TelevisaUnivision CEO Says Q3 Shaping Up “In Line With Our Expectations”

TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre, nearly a year into a turnaround effort at the Hispanic media giant, said the current July-to-September quarter is tracking “in line with our expectations.”

Speaking to Wall Street analysts on a conference call Tuesday about the privately held company’s second-quarter results, which saw a 4% revenue slip due in part to an ad downturn, Alegre maintained there is reason for optimism.

“We have a number of great shows that are launching in this quarter,” including 40 “micro-novelas,” Alegre said. Asked about the state of the upfront, Alegre said, “We’re still in negotiations, so we’ll hope to close it in the coming weeks, but the conversations with agencies and their advertiser clients are going well.” Ad buyers, he added, have expressed enthusiasm for “the stability of our ratings, particularly in the United States, from very difficult quarters a couple of years ago.”

NBCUniversal earlier this month was the first media company to report upfront results, declaring a new high in terms of volume of ads but not indicating anything as far as pricing or rate trends. The operating environment remains challenging for all ad sellers, particularly legacy companies coping with the secular decline of linear TV.

Asked about the overall marketplace, Alegre said there was “nervousness” among advertisers earlier in the year due to tariffs and larger economic worries, but that angst has eased as the year heads into the second half.

Prior to the call, TelevisaUnivision reported a 4% drop in total revenue for the second quarter compared with the prior-year period, with the key line item of U.S. advertising down 2%. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization rose 10% to $398 million, primarily due to cost-cutting efforts. The company had warned last week in a pre-earnings forecast that “softness” was hitting its ad business.

Donna Speciale, the veteran ad sales exec who had a lengthy stint at Turner Broadcasting before becoming TelevisaUnivision’s head of sales and marketing, exited the company last month. His successor, Tim Natividad, is a former Roku and TikTok exec whose tech background aligns with that of Alegre, who had a lengthy tenure at Google prior to taking the helm at TelevisaUnivision last fall.

Vix, the flagship streaming outlet for TelevisaUnivision, surpassed 10 million subscribers during the quarter. Along with Vix, the U.S.- and Mexico-based company also owns major broadcast network Univision.

Sports, especially soccer and events like the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, helped the second-quarter results. Both tournaments straddled the second and third quarters. Alegre singled out the Gold Cup as a “huge bright spot” in the second quarter, with revenue shooting up more than 50% over that of the prior edition of the event in 2023.