US political advertising helps TelevisaUnivision in the third quarter
A surge in U.S. advertising revenue and the sale of a string of cell towers helped the Spanish-language giant boost third-quarter profits after the company changed CEOs in September.
The broadcaster, which owns the Univision broadcast network in the US, said net profit rose to $180.9 million in the third quarter, compared with $46.4 million in the same period a year earlier. TelevisaUnivision said an asset sale during the period resulted in a profit of more than $160 million.
The company also indicated that its direct-to-consumer business, including the ViX streaming service, has become profitable after launching two years ago.
“We are at a pivotal moment in our evolution and we will be fully focused on integrating our existing businesses into a unified global entity,” Daniel Alegre, the company’s new CEO, said in prepared remarks. “Our goal is to evolve into a content-first, platform-agnostic organization that connects with audiences wherever they operate.”
Alegre took control of the company after Wade Davis, the former Viacom CFO who orchestrated a buyout of Univision in 2020 before merging it with Mexico’s Grupo Televisa in 2022, ceded his role as CEO to him. Alegre was president and chief operating officer of Activision Blizzard, which was acquired by Microsoft last year for $69 billion. Davis remains the company’s vice chairman.
TelevisaUnivision said total revenue rose 2% to $1.3 billion, despite headwinds in the company’s operations in Mexico. In the US, political ads drove a 5% increase in total advertising revenue, while subscription and licensing revenue rose 6%. In Mexico, advertising sales fell 1%, while subscription and licensing revenue fell 12%.
Operating expenses increased 1% to $878 million, driven by investments in ViX, an expansion of its third-party ad sales business in Mexico, and higher sports-related costs related to the Copa America in both the US and Mexico and the Olympic Games in Mexico.
