AMC Global Media Inc.

Thank you for standing by and welcome to the AMC Network second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are on listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question at that time, please press star 11 on your telephone. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. I would now like to turn the call over to your host, Mr. Nick Seberg, Vice President of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Good morning and welcome to the AMC Network's second quarter 2023 earnings conference call. Joining us this morning are Kristen Dolan, Chief Executive Officer, Patrick O'Connell, Chief Financial Officer, Kim Kelleher, Chief Commercial Officer, and Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios. Today's press release is available on our website at amcnetworks.com. We will begin with prepared remarks and then we'll open the call for questions. Today's call may include certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. Please refer to AMC Network's SEC filings for a discussion of risks and uncertainties. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements made on this call. Today we will discuss certain non-GAAP financial measures. The required definitions and reconciliations can be found in today's press release. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Kristen.

Thank you, Nick. As consumer behavior continues to evolve and the industry searches for the best approach to connect viewers with the shows they love, we remain focused on the very real advantages of our measured, opportunistic, and disciplined strategy. We are continuing to do what this company has always done best, produce high-quality content, and make that content available across a wide array of platforms with strong brand associations and underlying economics that drive free cash flow. Even amidst industry-wide challenges, we have strong confidence in our approach and are seeing the benefits of our strategy play out in our financial results, which for the second quarter include year-over-year increases in free cash, streaming subscribers, and streaming revenue, as well as healthy margins. Patrick will have more to say on all this in a few minutes. AMC Networks has the distinct luxury of being flexible, fast-moving, and able to seize opportunities in this dynamic marketplace. As always, content remains at the heart of everything we do, and we have a clear and focused programming strategy that runs across our linear networks, our targeted streaming portfolio, and an expanding array of digital and ad-supported connected TV platforms. A highlight in the second quarter was our successful launch of the newest series in our expanding Walking Dead universe called The Walking Dead, Dead City. The series became the number one new cable drama premiere for 2023 in key demos, delivering 2 million linear viewers, making it number one season premiere of any show in the history of AMC. Just a fantastic start to a new era for this iconic franchise. The next series on tap is The Walking Dead Daryl Dixon, which is set in France and will premiere on September 10th. A third show, The Walking Dead, The Ones Who Live, focused on the popular Rick and Michonne characters, will premiere next year. We just previewed both of these new titles for fans at Comic-Con in San Diego. The enthusiastic response on the ground, online, and in social media was a great indication of the continued life and vitality of this remarkable IP. Also at Comic-Con, we announced that we have already renewed Dead City and Daryl Dixon for second seasons, so there is much more to come for these engaging stories and characters. We completed production of these three Walking Dead extensions before the recent Screen Actors Guild strike and work stoppage. Let me just take a moment to address both the current SAG and WGA strikes. We greatly value the work of our creative partners and hope these disputes can be resolved as quickly and as fairly as possible. In the short term, the reality for AMC Networks is that we have a pipeline of finished shows that will allow us to continue to serve our viewers across all of our platforms for the remainder of this year and well into 2024. We were proud to receive eight Emmy nominations for Better Call Saul, including Outstanding Drama Series for the seventh year in a row, and Repeat Acting nominations for Bob Odenkirk and Ray Sehorne. That recognition came on the heels of 12 Hollywood Critics Association nominations for Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, Better Call Saul, Lucky Hank, and Documentary Now. I also want to note the third and final season of the British drama Happy Valley, which is just a stunningly good piece of television, performed particularly well on Acorn and AMC+. On Acorn, the third season has been the number one acquisition driver so far this year and the number one series on the platform during its six-episode run. On AMC+, Happy Valley was the top series for engagement outside of shows in the Walking Dead universe. IFC had a hit in Blackberry, which generated strong business and critical acclaim during the quarter. The film will return as a three-part television event with additional scenes on AMC and AMC Plus later this year. In theaters right now are Biosphere and Lakota Nation vs. the United States, which Variety called a lucid, uplifting, and definitive account of a very troubling piece of our nation's past. We highly recommend this film. Creation is one of our core strengths as a company and remains a focal point across all platforms. Obviously, curation requires content, so we were very pleased during the quarter to reach an agreement with the Walt Disney Company and Hulu to re-secure streaming rights for a significant number of high-quality titles that we own. Patrick will discuss the agreement in more detail in just a few moments, but the immediate highlight for us is being able to offer all seasons of shows like Fear the Walking Dead, Killing Eve, Brockmire, The Terror, The Sun, Preacher, Lodge 49, and others, on our own streaming platforms. This influx of popular and critically acclaimed content is particularly important today as we see the impact of generations of new viewers discovering and being entertained by shows years or even decades after they first appear. More and more today, a premiere is what happens when someone decides to watch something for the first time, not when it first appears. The return of our titles will add immediate heft and diversity to AMC Plus as we prepare to launch an ad-supported version in October. Turning to this year's upfront, it will come as no surprise that the market has been challenging for all content companies, but we are pleased with our performance and very much held our own. AMC has carved out a clear reputation as the home of very desirable and fan-focused networks, and the pricing and volume we were able to achieve for our networks and digital distribution during this upfront reflects that. It's also worth noting that we are one of the last major programmers to be airing high-quality, scripted dramas on Sunday nights every week of the year. This is a meaningful point of differentiation that allows us to continue to drive viewer interest and value for our advertising and affiliate partners. Other networks have shifted their programming dollars and their best shows to streaming, hollowing out their linear offerings. We have not. Our WeTV network continues as one of the top destinations for unscripted reality programming, with a growing list of franchise shows that attract viewers and deliver diverse and passionate audiences to advertisers. Coming off successful seasons of the Love After Lockup franchise and season six of Mama June, From Not to Hot, WeTV is home to the top two cable originals for women on Friday nights. Later this month, the network will premiere a new series called Toya and Reginae, featuring Toya Johnson-Rushing and Regine Carter, two dynamic personalities who first appeared on Growing Up Hip Hop. Our digital advertising business continues to grow, particularly through our expanding presence on connected TV platforms. Additionally, our leadership position in addressable targeting and new technologies like programmatic buying continues to deliver results for our partners. Our universe of advertisers has grown exponentially over the last few years, as we have opened up new platforms to our programming and made it easier to transact with us. The launch of ad-supported AMC Plus will be the next step in connecting our commercial partners with the passionate fan communities we serve. Fundamentally, we want to feature our content in as many places as we possibly can while, as I noted earlier, protecting our strong brand associations. One major area focused on this front has been an expanding presence on connected TV platforms. We currently have 81 channel feeds live across eight major CTV and FAST platforms. By the end of the summer, we will have approximately 100 feeds carried on 10 platforms, meaningful growth in a space that has recently become a significant focal point for all programmers. In terms of our distribution partnerships, I'm pleased to say we just launched AMC Plus on Charter, making it available to Spectrum TV customers. We have now launched AMC Plus on all major MVPD platforms. Recent customer research has clearly demonstrated the power of an integrated streaming cable offering, which increases consumer satisfaction and lowers churn. Simply put, cable customers who access streaming as an integrated part of their cable television service are happier with their cable provider and with their streaming service subscriptions. So we're thrilled to have AMC Plus available in this way across all major providers. We're also very excited to have partnered with Comcast on their Now TV streaming product, which recently launched with 40 live channels, including all of our linear networks, plus more than 20 integrated fast channels and Peacock premium for a monthly price of $20. Now TV is just another example of our ability to innovate with our partners and offer compelling new options to consumers. Before Patrick provides a more detailed look at our financial performance, I wanted to note that as I've assessed this company over my first six months as CEO, I've been so impressed by the team here at AMC Networks. We continue to execute against a strategy that allows us to move quickly and opportunistically through an environment that even much larger companies are finding challenging and unpredictable. Historically, AMC Networks has proven its ability to make great shows and build passionate fan communities. Now we are combining those core competencies with a customer-first approach that will define our future today and in the years to come. It's clear to me that we have the programming, the platforms, the partners, and the team necessary to continue to operate a very profitable business and deliver long-term shareholder value. With that, I'll turn the call over to Patrick.