Spanish-language programming giant TelevisaUnivision reported a steep 11% decline in Q1 revenue to $1.02 billion, amid a three-month period that new CEO Daniel Alegre said was made “challenging” not only by “macroeconomic turmoil” spawned out of Washington, D.C., but also tough comparable factors including the February 2024 Super Bowl, which the company had televised on Univision and in Mexico on Canal 5.
But while ad sales were soft for the conglomerate both in the U.S. and Mexico, its three-year-old ViX streaming operation continued to thrive in those regions. Success with streaming and cost cutbacks resulted in increased profitability for TelevisaUnivision, despite the revenue dip. For the period ending March 31, the programmer reported a 5% increase in Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) to $345 million, reflecting margin expansion alongside cost cuts and continued profitability in the DTC segment.
The media company didn’t report specific numbers for ViX, which includes subscription and free tiers — it announced 7 million subscribers for the DTC service in February of last year, and 50 monthly active users in May of 2024.
For Q1, Alegre did say the free, ad-supported ViX tier “achieved double-digit growth in reach” YoY. Subscriptions for premium tiers also doubled despite a price increase of the ad-free premium tier rising from $6.99 a month to $8.99 in the U.S.
ViX engagement, Alegre added, was driven in the quarter by original series Con Sea Misma Mirada, starring Angelica Rivera, the former First Lady of Mexico. Live sports, including Liga MX and UEFA Champions League soccer, also garnered significant ViX usage during Q1.
TelevisaUnivision backs leading broadcast and cable networks in the U.S. and Latin America, including Univision, UniMás, TUDN and Galavisión, with most of its broadcast still delivered over the air. The media company, notably, does not charge pay TV operators broadcast retransmission fees.
But as viewers migrate from pay TV to ViX, TelevisaUnivision is experiencing “challenging rental negotiations” with operators — pay TV revenue for linear networks dropped 32% YoY in Q1, Alegre said.
However, bundling ViX with linear pay TV channels distributed by operators seems to be providing a way forward, as U.S. deals carved out in Q1 with DirecTV and Cox Communications perhaps revealed.
Notably, the $4.99 “Premium with Ads” version of ViX has been added to DirecTV’s new $34.99 Spanish-language “genre pack,” MiEspañol, along with linear networks Univision, UniMás, TUDN, Galavisión and several other channels.
Charter Communications is also bundling ViX under an early renewal carved out with the cable operator last year.
“Spanish-language skinny bundles are a big growth area for us,” said Alegre, who took over for Wade Davis last fall.
One caveat to that statement, however, is Fubo, which hasn’t featured TelevisaUnivision content since late last December amid a licensing renewal spat.
Noting that Fubo’s very brand name is derived from Spanish references to soccer, Alegre described the impasse with Fubo as a “head-scratcher,” adding, “this should be important to them.”