NEW YORK — The world’s largest producer and distributor of Spanish-language audio and video content saw its total revenue decline by 3% in the third quarter. That performance was largely due to a significant decline in domestic advertising revenue, which failed to offset a rapidly rising Subscription & Licensing dollar-generation engine.
For Q3, TelevisaUnivision ended the three-month period with total revenue of $1.271 billion, falling from $1.305 billion, as net income shrank to just $90.5 million from $180.9 million.
There’s one clear reason why the net income declined so sharply: a $31.7 million debt refinancing charge. In fact, direct operating expenses were down to $476.4 million from $516.9 million in Q3. The other factor impacting the results was a Q3 2024 gain on dispositions valued at $160.5 million.
As such, the company led by CEO Daniel Alegre likes to share the non-GAAP “Adjusted OIBDA” data, and that’s good — in Q3 adjusted OIBDA rose by 9% to $466.7 million from $427.1 million.
The big, glaring issue for Alegre’s team is how the Subscription & Licensing dollars will soon eclipse its Advertising revenue in the U.S. Here, Advertising revenue declined to $428.2 million from $483.1 million. In contrast, S&L dollars rose to $388 million from $350.9 million. “Softness” in linear media was singled out by the company.
In Mexico, ad revenue improved by 3% to $327 million USD, from $316.1 million USD. But, Mexican S&L Pesos declined, resulting in a 17% year-over-year slide to $104.8 million USD, from $126.6 million USD.
“Our third quarter results demonstrate the disciplined execution of our reimagined content strategy and the continued momentum of ViX as a key growth engine,” said Alegre. “Our leadership is further cemented by the audience we serve — wielding outsized influence in the U.S., unrivaled in Mexico, and driving cultural and commercial impact around the world.”
