Laura Martin

Laura Martin first asked about the implications of Disney's announced CEO succession (Josh D'Amaro) and the board's perceived focus on parks assets over entertainment/streaming for Fubo's business. She then inquired about Fubo's roadmap for 'next generation of consumer-centric innovations' to close the subscriber gap with YouTube TV, specifically mentioning mobile app improvements, fantasy, and betting capabilities, and followed up on the potential to re-enter the betting business through ESPN.

Answer

CEO David Gandler congratulated Josh D'Amaro, stating that Disney is a large company with evolving priorities, but he doesn't foresee short-term changes impacting Fubo's strong conversations and plans with ESPN and Hulu teams. Regarding innovation, Gandler highlighted an upcoming mobile app relaunch, leveraging Disney/ESPN's fantasy and betting capabilities, and developing technology around a large engagement funnel. He confirmed that re-entering the betting business through ESPN is not off the table, emphasizing Fubo's strong engineering and product DNA to deliver ideas across the platform, including highlight generation and improved DVR for sports.

Laura Martin asked about the potential impact of Disney's new CEO appointment, Josh D'Amaro, on Fubo's business, particularly if Disney shifts focus towards parks over traditional TV and streaming. She also inquired about Fubo's roadmap for consumer-centric innovations to close the subscriber gap with YouTube TV and the possibility of re-entering the betting business through ESPN.

Answer

CEO David Gandler congratulated Josh D'Amaro but stated he doesn't foresee any short-term changes for Fubo, noting Disney's ongoing focus on its technology stack. He outlined Fubo's innovation roadmap, including relaunching the mobile app and exploring Disney and ESPN's capabilities in fantasy sports (10M+ users) and betting to enhance engagement and close the subscriber gap with YouTube TV. Gandler emphasized Fubo's strong engineering and product DNA, expressing excitement about developing features like highlight generation and improved DVR experiences for sports, and stated that re-entering the betting business through ESPN is not off the table.

Inquired about the limited use of free cash flow for debt repurchase despite a significant discount, and questioned whether the 20% revenue decline in the U.S. is a structural or temporary issue.

Answer

The company stated that the debt repurchase was a starting point using immediately available excess cash and more could follow. The U.S. decline is attributed to controllable, operational issues that are being addressed, with leading indicators already showing positive trends.

Asked about the timeline for converting positive client meetings into revenue, the potential impact of tariffs, and trends in advertising on news sites.

Answer

The company expects revenue from new cross-selling opportunities to ramp up and contribute to growth in the second half of the year. No meaningful impact from tariffs has been observed. There is a positive trend of advertisers returning to news sites, using more granular technology for brand safety.

Requested a breakdown of the projected synergies between cost and revenue, clarification on the plan to use 'Teads' as the go-to-market name, and an update on whether advertising spend is returning to the news genre.

Answer

Of the projected $65M-$75M in annual synergies by 2026, $60M is from costs (personnel, non-compensation, traffic acquisition) and $5M-$15M is the EBITDA impact from revenue synergies, which is considered a conservative estimate. The company confirmed it will operate under the name Teads, which will eventually involve a formal name and ticker change, to leverage the Teads brand's association with quality and video. Regarding news, the company sees some small, positive trends of ad money returning but emphasized that its inventory mix is much broader than just news.

Asked whether the company is seeing a trend of advertisers cutting budgets from news content, and questioned how "performance" is defined and measured for their CTV offering, specifically whether it can be tied directly to a purchase like a retail media network.

Answer

Executives stated they have not seen any real change in advertiser spending on news and believe technology can mitigate brand safety concerns. Regarding performance CTV, they explained that "performance" is defined by client needs and can include various outcomes like foot traffic, leads, or subscriptions, which they can measure by linking CTV ad exposure to actions on advertiser websites.

Inquired about the specifics of the data product that saw 100% growth, its relation to ACR data, the company's plans for adopting U.S. GAAP accounting standards, and the composition of the 10% of revenue that is not programmatic.

Answer

The data product growth is on a small base and relates to tools like discovery and ID graph, often involving ACR data, though the preference is to bundle data with media. The company is actively considering a move to U.S. GAAP sooner rather than later. The 10% of non-programmatic revenue consists of legacy performance activities, mainly influencer advertising.

Questioned if the software-only offering would become a long-term revenue headwind, asked about the monetization model for the Nielsen partnership, and inquired about the competitive impact of a potential Google ad tech divestiture.

Answer

The company views the software-only model as a long-term positive for scalability and margins, despite short-term revenue pressure. The financial terms of the Nielsen deal are not public but are contractually structured for future revenue. The Google antitrust case is seen as a net positive for Innovid as it educates the market on the need for an unbiased platform, regardless of the outcome.

Asked about the competitive landscape with Google, specifically whether Google's focus on GenAI helps or hurts Innovid. Also asked for clarification on the payment model for the new creative optimization feature used by Disney.

Answer

Google's focus on the broader 'AI arms race' and de-investment in some ad tech areas is seen as a positive for Innovid, as it reinforces Innovid's value proposition as a neutral platform where clients can control their own data. The Disney creative optimization feature is part of a measurement arrangement, which has a fixed SaaS-like fee and a variable usage-based component. The company expects the new functionality to drive higher usage, thereby increasing revenue from the variable part of the contract.