Univision Earnings Up As $4.8B Merger Nears

Univision Communications, the Spanish-language media powerhouse, reported a first-quarter profit of $66 million on Friday, up from $11.7 million the previous year.

That momentum is good news for the network as it prepares to merge with Televisa, another Spanish-language media giant, later this year for $4.8 billion. 

The new entity will be called Televisa-Univision and will form the largest Spanish-language media company in the world.

While Univision is putting up a significant chunk of change, the companies are no stranger to each other. Televisa is already a large contributor to Univision’s success.

• In 2010, Televisa invested $1.2 billion in Univision, giving it a 5% ownership stake. 
• In 2016, the FCC approved a joint petition to increase Televisa’s stake in Univision to as much as 49%.
• The following year, the companies merged their content development and production efforts, and in 2019, the pair merged their sports divisions.

In the new deal, Televisa will see its stake grow to 45% from 36%.

With extensive soccer coverage — Copa America, the Mexican League, Copa MX, and Liga MX — and partnerships with NFL and MLB teams, the company attributes its 7% quarterly increase in advertising revenue to growth in national advertising.

Univision has been privately owned since it was purchased by Broadcasting Media Partners for $13.7 billion in 2007.