Benjamin Soff

Benjamin Soff asked about The New York Times Company's capital allocation strategy for 2026, given strong free cash flow and a robust balance sheet, and whether there are plans to update shareholder return targets. He also questioned the company's approach to password sharing, particularly the 'carrot' strategy exemplified by the Family Plan, and potential future tools.

Answer

EVP and CFO Will Bardeen stated no change to the capital allocation strategy, prioritizing high-return organic investments (like video) and returning at least 50% of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. President and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien explained that the Family Plan is the current 'carrot' approach to password sharing, driving penetration, premium revenue, and improved engagement/retention, while not ruling out other options later.

Benjamin Soff inquired about the drivers behind the higher OpEx growth rate expected for Q4 and whether this trend is anticipated to continue. He also asked for an update on the company's capital allocation strategy, particularly regarding the growing cash balance and potential deployment plans.

Answer

Will Bardeen, Executive Vice President and CFO, explained that Q4 OpEx growth reflects continued investment in journalism (including video) and strategic sales and marketing campaigns, alongside variable expenses tied to revenue. He affirmed no change in capital allocation strategy, prioritizing organic growth, maintaining a strong balance sheet for optionality, and committing to returning at least 50% of free cash flow to shareholders with a high bar for M&A.

Benjamin Soff inquired about the drivers behind the higher OpEx growth rate expected for Q4 and whether similar levels should be anticipated going forward. He also asked for an update on the company's capital allocation strategy, particularly concerning the growing cash balance and potential deployment.

Answer

Will Bardeen explained that Q4 OpEx growth reflects continued investments in journalism, product development (like video), and strategic sales and marketing campaigns, alongside variable expenses tied to revenue. On capital allocation, he affirmed no change in strategy, prioritizing organic growth and maintaining a strong balance sheet for optionality, while reiterating a high bar for M&A and the target of returning at least 50% of free cash flow.

Benjamin Soff of Deutsche Bank AG asked for reflections on the bundle strategy, noting the milestone of 50% of the subscriber base now being on a bundled plan, and inquired about the new family plan subscription offering.

Answer

CEO Meredith Kopit Levien expressed satisfaction with the 50% bundle achievement, highlighting that bundled subscribers demonstrate higher engagement, retention, and lifetime value. CFO William Bardeen added that the new family plan, still in its early stages, is designed to penetrate the addressable market further, enhance retention, and improve long-term monetization by allowing a single subscription to cover multiple users.

Benjamin Soff inquired about the specific drivers behind the strong Q1 digital advertising revenue and asked for an update on business trends following recent tariff announcements.

Answer

President and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien explained that the ad business strategy now mirrors the consumer business, focusing on broad categories with marketer appeal, a large engaged audience for effective targeting, and a growing suite of ad products. In prepared remarks, CFO Will Bardeen noted that the impact of tariffs on the business has been immaterial to date.

Benjamin Soff asked about The New York Times Company's progress against its multiyear guidance from a previous Analyst Day, how the business has evolved, and whether the recent positive growth in bundled ARPU is sustainable.

Answer

President and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien affirmed confidence in the "essential subscription" strategy, noting its resilience and progress. EVP and CFO Will Bardeen added that The Times is on track to achieve its midterm targets for subscribers and capital returns. Regarding ARPU, Bardeen stated that while total digital-only ARPU is the key metric, the positive bundled ARPU trend is driven by successful subscriber step-ups from promotional pricing, reflecting the bundle's increasing value and giving them confidence in the overall ARPU trajectory.

Benjamin Soff inquired about the drivers of the recent strength in digital advertising, specifically the source of new ad supply and its performance, and asked about the trajectory for bundle ARPU growth.

Answer

Meredith Kopit Levien, President and CEO, attributed digital advertising growth to increased value from ad products in lifestyle categories and a steady rollout of new supply, particularly in Games and The Athletic. William Bardeen, EVP and CFO, addressed ARPU, stating the focus is on long-term revenue growth and modest year-over-year increases in total digital-only ARPU, driven by successful bundle subscriber step-ups and price increases for tenured single-product subscribers.

Benjamin Soff asked for an update on the opportunity in the APAC region following a recent acquisition in Japan. He also asked if the growth in Venue Nation fans was driven by new venues or better utilization of existing ones.

Answer

President and CEO Michael Rapino highlighted the recent deal in Japan as a key step to building a major presence that will serve as a hub for the broader APAC region. President and CFO Joe Berchtold clarified that recent fan growth was driven by a combination of both new venues coming online in markets like Colombia and increased utilization at existing venues in Europe and Latin America.

Benjamin Soff inquired about the company's latest thoughts on the APAC region, particularly the opportunity in Japan following a recent acquisition, and asked about the drivers behind the increase in fans at Venue Nation venues.

Answer

President & CEO Michael Rapino identified APAC as a major global growth opportunity, highlighting a recent deal in Japan as a crucial step to scale up in the region. President & CFO Joe Berchtold attributed the growth in operated venue fans primarily to increased show counts and new venues in the U.K., Europe, and Latin America, with new venue contributions expected to accelerate into 2026 and 2027.

Benjamin Soff asked about the potential impact on the business from the executive order directing the FTC to more rigorously enforce the BOTS Act.

Answer

President and CFO Joe Berchtold responded that the company strongly supports this and other measures like the TICKET Act and all-in pricing. He stated these changes create more transparency for fans and increase scrutiny on the secondary market, which benefits content owners and the overall ecosystem.

Benjamin Soff from Deutsche Bank inquired about the current economic comparison between vMVPDs and traditional distributors, the outlook for regulatory changes, and the potential impact of new sports-centric streaming services.

Answer

EVP & CFO Lee Ann Gliha clarified that vMVPD economics remain net-of-network-fees, unlike direct gross-basis deals with MVPDs. President & COO Michael Biard stated they view new sports D2C services as neutral to net-positive for pay-TV, noting they are designed to be complementary and that Nexstar's Fox affiliates will be included in the new Fox One service.

Benjamin Soff asked about the potential impact of moderating cord-cutting trends on Nexstar's results and upcoming renewals, and whether positive core advertising growth for the year is still achievable.

Answer

President and COO Michael Biard noted they have not yet seen a material impact from moderating subscriber trends but are cautiously optimistic, adding it does not change their renewal strategy. EVP and CFO Lee Gliha said the Q2 nonpolitical ad forecast is similar to Q1's decline but expects a pickup in the second half of the year as political ad crowd-out diminishes.

Benjamin Soff of Deutsche Bank asked for an update on the progress of broadcast deregulation and for more details on the Edge Beam Wireless joint venture for ATSC 3.0.

Answer

Executive Perry Sook expressed high optimism for meaningful ownership deregulation this year, citing bipartisan support. He explained that the Edge Beam Wireless consortium creates a virtual nationwide footprint covering 97% of the U.S. and that the prospect for spectrum monetization is 'upon us,' with a proposed transition plan aiming for a Phase 1 completion in top markets by February 2028.

Benjamin Soff from Deutsche Bank inquired about Nexstar's outlook on the video ecosystem for its upcoming renewal cycle and requested more detail on core advertising trends, specifically by category and the performance of local versus national advertising.

Answer

An executive explained that Nexstar will approach upcoming renewals with its proven strategy, confident in the increasing value of its content, particularly as the pay-TV ecosystem concentrates around sports and news viewers. CFO Lee Ann Gliha noted that while 54% of ad categories were down, this was an improvement from Q2, aided by the Olympics. She highlighted auto as the largest declining category and confirmed that national ad revenue was down in the teens, while local advertising remained more stable.

Benjamin Soff of Deutsche Bank asked for clarification on the moving pieces from asset sales impacting the Q3 guidance and requested insight into the evaluation process for monetizing assets within the Sinclair Ventures portfolio.

Answer

President & CEO Christopher Ripley explained that the sale of four stations and the consolidation of Digital Remedy were key factors in the Q3 guide. He detailed the Ventures strategy, which aims to monetize the majority of its $726 million portfolio over time, excluding core assets like Tennis Channel and Digital Remedy. CFO Narinder Sahai added that the Rincon station sale accounted for nearly half of the sequential decline in distribution revenue guidance.

Benjamin Soff from Deutsche Bank requested more details on the Compulse acquisition and its financial impact, and also asked about the source of recent expense savings and the potential for future cost-cutting.

Answer

President and CEO Chris Ripley described the Compulse acquisition as a highly accretive deal that scales a best-in-class, high-growth platform. EVP and CFO Lucy Rutishauser attributed the strong expense management to a broad, enterprise-wide focus on efficiency rather than a single area, and noted that while further cuts are possible if necessary, the company continues to invest in growth areas.

Benjamin Soff of Deutsche Bank asked what business milestones were needed before Sinclair would begin returning cash to shareholders from its Ventures unit. He also inquired about the competitive landscape for the total addressable market targeted by the EdgeBeam joint venture.

Answer

President and CEO Christopher Ripley stated that the business is already at a point where shareholder returns can be considered, noting that the completion of the comprehensive refinancing was the key milestone. Regarding EdgeBeam, Ripley detailed the initial focus on a ~$50 billion TAM across streaming offload, precision navigation, and automotive connectivity. He emphasized that broadcast's unique value propositions, such as lower cost and unique technical capabilities, position it to capture a significant share of these new revenue pools.

Benjamin Soff asked about the financial contribution from the Borderlands film and the company's future strategy for screen adaptations. He also requested more detail on the timing shift of marketing expenses.

Answer

CEO Strauss Zelnick stated the film's financial contribution was not material, though it did benefit catalog sales, and reiterated that the company remains highly selective about licensing its IP. CFO Lainie Goldstein explained the marketing expense shift was related to timing for various titles and was contained within the fiscal year.