MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Restructuring and other related charges
Restructuring and other related charges were $27.8 million and $449.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, with the majority of such costs related to a restructuring plan (the "Plan") that commenced in November 2022.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, as a result of the Plan, the Company recorded restructuring and other related charges of $449.0 million, consisting of content impairments of $403.8 million and severance and other personnel costs of $45.2 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company completed the Plan and recorded restructuring and other related charges of $27.8 million, consisting primarily of charges relating to severance and other personnel costs, and its exit during the third quarter of 2023 of a portion of office space at its corporate headquarters in New York and office space in Silver Spring, Maryland and Woodland Hills, California.

25/7 Media sale
On December 29, 2023, the Company sold its remaining interest in 25/7 Media to the noncontrolling interest holders. The results of operations of 25/7 Media are included in the consolidated financial statements through the date of sale.

Segment Reporting
We manage our business through the following two operating segments:
•Domestic Operations: Includes our five programming networks, our global streaming services, our AMC Studios operation and our film distribution business. Our programming networks are AMC, WE tv, BBC AMERICA, IFC, and SundanceTV. Our global streaming services consist of AMC+ and our targeted subscription streaming services (Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, and HIDIVE). Our AMC Studios operation produces original programming for our programming services and third parties and also licenses programming worldwide. Our film distribution business includes IFC Films, RLJ Entertainment Films and Shudder. The operating segment also includes AMC Networks Broadcasting & Technology, our technical services business, which primarily services the programming networks.
•International and Other: Includes AMC Networks International ("AMCNI"), our international programming businesses consisting of a portfolio of channels around the world, and 25/7 Media, our production services business, until it was sold on December 29, 2023.

Domestic Operations
In our Domestic Operations segment, we earn revenue principally from: (i) the distribution of our programming through our programming networks and streaming services, (ii) the sale of advertising, and (iii) the licensing of our original programming to distributors, including the distribution of programming of IFC Films.
Subscription revenue includes fees paid by distributors and consumers for our programming networks and streaming services. Subscription fees paid by distributors represent the largest component of distribution revenue. Our subscription revenues for our programming networks are based on a per subscriber fee, and, to a lesser extent, fixed fees under multi-year contracts, commonly referred to as "affiliation agreements." The subscription revenues we earn vary from period to period, distributor to distributor and also vary among our programming services, but are generally based on the impact of renewals of affiliation agreements and upon the number of each distributor's subscribers who receive our programming, referred to as viewing subscribers. Subscription fees for our streaming services are typically based on a per subscriber fee and are generally paid by distributors and consumers on a monthly basis. In negotiating for additional subscribers or extended carriage, we have agreed, in some instances, to make upfront payments to a distributor which we record as deferred carriage fees and are amortized as a reduction to revenue over the period of the related affiliation agreement. We also may support the distributors' efforts to market our networks. We believe that these transactions generate a positive return on investment over the contract period.
Under affiliation agreements with our distributors, we have the right to sell a specified amount of national advertising time on our programming networks. Our advertising revenues are more variable than subscription revenues because the majority of our advertising is sold on a short-term basis, not under long-term contracts. Our arrangements with advertisers provide for a set number of advertising units to air over a specific period of time at a negotiated price per unit. Additionally, in these advertising sales arrangements, our programming networks generally guarantee specified viewer ratings for their programming. If these guaranteed viewer ratings are not met, we are generally required to provide additional advertising units to the advertiser at no charge. For these types of arrangements, a portion of the related revenue is deferred if the guaranteed
ratings are not met and is subsequently recognized either when we provide the required additional advertising time or the guarantee obligation contractually expires. Most of our advertising revenues vary based on the timing of our original programming series and the popularity of our programming as measured by Nielsen. Our national programming networks have advertisers representing companies in a broad range of sectors, including the automotive, restaurants/food, health, technology and telecommunications industries. We seek to increase our advertising revenues by increasing the rates we charge for such advertising, which is directly related to the overall distribution of our programming, penetration of our services on various digital platforms such as AVOD and FAST services, integration of our advanced advertising products, and the popularity (including within desirable demographic groups) of our services as measured by Nielsen.
Content licensing revenue is earned from the licensing of original programming for digital, foreign and home video distribution and is recognized upon availability or distribution by the licensee, and, to a lesser extent, is earned through the distribution of AMC Studios produced series to third parties. Content licensing revenues vary based on the timing of availability of programming to distributors.
Our principal goal is to increase our revenues by increasing distribution and penetration of our services and increasing our ratings. To do this, we must continue to contract for and produce high-quality, attractive programming. As competition for programming increases and alternative distribution technologies continue to emerge and develop in the industry, costs for content acquisition and original programming have increased. There is a concentration of subscribers in the hands of a few distributors, which could create disparate bargaining power between the largest distributors and us by giving those distributors greater leverage in negotiating the price and other terms of affiliation agreements. We also seek to increase our content licensing revenues by expanding the opportunities for licensing our programming through digital distribution platforms, foreign distribution and home video services.

Programming expenses, included in technical and operating expenses, represent the largest expenses of the Domestic Operations segment and primarily consist of amortization of program rights, such as those for original programming, feature films and licensed series, as well as participation and residual costs. The other components of technical and operating expenses primarily include distribution and production related costs and program operating costs including cost of delivery, such as origination, transmission, uplinking and encryption.
The success of our business depends on original programming, both scripted and unscripted, across all of our programming services. These original series generally result in higher ratings for our networks and higher viewership on our streaming services. Among other things, higher audience ratings drive increased revenues through higher advertising revenues. The timing of exhibition and distribution of original programming varies from period to period, which results in greater variability in our revenues, earnings and cash flows from operating activities. There may be significant changes in the level of our technical and operating expenses due to the level of our content investment spend and the related amortization of content acquisition and/or original programming costs. Program rights that are predominantly monetized as a group are amortized based on projected usage, typically resulting in an accelerated amortization pattern and, to a lesser extent, program rights that are predominantly monetized individually are amortized based on the individual-film-forecast-computation method.
Most original series require us to make significant up-front investments. Our programming efforts are not always commercially successful, which has in the past resulted and could in the future result in a write-off of program rights. If events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of program rights predominantly monetized individually or a film group is less than its unamortized cost, the Company will write off the excess to technical and operating expenses in the consolidated statements of income. Program rights with no future programming usefulness are substantively abandoned resulting in the write-off of remaining unamortized cost. There were program rights write-offs of $14.5 million included in technical and operating expense for the year ended December 31, 2023, for programming that was substantively abandoned. For the year ended December 31, 2022. there were $403.8 million of program write-offs recorded to restructuring and other related charges in connection with the Company’s strategic programming assessments. Refer to Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements for additional information.

International and Other
Our International and Other segment includes the operations of AMCNI and 25/7 Media. On December 29, 2023, we sold our interest in 25/7 Media to the noncontrolling interest holders.
In our International and Other segment, we earn revenue principally from the international distribution of programming and, to a lesser extent, the sale of advertising from our AMCNI programming networks. Until its sale, we also earned revenue through production services from 25/7 Media. For the year ended December 31, 2023, distribution revenues represented 80% of the revenues of the International and Other segment. Distribution revenue primarily includes subscription fees paid by distributors to carry our programming networks and production services revenue generated from 25/7 Media. Our subscription revenues are generally based on either a per-subscriber fee or a fixed contractual annual fee, under multi-year affiliation agreements. Subscription revenues are derived from the distribution of our programming networks primarily in Europe, and to a
lesser extent, Latin America. Our production services revenues are based on master production agreements whereby a third party engages us to produce content on its behalf. Production services revenues are recognized based on the percentage of cost incurred to total estimated cost of the contract.
Programming expenses, program operating costs and production costs incurred to produce content for third parties are included in technical and operating expenses, and represent the largest expense of the International and Other segment. Programming expenses primarily consist of amortization of acquired content, costs of dubbing and sub-titling of programs, and production costs. Program operating costs include costs such as origination, transmission, uplinking and encryption of our linear AMCNI channels as well as content hosting and delivery costs at our various on-line content distribution initiatives. Our programming efforts are not all commercially successful, which has in the past resulted and could in the future result in a write-off of program rights. If events or changes in circumstances indicate that the fair value of program rights predominantly monetized individually or a film group is less than its unamortized cost, the Company will write off the excess to technical and operating expenses in the consolidated statements of income. Program rights with no future programming usefulness are substantively abandoned, resulting in the write-off of remaining unamortized cost.
Similar to our Domestic Operations businesses, the most significant business challenges we expect to encounter in our International and Other businesses include programming competition (from both foreign and domestic programmers), limited channel capacity on distributors' platforms, the number of subscribers on those platforms and economic pressures on subscription fees. Other significant business challenges unique to our international operations include increased programming costs for international rights and translation (i.e., dubbing and subtitling), a lack of availability of international rights for a portion of our domestic programming content, increased distribution costs for cable, satellite or fiber feeds, a limited physical presence in certain territories, and our exposure to foreign currency exchange rate risk.

"Risk Factors - We face risks from doing business internationally." in this Annual Report.
Corporate / Inter-segment Eliminations
Corporate operations primarily consist of executive management and administrative support services, such as executive salaries and benefits costs, costs of maintaining corporate headquarters, facilities and common support functions. The segment financial information set forth below, including the discussion related to individual line items, does not reflect inter-segment eliminations unless specifically indicated.

Impact of Economic Conditions
Our future performance is dependent, to a large extent, on general economic conditions including the impact of direct competition, our ability to manage our businesses effectively, and our relative strength and leverage in the marketplace, both with suppliers and customers. Additionally, changes in macroeconomic factors and circumstances, particularly high inflation and interest rates, may adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial position or our ability to refinance our indebtedness on terms favorable to us, or at all.

Capital and credit market disruptions, as well as other events such as pandemics or other health emergencies, inflation, international conflict and recession, could cause economic downturns, which may lead to lower demand for our products, such as lower demand for television advertising and a decrease in the number of subscribers receiving our programming services. Events such as these may adversely impact our results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

Consolidated Results of Operations
The amounts presented and discussed below represent 100% of each operating segment's revenues, net and expenses. Where we have management control of an entity, we consolidate 100% of such entity in our consolidated statements of income notwithstanding that a third-party owns an interest, which may be significant, in such entity. The noncontrolling owner's interest in the operating results of consolidated subsidiaries are reflected in net income or loss attributable to noncontrolling interests in our consolidated statements of income.
Years Ended December 31, 2023 and 2022

Revenues
Subscription revenues decreased 3.9% in our Domestic Operations segment primarily due to a decline in affiliate revenues, partially offset by an increase in streaming revenues. Subscription revenues decreased 1.2% in our International and Other segment primarily due to the non-renewal of an AMCNI distribution agreement in the U.K. in the fourth quarter of 2023. The impact of this non-renewal will continue to impact subscription revenues in 2024. We expect the linear subscriber decline for our networks to continue, consistent with the declines across the cable ecosystem.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased 30.4% in our Domestic Operations segment primarily due to the availability of deliveries in the period and, to a lesser extent, timing. Content licensing and other revenues decreased 24.8% in our International and Other segment primarily due to a reduction in the volume of productions at 25/7 Media driven by reduced demand for new content and series cancellations from third parties. Content licensing and other revenues in our International & Other segment will decrease in 2024 as a result of the sale of 25/7 Media as substantially all of our content licensing and other revenues in this segment are related to the 25/7 Media production services business. In 2023, we recognized $91.5 million of revenue from 25/7 Media. We expect content licensing revenues in our Domestic Operations segment to face pressure in 2024 due to reduced availability of original programming.
Advertising revenues decreased 19.6% in our Domestic Operations segment primarily due to linear ratings declines, softness in the advertising market and fewer original programming episodes within the period, partially offset by digital and advanced advertising revenue growth. Advertising revenues decreased 2.1% in our International and Other segment primarily due to marketplace declines partially offset by digital and advanced advertising growth in the U.K. We expect advertising revenue to continue to decline as the advertising market gravitates toward other distribution platforms.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization)
The components of technical and operating expenses primarily include the amortization of program rights, such as those for original programming, feature films and licensed series, and other direct programming costs, such as participation and residual costs, distribution and production related costs and program delivery costs, such as transmission, encryption, hosting, and formatting.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) decreased 12.6% in our Domestic Operations segment primarily due to a decrease in program rights amortization and lower costs associated with the delivery of Silo, an AMC Studios produced series. Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) decreased 13.4% in our International and Other segment primarily due to a reduction in the volume of productions at 25/7 Media driven by reduced demand for new content and series cancellations from third parties.
There may be significant changes in the level of our technical and operating expenses due to original programming costs and/or content acquisition costs. As competition for programming increases, costs for content acquisition and original programming are expected to continue to increase. Technical and operating expenses in our International & Other segment will decrease in 2024 due to the sale of 25/7 Media.

Selling, general and administrative expenses
The components of selling, general and administrative expenses primarily include sales, marketing and advertising expenses, administrative costs and costs of non-production facilities.
Selling, general and administrative expenses (including share-based compensation expenses) decreased 19.4% in our Domestic Operations segment primarily due to lower marketing and subscriber acquisition expenses related to our streaming services, and decreased 9.6% in Corporate primarily due to lower employee related costs. Selling, general and administrative expenses (including share-based compensation expenses) increased 3.5% in our International and Other segment primarily due to an increase in corporate overhead costs allocated to AMCNI.
There have been and may continue to be significant changes in the level of our selling, general and administrative expenses due to the timing of promotions and marketing of original programming series. Selling, general and administrative expenses in our International & Other segment will decrease in 2024 due to the sale of 25/7 Media.

Impairment and other charges
Impairment and other charges of $96.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2023 primarily consisted of $65.4 million of long-lived assets impairment charges at BBC AMERICA ("BBCA") and 25/7 Media, and $21.7 million of goodwill impairment charges at 25/7 Media.
In June 2023, given the impact of market challenges at 25/7 Media, specifically relating to reduced demand for new content and series cancellations from third parties, we revised our outlook for the 25/7 Media business, resulting in lower expected future cash flows. As a result, we determined that sufficient indicators of potential impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill existed at 25/7 Media. We performed a recoverability test and determined that the carrying amount of the 25/7 Media asset group was not recoverable. The carrying value of the asset group exceeded its fair value, therefore an impairment charge of $24.9 million was recorded ($23.0 million for identifiable intangible assets and $1.9 million for goodwill), which is included in Impairment and other charges in the consolidated statement of income within the International and Other operating segment.
In December 2023, in connection with the preparation of our fourth quarter financial information, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test and concluded that the estimated fair value of the 25/7 Media reporting unit further declined from the interim assessment performed. The decrease in the estimated fair value reflected the continued decline in market conditions and business outlook and contemplation of concurrent negotiations with the noncontrolling interest holders for the sale of our remaining interest. As a result, we recognized an impairment charge of $19.8 million, reflecting a write-down of substantially all of the goodwill associated with the 25/7 Media reporting unit.
During the fourth quarter of 2023, given continued market challenges and linear declines, we revised our outlook for our BBCA linear programming network, resulting in lower expected future cash flows. As a result, we determined that sufficient indicators of potential impairment of long-lived assets existed at BBCA. We performed a recoverability test and determined that the carrying amount of the BBCA asset group was not recoverable. The carrying value of the asset group exceeded its fair value, therefore an impairment charge of $42.4 million was recorded for identifiable intangible assets and other long-lived assets.
Impairment and other charges of $40.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 related to goodwill impairment charges at AMCNI.
In December 2022, in connection with the preparation of our fourth quarter financial information, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test and concluded that the estimated fair value of the AMCNI reporting unit declined to less than its carrying amount. The decrease in the estimated fair value was in response to current and expected trends across the international television broadcasting markets, as well as a decrease in the valuation multiples used to estimate the fair value using the market approach. As a result, we recognized an impairment charge of $40.7 million, reflecting a partial write-down of the goodwill associated with the AMCNI reporting unit.

Restructuring and other related charges
Restructuring and other related charges were $27.8 million and $449.0 million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, with the majority of such costs related to a restructuring plan (the "Plan") that commenced in November 2022. The Plan was designed to achieve significant cost reductions in light of “cord cutting” and the related impacts being felt across the media industry as well as the broader economic outlook. The Plan encompassed initiatives that included, among other things, strategic programming assessments and organizational restructuring costs. The Plan was intended to improve the organizational design of the Company through the elimination of certain roles and centralization of certain functional areas of the Company. The programming assessments pertained to a broad mix of owned and licensed content, including legacy television series and films that are no longer in active rotation on the Company’s linear or streaming platforms.
For the year ended December 31, 2022, as a result of the Plan, we recorded restructuring and other related charges of $449.0 million, consisting of content impairments of $403.8 million and severance and other personnel costs of $45.2 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we completed the Plan and recorded restructuring and other related charges of $27.8 million, consisting primarily of charges relating to severance and other personnel costs, and our exit during the third quarter of 2023 of a portion of office space at our corporate headquarters in New York and office space in Silver Spring, Maryland and Woodland Hills, California. In connection with exiting a portion of our New York office space, we recorded impairment charges of $11.6 million, consisting of $9.1 million for operating lease right-of use assets and $2.5 million for leasehold improvements. Fair values used to determine the impairment charge were determined using an income approach, specifically a discounted cash flow ("DCF") model. The DCF model includes significant assumptions about sublease income and enterprise specific discount rates. Given the uncertainty in determining assumptions underlying the DCF approach, actual results may differ from those used in the valuations.

Operating income
The increase in operating income was primarily attributable to decreases in restructuring and other related charges of $421.2 million, technical and operating expenses of $188.4 million and selling, general and administrative expenses of $132.7 million, partially offset by a decrease in revenues of $384.7 million and an increase in impairment and other charges of $56.0 million.
Interest expense, net
The decrease in interest expense, net was primarily due to higher interest income from our money market mutual fund accounts and bank deposits, partially offset by higher interest rates on our Term Loan A Facility.

Miscellaneous, net
The increase in miscellaneous, net was primarily related to $16.6 million of higher net gains on derivative financial instruments and a $9.6 million favorable variance in the foreign currency remeasurement of monetary assets and liabilities (principally intercompany loans) that are denominated in currencies other than the underlying functional currency of the applicable entity as compared to the year ended December 31, 2022. This increase was partially offset by $3.8 million of lower net gains on investments and write-downs of $1.7 million related to certain investments in 2023.

Income tax benefit (expense)
Income tax expense was $94.6 million for 2023, representing an effective tax rate of 32%. The effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to state and local income tax expense of $10.5 million, tax expense related to foreign operations of $3.4 million, tax expense of $10.6 million resulting from a net increase in valuation allowances primarily related to foreign deferred tax assets, $3.8 million of tax expense related to nontaxable loss attributable to noncontrolling interests and tax expense of $5.2 million related to non-deductible compensation expense.
Income tax benefit was $41.0 million for 2022, representing an effective tax rate of 137%. The effective tax rate differs from the federal statutory rate of 21% due primarily to state and local income tax benefit of $6.0 million and tax benefit of $70.4 million related to the deemed liquidation of a wholly-owned controlled foreign corporation, partially offset by tax
expense of $32.6 million resulting from a net increase in valuation allowances for foreign deferred tax assets, state net operating losses and excess capital losses and tax expense of $10.4 million related to non-deductible compensation expense.

Segment Results of Operations
Our segment operating results are presented based on how we assess operating performance and internally report financial information. We use segment adjusted operating income as the measure of profit or loss for our operating segments. See Non-GAAP Financial Measures section below for our definition of Adjusted Operating Income and a reconciliation from Operating Income to Adjusted Operating Income on a segment and consolidated basis.
Domestic Operations
Revenues
Subscription revenues decreased primarily due to a 13.3% decline in affiliate revenues, partially offset by a 12.7% increase in streaming revenues. Affiliate revenues decreased due to basic subscriber declines and a 3% impact of a strategic non-renewal that occurred at the end of 2022. Streaming revenues were positively impacted by an increase in the average number of subscribers during the period and price increases.
Subscription revenues include revenues related to the Company's streaming services of $565.6 million and $501.9 million for 2023 and 2022, respectively. Aggregate paid subscribers to our streaming services were approximately 11.4 million at both December 31, 2023 and 2022.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased primarily due to the availability of deliveries in the period and, to a lesser extent, timing, including $107.4 million due to the delivery of fewer episodes of The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, both of which were strong contributors in the prior year and $69.4 million lower revenue associated with the timing of episode delivery for Silo, an AMC Studios produced series, partially offset by the $20.3 million impact associated with the 2023 termination of an output agreement that resulted in the acceleration of revenue for content that was previously anticipated to be delivered and recognized in 2024.
Advertising revenues decreased due to linear ratings declines, softness in the advertising market and fewer original programming episodes within the period, partially offset by digital and advanced advertising revenue growth.

Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization)
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) decreased primarily due to a decrease in program rights amortization, consistent with the decrease in content licensing revenue for The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, and lower costs associated with the delivery of Silo, an AMC Studios produced series.
Program rights amortization expense includes write-offs of $14.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, for programming that was substantively abandoned. There were no material write-offs included in program rights amortization expense in 2022. Programming write-offs are based on management's periodic assessment of programming usefulness.

Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to lower marketing and subscriber acquisition expenses related to our streaming services.
Segment adjusted operating income
The decrease in segment adjusted operating income was primarily attributable to a decrease in revenues of $358.6 million, partially offset by decreases in technical and operating expenses of $160.8 million and selling, general and administrative expenses of $124.7 million.

Revenues
Subscription revenues decreased primarily due to the non-renewal of an AMCNI distribution agreement in the U.K. in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Content licensing and other revenues decreased due to a reduction in the volume of productions at 25/7 Media driven by reduced demand for new content and series cancellations from third parties.
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Advertising revenues decreased primarily due to marketplace declines, partially offset by digital and advanced advertising growth in the U.K.
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization)
Technical and operating expenses (excluding depreciation and amortization) decreased primarily due to a reduction in the volume of productions at 25/7 Media driven by reduced demand for new content and series cancellations from third parties.
There were no material write-offs included in program rights amortization expense in 2023 or 2022. Programming write-offs are based on management's periodic assessment of programming usefulness.

Selling, general and administrative expenses
Selling, general and administrative expenses increased primarily due to an increase in corporate overhead costs allocated to AMCNI.
Segment adjusted operating income
The decrease in segment adjusted operating income was primarily attributable to a decrease in revenues of $38.0 million and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses of $4.7 million, partially offset by a decrease in technical and operating expenses of $34.3 million.

Revenue eliminations are primarily related to inter-segment licensing revenues recognized between the Domestic Operations and International and Other segments.
Technical and Operating (excluding depreciation and amortization)
Technical and operating expense eliminations are primarily related to inter-segment programming amortization recognized between the Domestic Operations and International and Other segments.
Selling, general and administrative expenses
Corporate overhead costs not allocated to the segments include such costs as executive salaries and benefits, costs of maintaining corporate headquarters, facilities and common support functions.
Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to lower employee related costs.

Liquidity and Capital Resources
Overview
Our operations typically generate positive net cash flow from operating activities. However, each of our programming businesses has substantial programming acquisition and production expenditure requirements.
Our primary source of cash typically includes cash flow from operations. Sources of cash also include amounts available under our revolving credit facility and, subject to market conditions, access to capital and credit markets. Although we currently believe that amounts available under our revolving credit facility will be available when and if needed, we can provide no
assurance that access to such funds will not be impacted by adverse conditions in the financial markets. The obligations of the financial institutions under our revolving credit facility are several and not joint and, as a result, a funding default by one or more institutions does not need to be made up by the others. As a public company, we may have access to capital and credit markets, although adverse conditions in the financial markets have in the past impacted, and are expected in the future to impact, access to those markets.
In October 2023, we entered into an agreement enabling us to sell certain customer receivables to a financial institution on a recurring basis for cash. Any transferred receivables are fully guaranteed by a bankruptcy-remote entity and the financial institution that purchases the receivables has no recourse to our other assets in the event of non-payment by the customers. We can sell an indefinite amount of customer receivables under the agreement on a revolving basis, but the outstanding balance of unpaid customer receivables to the financial institution cannot exceed the initial program limit of $125.0 million at any given time. We have not yet sold any customer receivables under this agreement.
Our principal uses of cash include the production, acquisition and promotion of programming, technology investments, debt service and payments for income taxes. We continue to invest in original programming, the funding of which generally occurs at least nine months in advance of a program's airing.
As of December 31, 2023, approximately $244.9 million of cash and cash equivalents, previously held by foreign subsidiaries, was repatriated to the United States. Our consolidated cash and cash equivalents balance of $570.6 million, as of December 31, 2023, includes approximately $141.9 million held by foreign subsidiaries. Of this amount, approximately $20.0 million is expected to be repatriated to the United States with the remaining amount continuing to be reinvested in foreign operations. Tax expense related to the repatriated amount, as well as the expected remaining amount to be repatriated, has been accrued in the current period and the Company does not expect to incur any significant, additional taxes related to the remaining balance.
We believe that a combination of cash-on-hand, cash generated from operating activities, availability under our revolving credit facility and our accounts receivable monetization program, borrowings under additional financing facilities and, when we have access to capital and credit markets, proceeds from the sale of new debt, will provide sufficient liquidity to service the principal and interest payments on our indebtedness, along with our other funding and investment requirements over the next twelve months and over the longer term. However, we do not expect to generate sufficient cash from operations to repay the then outstanding balances of our debt at the applicable maturity dates. As a result, we will be dependent upon our ability to access the capital and credit markets in order to repay, refinance, repurchase through privately negotiated transactions, open market repurchases, tender offers or otherwise or redeem the outstanding balances of our indebtedness.
On December 12, 2023 (the “Redemption Date”), we redeemed the remaining $400 million outstanding principal amount of our 5.00% senior notes due 2024 (the “2024 Notes”). The 2024 Notes were redeemed at a redemption price of 100.000% of the principal amount of the 2024 Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the Redemption Date. Additionally, in December 2023, we repurchased $25.3 million of our outstanding 4.75% Notes due August 2025 through open market repurchases. Given the maturity date of the remaining $774.7 million of 4.75% senior notes due 2025, we may access the capital or credit markets in the near term to refinance those senior notes through privately negotiated transactions, open market repurchases, tender offers or redemptions.
Failure to raise significant amounts of funding to repay our outstanding debt obligations at their respective maturity dates would adversely affect our business. In such a circumstance, we would need to take other actions including selling assets, seeking strategic investments from third parties or reducing other discretionary uses of cash. See Item 1A, "Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Debt" in this Annual Report.

Cash Flow Discussion
Net cash provided by operating activities for 2023 and 2022 amounted to $203.9 million and $181.8 million, respectively.
In 2023, net cash provided by operating activities primarily resulted from $1,421.5 million of net income before amortization of program rights, depreciation and amortization, and other non-cash items, partially offset by payments for program rights of $1,079.9 million and restructuring initiatives of $112.6 million. Changes in all other assets and liabilities during the year resulted in a net cash outflow of $25.1 million.
In 2022, net cash provided by operating activities primarily resulted from $1,524.6 million of net income before amortization of program rights, depreciation and amortization, and other non-cash items, partially offset by payments for program rights of $1,347.4 million. Changes in all other assets and liabilities during the year resulted in a net cash inflow of $4.6 million.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for 2023 and 2022 was $24.3 million and $39.4 million, respectively.
In 2023, net cash used in investing activities primarily consisted of capital expenditures of $35.2 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sale of investments of $8.6 million and the return of capital from investees of $2.1 million.
In 2022, net cash used in investing activities primarily consisted of capital expenditures of $44.3 million and an additional investment in an equity security of $5.0 million, partially offset by proceeds from the sales of a marketable equity security of $9.9 million.
Financing Activities
Net cash used in financing activities for 2023 and 2022 was $544.4 million and $97.1 million, respectively.
In 2023, net cash used in financing activities primarily consisted of principal payments on long-term debt of $458.4 million (including $400.0 million of 5.00% Notes due April 2024, $24.7 million of 4.75% Notes due August 2025, and $33.7 million on the Term Loan A Facility), distributions to noncontrolling interests of $72.9 million, taxes paid in lieu of shares issued for equity-based compensation of $7.3 million, principal payments on finance leases of $4.2 million, and the purchase of noncontrolling interests of $1.3 million.
In 2022, net cash used in financing activities primarily consisted of distributions to noncontrolling interests of $35.0 million, principal payments on the Term Loan A Facility of $33.8 million, taxes paid in lieu of shares issued for equity-based compensation of $22.3 million, principal payments on finance leases of $3.6 million, and the purchase of noncontrolling interests of $2.5 million.
Free Cash Flow2
2 Free Cash Flow is a non-GAAP financial measure. See the "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section on page 55 for additional information, including our definition and our use of this non-GAAP financial measure, and for a reconciliation to its most comparable GAAP financial measure.

Debt Financing Agreements

The Company's $400 million revolving credit facility remained undrawn at December 31, 2023. Total undrawn revolver commitments are available to be drawn for general corporate purposes of the Company.
In April 2023, the Company entered into Amendment No. 2 ("Amendment No. 2") to the Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, the "Credit Agreement"). Amendment No. 2 (i) reduced the aggregate principal amount of the revolving loan commitments under the Credit Agreement from $500 million to $400 million, (ii) replaced the interest rate based on London Interbank Offered Rate with an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, (iii) increased the Company's ability to incur additional debt in the future to provide additional flexibility for future financings, including increasing the amount of the incremental debt basket to the greater of $1.2 billion and the amount that would not cause the senior secured leverage ratio to exceed 3.00 to 1.00 on a pro forma basis and (iv) made certain other modifications to the Credit Agreement. In connection with
the modification of the revolving loan commitments, the Company recorded $0.6 million to write-off a portion of the unamortized deferred financing costs, which is included in interest expense within the consolidated statements of income.

In December 2023, the Company redeemed the remaining $400 million principal amount of its 5.00% Notes due 2024 at 100% of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption, and repurchased $25.3 million of its outstanding 4.75% Notes due 2025 through open market repurchases, at a discount, and retired the repurchased notes.
AMC Networks was in compliance with all of its debt covenants as of December 31, 2023.
Additional information regarding our outstanding indebtedness and the significant terms and provisions of our Senior Secured Credit Facility and our Senior Notes is discussed in Note 11 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

Supplemental Guarantor Financial Information
The following is a description of the terms and conditions of the guarantees with respect to the outstanding notes for which AMC Networks is the issuer.

Note Guarantees
Debt of AMC Networks as of December 31, 2023 included $774.7 million of 4.75% Notes due August 2025 and $1.0 billion of 4.25% Notes due February 2029 (collectively, the “notes”). The notes were issued by AMC Networks and are unconditionally guaranteed, jointly and severally, on an unsecured basis, by each of AMC Networks’ existing and future domestic restricted subsidiaries, subject to certain exceptions (each, a “Guarantor Subsidiary,” and collectively, the “Guarantor Subsidiaries”). The obligations of each Guarantor Subsidiary under its note guarantee are limited as necessary to prevent such note guarantee from constituting a fraudulent conveyance under applicable law. A guarantee of the notes by a Guarantor Subsidiary is subject to release in the following circumstances: (i) any sale or other disposition of all of the capital stock of a Guarantor Subsidiary to a person that is not (either before or after giving effect to such transaction) a restricted subsidiary, in compliance with the terms of the applicable indenture; (ii) the designation of a restricted subsidiary as an “Unrestricted Subsidiary” under the applicable indenture; or (iii) the release or discharge of the guarantee (including the guarantee under the AMC Networks’ credit agreement) which resulted in the creation of the note guarantee (provided that such Guarantor Subsidiary does not have any preferred stock outstanding at such time that is not held by AMC Networks or another Guarantor Subsidiary).
Foreign subsidiaries of AMC Networks do not and will not guarantee the notes.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
In preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. These estimates and assumptions can be subjective and complex and, consequently, actual results could differ materially from our estimates and assumptions. We base our estimates on historical experience, known or expected trends and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances.
We believe the following critical accounting policies comprise the more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements:
Program Rights
Licensed rights to programming, including feature films and episodic series, are stated at the lower of amortized cost or fair value. Such licensed rights along with the related obligations are recorded at the contract value when a license agreement is executed, unless there is uncertainty with respect to either cost, acceptability or availability. If such uncertainty exists, those rights and obligations are recorded at the earlier of when the uncertainty is resolved or when the license period begins. Costs are amortized to technical and operating expense on a straight-line or accelerated basis, based on the expected exploitation strategy of the rights, over a period not to exceed the respective license periods. We periodically review the remaining useful lives of our licensed program rights based on several factors, including expected future revenue generation from airings on our networks and other exploitation opportunities, ratings, type and quality of program material, standards and practices and fitness for exhibition through various forms of distribution. If it is determined that film or other program rights have limited, or no, future programming usefulness, the remaining useful life of such rights is adjusted accordingly, which may result in the accelerated amortization or write-off of such costs to technical and operating expense.

Owned original programming costs qualifying for capitalization are recorded as program rights on the consolidated balance sheet. Program rights that are monetized as a group are amortized based on projected program usage, typically resulting in an accelerated amortization pattern. Projected program usage is based on the Company's current expectation of future exhibitions taking into account historical usage of similar content. To a lesser extent, program rights that are predominantly monetized individually are amortized to technical and operating expense over their estimated useful lives, commencing upon the first airing, based on attributable revenue for airings to date as a percentage of total projected attributable revenue ("ultimate revenue") under the individual-film-forecast-computation method. We base our estimates of ultimate revenue primarily on distribution and advertising revenues historically generated from similar content in comparable markets, and projected program usage. We periodically review ultimate revenue estimates and projected program usage and revise our assumptions if necessary, which could either accelerate or delay the timing of amortization expense or result in a write-down of unamortized costs to fair value. For example, a program's strong performance could result in increased usage and increased attributable revenues in a particular period, resulting in accelerated amortization of costs in that period. Poor ratings may result in the reduction of attributable revenue from planned usage or the abandonment of a program, which would require a write-off of any unamortized costs. Actual attributable revenue and exhibitions may vary from our projections due to factors such as market acceptance, levels of distribution and advertising revenue, resulting in changes to our decisions regarding planned program usage. A failure to adjust for a downward change in estimates of ultimate revenue could result in the understatement of program rights amortization expense for the period. Any capitalized development costs for programs that we determine will not be produced are also written off. Historically, other than instances of write-offs associated with our decisions to abandon programming, actual ultimate revenue amounts have not significantly differed from our estimates of ultimate revenue.
Program rights write-offs of $17.3 million were included in technical and operating expense for the year ended December 31, 2023, for programming that was substantively abandoned. There were no significant program write-offs included in technical and operating expense for the year ended December 31, 2022. Refer to Note 5 for amounts recorded to restructuring expense in connection with the Company’s strategic programming assessments.
Useful Lives of Affiliate Intangible Assets
The carrying amount of our affiliate relationships acquired in business combinations as of December 31, 2023 was $196.8 million. Useful lives of affiliate relationships (ranging from 6 to 25 years) are initially determined based upon weighted average remaining terms of agreements in place with major distributors when purchase accounting is applied, plus an assumption for expected renewals. We periodically update our assumption for expected renewals based on recent experience and known or expected trends. We have historically been successful in renewing our major affiliation agreements and expect to renew such agreements in the future. However, if renewal trends deteriorate in the future (e.g., failure to renew, or renewals with significantly shorter terms), we may revise the remaining useful lives of affiliate intangible assets, resulting in higher amortization expenses in future periods. See Note 9 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.

Goodwill
Goodwill is not amortized, but instead is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level annually as of December 1, or more frequently upon the occurrence of certain events or substantive changes in circumstances. The annual goodwill impairment test allows for the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount. If it is determined, on the basis of qualitative factors, that the fair value of a reporting unit is, more likely than not, less than its carrying value, the quantitative impairment test is required. The quantitative impairment test calculates any goodwill impairment as the difference between the carrying amount of a reporting unit and its fair value, but not to exceed the carrying amount of goodwill.
For our annual impairment test, we performed quantitative impairment tests for all reporting units. The impairment test for goodwill requires judgment related to the identification of reporting units, the assignment of assets and liabilities to reporting units including goodwill, and the determination of fair value of the reporting units. The quantitative impairment test evaluates whether the carrying value of a reporting unit exceeds its estimated fair value. We estimate the fair value of our reporting units based on the present value of future cash flows (“Discounted Cash Flow Method”) and the total enterprise value multiples of publicly traded comparable companies (“Market Comparables Method”). The Discounted Cash Flow Method requires us to make various assumptions regarding the timing and amount of future cash flows, including revenue growth rates, operating margins, and programming and working capital investments for a projection period, plus the terminal value of the business at the end of the projection period. The assumptions about future cash flows are based on internal forecasts, which incorporates our long-term business plans and historical trends and are subject to a greater degree of uncertainty in times of adverse economic conditions. The terminal value is estimated based on a perpetual growth rate, which is based on historical and projected inflation and economic indicators, as well as industry growth projections. A discount rate is determined for the reporting unit based on the risks of achieving the future cash flows, including risks applicable to the industry and market as a whole, as well as the capital structure of comparable entities. The Market Comparables Method incorporates revenue and
earnings multiples from publicly traded companies with operations and other characteristics similar to each reporting unit. The selected multiples consider each reporting unit’s relative growth, profitability, size, and risk relative to the selected publicly traded companies.

Based on our annual and interim impairment tests for goodwill during 2023, we recorded total impairment charges of $21.7 million related to our 25/7 Media reporting unit. For our two other reporting units, we concluded that the estimated fair value of the reporting units exceeded their respective carrying values by 16% and 7%, and therefore no impairment charge was required. See Note 9 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional details.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
The information regarding recently issued accounting pronouncements is discussed in Note 2 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Internally, we use revenues, net, AOI, and Free Cash Flow measures as the most important indicators of our business performance, and evaluate management's effectiveness with specific reference to these indicators.
We evaluate segment performance based on several factors, of which the primary financial measure is operating segment AOI. We define AOI, which is a financial measure that is not calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), as operating income (loss) before share-based compensation expenses or benefit, depreciation and amortization, impairment and other charges (including gains or losses on sales or dispositions of businesses), restructuring and other related charges, cloud computing amortization and including the Company’s proportionate share of adjusted operating income (loss) from majority-owned equity method investees. From time to time, we may exclude the impact of certain events, gains, losses or other charges (such as significant legal settlements) from AOI that affect our operating performance.
We believe that AOI is an appropriate measure for evaluating the operating performance on both an operating segment and consolidated basis. AOI and similar measures with similar titles are common performance measures used by investors, analysts and peers to compare performance in the industry. AOI should be viewed as a supplement to and not a substitute for operating income (loss), net income (loss), cash flows from operating activities and other measures of performance and/or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. Since AOI is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with GAAP, this measure may not be comparable to similar measures with similar titles used by other companies.

We define Free Cash Flow, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, as net cash provided by operating activities less capital expenditures, all of which are reported in our Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows. We believe the most comparable GAAP financial measure of our liquidity is net cash provided by operating activities. We believe that Free Cash Flow is useful as an indicator of our overall liquidity, as the amount of Free Cash Flow generated in any period is representative of cash that is available for debt repayment, investment, and other discretionary and non-discretionary cash uses. We also believe that Free Cash Flow is one of several benchmarks used by analysts and investors who follow the industry for comparison of its liquidity
with other companies in our industry, although our measure of Free Cash Flow may not be directly comparable to similar measures reported by other companies.
uantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.

Fair Value of Debt

Based on the level of interest rates prevailing at December 31, 2023, the fair value of our fixed rate debt of $1.53 billion was lower than its carrying value of $1.76 billion by $232.9 million. The fair value of these financial instruments is estimated based on reference to quoted market prices for these or comparable securities. A hypothetical 100 basis point decrease in interest rates prevailing at December 31, 2023 would increase the estimated fair value of our fixed rate debt by approximately $45.7 million to approximately $1.57 billion.

Managing our Interest Rate Risk
To manage interest rate risk, we enter into interest rate swap contracts from time to time to adjust the amount of total debt that is subject to variable interest rates. Such contracts effectively fix the borrowing rates on floating rate debt to limit the exposure against the risk of rising rates. We do not enter into interest rate swap contracts for speculative or trading purposes and we only enter into interest rate swap contracts with financial institutions that we believe are credit worthy counterparties. We monitor the financial institutions that are counterparties to our interest rate swap contracts and to the extent possible diversify our swap contracts among various counterparties to mitigate exposure to any single financial institution. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we did not have any interest rate swap contracts outstanding.
As of December 31, 2023, we have $2.4 billion of debt outstanding (excluding finance leases), of which $607.5 million is outstanding under our loan facility and is subject to variable interest rates. A hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rates prevailing at December 31, 2023 would increase our annual interest expense by approximately $6.1 million. The interest rate paid on approximately 74% of our debt (excluding finance leases) as of December 31, 2023 is fixed.

Managing our Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
We are exposed to foreign currency risk to the extent that we enter into transactions denominated in currencies other than our subsidiaries' respective functional currencies (non-functional currency risk), such as affiliation agreements, programming contracts, certain trade receivables and accounts payable (including intercompany amounts) that are denominated in a currency other than the applicable functional currency. Changes in exchange rates with respect to amounts recorded in our consolidated balance sheets related to these items will result in unrealized (based upon period-end exchange rates) or realized foreign currency transaction gains and losses upon settlement of the transactions. Moreover, to the extent that our revenue, costs and expenses are denominated in currencies other than our respective functional currencies, we will experience fluctuations in our revenue, costs and expenses solely as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
To manage foreign currency exchange rate risk, we enter into foreign currency contracts from time to time with financial institutions to limit our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates. We do not enter into foreign currency contracts for speculative or trading purposes.
The Company recognized foreign currency transaction gains (losses) of $8.4 million and $(1.2) million for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, related to foreign currency transactions. Unrealized foreign currency transaction gains or losses are computed based on period-end exchange rates and are non-cash in nature until such time as the amounts are settled. Such amount is included in miscellaneous, net in the consolidated statements of income.
We also are exposed to fluctuations of the U.S. dollar (our reporting currency) against the currencies of our operating subsidiaries when their respective financial statements are translated into U.S. dollars for inclusion in our consolidated financial statements. Cumulative translation adjustments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of equity. Any increase (decrease) in the value of the U.S. dollar against any foreign currency that is the functional
currency of one of our operating subsidiaries will cause us to experience unrealized foreign currency translation losses (gains) with respect to amounts already invested in such foreign currencies. Accordingly, we may experience a negative impact on our comprehensive income (loss) and equity with respect to our holdings solely as a result of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.