TKO Group Holdings Inc (TKO) 2023 Q2 法說會逐字稿

Hello, and welcome to the WWE Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. (Operator Instructions)

您好，歡迎參加 WWE 2023 年第二季財報電話會議。 （操作員指令）

I will now turn the call over to Seth Zaslow, SVP and Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, Seth.

現在我將把電話轉給資深副總裁兼投資人關係主管 Seth Zaslow。請繼續，塞斯。

Thank you, and good morning, everyone. Welcome to WWE's Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call. Joining us on today's call are Nick Khan, WWE's Chief Executive Officer; Paul Levesque, our Chief Content Officer; and Frank Riddick, our President and Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝大家，早安。歡迎參加 WWE 2023 年第二季財報電話會議。參加今天電話會議的還有 WWE 執行長尼克汗 (Nick Khan)； Paul Levesque，我們的首席內容長；以及我們的總裁兼財務長 Frank Riddick。

We issued our earnings release earlier this morning and have posted the release and other supporting materials to our website. As a reminder, today's discussion will include forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current views, are based on various assumptions and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties. Please refer to our SEC filings for a discussion of the risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially, and undue reliance should not be placed on these statements.

我們今天早上發布了收益報告，並已將該報告和其他支援資料發佈到我們的網站上。提醒一下，今天的討論將包括前瞻性陳述。這些聲明反映了我們目前的觀點，基於各種假設，因此受風險和不確定性的影響。請參閱我們的美國證券交易委員會 (SEC) 文件，以了解有關風險和不確定性的討論。實際結果可能存在重大差異，不應過度依賴這些陳述。

We will also be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures on today's call. Reconciliations of non-GAAP to GAAP information are provided in our earnings release and other supporting materials.

我們還將在今天的電話會議上討論某些非公認會計準則財務指標。我們的收益報告和其他支援資料中提供了非 GAAP 資訊與 GAAP 資訊的對帳表。

Lastly, today's conference call is being recorded, and the replay will be available on our website. With that, I'd now like to turn the call over to Nick.

最後，今天的電話會議正在錄音，重播將在我們的網站上提供。說完這些，我現在想把電話轉給尼克。

Good morning, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today. To start, our results in Q2 exceeded the high end of our guidance. We delivered record financial results in the second quarter, record quarterly revenue and record quarterly adjusted OIBDA. We're on track to deliver another year of record revenue and adjusted OIBDA in 2023, continuing our trend of then record revenue and OIBDA in 2021 and then record revenue and OIBDA in 2022. I, along with Frank Riddick, will touch on some financial and operational highlights from the quarter in more detail. But before I do, I want to take a moment to address a few other topics.

早安，感謝大家今天的參與。首先，我們第二季的業績超出了我們的預期上限。我們在第二季度取得了創紀錄的財務業績、創紀錄的季度收入和創紀錄的季度調整後 OIBDA。我們預計在 2023 年再創一年創紀錄的收入和調整後 OIBDA，延續 2021 年創紀錄的收入和 OIBDA，2022 年創紀錄的收入和 OIBDA 的趨勢。但在此之前，我想花點時間討論其他幾個主題。

First, the TKO transaction. As discussed on our last earnings call in early May, we announced on April 3, just a day after a record-breaking WrestleMania, that we came to an agreement with Endeavor to combine WWE and the UFC into a new publicly listed company, TKO Group Holdings. We remain excited about the combination of these highly complementary businesses and rolling out the global live sports and entertainment pure play.

首先，TKO交易。正如我們在 5 月初的上次財報電話會議上所討論的那樣，我們在 4 月 3 日，也就是創紀錄的摔角狂熱賽的第二天宣布，我們與 Endeavor 達成協議，將 WWE 和 UFC 合併為一家新的上市公司 TKO Group Holdings。我們對這些高度互補的業務的結合以及推出全球現場體育和娛樂純業務感到興奮。

We collectively remain focused on completing our regulatory review process. And as we have said from the start, we expect the deal to close in the second half of this year.

我們將繼續致力於完成監管審查流程。正如我們一開始所說的，我們預計該交易將在今年下半年完成。

Second, media rights. We are currently engaged in deal conversations for the domestic rights to our weekly flagship programs, Raw, SmackDown and NXT. As expected, there is significant interest from the marketplace, and these conversations are progressing well.

第二，媒體權利。我們目前正在就我們每週的旗艦節目 Raw、SmackDown 和 NXT 的國內播放權進行談判。正如預期的那樣，市場表現出了濃厚的興趣，這些對話進展順利。

As these conversations are taking place, we are seeing record viewership for our premium live events, and increased ratings for Raw, SmackDown and NXT. These numbers underscore the enduring strength of our product.

隨著這些對話的進行，我們看到我們的優質現場活動的收視率創下了歷史新高，Raw、SmackDown 和 NXT 的收視率也隨之上升。這些數字凸顯了我們產品的持久實力。

Looking at SmackDown first, SmackDown was up 26% in the key 18-49 demo, and up 12% in total viewers year-over-year. This compares to broadcast viewership that was down double digits in the key demo and down overall in total viewers for the same period. Amongst both 18-49 and 18-34, SmackDown ranked #1 on Friday prime time for all of broadcast television.

首先來看 SmackDown，SmackDown 在 18-49 歲的主要受眾群體中成長了 26%，總觀眾人數較去年同期成長了 12%。相較之下，在關鍵的演示中，廣播收視率下降了兩位數，而同一時期的總觀眾人數也總體下降了。在 18-49 歲和 18-34 歲年齡組中，SmackDown 在所有廣播電視週五黃金時段中均排名第一。

On June 2, our SmackDown episode reached nearly 1 million viewers in the 18-49 demo, not only our highest 18-49 viewership in 2023, but our strongest demo performance in over 3 years.

6 月 2 日，我們的 SmackDown 劇集在 18-49 歲演示中吸引了近 100 萬觀眾，這不僅是我們 2023 年 18-49 歲觀眾人數的最高紀錄，也是我們 3 年來最強勁的演示表現。

Turning to Raw. Raw was up 19% in the key demo and 3% in total viewers for the quarter. This compares to cable viewership that was down double digits in both the key demo and down overall and total viewers for the same period. This past quarter, Raw was once again the #1 show on USA Network and the #1 entertainment program on all of cable.

轉向 Raw。 Raw 在主要演示中增長了 19%，本季的總觀眾人數增長了 3%。相較之下，有線電視收視率在主要樣本中都下降了兩位數，同期整體和總收視人數也都下降了。上個季度，《Raw》再次成為 USA Network 上排名第一的節目以及有線電視上排名第一的娛樂節目。

For both programs, Raw and SmackDown had the highest engagement in their history. Viewers are watching longer than ever before. The time spent viewing for Raw is up 7 minutes this quarter from last year. And for SmackDown, it's an increase of 4 minutes, which means more ad dollars for our network partners.

對於這兩個節目來說，Raw 和 SmackDown 的參與度都達到了歷史上的最高水平。觀眾的觀看時間比以前更長。本季度，觀看 Raw 的時間比去年增加了 7 分鐘。對於 SmackDown 來說，時間增加了 4 分鐘，這意味著我們的網路合作夥伴可以獲得更多廣告收入。

Similarly, our third brand, NXT has also been surging with younger audiences. So far this quarter, NXT is up 49% from last year in the 18-49 demo, and up 52% from last year in the 18-34 demo.

同樣，我們的第三個品牌 NXT 也越來越受到年輕觀眾的青睞。本季截至目前，NXT 在 18-49 歲人群中的購買力較去年同期增長了 49%，在 18-34 歲人群中的購買力較去年同期增長了 52%。

Before we go to premium live events, allow me to also acknowledge that almost 2 weeks ago, our founder, Vince McMahon, underwent major spinal surgery. While remaining the Executive Chairman of WWE, Vince decided to take a medical leave of absence to focus on his physical recovery. We wish Vince the best in his recovery and will respect his privacy as it relates to this medical matter.

在我們參加高級現場活動之前，請允許我先告知大家，大約兩週前，我們的創始人文斯麥克馬洪 (Vince McMahon) 接受了重大脊柱手術。在繼續擔任 WWE 執行主席的同時，文斯決定休假以專注於身體康復。我們祝福文斯早日康復，並將尊重他與該醫療問題有關的隱私。

On to our premium live events since our last call, we staged 3 premium live events. Each one has continued the trend of delivering record performance across multiple categories. In May, Backlash from San Juan, Puerto Rico, was the highest grossing and most viewed Backlash in WWE history, up 34% in viewership from the prior year.

自上次通話以來，我們已舉辦了 3 場優質現場活動。每家公司都延續了在多個類別中創下紀錄表現的趨勢。 5 月份，在波多黎各聖胡安舉行的《Backlash》成為了 WWE 史上票房最高、收視率最高的節目，收視率比前一年增長了 34%。

Night of Champions emanating from Jeddah was our most watched live event ever from Saudi and viewership was up 45% versus our last show from there this past November. Then in July, Money in the Bank from the O2 Arena in London was the most successful and highest grossing Money in the Bank of all time, setting the record for the highest grossing Arena event in WWE history. Viewership there also up 14%.

在吉達舉辦的冠軍之夜是我們在沙烏地阿拉伯舉辦的收視率最高的現場活動，與去年 11 月在那裡舉辦的上一場演出相比，收視率上升了 45%。隨後 7 月，在倫敦 O2 體育館舉行的 Money in the Bank 成為了有史以來最成功、票房最高的活動，創下了 WWE 歷史上票房最高的體育館賽事紀錄。那裡的收視率也上升了 14%。

This upcoming Saturday is SummerSlam at Fort Field in Detroit. It marks the first WWE event at Ford Field since WrestleMania 2007 and the first SummerSlam in Michigan since 1993. Interest in this premium live event is high. And to date, we have over 43,000 tickets sold and are on track for a sellout.

本週六，底特律 Fort Field 將舉辦「夏日狂潮」活動。這是自 2007 年摔角狂熱大賽以來，在福特球場舉辦的首場 WWE 賽事，也是自 1993 年以來在密西根州舉辦的首場夏日狂潮賽事。到目前為止，我們已經售出超過 43,000 張門票，預計全部售完。

Please note that 3 of these 4 premium live events will have taken place outside of the 50 states. This record run of success for our premium live events comes off the heels of WrestleMania 39 from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in April, which was the most watched and most profitable WrestleMania in our company's history.

請注意，這 4 場優質現場活動中有 3 場將在 50 個州之外舉行。我們的優質現場活動創下了成功的記錄，緊隨其後的是 4 月份在洛杉磯 SoFi 體育場舉行的第 39 屆摔角狂熱大賽，這是我們公司歷史上觀看人數最多、利潤最高的一屆摔角狂熱大賽。

Moreover, we were glad to see a recent report from applied analysis that highlighted the economic impact that WrestleMania had on the Southern California region. The study found that WrestleMania 39 had a total economic impact $215 million. Our continued effort to broaden WrestleMania's scope of events brought out-of-town visitors staying an average of 4-plus nights in Los Angeles.

此外，我們很高興看到最近的一份應用分析報告強調了摔角狂熱對南加州地區的經濟影響。研究發現，第 39 屆摔角狂熱大賽的總經濟效益為 2.15 億美元。我們不斷努力拓展摔角狂熱大賽的賽事範圍，吸引外地遊客在洛杉磯平均停留 4 個以上晚上。

More than half of attendees travel to L.A. from outside of Southern California with 15% of attendees traveling in from an international location and visitors had an average annual income of more than $100,000. This performance underscores WWE's ability to drive substantial commerce to a local economy whenever and wherever we stage our premium live events. As we did in Cardiff, Wales, last September and San Juan, Puerto Rico, 3 months ago, we are excited to continue to team up with local governments and municipalities to deliver these kind of results and look forward to sharing a few announcements regarding this in the months ahead.

超過一半的與會者從南加州以外的地區前往洛杉磯，15％的與會者來自國際地區，遊客的平均年收入超過10萬美元。這場演出凸顯了 WWE 無論何時何地舉辦優質現場活動，都能為當地經濟帶來可觀的商業收益。正如我們去年 9 月在威爾斯的卡迪夫和三個月前在波多黎各的聖胡安所做的那樣，我們很高興繼續與當地政府和市政當局合作，以取得這樣的成果，並期待在未來幾個月分享與此相關的一些公告。

Now if we could discuss live events for a moment. This past quarter was WWE's highest grossing live event quarter of all time, surpassing the previous record by 6%, while setting 34 in-market sales records. In North America, we averaged nearly 10,000 attendees per event, a year-over-year increase of 45%. Please keep in mind what you already know. We do over 200 live events in North America a year, which seemingly makes that average attendee per event that much more impressive from our point of view.

現在我們可以討論一下現場活動。剛剛過去的這個季度是 WWE 史上票房最高的現場活動季度，比之前的紀錄高出 6%，同時創下了 34 項市場銷售紀錄。在北美，我們平均每場活動的參加者人數接近 10,000 人，年增 45%。請記住您已經知道的內容。我們每年在北美舉辦 200 多場現場活動，從我們的角度來看，這似乎使得每場活動的平均參與人數更加令人印象深刻。

We are not seeing any signs of a slowdown. In fact, fans are purchasing tickets further in advance than we have historically seen.

我們沒有看到任何放緩的跡象。事實上，球迷提前購買門票的時間比我們歷史上見過的都要早。

Next, Consumer Products. The momentum we are seeing is also generating record in venue merchandise sales. In the quarter, we set records for in-venue sales at WrestleMania, Backlash and Money in the Bank. WWE Shop also continues to see steady growth as we round the 1-year anniversary of our e-commerce deal with Fanatics.

接下來是消費品。我們看到的勢頭也正在創下場館商品銷售的新紀錄。本季度，我們創下了摔角狂熱大賽、Backlash 和 Money in the Bank 的場館銷售記錄。隨著我們與 Fanatics 達成電子商務協議一週年，WWE Shop 也持續保持穩定成長。

Sales for Q2 2023 were up double digits versus the prior year's quarter and operational costs are down. In sponsorship, it was another growth quarter. At Royal Rumble in January, we saw a 200% sponsorship increase for the event year-over-year. Elimination Chamber in February, we registered nearly a 300% sponsorship increase year-over-year. And at WrestleMania in April, we sold a record $20 million in sponsorship, more than a 100% increase over our previous sales record.

2023 年第二季的銷售額較去年同期成長了兩位數，營運成本下降。在贊助方面，這又是一個成長季度。在一月份的《皇家大戰》上，我們發現該活動的贊助金額比去年同期增加了200％。在 2 月的 Elimination Chamber 比賽中，我們的贊助金額年增了近 300％。在四月份的摔角狂熱大賽上，我們創下了 2000 萬美元的贊助費記錄，比我們之前的銷售記錄增加了 100% 以上。

For Backlash, we're up 98% in sponsorship year-over-year. Money in the Bank sponsorship numbers also up, making it our highest grossing international event in terms of sponsorship ever. We continue to expand the number of WWE partnerships with sponsors while executing against our strategy of driving incremental dollars from our existing partners with the average spend per client up 38% for the year. All told, by August, we have already booked our highest grossing sponsorship year in WWE history.

對於 Backlash，我們的贊助量年增了 98%。公事包贊助金額也有所增加，使其成為我們有史以來贊助收入最高的國際活動。我們繼續擴大 WWE 與贊助商的合作數量，同時執行我們的策略，即從現有合作夥伴那裡獲得增量資金，使每位客戶的平均支出在今年增長 38%。總而言之，截至 8 月份，我們已經預定了 WWE 歷史上票房收入最高的一年贊助。

In closing, I want to reiterate how pleased we are with the performance of our business as we head into the second half of the year. Our expectation is to deliver another year of record revenue and adjusted OIBDA while remaining focused on obtaining final regulatory approval, along with our partners at Endeavor, so we can proceed together with TKO. With that, I'll now turn the call over to Frank.

最後，我想重申一下，在進入下半年之際，我們對我們的業務表現感到非常滿意。我們的期望是再創一年的收入和調整後的 OIBDA 記錄，同時繼續與 Endeavor 的合作夥伴一起專注於獲得最終監管部門的批准，以便我們能夠與 TKO 一起前進。說完這些，我現在將電話轉給弗蘭克。

Thank you, Nick. Before I review our financial performance and business outlook, I want to briefly discuss the transaction we announced in April with Endeavor. As Nick highlighted, we're very excited about the agreement we reached with Endeavor to combine the WWE and UFC businesses. We're working as quickly as we can to close the transaction.

謝謝你，尼克。在回顧我們的財務表現和業務前景之前，我想簡單討論一下我們在四月份與 Endeavor 宣布的交易。正如尼克所強調的，我們對與 Endeavor 達成的合併 WWE 和 UFC 業務的協議感到非常興奮。我們正在盡快完成交易。

In June, we announced that we obtained all of the required regulatory approvals. While the transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, we continue to expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2023.

六月，我們宣布已獲得所有必要的監管部門批准。儘管交易仍需滿足慣例成交條件，但我們仍預計交易將在 2023 年下半年完成。

Turning to our operations on Slide 4. In the second quarter, we generated record quarterly revenue of $410 million and record quarterly adjusted OIBDA of $141 million, which exceeded the high end of our guidance. Our performance in the quarter places us firmly on track to meet our full year outlook. I'll touch on the outlook for the third quarter and full year in more detail later in my remarks.

談到幻燈片 4 上的營運情況。本季的業績使我們有望實現全年目標。我將在稍後的演講中更詳細地談及第三季和全年的前景。

On Slide 5 of our presentation, we detail our performance by segment in the quarter as compared to the prior year quarter. The results in the quarter reflect the shift in timing of the staging of a large-scale international event, which occurred in the second quarter of 2023 as compared to the first quarter of 2022.

在簡報的第 5 張投影片中，我們詳細介紹了本季各部門的業績與去年同期相比的情況。本季的結果反映了大型國際活動舉辦時間的變化，從 2022 年第一季到 2023 年第二季。

Looking at our Media segment on Slide 6, adjusted OIBDA increased 39% on a 32% increase in revenue. The most notable item driving the results was an increase in other revenue due to the staging of a large-scale international event.

查看投影片 6 上的媒體部分，調整後的 OIBDA 在營收增加 32% 的情況下成長了 39%。推動業績成長的最顯著因素是由於舉辦大型國際活動而帶來的其他收入的增加。

Network revenue increased due to the contractual escalation of the media rights fee for our premium live events. During the second quarter, we changed the premium live events calendar. As a result, we recorded approximately $7 million of incremental network revenue. This change has no impact on full year network revenue.

由於我們優質現場活動的媒體版權費合約上漲，網路收入增加。在第二季度，我們更改了優質現場活動日曆。結果，我們記錄了約700萬美元的增量網路收入。此變化對全年網路收入沒有影響。

Core content rights increased primarily due to the contractual escalation of media right fees for our flagship weekly programming, Raw and SmackDown. The increase in revenue was partially offset by an increase in operating expenses. The increase in expenses was primarily related to an increase in production costs, including the timing of the large-scale international event.

核心內容版權的增加主要是由於我們每週旗艦節目 Raw 和 SmackDown 的媒體版權費合約上漲。收入的增加部分被營業費用的增加所抵銷。費用的增加主要與製作成本的增加有關，包括大型國際活動的時間安排。

Now let's turn to our Live Events business as shown on Slide 7 of our presentation. Adjusted OIBDA from our live events improved $21 million based on a 51% increase in revenue. During the second quarter, we experienced strong demand for our live events. We held 53 total events with 43 events in North America and 10 in international markets. Average attendance in North America was approximately 9,900, a 45% increase as compared to the prior year period.

現在讓我們來談談我們的現場活動業務，如簡報第 7 頁所示。我們現場活動的調整後 OIBDA 在營收成長 51% 的基礎上增加了 2,100 萬美元。在第二季度，我們對現場活動的需求強勁。我們共舉辦了 53 場活動，其中 43 場在北美，10 場在國際市場。北美地區平均出席人數約 9,900 人，比去年同期增加了 45%。

In our Consumer Products segment, as shown on Slide 8, adjusted OIBDA was $13 million on revenue of $28 million. Results in this segment reflected a number of moving pieces. Licensing revenue reflected the decrease in video gaming and collectibles revenue. As previously discussed, the change in e-commerce and venue merchandise revenue reflects the transition of our retail platforms to Fanatics.

在我們的消費品部門，如幻燈片 8 所示，調整後的 OIBDA 為 1,300 萬美元，營收為 2,800 萬美元。此部分的結果反映出了許多變動因素。許可收入反映了視頻遊戲和收藏品收入的下降。如前所述，電子商務和場館商品收入的變化反映了我們的零售平台向 Fanatics 的轉變。

Now let's turn to WWE's capital structure as shown on Slide 9 of the presentation. In the second quarter, we generated $31 million in free cash flow as compared to generating $9 million in the prior period. This increase was primarily due to higher income from our operations and the timing of working capital. In the second quarter, we incurred $46 million of capital expenditures, $32 million of which related to our new headquarter facility. Excluding the new HQ CapEx, free cash flow would have been $63 million in the quarter.

現在讓我們來看看簡報第 9 頁所示的 WWE 資本結構。第二季度，我們產生了 3,100 萬美元的自由現金流，而上一季為 900 萬美元。這一增長主要歸因於我們經營收入的增加和營運資本的時間安排。第二季度，我們的資本支出為 4,600 萬美元，其中 3,200 萬美元與我們的新總部設施有關。除去新的總部資本支出，本季自由現金流將達到 6,300 萬美元。

During the quarter, we returned $10 million of capital to shareholders in the form of dividends paid. We also exchanged almost all of our outstanding convertible senior notes. We issued an aggregate of 8.5 million shares for approximately $211 million principal amount of the notes. We also unwound the hedge and warrant transactions, which resulted in net cash proceeds of $51 million. As of June 30, approximately $4 million principal amount of the notes remained outstanding.

本季度，我們以股息的形式向股東返還了 1000 萬美元的資本。我們也交換了幾乎所有未償還的可轉換優先票據。我們共發行了 850 萬股股票，票據本金額約 2.11 億美元。我們也解除了對沖和認股權證交易，獲得了 5,100 萬美元的淨現金收益。截至 6 月 30 日，仍有約 400 萬美元的票據本金未償還。

At June 30, we held approximately $524 million in cash and short-term investments. Debt totaled $25 million, including $4 million associated with the carrying value of the convertible notes I just mentioned. We have no amounts outstanding under our $200 million revolving line of credit.

截至 6 月 30 日，我們持有約 5.24 億美元現金和短期投資。債務總額為 2500 萬美元，其中包括與我剛才提到的可轉換票據帳面價值相關的 400 萬美元。我們的 2 億美元循環信用額度下無未償還金額。

Looking ahead, we're not changing our outlook for the full year adjusted OIBDA at this time. We continue to target a range of $395 million to $410 million, which would be an all-time record for the company. As we've previously discussed, we're also targeting a record revenue in 2023. As for the third quarter of 2023, we're targeting adjusted OIBDA in the range of $75 million to $85 million. The estimate reflects a decrease in revenue. The decrease in revenue primarily reflects an expected decline in revenue at the Consumer Products segment and a decline in third-party original programming revenue in our Media segment. This is due to the timing of the production of premium WWE-themed series.

展望未來，我們目前不會改變對全年調整後 OIBDA 的展望。我們的目標仍是 3.95 億美元至 4.1 億美元，這將是該公司的歷史最高紀錄。正如我們之前討論過的，我們還計劃在 2023 年實現創紀錄的收入。該估計反映出收入的減少。收入下降主要反映了消費品部門收入的預期下降以及媒體部門第三方原創節目收入的下降。這是由於優質 WWE 主題系列的製作時機所致。

The expected decline in Consumer Products revenue relates to the timing of revenue recorded as a result of the early termination of agreement of our licensed collectibles as well as the transition of the company's retail platforms and venue merchandise business to Fanatics.

消費品收入的預期下降與記錄收入的時間有關，這是由於我們提前終止許可收藏品的協議以及公司零售平台和場地商品業務向 Fanatics 的轉型所造成的。

Slide 10 of our presentation provides an update on capital expenditures. For 2023, we now expect total company CapEx of $175 million to $195 million up from our prior forecast of $150 million to $170 million. The current estimate includes spending of $135 million to $150 million related to our new headquarters facility with the remainder primarily related to the maintenance and enhancement of existing production and enterprise technology infrastructure.

我們簡報的第 10 張投影片提供了資本支出的最新情況。我們現在預計 2023 年公司總資本支出將達到 1.75 億至 1.95 億美元，高於先前預測的 1.5 億至 1.7 億美元。目前估計包括與我們新總部設施相關的 1.35 億至 1.5 億美元的支出，其餘部分主要用於維護和增強現有生產和企業技術基礎設施。

Slide 11 provides an update on total CapEx for the new HQ facility. To date, we spent approximately $250 million in CapEx on the new HQ project and have received offsets in the form of tenant improvement allowances of approximately $35 million for a net spend of approximately $215 million.

投影片 11 提供了新總部設施總資本支出的最新情況。到目前為止，我們在新總部項目上的資本支出約為 2.5 億美元，並以約 3500 萬美元的租戶改善補貼形式獲得補償，淨支出約為 2.15 億美元。

Based on our latest estimates, we expect to incur an additional $70 million to $90 million in CapEx to complete the project. As a result, we now forecast that total gross spend on the new HQ project will be in the range of $320 million to $340 million, an increase of approximately $30 million from the range we provided in our fourth quarter '22 call in February of this year.

根據我們最新的估計，我們預計將額外投入 7,000 萬至 9,000 萬美元的資本支出來完成該專案。因此，我們現在預測新總部項目的總支出將在 3.2 億美元至 3.4 億美元之間，比我們在今年 2 月第四季電話會議上提供的範圍增加約 3,000 萬美元。

After offsets, which we continue to expect to be in the range of $110 million to $120 million, the net spend is expected to be within a range of $210 million to $220 million. Our estimates for the total gross spend increased primarily due to changes in scope and costs associated with the additional time needed to complete the work.

抵銷之後，我們繼續預期淨支出將在 1.1 億至 1.2 億美元之間，淨支出預計將在 2.1 億至 2.2 億美元之間。我們對總支出的估計增加主要是由於範圍的變化以及與完成工作所需的額外時間相關的成本。

As a reminder, the estimated total for the new HQ project spend includes approximately $70 million of accelerated expenditures for IT equipment and broadcast production technology that likely would have been spent in absence of this project.

提醒一下，新總部項目預計總支出包括約 7,000 萬美元的 IT 設備和廣播製作技術加速支出，如果沒有此項目，這些支出很可能會花掉。

In conclusion, WWE generated strong second quarter results that reflect continued robust demand for our events and increased consumption of programming across platforms. Looking ahead, we remain focused on our day-to-day operations while working to close the transaction with Endeavor as quickly as possible.

總而言之，WWE 取得了強勁的第二季業績，這反映了市場對我們賽事的持續強勁需求以及跨平台節目消費的增加。展望未來，我們將繼續專注於日常運營，同時努力盡快完成與 Endeavor 的交易。

We believe that WWE remains well positioned to take advantage of significant growth opportunities across our various lines of business. That concludes our remarks, and I'll now turn it back to Seth.

我們相信，WWE 仍然處於有利地位，可以利用我們各個業務領域的巨大成長機會。我們的發言到此結束，現在我將發言權轉回給塞斯。

Thanks, Frank. Operator, we're ready for Q&A. Please open the lines.

謝謝，弗蘭克。接線員，我們已準備好進行問答。請打開線路。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員指令）

We'll take our first question from Brandon Ross with LightShed Partners.

第一個問題來自 LightShed Partners 的 Brandon Ross。

Just going to get the obvious one out there to start. Last time you guys did your Raw and SmackDown deals, the deals were done shortly after the exclusive window expired. It's moving slower this time.

我只是想從最明顯的開始。上次你們簽訂 Raw 和 SmackDown 協議時，獨家協議是在獨家協議到期後不久完成的。這次移動得慢了。

What's the reason for that in your mind? And is there an updated time line on how you see the domestic deals resolving? And then I have a follow-up.

您認為背後的原因是什麼？您認為國內協議解決的具體時間表是否有更新？然後我有一個後續問題。

Thank you, Brandon. This is Nick. Last time having been across that negotiation, the starting prices of where we were for Raw and SmackDown, we're far, far less than the starting prices now, which means deeper and longer conversations. All of those conversations have been productive. We remain quite optimistic on it.

謝謝你，布蘭登。這是尼克。上次進行談判時，我們對 Raw 和 SmackDown 的起始價格遠低於現在的起始價格，這意味著更深入和更長的對話。所有這些對話都是富有成效的。我們對此仍然非常樂觀。

In terms of time, I've often set a negotiation, you can control a lot of the process you can never control the timing of the negotiation. So we feel we're there in full force with a robust product that seems to have quite high ratings and relevancy at this moment, and we think the results will be what we expect and hope they'll be.

在時間方面，我經常設定一個談判時間，你可以控制很多過程，但你永遠無法控制談判的時間。因此，我們感覺我們已經全力推出了一款強大的產品，目前似乎具有很高的評級和相關性，我們認為結果將符合我們的預期和希望。

Great. And I think since your last call, it seems that we've seen an even further acceleration of bundle decline in this move to OTT. ESPN is now saying they're basically ready to go OTT, I guess, probably after the NBA deal is done.

偉大的。我認為，自從您上次通話以來，我們似乎看到在轉向 OTT 的過程中，捆綁銷售的下滑速度進一步加速。 ESPN 現在表示，他們基本上已經準備好進入 OTT 領域，我想，可能是在與 NBA 的交易完成後。

It feels like the leagues in general are preparing more diligently for a digital future. Does that change how you're thinking about your content licensing strategy? And do you need a live digital component to this domestic deal to future proof yourself? And then just generally, how do you think about balancing reach and the dollars and future proofing your business as you approach this deal?

感覺各聯盟總體上正在更加努力地為數位化未來做準備。這會改變您對內容授權策略的看法嗎？您是否需要在這筆國內交易中加入即時數位組件來為自己的未來提供保障？那麼總的來說，當您接近這筆交易時，您如何考慮平衡影響力、資金和未來的業務保障？

Just a threefold question. Any other attachments to that?

這只是一個三重問題。還有其他附件嗎？

I could give you some more.

我可以給你更多。

Okay. I'm sure. I'm sure you could. So a couple of things. Keep in mind, WWE, I believe, was the third mover in the OTT space, the digital space, 2014 going off of what was traditional pay-per-view onto the WWE network which, again, D2C, OTT, understanding that that's where the business was going. I think with our Peacock deal from 2.5, almost 3 years ago, we also saw where the business was going there, that a number of stand-alone OTTs would create a crowded marketplace and there's only so many consumer dollars to go around.

好的。我敢肯定。我確信你可以。有幾件事。請記住，我相信 WWE 是 OTT 領域（數位領域）的第三個推動者，2014 年它脫離了傳統的按次付費模式，進入了 WWE 網絡，再次強調，D2C、OTT，我明白這就是業務的發展方向。我想，從我們 2.5 年前（大約 3 年前）的 Peacock 交易開始，我們也看到了業務的發展方向，許多獨立的 OTT 會導致市場擁擠，而可供分配的消費者資金是有限的。

So the ways that these deals have ended up, broadcast television, we've been able to explore with Fox. Cable television, obviously, we've been in business in basic cable for decades. With the Peacock deal that allowed us to explore the digital space, there's so many upsides to it, including live viewership, same-day viewership, viewership over the first 24 hours, 72 hours over the first week, all of these, and obviously, subs matter to each of these content buyers. And I think all of them see the results that have been driven towards Peacock. And the OTT buyers seem quite interested in not only raw, not only SmackDown, but NXT as do the more traditional buyers. So we think it's a very strong landscape for products that register.

因此，我們已經能夠與福克斯一起探索這些交易的最終結果，即廣播電視。有線電視，顯然，我們從事基礎有線電視業務已經有幾十年了。透過 Peacock 交易，我們得以探索數位空間，這有很多好處，包括現場收視率、當天收視率、前 24 小時收視率、第一周 72 小時收視率，所有這些，顯然，訂閱量對每個內容購買者都很重要。我認為他們都看到了 Peacock 所取得的成果。 OTT 買家似乎不僅對 raw、SmackDown 感興趣，而且對 NXT 也很感興趣，傳統買家也是如此。因此，我們認為這對註冊產品來說是一個十分有利的前景。

Do you have to be as digital though as the traditional bundle goes away? Is it important to have that as a component of your deal?

隨著傳統捆綁服務的消失，您是否必須數位化？將其作為交易的一部分是否重要？

It's important that, that we did it with Peacock. And when we look at the other programming that we're dealing with now, whatever those deals are, by the way, when all those fails, look at the NFL. So when the NFL, if you look at their most recent deals, there's no longer a split between digital rights and linear rights, as there was a few years ago, Thursday Night Football, okay, it's on CBS. Okay, it's been split NBC, CBS. Okay, let's shift it over to Fox. Okay, now let's do Amazon. When it was with CBS and NBC, it was also on Twitter. If you remember that, then it shifted to Amazon. Now it's an all-in package. We expect the same thing. If it's a traditional buyer, there'll be a digital presence. If it's a digital buyer like Peacock, there won't be a traditional presence. So depending on what the totality offer looks like, we think we'll be in good shape there.

重要的是，我們與 Peacock 合作完成了這件事。順便說一句，當我們看看現在正在處理的其他節目時，不管那些交易是什麼，當所有這些都失敗時，請看看 NFL。因此，如果你看看 NFL 最近的交易，你會發現數位版權和線性版權之間不再存在分歧，就像幾年前一樣，《週四橄欖球之夜》在 CBS 播出。好的，它已經分裂為 NBC 和 CBS。好的，讓我們將其轉移到 Fox。好的，現在讓我們來做亞馬遜。當它在 CBS 和 NBC 上播出時，它也在 Twitter 上播出。如果你還記得的話，它就轉移到亞馬遜了。現在它是一個全包套餐。我們期待同樣的結果。如果是傳統買家，就會有數位化存在。如果是像 Peacock 這樣的數位買家，就不會有傳統的存在。因此，根據整體報價的情況，我們認為我們會處於良好狀態。

We will take our next question from Ben Swinburne with Morgan Stanley.

下一個問題來自摩根士丹利的 Ben Swinburne。

Nick, 2 things going on right now that obviously we're all watching. Brandon mentioned the NBA deal or negotiation, and there's also obviously the writers and actor strikes. I'm just wondering, do you think we should be thinking about the NBA as something that has to get done prior to your deals? I think I know the answer, I figured, I'd ask you again.

尼克，現在發生兩件事，顯然我們都在關注。布蘭登提到了 NBA 的交易或談判，顯然還有編劇和演員的罷工。我只是想知道，您是否認為我們應該將 NBA 視為在達成交易之前必須完成的事情？我想我知道答案，我想我會再問你一次。

And then secondly, do you think the labor strikes and the production shutdown speed up, slow down the process for you guys? Have any impact at all? And then I just want to ask Frank, just on the guidance. You guys beat the high end of the EBITDA guide for Q2, but you didn't raise the year. I'm just wondering was there sort of a timing shift in how the EBITDA is falling through the quarter and that explains a little bit of the unchanged full year given the 2Q outperformance?

其次，您認為罷工和停產會加速還是減慢你們的進程？有什麼影響嗎？然後我只想問弗蘭克，關於指導。你們第二季的 EBITDA 超過了預期最高水平，但全年利潤卻沒有成長。我只是想知道，EBITDA 在本季下降的過程中是否存在時間上的變化，這是否可以解釋在第二季表現優異的情況下，全年業績沒有太大變化的原因？

Thanks, Ben. I'll take the easier one first. Yes, it partially reflects the fact we didn't raise guidance, partially reflects timing move between the first half and the second half, and there's a couple of items that we can get into later that drive that. But in addition, given where we are with the Endeavor transaction, it also just doesn't make sense from our perspective to change the guidance at this point given that the deal will -- we're trying to close the deal, as we said, in the second half. So it may not be totally germane going forward. So those are the 2 factors.

謝謝，本。我先選比較容易的一個。是的，這部分反映了我們沒有提高指導價的事實，部分反映了上半年和下半年之間的時間變化，還有一些事項我們可以稍後討論以推動這一點。但此外，考慮到 Endeavor 交易的現狀，從我們的角度來看，此時改變指導方針也是沒有意義的，因為該交易將——正如我們所說的，我們正試圖在下半年完成交易。因此，這可能與未來發展並不完全相關。這就是兩個因素。

Ben, if you could repeat the first part of your question.

本，你能重複問題的第一部分嗎？

Yes. Just wondering, I think there's at least some thought out there that the NDA is sort of the elephant in the room from a rights point of view. And so until that's done, WWE is less likely to get completed. So I'd be curious on your thoughts there today.

是的。只是想知道，我認為至少有一些人認為，從權利的角度來看，NDA 就像是房間裡的大象。所以，在完成這個目標之前，WWE 不太可能完成。所以我很好奇你今天的想法。

And then on the writers and actors strike, almost all the companies you're having conversations, maybe all of them, have a huge part of their business that's got a tremendous amount of new uncertainty around it. And I'm just wondering if you think that helps, hurts or is immaterial to sort of WWE's hand and all this.

然後關於編劇和演員罷工的問題，幾乎所有你正在談論的公司，也許是所有公司，他們的業務中都有很大一部分面臨著大量新的不確定性。我只是想知道您是否認為這對 WWE 的做法有幫助、有害處，或者無關緊要。

Understood. On the first part of the question, you had said initially that you had to take on it and thought that I might agree with it is your take that the answer is no. It doesn't affect us [the NBA].

明白了。對於問題的第一部分，您最初說過您必須接受這個挑戰，並認為我可能會同意您的看法，即答案是否定的。這不會影響我們（NBA）。

Yes. I think I've heard you say in the past that you don't think the NBA has to get done for you to get done. So I didn't know if that was still your view. I don't want to assign your view to you, so I'll let you speak for yourself.

是的。我想我以前聽過你說過，你認為不必完成 NBA 就能完成你的目標。所以我不知道這是否仍然是你的觀點。我不想把你的觀點強加給你，所以我讓你自己說。

Thank you. Yes. My view has not changed. Our view has not changed on that. We respect the NBA's product and what it means. And I think there's an entire marketplace out there for us. In terms of the strike, it's unfortunate. We continue to support our friends of the WGA and SAG. We're happy to read that the WGA and the studios are getting together, I believe, this Friday, and we hope for a quick resolution for everybody.

謝謝。是的。我的觀點沒有改變。我們對此的看法並沒有改變。我們尊重 NBA 的產品及其意義。我認為，我們擁有一個完整的市場。就罷工而言，這是令人遺憾的。我們將繼續支持 WGA 和 SAG 的朋友。我們很高興看到，美國編劇協會和各大電影公司將於本週五舉行會議，我們希望能夠盡快為大家找到解決方案。

Our next question comes from Eric Handler with ROTH MKM.

我們的下一個問題來自 ROTH MKM 的 Eric Handler。

Frank, maybe just an accounting question for you. It seems like in the income statement, the sponsorship revenue in the media line was probably a bit under what people were looking for relative to expectations. But in the Live Events business, you had record advertising and sponsorship. Was there some type of shift in recognition of where sponsorship dollars are going?

法蘭克，這可能只是你一個會計問題。在損益表中，媒體線的贊助收入似乎比人們的預期略低。但在現場活動業務中，你有唱片廣告和贊助。對於贊助資金去向的認識是否有了某種轉變？

No, it really reflects -- there's no change in accounting. It just reflects the performance that we're getting relatively higher performance for the PLEs and doing a great job of selling those vis-a-vis the traditional sponsorship for -- that fell into media, but it's just a reflection of the business that we're doing and the strength that we're seeing on the selling of sponsorships related to the PLEs as Nick noted in his comments.

不，這確實反映出──會計方面沒有變化。它只是反映了我們在 PLE 方面獲得相對較高表現的表現，並且在銷售這些產品方面做得很好，相對於傳統贊助來說 - 這些贊助屬於媒體，但這只是反映了我們正在做的業務和我們在銷售與 PLE 相關的讚助方面看到的實力，正如尼克在他的評論中指出的那樣。

Okay. And then is there anything you could really say about in the 10-Q about the July 17 subpoena for Vince? And what WWE's implications are from this?

好的。那麼在 10-Q 中您能具體說一下關於 7 月 17 日對 Vince 發出的傳票嗎？這對 WWE 來說意味著什麼？

Eric, this is Nick. Thanks for asking the question. We continue to fully cooperate with any investigation. Outside of that, we're not going to comment on any legal matter.

艾瑞克，這是尼克。感謝您提問。我們將繼續全力配合任何調查。除此之外，我們不會對任何法律問題發表評論。

We'll move to our next question from Steven Cahall with Wells Fargo.

我們將轉到富國銀行的 Steven Cahall 提出的下一個問題。

Maybe just to ask the right question in a slightly different way. I understand why the timing is what it is between the U.S. linear TV rights and the Peacock rights based on where you were with those prior TV deals and then the way that you transition the network to Peacock. It seems like that a lot of the digital buyers are taking a little more of an all or nothing approach. I know the NBA -- or sorry, the NFL is a little different than that. But I think the more and more we've seen new rights, it seems like some of the digital-first companies are looking for these bigger blocks.

也許只是以稍微不同的方式提出正確的問題。我理解為什麼美國線性電視版權和孔雀電視版權之間的時間安排是這樣的，這取決於你們之前的電視交易情況，以及你們將網絡過渡到孔雀電視的方式。看起來很多數位買家都採取了全有或全無的態度。我了解 NBA，或者抱歉，NFL 與 NBA 略有不同。但我認為，我們看到的新權利越來越多，似乎一些數位優先的公司正在尋找更大的利益群體。

So I'm just thinking about how you think about the potential of a 1-year extension on your linear rights in order to have a package deal that combines what's currently on Peacock with what's currently on linear to kind of create this bigger either all in your cross platform or all streaming assets? So that's the first one.

所以我只是在想，您如何看待將線性版權延長 1 年的可能性，以便達成一項一攬子交易，將 Peacock 上的內容與線性內容結合起來，從而將其擴大到更大的範圍，無論是跨平台還是所有流媒體資產？這是第一個。

And then, Frank, just a bit of a housekeeping one, but could you talk a little bit about how you're thinking about generating cash between now and either the end of Q3 or the deal close? I think you're still expecting to pay a cash dividend as that happens. And maybe you can just clear us up on the pro forma share count now that you've taken out the preferred as it relates to the dividend payment.

然後，弗蘭克，這只是一些家務事，但是你能否談談你如何考慮從現在到第三季末或交易結束之間產生現金？我認為當這種情況發生時您仍然期望支付現金股利。也許您現在可以為我們澄清一下預計的股份數量，因為您已經取出了與股息支付相關的優先股。

So thanks for the question, Steve. This is Nick. On the first part of that, I don't see a 1-year extension on the outcome for us. I don't think that's what the marketplace is suggesting. Also, keep in mind what you already know. Our content drives subscription behavior, not just viewership. It's a 12-month calendar, it resists subscriber churn. So of course, the digital players are going to be there. They see the results from Peacock with under 20 live events or so a year between the premium live events and NXT premium live events. So no, I don't see an extension like that in our future. And yes, we're talking to all of the digital content partners who I think, see the power in what we can do.

謝謝你的提問，史蒂夫。這是尼克。就第一部分而言，我認為我們的結果不會延長一年。我不認為這是市場所暗示的。另外，請記住您已經知道的內容。我們的內容推動訂閱行為，而不僅僅是觀看次數。它是一個12個月的日曆，它可以抵禦用戶流失。所以當然，數位播放器將會出現在那裡。他們看到了 Peacock 的成果，每年在高級現場賽事和 NXT 高級現場賽事之間舉辦的現場賽事不到 20 場。所以，我看不到我們未來會有這樣的延伸。是的，我們正在與所有數位內容合作夥伴進行交流，我認為他們看到了我們所做的事情的力量。

So on the cash flow share count question, of course, we are continuing to operate our business as usual and our objective is always to generate as much cash as quickly as we can and manage our cash position. The biggest variable -- one of the biggest variables in determining how much the dividend will be, of course, will be the actual date of closing and where we stand in our normal cycle of cash collections as of that point in the year.

因此，關於現金流份額問題，當然，我們會繼續照常經營我們的業務，我們的目標始終是盡快產生盡可能多的現金並管理我們的現金狀況。最大的變數——決定股利金額的最大變數之一當然是實際的結算日期，以及截至今年那個時間點我們在正常的現金收集週期中所處的位置。

The share count, the cap table will be updated, is in the S-4. It will be updated in the next version of the S-4, and we're tracking and we can give you some of the detail to help reconcile that at about total outstandings of about 83 million shares.

股份總數、資本表將會更新，在 S-4 中。它將在下一版 S-4 中更新，我們正在跟踪，我們可以為您提供一些細節，以幫助您核對大約 8300 萬股的總流通股數。

Our next question comes from Curry Baker with Guggenheim Securities.

下一個問題來自古根漢證券的 Curry Baker。

Frank, maybe one for you. Could we drill down on the third quarter guidance? Any chance you can maybe size the license collectible impact? And also, how much of the Fanatics part is related to timing?

弗蘭克，也許有一個適合你。我們能否深入了解第三季的指引？您是否可以估算出許可證收集影響的大小？而且，狂熱分子的部分有多少與時間有關？

And then lastly, any chance you could also maybe help us drill down further on the impact of the third-party programming and whether that's just timing?

最後，您是否可以幫助我們進一步深入了解第三方程式設計的影響以及這是否只是時間問題？

The order of magnitude on the collectibles is around $6 million. The other thing that moved revenue and profit from second quarter -- from third quarter to second quarter was the timing of the PLEs, and we can provide guidance on that later. But those are the major drivers. What was the last part of your question, Curry?

收藏品的數量級約為600萬美元。另一個導致第二季營收和利潤從第三季轉移到第二季的因素是 PLE 的時間安排，我們可以稍後提供相關指引。但這些是主要驅動因素。柯瑞，你問題的最後部分是什麼？

Just if there was any timing related to the Fanatics piece?

只是是否有任何與 Fanatics 作品相關的時間？

No. The Fanatics piece reflects -- it's more of an accounting change, performance of the -- both the venue merchant and e-commerce business is strong. As we noted, it's more than it's not in the revenue and expenses, it's booked as a net item. We moved to the venue merchant deal in May. So it's only partially reflected in the quarter. So -- but it doesn't deal the bottom line. The net profit in those segments hasn't changed.

不。正如我們注意到的，它不包含在收入和支出中，而是作為淨項目入帳。我們於五月轉向場地商家交易。因此，這僅部分反映在本季。所以——但它並沒有解決底線問題。這些部門的淨利潤沒有改變。

Okay. And then maybe one for Nick. Can you remind us when you expect to negotiate your top 2 international rights deals, the U.K. and India and maybe any initial thoughts on how you feel like you're positioned in those markets?

好的。然後也許還有一個給尼克。您能否提醒我們，您預計何時談判兩大國際版權交易，即英國和印度，以及您對自己在這兩個市場的定位有何初步想法？

Yes. I think we're positioned strongly in the U.K. and have had a number of in persons there to further what we think is a robust market for us in the U.K. India is 2 years out or so. So it would be premature, especially with the Sony India, Zee merger awaiting final approval. It would be premature. As I mentioned, I believe in the last call, we have a live event in India in early September. We're excited about that. So India is excited about that. So too early to predict India, but we're thrilled with our partnership with Sony.

是的。我認為我們在英國的地位很強，並且已經在那裡派了一些人員來進一步開拓我們認為的英國強勁市場。因此現在這麼做還為時過早，尤其是在索尼印度公司和 Zee 公司的合併還在等待最終批准的情況下。現在還為時過早。正如我所提到的，我相信在最後一次通話中，我們將在 9 月初在印度舉辦一場現場活動。我們對此感到非常興奮。因此印度對此感到興奮。現在預測印度的情況還為時過早，但我們對與索尼的合作感到非常興奮。

Our next question comes from Peter Supino with Wolfe Research.

我們的下一個問題來自 Wolfe Research 的 Peter Supino。

This question relates to your expectations for the timing and structure of your next U.S. rights deal. I know it's not totally predictable, but we do have a point of view in the S-4 that the company published in Q2 for the TKO deal. And so I'm looking at the management projections and of course, they're disclaimed clearly as just a moment in time.

這個問題與您對下一次美國版權交易的時間和結構的預期有關。我知道這並非完全可預測，但我們確實對公司第二季針對 TKO 交易發布的 S-4 文件中的觀點有所了解。因此，我正在查看管理預測，當然，它們被明確聲明為僅僅是一個時刻。

I wondered if you could talk to us about the logic behind the EBITDA dollar growth in 2025 and 2026. It seems to accelerate in '26, but there's no sign of an impact from the renewal in the '24 and '25 EBITDA dollar growth projections. And so any color you could help would be great. We get this question from clients frequently.

我想知道您是否可以和我們談談 2025 年和 2026 年 EBITDA 美元增長背後的邏輯。因此，如果您能提供任何顏色幫助，那就太好了。我們常常會收到客戶的這個問題。

Well, I'm not quite sure I follow, Peter, what you -- but the projections that we put out for stand-alone WWE were based on our planning models that we use to do our planning and reflected what we felt were was a reasonable expectation for both the renewal of the rights on SmackDown and Raw as well as the Peacock deal. So I'm not quite sure if follow where you see the disconnect.

好吧，彼得，我不太確定我是否明白你的意思——但是，我們對獨立 WWE 提出的預測是基於我們用於規劃的規劃模型，並反映了我們認為對 SmackDown 和 Raw 權利續簽以及 Peacock 交易的合理預期。所以我不太確定您是否看到了斷開連接的地方。

Just to clarify that the EBITDA dollar growth in '24 over '23 and then '25 over '24 looks ordinary. And then in '26, the dollar growth rate doubles, $200 million of year-over-year growth in the forecast. And I'm trying to connect that to the idea of the U.S. rights renewal in 2023.

需要澄清的是，2024 年 EBITDA 美元成長相對於 2023 年以及 2025 年相對於 2024 年的成長看起來都很正常。然後在 26 年，美元成長率翻倍，預計將年增 2 億美元。我試圖將其與 2023 年美國版權續約的想法聯繫起來。

We could follow up with you, Peter, but I think the answer is the full year effect of the U.S. rights and the Peacock renewal or what's driving the difference -- driving the jump up.

彼得，我們可以跟進你的問題，但我認為答案是美國權利和孔雀續約的全年效應，或者是什麼推動了差異 - 推動了跳躍。

And keep in mind, Peter, this is Nick speaking. Raw and SmackDown aren't up until October 1, 2024. And obviously, Peacock is March, I believe, of 2026. So I think Frank is correct in answering your question. And of course, we can dig deeper into it with you if you want more...

請記住，彼得，我是尼克。 Raw 和 SmackDown 要到 2024 年 10 月 1 日才會結束。當然，如果您想要了解更多，我們可以與您一起深入探討…

Yes, we'll go look at it, and we can talk offline, but I believe that's what's driving the change in rate on those renewals. It's just the timing and the fact that the Peacock deal comes up in '26.

是的，我們會去研究一下，也可以線下討論，但我相信這就是推動續約費率變化的因素。只是時機和孔雀交易在 26 年達成的事實。

Our next question comes from Jason Bazinet with Citi.

下一個問題來自花旗銀行的 Jason Bazinet。

I just had a question on the transaction close. I think most people think this is a pretty uncontroversial transaction, and you guys reiterated the timing, but it seems like you've given yourself a pretty wide birth, second half of '23. So do you mind just walking through some of the...

我只是對交易結束有疑問。我想大多數人都認為這是一筆相當沒有爭議的交易，而且你們重申了時機，但似乎你們給自己定了一個相當寬廣的出生日期，即 23 年下半年。那你介意走過一些嗎？

Jason, I'm sorry, this is Seth. We can't hear you well. Can you maybe just speak up a little bit?

傑森，對不起，我是塞斯。我們聽不清楚你的聲音。你能稍微說點嗎？

No, sorry. Yes. So I think most people on the Street think this transaction is uncontroversial. But you've given yourself a pretty wide birth in terms of closing in the second half of '23. So can you just walk through the things that could happen more quickly or the things that could happen more slowly that could cause the transaction to close later in the year versus earlier.

不，抱歉。是的。因此我認為華爾街的大多數人認為這筆交易是沒有爭議的。但是，就 23 年下半年的收官而言，你已經為自己設定了一個相當寬廣的目標。那麼，您能否簡單介紹一下哪些事情可能發生得更快，哪些事情可能發生得更慢，從而導致交易在今年晚些時候而不是早些時候完成。

So from -- this is Nick, Jason. Thanks for that. From day 1, we predicted the second half of this year. As you know, regulatory process is not the speediest of all processes, but it's been a good one thus far. So I don't want to see that -- I don't want to suggest that it's easy, but it certainly hasn't been difficult yet. And we've given the information that we need to give, obviously, to get the approvals that we're seeking, and we expect to stay on track with our predictions for the second half of this year for the close and ringing of the bell.

所以來自——這是尼克，傑森。謝謝。從第一天開始，我們就預測了今年下半年。如您所知，監管流程並不是所有流程中最快的，但到目前為止還是不錯的。所以我不想看到這種情況——我不想說這很容易，但它肯定還不難。顯然，我們已經提供了我們需要提供的信息，以獲得我們所尋求的批准，我們預計今年下半年的結束和鐘聲敲響時，我們的預測將保持一致。

But if I can just ask one follow-up. There's nothing other than the customary regulatory approval and shareholder vote. There's no x factor in this transaction that we're unaware of.

但如果我可以問一個後續問題。除了例行的監管批准和股東投票外，沒有別的。這筆交易中不存在我們不知道的未知因素。

That's correct, 100% correct.

正確，100％正確。

Operator, why don't we take our last question please?

接線員，我們可以回答最後一個問題嗎？

We'll take our last question from David Karnovsky with JPMorgan.

我們將回答摩根大通的 David Karnovsky 提出的最後一個問題。

Nick, we've seen streamers potentially out in the market offering tiered pricing deals to leads or conferences. I'm wondering how you view the attractiveness of a structure like that, you did just say prior that your content drives subscription behavior.

尼克，我們已經看到串流媒體可能在市場上為潛在客戶或會議提供分級定價交易。我想知道您如何看待這種結構的吸引力，您之前確實說過您的內容會推動訂閱行為。

And then a second question, just wanted to see if you could provide any incremental detail around your partnership with Twitch. How is that deal structured? Is it mainly an ad share? And any incremental detail would be great.

然後是第二個問題，只是想看看您是否可以提供一些有關您與 Twitch 合作的詳細資訊。這筆交易是如何建構的？主要是廣告份額嗎？任何增量細節都很好。

Sure. So in reverse order, ad share deal with Twitch, we're excited about it pays our superstars more than they would make if they just did it on their own Twitch show. So look for more investment into that property and more robust programming once our deals closed and which would be the right timing for that.

當然。因此，按照相反的順序，與 Twitch 達成廣告分成協議，我們很高興它為我們的超級明星支付的費用比他們在自己的 Twitch 節目上做廣告所賺的費用要多。因此，一旦我們的交易完成，我們將尋求對該房產進行更多投資和更強大的規劃，而這將是正確的時機。

In terms of the first part of the question, if you recall, when Peacock first launched, it was actually a 3-tier service, free in front of the paywall and then $4.99 a month, a $9.99 month on the ad-free, so we had programming mostly archival programming on the free platform and then again, consumers option for $4.99 with ads at the time or $9.99 without ads. And we liked how that worked.

就問題的第一部分而言，如果你還記得的話，當 Peacock 首次推出時，它實際上是一個三層服務，付費牆前免費，然後每月 4.99 美元，無廣告每月 9.99 美元，所以我們在免費平台上提供的節目主要是檔案節目，然後再次，消費者選擇當時帶廣告的 4.99 美元或不帶廣告的 9.99 美元。我們很喜歡這種運作方式。

So our library, you're talking about over 100,000 hours of archival footage that people still watch on a regular basis. We think that's what -- part of that is what led to our YouTube growth in the infancy of YouTube. People still like to watch our library of stuff. You don't see that with other sports or entertainment properties. You're not watching the Grammys from 20 years ago, I don't believe many folks are watching the Super Bowl 20 years ago. We see around WrestleMania, a spike in viewership on prior WrestleMania.

我們的圖書館裡有超過 10 萬小時的檔案錄影，人們仍然會定期觀看。我們認為這就是 YouTube 在初期蓬勃發展的原因之一。人們仍然喜歡觀看我們的資料庫。在其他體育或娛樂領域你不會看到這樣的情況。你不會再觀看 20 年前的葛萊美頒獎典禮了，我相信也不會有很多人再觀看 20 年前的超級盃。我們看到，摔角狂熱大賽前後的收視率出現了激增。

So we like the way that, that works, it allows people to sample our product. And then once enough people had sampled it, we went off the free platform. So we're looking at all of that and taking into consideration as we make these final decisions.

所以我們喜歡這種工作方式，它允許人們嘗試我們的產品。一旦有足夠多的人嘗試了，我們就會停止免費平台。因此，我們在做出最終決定時會考慮所有這些因素。

Well, thank you, everyone, for joining us on today's call. Operator, you can conclude the call, please.

好吧，感謝大家參加今天的電話會議。接線員，請您結束通話。

This concludes today's call. Thank you again for your participation. You may now disconnect, and have a great day.

今天的電話會議到此結束。再次感謝您的參與。現在您可以斷開連接並享受美好的一天。