Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.

Board's fiscal 2023 fourth quarter and year-end earnings conference call. Our President and COO, David Hopkinson, will begin this morning's call with an update on the company's strategy and operations. This will be followed by a review of our financial results with Victoria Mink, our EVP, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer. After our prepared remarks, we will open up the call for questions. If you do not have a copy of today's earnings release, it is available in the investor section of our corporate website. Please take note of the following. Today's discussion may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Security 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 materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to the company's filings with the SEC for a discussion of risks and uncertainties. The company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements that may be discussed during this call. On pages 4 and 5 of today's earnings release, we provide consolidated statements of operations and a reconciliation of operating income to adjusted operating income, or AOI, a non-GAAP financial measure. And with that, I will now turn the call over to David.

Thank you Ari and good morning everyone. As we look back on fiscal 2023, I'm pleased to say it was another exceptional year for MSG Sports, highlighted by strong financial results and exciting seasons, including playoff appearances from both the Knicks and Rangers. For a full year of fiscal 23, we reported revenues of $887 million, a new record for the company, as well as adjusted operating income of $115 million. Growth was broad-based with every key revenue category, including tickets, suites, marketing partnerships, and media rights exceeding fiscal 2022's record-level results. These results are a testament to the strength of our marquee sports franchises and the enthusiasm we continue to see from our fans. They also reflect the sustained demand from corporate partners for our valuable team sponsorship assets and premium hospitality offerings of the garden. As we embark on a new fiscal year, our strategy for the business remains unchanged. We are focused on capitalizing on the strong performance of our teams, while at the same time executing superbly on the many opportunities we see to grow our business. That includes maximizing ticket revenues through increases in both ticket yield and average per game attendance, introducing new premium hospitality products to meet robust ongoing corporate demand, building on our strong relationships with our fans, which benefits almost every revenue line across our company, expanding our marketing partnerships business with our premium inventory, and benefiting from continual contractual growth in media rights. We will also continue our opportunistic approach to capital allocation, which this past year included our first ever return of capital since becoming a pure play sports company in fiscal 2020. So with positive operating momentum heading into fiscal 24 and numerous growth opportunities ahead, we are well positioned to create long-term value for our shareholders, and we remain as confident as ever in the value of owning two of the most recognized franchises in professional sports. Both the Knicks and Rangers had strong regular seasons this past year, resulting in playoff appearances for both teams. For the Rangers, we were encouraged to see the team in the playoffs for the second consecutive year. The team has since had a productive offseason, including naming Stanley Cup-winning Peter Laviolette as the team's new head coach and adding several talented players in the draft and pre-agency. For the Knicks, The season concluded with the team advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals, and with a number of key players secured under long-term contracts, we are looking forward to building on last year's success in the upcoming 23-24 season. And it's clear our fans are excited too, following another season of their unwavering support. In fact, average paid attendance and average ticket yield were both up this past regular season as compared to fiscal 2022. which drove substantial ticket revenue growth year over year. And while season tickets, which comprise the significant majority of our ticket revenue, certainly had a lot to do with it, we were also pleased to see average tickets sold per game for individuals and groups not only exceed the prior year, but also the pre-pandemic fiscal 19. As we look forward to next season, we're already seeing this ticket momentum carry forward. For example, the average combined season ticket renewal rate for the Nixon Rangers upcoming seasons has climbed to approximately 93%, which is on a larger renewable base than last year and also reflects season ticket price increases for both teams. And our fans have continued to demonstrate their excitement to root on their favorite teams in person beyond ticket sales. This includes through food and beverage and merchandise per capita spending, where we saw a high single-digit percentage increase as compared to fiscal 2022, which, if you recall, had exceeded pre-pandemic levels by a double-digit percentage. On the merchandise front, we continue to showcase bespoke offerings, some of which is exclusively available at the Garden. We completed another successful year of collaborations with Jeff Staple with the Rangers and with Kith with the Knicks. And it's clear that these offerings are resonating with fans. as merchandise revenue in the regular season hit new highs in fiscal 2023. We will continue innovating our products and potential partnerships in the year ahead. As we do with merchandise, when it comes to our fans, we are always looking for fresh ways to deepen our connections with them, while also creating opportunities for new fans to join our community. That includes our Fan First program, which is aimed at leveraging innovative technologies to get tickets directly into the hands of our fans. We piloted this program during the playoffs and intend to roll this initiative out more broadly this coming year. It also included special events this past season, such as our Playoff Watch Party at the Garden during the next second round against the Miami Heat, as well as Rangers Open Practice at the arena, both of which welcomed thousands of fans. On a similar note, we've been increasing fan engagement outside the garden, including across our digital platforms. We launched our first ever podcast this past fiscal year, hosted by legendary Rangers goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, while continuing to enhance our social media presence through compelling content and a diverse roster of influencers. In total, we added over 1.7 net new social media followers this past year, bringing the Knicks and Rangers combined following to over 18 million as of the end of the fiscal year, an increase of more than 10% for fiscal 2023. Turning to marketing partnerships, looking back at fiscal 2023, we continued to benefit from sustained sponsorship demands for our valuable assets. We saw robust renewal activity from existing signature partners, including Verizon and Spectrum. And we also welcomed new partners to our roster, including signature partner Hub International, as well as MSC Cruises. In fact, MSC Cruises became our first official global partner of the NYX, demonstrating the international appeal of the NYX brand. As we build on this momentum, we'll continue to pursue other valuable sponsorship opportunities, including potential global partners for the NYX and jersey patches for either team. Robust corporate demand has also extended to our premium hospitality business, where we once again saw record revenues for the year. Our strong renewal rates and new sales activity have positioned us well for fiscal 24 with the majority of our suites under multi-year agreements. And in partnership with MSG Entertainment, we expect to further capitalize on that demand with the addition of two new event-level suites for the upcoming seasons. Turning to media rights, in fiscal 23, we benefited from ongoing contractual escalators from our local and national media rights fees. At the same time, fans continue to show their enthusiasm to watch their favorite teams live with strong viewership trends across traditional media. For example, the NBA playoffs, which were aired on ABC, ESPN, and TNT, were the most watched postseason for the league in the past five years. And on the NHL side, this year's postseason was reported as the most watched ever on cable for the league. So it's clear enthusiasm to watch live sports remains strong. And with the upcoming NBA media rights renewals after the 24-25 season, we remain bullish on the opportunity ahead. With the positive momentum we've seen in our business, the growth opportunities in front of us, and the record-level franchise transactions we see across the professional sports landscape, we remain extremely confident in the underlying strength of our iconic franchises and our ability to drive long-term shareholder value.

With that, I'll now turn the call over to Victoria.