#TelevisaUnivision Quarterly U.S. Subscription Revenue Jumps 10 Percent, Advertising Grows 1 Percent

Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision reported 6 percent U.S. revenue growth to $794 million for the second quarter, led by a 10 percent gain in subscription and licensing revenue and a 1 percent increase in advertising revenue.

The subscription and licensing increase was “driven by the success of (streamer) ViX’s premium tier along with pricing growth on linear subscribers, partially offset by linear subscriber declines,” the company said. Advertising in the U.S. climbed slightly, outperforming the broader market, according to experts. This reflected “strength in national advertising and momentum in streaming where the company continues to see demand from advertisers and increased pricing as the company leverages its new ad formats,” TelevisaUnivision said.

In Mexico, quarterly advertising revenue jumped 29 percent, or 14 percent excluding the impact of foreign currency exchange impacts, “driven by growth across all sectors in both linear and streaming,” TelevisaUnivision emphasized. Mexican subscription and licensing revenue rose 27 percent, or 16 percent excluding the foreign currency impact, “driven by ViX’s premium tier, as well as growth in linear subscribers and pricing.”

Engagement on streaming service VIX continues to increase, with the firm citing a 17 percent gain in total streaming hours in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter. In May, it announced that monthly active users on ViX had surpassed 30 million.

Total second-quarter revenue grew 11 percent to $1.2 billion, led by a 14 percent subscription and licensing gain and 10 percent ad growth. Operating expenses in the latest period jumped 17 percent to $846 million amid investments in ViX, including in original content, sports rights, marketing and technology. That meant that quarterly adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) “held flat, despite absorbing significant investments in the company’s streaming service, ViX, TelevisaUnivision said.

CEO Wade Davis lauded the financial momentum in the April-June period. “This was a fantastic quarter for TelevisaUnivision, accelerating our revenue growth into double digits and continuing to drive our leadership position in Spanish-language streaming with ViX — all through a disciplined
approach in which our core business continues to offset our investments in streaming,” he said.

Davis touted the “extraordinary growth in Mexico, where we strategically programmed across linear and the ad-supported and premium subscription tiers of ViX,” calling this “a terrific example of the components of our ecosystem working together to deliver amazing financial performance.”