, Lionsgate's consolidated revenue was $971 million, adjusted OIBDA was $144 million, and operating income was $36 million. Reported fully diluted earnings per share was a loss of $0.09 per share, and fully diluted adjusted earnings per share was a profit of $0.28 per share. Net cash flow used in operating activities was $119 million, while adjusted free cash flow for the quarter was a positive $13 million.

謝謝，喬恩，大家下午好。我將簡要討論我們的第三季財務表現並提供資產負債表的最新資訊。本季度，獅門影業的綜合收入為 9.71 億美元，調整後的 OIBDA 為 1.44 億美元，營業收入為 3,600 萬美元。報告的完全稀釋每股收益為每股虧損 0.09 美元，完全稀釋調整後每股收益為每股獲利 0.28 美元。經營活動所用淨現金流為 1.19 億美元，而本季調整後的自由現金流為正 1,300 萬美元。

We are reiterating our fiscal 2025 outlook for both Lionsgate Studios and Starz. Specifically, we continue to forecast that Lionsgate Studios will generate between $300 million to $320 million of adjusted OIBDA this fiscal year, while Starz North American business is expected to generate approximately $200 million of adjusted OIBDA.

我們重申對獅門影業和 Starz 的 2025 財年展望。具體而言，我們繼續預測獅門影業本財年將產生 3 億至 3.2 億美元的調整後 OIBDA，而 Starz 北美業務預計將產生約 2 億美元的調整後 OIBDA。

Now, let me briefly discuss in detail the fiscal third-quarter performance of our Studio and Media Networks businesses compared to the previous year quarter. Starting with the Studio business, quarterly revenue grew 3.2% year over year to $714 million, while Studio adjusted OIBDA grew 45% to $112 million. As Jon mentioned, trailing 12-month library revenue for the quarter was $954 million, and this represents an increase of 22% relative to last year's Q3 trailing 12 months revenue.

現在，讓我簡要詳細地討論一下我們的工作室和媒體網絡業務與去年同期相比的第三財季業績。從工作室業務開始，季度營收年增 3.2% 至 7.14 億美元，而工作室調整後的 OIBDA 成長 45% 至 1.12 億美元。正如喬恩所提到的，本季過去 12 個月的圖書館收入為 9.54 億美元，與去年第三季過去 12 個月的收入相比成長了 22%。

Breaking down the Studio businesses, let's start with Motion Picture. Motion Picture revenue and segment profit for the quarter came in at $309 million and $84 million, respectively. Revenue and segment profit expectedly declined as the previous year's third quarter benefited from the release of Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and Saw X. On a sequential basis, the Motion Picture Group has rebounded nicely with strength in both wide theatrical and library distribution.

讓我們先從電影業務開始，來分析一下電影製片廠的業務。本季電影業務收入和部門利潤分別為 3.09 億美元和 8,400 萬美元。由於去年第三季受惠於《飢餓遊戲：歌鳥與蛇的歌謠》和《電鋸驚魂》的上映，收入和部門利潤預計會下降。與上一季相比，電影集團憑藉著廣泛的影院和圖書館發行的強勁表現強勁反彈。

We are particularly encouraged by the recent successes of our midsized budget releases. In particular, the performance of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which nicely outperformed our internal estimates, as well as the more recent releases of Den of Thieves 2 and Flight Risk, reaffirmed the strength of our risk-mitigated film release model.

我們對近期中型預算發行所取得的成功感到特別鼓舞。尤其是《史上最佳聖誕盛典》的表現遠遠超出了我們的內部預期，以及最近上映的《賊巢2》和《飛行風險》，再次證明了我們降低風險的電影發行模式的優勢。

Moving to TV. Quarterly television revenue of $405 million was up 63% year over year, while segment profit of $61 million was up significantly as we rebounded from last year's strike with strong growth in episodic deliveries, including The Studio, which airs on Apple TV in March; season seven of The Rookie; and season four of Ghost, among others.

轉向電視。季度電視收入為 4.05 億美元，同比增長 63%，而分部利潤為 6,100 萬美元，大幅增長，因為我們從去年的罷工中恢復過來，劇集交付量強勁增長，其中包括 3 月份在 Apple TV 上播出的《The Studio》、《The Rookie》第七季、《Ghost》第四季等。

Media Networks' quarterly revenue was $345 million, and segment profit was $25 million. Revenue was expectedly down year over year due to the exit from substantially all of our international markets.

媒體網路的季度收入為 3.45 億美元，分部利潤為 2,500 萬美元。由於我們退出了幾乎所有的國際市場，預計收入將年減。

Quarterly North American revenue of $342 million was essentially flat year over year as OTT revenue growth was offset by linear pressure. North American segment profit of $26 million was down year over year, reflecting higher content amortization and increased film output, partially offset by lower marketing spend.

由於 OTT 營收成長被線性壓力所抵消，北美季度營收為 3.42 億美元，與去年同期基本持平。北美分部利潤為 2,600 萬美元，年減，反映內容攤提增加和電影產量增加，但被行銷支出減少部分抵銷。

Looking briefly at subscriber trends. Starz ended the quarter with 12.6 million North American OTT subs, which represented sequential growth of 170,000 subscribers. We ended the quarter with 20 million total North American subscribers, a modest sequential decrease reflecting continued linear pressure.

簡單看一下用戶趨勢。本季結束時，Starz 的北美 OTT 用戶數量為 1,260 萬，季增了 17 萬。本季結束時，北美用戶總數為 2,000 萬，季比略有下降，反映出持續的線性壓力。

Now, let's take a look at the balance sheet. We ended the quarter with $2.4 billion of net debt at the consolidated company, which reflects $1.8 billion at the Studio and $568 million at Starz. The increase in Studio net debt reflects the expected use of cash associated with both the timing of post-strike content spend in theatrical releases.

現在，讓我們來看看資產負債表。本季結束時，合併後公司的淨債務為 24 億美元，其中 Studio 的淨債務為 18 億美元，Starz 的淨債務為 5.68 億美元。電影公司淨債務的增加反映了與罷工後影院上映內容支出時間相關的現金預期使用。

Starz net debt continued to meaningfully decline, representing $132 million reduction since the initial debt allocation last May. On a trailing 12-month basis, consolidated Lionsgate leverage at the end of the quarter was 6.5 times, while standalone Starz leverage in its North American business was 3.3 times.

Starz 淨債務持續大幅下降，自去年 5 月首次債務分配以來減少了 1.32 億美元。在過去 12 個月中，本季末獅門影業的合併槓桿率為 6.5 倍，而北美業務的獨立 Starz 槓桿率為 3.3 倍。

As we prepare for full separation, we are pleased to announce that the standalone capital structures for both Lionsgate Studios and Starz have been set. In this regard, we have obtained bank commitments for an $800 million asset-backed revolver at the Studio as well as a $300 million Term Loan A and a $150 million revolver at Starz. These facilities are poised to fund upon separation, with proceeds used to extinguish all of our remaining Lionsgate bank debt. The finance structures for both Lionsgate Studios and Starz have an average tenure of five years and provide both companies with efficient capital and significant flexibility for the foreseeable future.

在我們準備全面分離之際，我們很高興地宣布獅門影業和 Starz 的獨立資本結構已經確定。在這方面，我們已獲得銀行承諾，為該工作室提供 8 億美元的資產支持循環信貸，並為 Starz 提供 3 億美元的定期貸款 A 和 1.5 億美元的循環信貸。這些設施將在分離時投入資金，所得收益將用於償還我們剩餘的所有獅門影業銀行債務。獅門影業和 Starz 的融資結構平均期限為五年，為兩家公司在可預見的未來提供高效的資本和極大的靈活性。

Now, I'd like to turn the call over to Nilay for Q&A.

現在，我想將電話轉給 Nilay 進行問答。

(Operator Instructions) Steven Cahall, Wells Fargo.

（操作員指示）富國銀行的史蒂文·卡霍爾 (Steven Cahall)。

Thank you. Jimmy, maybe two for you. So first, I think the Studio EBITDA guide for '25 implies a pretty big quarter in the fiscal fourth quarter, maybe around $180 million in segment profit, a big step-up year on year, quarter on quarter kind of historically. I think there was also a recent library deal with Amazon Prime that was subsequent to the end of the last quarter. So just wondering if you could help us put the big step-up in segment profit at Studio in Q4 into context. Is it driven by film performance carryover? Is it driven by TV? Is it driven by library? All of the above? That would be really helpful.

謝謝。吉米，也許給你兩個。首先，我認為 25 年 Studio EBITDA 指南意味著第四財季業績相當可觀，分部利潤可能達到 1.8 億美元左右，從歷史上看，同比、環比都有大幅增長。我認為最近還與 Amazon Prime 達成了一項圖書館協議，該協議是在上個季度末之後達成的。所以我只是想了解一下您是否可以幫助我們了解 Studio 第四季分部利潤的大幅成長。這是由電影表演延續所驅動的嗎？它是由電視驅動的嗎？它是由庫驅動的嗎？上述所有的？那將會非常有幫助。

And then if you could just address the leverage as well. So Studio leverage was pretty elevated at the quarter. I know the fiscal second quarter was a tough one at Studio, and that's part of it plus the production loans. But as you prepare to separate, I guess, in April, where do you think you can get leverage to with Studio in the relative near term? Thank you.

然後，如果您能也解決一下槓桿問題的話。因此，本季工作室的槓桿率相當高。我知道第二財季對 Studio 來說是艱難的，這是部分原因，再加上製作貸款。但是，我想，當您準備在四月份分開時，您認為在相對短期內您可以在哪裡利用 Studio 的優勢？謝謝。

Thanks, Steven. A lot of good questions there, so I'll just take it from the top. First, in terms of the fourth quarter, you're right. As we said at the beginning of the year, it was going to be back-end weighted year and probably even more so than we envisioned at the very beginning of the year. And it's a very strong fourth quarter, okay? We feel good about that. It's really coming from strength in the film side of the business as well. Really all sectors, TV as well as Starz.

謝謝，史蒂文。那裡有很多好問題，所以我就從頭開始回答。首先，就第四季而言，你是對的。正如我們在年初所說的那樣，這將是後端加權的一年，甚至可能比我們在年初預想的還要嚴重。第四季表現非常強勁，對吧？我們對此感到很高興。這其實也源自於電影業務的實力。實際上是所有領域，電視以及 Starz。

On the Studio side, right, we had some really good carryover from some of the midsized films, right, in slate that's finishing out in the third quarter, performance in the fourth quarter as well that will provide benefit there.

在製片廠方面，我們從一些中型電影中獲得了非常好的收益，這些電影將在第三季結束，第四季的表現也將帶來好處。

We have, likewise, in TV, continuing post-strike lift that's coming with both scripted series. We have Ghosts season four and The Rookie season seven, which delivering remaining episodes. We're delivering season four of Acapulco, Hunting Wives, and Spartacus in Starz, and season three of Yellowjackets. So really a strong lineup there. And then in Starz, we have continuing positive growth in OTT subscriber growth as well as a full quarter context of the price increases as well as cost controls as well. So overall, looking strong on the fourth-quarter cadence.

同樣，在電視領域，我們也繼續享受襲擊後帶來的升溫，這兩部電視劇也都取得了不錯的成績。我們有《幽靈》第四季和《菜鳥警察》第七季，即將播出剩餘的劇集。我們將在 Starz 頻道播出《阿卡普爾科》、《獵妻》和《斯巴達克斯》的第四季，以及《黃蜂女》的第三季。所以那裡的陣容確實很強大。然後在 Starz，我們的 OTT 用戶成長持續呈正成長，整個季度的價格上漲和成本控制也保持穩定。因此總體而言，第四季度的節奏看起來強勁。

In terms of the Amazon Prime transaction, this is for calendar year releases 2025. So it's not a fourth-quarter matter for fiscal '25. And in fact, it starts in the back end of '26, but then mostly into fiscal '27. We're excited about that. I think it's a win-win for both Starz as well as for the Studio segment.

就亞馬遜 Prime 交易而言，這是針對 2025 年發布的日曆年。因此，這不是 25 財年第四季的事。事實上，它始於 26 年末，但主要持續到 27 財年。我們對此感到很興奮。我認為這對 Starz 和 Studio 部門來說都是雙贏的。

In terms of leverage, we think, as I noted on the call, when we get to separation, and you're right, this particular quarter, the Studio leverage was higher than it might have otherwise been. It's really a factor of trailing 12 months leverage, which will nicely increase as we go into the fourth quarter that we just spoke to, right? So you can have trailing 12 months increasing, it will naturally, obviously, de-lever as well. And likewise, we got a very strong fourth-quarter free cash flow context because we're kind of lapping some of the heavy content spend that we've had in a post-strike world that has hit the first nine months, as you've seen year to date in our free cash flow.

就槓桿率而言，正如我在電話會議上提到的那樣，我們認為，當我們進行分離時，你是對的，在這個特定季度，工作室槓桿率高於原本可能的水平。這實際上是過去 12 個月槓桿率的一個因素，隨著我們進入剛才談到的第四季度，這一因素將會大幅增加，對嗎？因此，你可以讓過去 12 個月的成長自然也降低槓桿率。同樣，我們獲得了非常強勁的第四季度自由現金流，因為我們正在彌補罷工後前九個月的部分巨額內容支出，正如您從今年迄今為止的自由現金流中看到的那樣。

So I expect to come in [$1.650 billion] of net debt, plus or minus, on the Studio. At the time of separation, it's probably around 5.5 times leverage and then it will continue to de-lever quickly over that as we move into fiscal '26, which we feel good about our fiscal '26 slate as well. And on the Starz side, that $600 million of net debt will be about a 3 times leverage. And again, the team expects and are poised to continue to de-lever as we go into fiscal '26.

因此，我預計該工作室的淨債務將為 [16.5 億美元]，或多或少。在分開時，槓桿率大概是 5.5 倍，然後隨著我們進入 26 財年，它將繼續快速去槓桿，我們對 26 財年的業績也感到滿意。而對 Starz 而言，6 億美元的淨債務將相當於 3 倍的槓桿。再次強調，團隊預計並準備在進入 26 財年時繼續降低槓桿率。

Thomas Yeh, Morgan Stanley.

摩根士丹利的 Thomas Yeh。

Thanks so much. I just wanted to follow up on the update on the separation. Jon, I think you said April, which is a little bit of a delay from the initial December, January timeframe. What still needs to happen between now and then for the transaction to close? I noticed a few amendments being filed on the S-4. So what are we still waiting for? And what's the path from here to get to close?

非常感謝。我只是想了解分居的最新情況。喬恩，我想你說的是四月，這比最初的十二月、一月的時間範圍稍微晚了一點。從現在到那時還需要做些什麼才能完成交易？我注意到 S-4 上提出了一些修正案。那我們還在等什麼？那麼從這裡到關閉的路徑是什麼？

And then as just a follow-up on the Amazon film output deal announcement in the context of home video windowing. Just in aggregate, how should we think about the uplift that we would be expecting on the Studio profits from the deal when it more meaningfully kicks in in the kind of 2026 timeframe? Thank you.

然後，作為家庭視訊視窗背景下亞馬遜電影輸出交易公告的後續行動。總的來說，當這筆交易在 2026 年左右更有意義地生效時，我們應該如何看待該交易對工作室利潤的預期提升？謝謝。

Okay. On the SEC timetable. Look, this is the last really remaining item of substance here. We're ready to go. As we said, the financing is all primed and ready to fund upon separation. We have a few comments back from the SEC. We're actually hoping to be, as you would imagine, effective well before today. We just heard from the SEC, really, this morning. There are a few more comments.

好的。在 SEC 時間表上。瞧，這是這裡真正剩下的最後一件實質的東西。我們準備出發了。正如我們所說，融資已全部準備就緒，可以在分離時提供資金。我們收到了美國證券交易委員會的一些評論。事實上，正如您所想像的那樣，我們希望在今天之前就能取得成效。事實上，我們今天早上才收到美國證券交易委員會的消息。還有一些評論。

But having quickly reviewed those, I'm confident that we can provide appropriate responses to this in a timely manner. And as we've noted, and as you know, unfortunately, the financial statements go stale today. It's just the timetable. So we need to update those. It will take us a few weeks to update those through the December financials, and we'll refile that and that should line us up, as Jon noted, for a mid- to late-April Shareholder Meeting and separation almost immediately thereafter.

但在快速審查了這些之後，我相信我們能夠及時對此做出適當的回應。正如我們所注意到的，而且正如您所知，不幸的是，財務報表今天已經過時了。這只是時間表。所以我們需要更新這些。我們需要幾週的時間來更新 12 月的財務報表，然後我們會重新提交這些報表，正如喬恩所說，這將使我們為 4 月中下旬的股東大會做好準備，並在之後立即進行分離。

Yeah. I'm not going to give you a number on the increased margin from the new pay television combination. I can tell you, it's significantly more. It was just to clarify Jimmy's statement, Amazon will have four films from our calendar '25 slate. We do have the ability to potentially replace them for the other pictures in '25 slate with another platform. And then they will have our full slate of films for our calendars '26, '27, and '28.

是的。我不會告訴你新的付費電視組合所帶來的利潤成長的具體數字。我可以告訴你，數量多很多。這只是為了澄清吉米的聲明，亞馬遜將從我們的日曆 25 名單中推出四部電影。我們確實有能力用另一個平台來取代 '25 片單中的其他圖片。然後他們就會擁有我們 26、27 和 28 年曆上的全部電影。

Barton Crockett, Rosenblatt.

巴頓·克羅克特，羅森布拉特。

I wanted to ask a little bit more detail about the Amazon relationship in terms of -- just to be clear, the windows that they're taking, were those windows that were formally part of the Starz library? And is there a benefit to Starz perhaps from cost reduction that's interesting or notable into their spend?

我想更詳細地詢問一下與亞馬遜的關係——只是為了清楚起見，他們佔用的窗戶是 Starz 圖書館的正式一部分嗎？那麼，降低成本是否會為 Starz 帶來有趣或顯著的收益，從而影響他們的支出？

Hi, Barton, it's Jeff. So I think this is a really good deal overall for the corporation. We were able to get titles in the slate earlier. And so we're getting them closer to the premier and then really leveraging off the P&A. And as a foundation of a premium stream or Pay 1 has always been a very valuable component.

你好，巴頓，我是傑夫。所以我認為這對公司來說總體來說是一筆非常好的交易。我們能夠更早獲得名單上的頭銜。因此，我們讓他們更接近總理，然後真正利用 P&A。作為優質串流或 Pay 1 的基礎，它一直是一個非常有價值的組成部分。

The Lionsgate movies really actually super performed for us and for the first title streams. And so getting them earlier in creating space to bring in another partner in that window, I think, really helps everybody overall. Obviously, getting it earlier and extending out another year into '28 was a big benefit for us as we separate, and so that was really impactful for us.

獅門影業的電影對於我們和首映串流媒體來說確實表現非常出色。因此，我認為，儘早創造空間，在那個窗口期引入另一個合作夥伴，對每個人來說都是有益的。顯然，在我們分開的時候，提前獲得它並將它延長一年到 28 年對我們來說是一個很大的好處，所以這對我們來說真的很有影響。

Yeah. And while I won't go into too many details, I would say it's a very clear win-win-win. It's a win for Starz, it's a win for the Studio after separation, and it's a win for Amazon.

是的。雖然我不會談論太多細節，但我想說這顯然是一個三贏的局面。這對 Starz 來說是一場勝利，對分離後的 Studio 來說是一場勝利，對亞馬遜來說也是一場勝利。

Okay, that's helpful. And then just one other question. As you move into these experiences, the John Wick experience, the production, the Hunger Games production, the La La Land production. Just remind us, are these deals where you'll be getting license fees upon release, or is this sort of an ongoing revenue relationship? And any thoughts about how meaningful this could be for you guys over time?

好的，這很有幫助。還有一個問題。當你進入這些體驗時，你會體驗到《疾速追殺》的製作、《飢餓遊戲》的製作、《樂來樂愛你》的製作。提醒我們一下，這些交易是在發佈時您獲得許可費，還是一種持續的收入關係？您認為長遠來看這對你們來說有多大意義？

Yeah. Great question. The exciting thing about this is we've been working on these projects now for really quite some time. And they're really -- we're looking now at them coming to fruition. Each of the deal is primarily a deal that starts with a license, which is sort of the typical way that content owners work in these kind of areas. But almost in every one of the circumstances, including the 13 Broadway shows that we're doing, we announced Dirty Dancing, we've got La La Land. In almost every single case, we have the right to invest up to around 50% in the equity.

是的。好問題。令人興奮的是，我們已經從事這些項目相當長一段時間了。而且它們確實——我們現在正在看著它們取得成果。每項交易主要都是從許可證開始的，這是內容所有者在這些領域工作的典型方式。但幾乎​​在每一種情況下，包括我們正在做的 13 場百老匯演出，我們都宣布了《辣身舞》，我們有《樂來樂愛你》。在幾乎每一個案例中，我們都有權投資高達 50% 左右的股權。

The good news about that is the right that we're getting to invest is typically down the road, far enough that we can really look at the development. We can look at the development of the AAA John Wick game. We can look at the development and what we're putting together in terms of cast and music for Dirty Dancing and La La Land. We can make that decision late in the game, which is really a huge benefit.

好消息是，我們獲得的投資權利通常還很長，足以讓我們真正看到發展。我們可以看看 AAA 級 John Wick 遊戲的開發過程。我們可以看看《辣身舞》和《樂來樂愛你》的演員陣容和音樂方面的發展以及我們正在整合的內容。我們可以在比賽後期做出決定，這確實是一個巨大的優勢。

So with the combination of the licensing fees and the potential equity, we're looking at really, really strong contribution potentially. And I would say, particularly when you look at some of the video game returns that you can get, I mean the returns, when it's successful are significantly more than a Motion Picture.

因此，透過結合許可費和潛在股權，我們有望獲得非常非常強大的貢獻。我想說的是，特別是當你看到一些電玩遊戲可以獲得的回報時，我的意思是，當它成功時，其回報遠遠超過一部電影。

So we're really excited about what we've seen so far with the John Wick AAA game. And we're doing a whole lot of other stuff across all of that location-based entertainment. The John Wick experience that I just noted, it looks amazing. It will start opening in Vegas later this month. So we see this as a real incremental growth for EBITDA that should start hitting reasonably soon.

因此，我們對 John Wick AAA 遊戲目前的表現感到非常興奮。我們在所有基於位置的娛樂領域還做了很多其他的事情。我剛剛提到的約翰威克體驗看起來非常棒。它將於本月晚些時候在拉斯維加斯開業。因此，我們認為這是 EBITDA 的真正增量成長，並且應該很快就會開始實現。

David Joyce, Seaport Research Partners.

大衛喬伊斯，海港研究夥伴。

Thank you. I was wondering if you could provide some color on where you are on the industry getting back to normalcy in terms of content production and deliveries? And how should we think about the volume of the film and episode deliveries and their pacing over the next year? And I guess related to that, if you could speak to what the eOne contribution was to the trailing 12-month library revenue and what you're producing based on that IP in the next year? Thanks.

謝謝。我想知道您是否可以提供一些關於內容製作和交付方面行業恢復正常情況的資訊？我們該如何考慮明年電影和劇集的發行量和節奏？我想與此相關的是，您能否談談 eOne 對過去 12 個月圖書館收入的貢獻，以及您明年將基於該 IP 製作什麼？謝謝。

I'm going to let Kevin Beggs and [Jim Packer] talk about what the outlook is and the demand in the television and library space.

我將讓 Kevin Beggs 和 [Jim Packer] 談談電視和圖書館領域的前景和需求。

Thanks, Jon. The TV market remains, the original content market, scripted and unscripted, under some pressure. Things we've spoken about in the past, pandemic, strikes, the fires have been a setback because it's such a deep impact on the creative community. So things are slowly coming back, but not as fast as we would like. We're seeing that in just the amount of commissions and the amount of production orders. So it's really about how we address that and pivot to that new normal. Some of that is cost control, finding great locations to shoot around the world for less money. Part of it is leading into our terrific IP.

謝謝，喬恩。電視市場，包括有劇本的和非有劇本的原創內容市場，仍然承受著一定的壓力。我們過去談到的事情，流行病、罷工、火災都是一個挫折，因為它對創意社群產生了深遠的影響。所以事情正在慢慢恢復，但沒有我們希望的那麼快。我們僅從佣金數量和生產訂單數量就可以看出這一點。所以這其實是關乎我們如何解決這個問題並轉向新常態。其中一部分是成本控制，即以較少的錢在世界各地尋找絕佳的拍攝地點。其中一部分是引入我們出色的知識產權。

When we think about Twilight and John Wick and other titles that we're moving into development and eventually into production, that's a strength, cross-divisional collaboration between ourselves, 3 Arts, our shared book of business with Starz, our unscripted and feature film collaborations. Scamanda stands out. It's on ABC as a doc, began as a podcast, set up as a streamer. And then really leading into hits because hits always work and doubling down.

當我們想到《暮光之城》和《疾速追殺》以及其他正在開發並最終投入製作的電影時，我們就會想到，這是一種優勢，我們與 3 Arts 之間的跨部門合作，我們與 Starz 的共享業務，以及我們的非劇本電影和長片合作。斯卡曼達 (Scamanda) 脫穎而出。它以紀錄片的形式出現在 ABC 上，最初是一個播客，後來被設定為串流媒體。然後真正進入打擊階段，因為打擊總是有效並且加倍下注。

So you touched on the eOne, and Jim will talk about the distribution side of that. But we inherited a fine series called The Rookie on ABC that was hoping for a six-season order. We secured the sixth season. We secured the seventh season. We're in early talks about an eighth season. And Alexi Hawley, the showrunner, is working with us on a spinoff. He has Netflix's number two global drama hit after eight days of release of The Recruit, and it's something we're doubling down on to do more with him and he continues to deliver.

您剛才談到了 eOne，Jim 會談談它的分銷方面。但我們繼承了 ABC 電視台的一部名為《菜鳥老警》的優秀劇集，該劇有望拍成六季。我們確定了第六季。我們確定了第七季。我們正在就第八季進行初步討論。該劇的製作人亞歷克斯霍利 (Alexi Hawley) 正在與我們合作製作衍生劇。《新兵》上映八天后，他以該劇成為 Netflix 全球第二大熱門影集，我們正加倍努力與他合作，他也將繼續努力。

Similarly, Ghosts is in season four. It remains CBS's number one or number two comedy every week, one of the top comedies in all of television. We're hopeful to do many more seasons and think about other iterations of Ghosts. Those are the kind of things we focus on and laser focus our thoughts around as opposed to more of a shotgun approach during the streaming. More for us to catch as much as you could bring in.

同樣，《幽靈》也進入了第四季。它仍然是哥倫比亞廣播公司每週排名第一或第二的喜劇，是所有電視中最好的喜劇之一。我們希望能製作更多季節並考慮《幽靈》的其他版本。這些就是我們關注的事情，我們會集中精力思考，而不是在串流媒體期間採取散彈槍式的方法。我們會盡可能地捕捉您帶回來的魚。

I would say on the eOne library, you're starting to see the benefit in our trailing 12 months. I think you'll continue to see that. My fiscal year, this is my first fiscal year with eOne, we're trending 10% to 15% above our budget. The Rookie and all the procedurals that we got in that library really filled the void for us and really have helped our international group tremendously. It's taken a little bit longer to kind of maximize as we've had to renegotiate some deals. But overall, you're starting to see the benefit, and that library is going to be quite helpful as we go forward.

我想說，在 eOne 圖書館，您會在我們過去的 12 個月中開始看到收益。我想你會繼續看到這一點。我的財政年度，這是我在 eOne 的第一個財政年度，我們的收入比預算高出 10% 到 15%。《菜鳥老警》和我們在圖書館裡找到的所有程式確實填補了我們的空白，並且確實極大地幫助了我們的國際團隊。由於我們必須重新談判一些交易，因此需要更長的時間才能最大化。但總的來說，您開始看到好處，隨著我們前進，該庫將會非常有幫助。

And I would say in terms of just the overall environment, as you suggested, post-strikes, even including the fire, the slate of movies that Adam and his team have put together finally in terms of incredible directors, repeat directors, stars attached, I think by far, this is the best pipeline of films that we've ever had at this company, coupled with releasing [three tentpoles] in fiscal '26. I think the future as you move into '27 is going to be amazing.

我想說，就整體環境而言，正如你所說的，罷工之後，甚至包括火災在內，亞當和他的團隊最終整合了一系列電影，包括出色的導演、重複導演和明星，我認為到目前為止，這是我們公司有史以來最好的電影陣容，再加上 26 財年發行的三部大片。我認為進入 27 年後的未來將會十分美好。

And I think people are starting to come back to the movies, including my four kids who certainly have played a whole lot of video games and social media in this period of time. But I really believe the experience of people going back to the theaters as we put more and more movies into the marketplace, I think that's going to continue to just snowball in the right direction.

我認為人們開始回歸電影圈，包括我的四個孩子，他們在這段時間玩了很多電子遊戲和社群媒體。但我確實相信，隨著我們向市場推出越來越多的電影，人們重返戲院的體驗將繼續朝著正確的方向滾雪球式成長。

(Operator Instructions) Matthew Harrigan, Benchmark.

（操作員指示）馬修·哈里根，基準。

You've always been famously lean on the cost side. I know you touched on it peripherally with David and Barton, and also unfortunately the effects of the tragic fires. But is there anything you see -- and obviously, the SEC has gifted you more time to look at things even more closely on the cost side. But are you seeing more rational behavior across all levels of talent for the industry on compensation? I guess a little cringe here, is there anything happening with AI that's also helpful on the cost side?

你們在成本方面一直以精簡著稱。我知道您與大衛和巴頓略微談及了這個問題，不幸的是，您還談到了這場悲慘火災的影響。但是您是否看到了什麼——顯然，美國證券交易委員會給了您更多的時間來更仔細地研究成本方面的問題。但是，您是否看到該行業各個層級的人才在薪酬方面的行為更加理性？我想這裡面可能有點令人畏縮，人工智慧方面是否也存在一些對成本有幫助的事情？

And then secondly, on Borderlands, I know you've tweaked your greenlighting process somewhat. Could you give us a few specifics as what the learnings were there and how the unfortunate experience can maybe even help you moving forward? And obviously, some of the cost savings might be the innovative marketing that you've always been good at, particularly on the social side. Congratulations on the quarter.

其次，關於《無主之地》，我知道你們對審批流程做了一些調整。您能否具體告訴我們您從中學到了什麼，以及這次不幸的經歷如何幫助您前進？顯然，部分成本節省可能來自於您一直擅長的創新行銷，尤其是在社交方面。恭喜本季。

From a cost side, speaking not of infrastructure, but sort of talent costs, I think talent is getting paid very well right now. I don't know if that's necessarily going down a whole lot. But I would say, in general, as Kevin said, we are looking at all kinds of ways to be smarter about the overall production cost. And I think something we've always done pretty well with talent is actually try to cut them in significantly from Tyler Perry and real co-productions, real back-end participation. And I think they appreciate when we keep our other costs down that they're going to get more on the back end.

從成本方面來看，不是說基礎建設，而是人才成本，我認為現在人才的報酬非常高。我不知道這是否一定會大幅下降。但我想說，總的來說，正如凱文所說，我們正在尋找各種方法來更明智地控制整體生產成本。我認為我們在人才方面一直做得很好的一件事就是嘗試將他們從泰勒佩里和真正的聯合製作、真正的後端參與中剝離出來。我認為，當我們降低其他成本時，他們會感激的，因為他們將在後端獲得更多。

So being a little innovative about the kinds of deals that we're doing, being smarter about the overall production costs, making deals like we did with the Governor Murphy in New Jersey, having -- that's why we're shooting a movie there right now is we've got a fantastic premium tax credit deal. And even before we have any stages there, we're shooting practical and taking a huge advantage of a movie that we probably would have had to take out of the country. And so the talent, two important female stars doing this Housemaid. Then we're doing something that's really positive for them. So again, I think we can be smart overall about production costs. But as I say, talent expects to be paid.

因此，我們在交易類型上有所創新，在總體製作成本方面更加明智，像我們與新澤西州州長墨菲所做的那樣達成交易——這就是我們現在在那裡拍攝電影的原因，因為我們獲得了極好的保費稅收抵免協議。甚至在我們在那裡進行任何階段之前，我們就已經開始進行實際拍攝，並充分利用了一部我們可能不得不在國外拍攝的電影。兩位才華洋溢的女明星都出演了這部《女傭》。然後我們就會做一些對他們真正有益的事情。所以，我認為我們可以全面且明智地控制生產成本。但正如我所說，人才期望得到報酬。

In terms of Borderlands, I'm going to let Adam answer that question.

就《無主之地》而言，我將讓亞當回答這個問題。

Thanks for the question. Look, I think that execution has never been more important. The audience knows almost immediately whether or not a Motion Picture is something they're willing to pay to leave the house to see. I'm thrilled that Borderlands has found a really significant audience on Starz, but they weren't willing to go out and see it in the movie theater.

謝謝你的提問。聽著，我認為執行力從來沒有像現在這樣重要。觀眾幾乎可以立即知道一部電影是否值得他們花錢出門去觀看。我很高興《無主之地》在 Starz 上找到了大量觀眾，但他們不願意去電影院觀看。

Matching the right screenplay with the right talent at the right budget, so that the risk, reward profile of the movie makes sense, has never been more important. And how we choose to analyze each of those criteria has definitely evolved from where we were on Borderlands. I don't want to get more specific.

將合適的劇本與合適的人才以合適的預算進行匹配，以使電影的風險和回報狀況合理，這一點從未如此重要。而我們選擇分析每個標準的方式肯定是從我們在《無主之地》中所處的位置演變而來的。我不想說得更具體。

And let me be clear. The talent we worked with on that movie are top notch across the board. But we're talking about a game that was in a different place in 2019 when the movie was greenlit than it was by the time the movie finally came out in the marketplace, and a lot of other things have changed. I do not think we benefited from the amount of time it took from the original greenlight to the time the movie came out.

讓我說清楚一點。我們合作拍攝這部電影的人才都是頂尖的。但我們談論的遊戲在 2019 年電影獲得批准時的情況與電影最終在市場上映時的情況不同，而且許多其他事情也發生了變化。我認為，從最初的批准到電影上映所花的時間並沒有為我們帶來好處。

But I can assure you that how we're assessing each of those individual criteria I laid out has absolutely evolved. And I think when you look at the films we're making and you look at the budgets of those films that we're making, we are still going to be in the movie business and the movie business still comes with some degree of risk, but we're excited about the kinds of projects we're putting together.

但我可以向你們保證，我們評估我列出的每個單獨標準的方式已經發生了徹底的演變。我認為，當你看到我們正在製作的電影和這些電影的預算時，你就會知道我們仍然會從事電影業，而電影業仍然會伴隨著一定程度的風險，但我們對我們正在製作的項目類型感到興奮。

Brent Penter, Raymond James.

布倫特·彭特、雷蒙·詹姆斯。

First, our thoughts are with you and your employees and everyone impacted by the fires. A couple for me on Starz. I want to hit on the comment about providing digital services to linear platforms. Can you expand on that comment? You've obviously invested a lot in digitizing Starz. What benefits could the Starz digital platform provide other linear networks in terms of digitizing them? And how does that play into how you think about M&A?

首先，我們向您、您的員工以及所有受火災影響的人表示慰問。我在 Starz 上看到了幾對。我想談談向線性平台提供數位服務的評論。能詳細說明一下該評論嗎？您顯然在 Starz 數位化方面投入了大量資金。Starz 數位平台能為其他線性網路的數位化帶來哪些好處？這對您對併購的看法有何影響？

Hi, it's Jeff. Thanks for the question. Look, we've built a very robust digital product with a really robust data stack that sits around, that allows us to really -- has allowed us to convert Starz from linear to digital, as Jon said in his prepared remarks, over the last five years, from 70% linear to 70% digital. It's that back-end platform and data that has allowed us to really make that transition profitably. A lot of our peer groups that are our size don't have the technical infrastructure capabilities that we have.

你好，我是傑夫。謝謝你的提問。你看，我們已經建立了一個非常強大的數位產品，它擁有一個非常強大的數據堆棧，這使我們能夠真正地——將 Starz 從線性轉變為數字，正如喬恩在他的準備好的發言中所說的那樣，在過去五年裡，從 70% 的線性轉變為 70% 的數字。正是後端平台和數據讓我們真正實現了獲利性的轉變。許多與我們規模相當的同業企業都不具備我們所擁有的技術基礎設施能力。

And so whether it's on a commercial relationship, like you're seeing with the BritBox and Starz bundle, where we are helping BritBox bundled into the Starz app and helping that product grow with our product, or us taking our infrastructure on the other way, it gives us an opportunity to do a lot of commercial deals with partners that don't have the infrastructure or bigger deals and broader deals or other relationships. And I think I'll leave it at that.

因此，無論是商業關係，就像您在 BritBox 和 Starz 捆綁中看到的那樣，我們正在幫助將 BritBox 捆綁到 Starz 應用程式中並幫助該產品與我們的產品一起成長，還是我們以另一種方式利用我們的基礎設施，它都使我們有機會與沒有基礎設施或更大交易、更廣泛的交易或其他關係的合作夥伴進行大量商業交易。我想我就不多說了。

Okay. And then on the Starz subscriber outlook, should we expect OTT subscriber growth to continue at a similar pace as 3Q? Any puts and takes there in terms of the content lineup from here? And then any change in the trajectory of linear subs? There is a slight sequential uptick in losses, albeit not dramatic, but any moving pieces to think about there?

好的。那麼，關於 Starz 用戶前景，我們是否應該預期 OTT 用戶成長將繼續保持與第三季類似的速度？從內容陣容來看，這裡有什麼優點和缺點嗎？那麼線性潛艦的軌跡有什麼變化嗎？損失略有連續上升，儘管不是很大，但有什麼值得思考的因素嗎？

So I'll start with the linear side. I think we continue to see a consistent decline in the linear business and that we have that forecasted out for the foreseeable future. And so that's how the business continues to transition to the linear side. So I expect that to be kind of a slow, consistent decline that you've seen over the last four to six quarters. There's a little noise here and there. But for the most part, I think it's been a pretty consistent decline.

因此我將從線性方面開始。我認為我們將繼續看到線性業務持續下滑，並且我們已經預測到在可預見的未來會發生這種情況。這就是業務繼續向線性方向轉變的方式。因此我預計這將是一個緩慢而持續的下降趨勢，就像過去四到六個季度所看到的那樣。這裡和那裡都有一點噪音。但總體而言，我認為這是相當持續的下降趨勢。

On the OTT side, we have, as you've seen over the last couple of weeks, the velocity around bundling announcements, and launches has picked up. I think we've been talking about being a bundling partner of choice to a lot over the last four or five years. I think it's finally really starting to come into fruition and you'll start to see more and more of the revenue base be tied into bundles, which ultimately means less marketing costs on the front end because it's shared, longer lifetime value which ultimately leaves less churn. So you'll see a much more stable revenue base as it start to become a bigger percentage of our revenue over the next, call it, two to five years. And so I expect that to continue.

在 OTT 方面，正如您在過去幾週看到的那樣，捆綁公告和發布的速度已經加快。我認為，在過去的四、五年裡，我們一直在談論成為許多人的首選捆綁合作夥伴。我認為它終於開始真正取得成果，你將開始看到越來越多的收入基礎與捆綁銷售掛鉤，這最終意味著前端的營銷成本更低，因為它是共享的，生命週期價值更長，最終會減少客戶流失。因此，您將看到更穩定的收入基礎，因為在未來兩到五年內，它將在我們的收入中佔據更大的比例。因此我期望這種情況能夠持續下去。

We've got a great late quarter slate coming back this next quarter with Kanan. It's one of our bigger shows. We're really excited about bringing it back on to the platform. And so I think you're going to see really strong subscriber growth in the back half of the quarter.

下個季度，我們將與 Kanan 一起回歸，打造一個精彩的季度末陣容。這是我們規模較大的演出之一。我們非常高興將它重新帶回平台。因此我認為在本季後半段你會看到非常強勁的用戶成長。

That ends our question-and-answer session. I would like to turn the conference back over to Nilay Shah for any closing remarks.

我們的問答環節到此結束。我想將會議交還給 Nilay Shah 並請他做最後發言。

Hi, everyone. Please refer to the Press Releases and Events tab under the Investor Relations section of each company's website for a discussion of certain non-GAAP forward-looking measures discussed on this call. Thank you all.

大家好。請參閱每個公司網站投資者關係部分下的新聞稿和事件選項卡，以了解本次電話會議中討論的某些非 GAAP 前瞻性指標。謝謝大家。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。