Spanish-language media giant Televisa Univision said its efforts to increase advertising in the United States faced headwinds, while higher operating expenses associated with broadcasting the Winter Olympics in Mexico reduced cash flow in the first quarter.
The company has been working to strengthen its balance sheet since former Viacom CFO Wade Davis, who led the acquisition of Univision in 2020 and then merged it with Mexico’s Grupo Televisa in 2022, handed over the CEO position to Daniel Alegre, a former senior executive at Activision Blizzard. Since Alegre joined the company in 2024, TelevisaUnivision has been working to streamline its operations, which were previously segregated by geographic region. The company owns media assets in both the United States and Mexico.
The company announced Monday that it has hired John Kozak, a veteran with extensive experience in sports and traditional linear advertising, to replace Tim Nativida, head of U.S. advertising sales, who has a background in digital media.
Operating expenses increased 11% to $752 million. This is primarily due to the highest marketing investments and sports expenses associated with the Mexico Winter Olympics.
“Despite the competitive environment for sports programming in the U.S., we achieved solid performance, exemplified by the continued expansion of our ViX and linear distribution businesses,” Daniel Alegre, CEO of Televisa Univision, said in a statement. “With disciplined financial and operational execution and the strength of our multiplatform content strategy, we are making meaningful progress against our strategic priorities and remain focused on deepening customer engagement and creating long-term value.”
Televisa Univision said first-quarter sales rose 5% to $1.1 billion due to business expansion in Mexico. In the United States, sales were flat at $708 million. In Mexico, sales increased 17% to $367 million.
Overall advertising revenue fell 3% to $546 million, the company said. In the US, advertising revenue fell 12% to $310 million due to “downturn in linear networks.” In Mexico, advertising revenue increased 13% to $236 million.
Subscription and license revenue increased 15% to $505 million. In the US, sales rose 12% to $385 million. In Mexico, sales rose 28% to $120 million. The company attributed growth in both segments to subscriptions to its ViX streaming service and a new partnership with Hulu+Live TV.
