TelevisaUnivision restructures its business due to the streaming and pay TV crisis

Alfonso of Angoitiaexecutive president of the Board of Directors of TelevisaUnivision, acknowledged that the Grupo Televisa and Univision catalogs still do not operate in parallel, despite the fact that the union occurred two years ago. This situation has meant that the company does not obtain the desired financial efficiencies and the complete integration of its content in both Mexico and the United States, which affects its streaming business.

But the company is carrying out a detailed review of the investments and operations made in the last two years to identify areas in which resources can be “rationalized and optimized.” This movement is aligned with the wave of staff cuts and elimination of audiovisual productions on both Televisa and Univision that have reached the media. Until now there is no exact number of the number of people who will be removed from their positions.

TelevisaUnivision has around 13,300 collaborators, of which 9,700 are located in Mexico.

“As a more integrated multi-platform company, we believe there are considerable efficiencies that can be unlocked, allowing us to improve profitability, while maintaining our competitive advantage. This approach will position us to invest in key growth areas, innovate even more, achieve better results and connect with more audiences,” said De Angoitia, in a conference with analysts.

Traditional media companies such as TelevisaUnivision face the challenge of the cancellation of restricted television due to new consumer habits, added to excessive competition against streaming giants such as Netflix, Disney and Max, and an unstable advertising market for new digital channels. .

Until now, TelevisaUnivision has shown signs of financial balance, but being immersed in an industry where the constant change of business model prevails, the company wants to optimize its structure to expand its commitment to other international markets.

Only in the third quarter of this year, it obtained revenues of 1,304 million dollars, which meant a slight increase of 2% year-on-year, while its Operating Profit before Depreciation and Amortization (OIBDA) – indicator of a company’s financial performance – recorded 427 million dollars, 4% more compared to the same period in 2023.

The contents: relevant but expensive

Daniel Alegre, CEO of TelevisaUnivision, said that content is one of the most relevant parts of the new plan to make the company more efficient. The company plans to integrate new programming bets and continue with productions that have worked for the platform and for pay and open TV.

Reality shows like “La Casa de los Famosos” are something that the company will continue to bet on because it has allowed them to generate more traffic to their platform both on pay and open television channels. Soccer is another of the assets on which it will bet and maintain its exclusivity, thanks to the fact that it has “long-term rights with staggered maturities.”

“We have great cost advantages for productions through our studios in Mexico and we will continue with them. But we will continue to focus on maintaining costs down, ensuring we are investing in the right programming. So we are going to play with different content formulas,” Alegre said in a conference with analysts.

Brian Rodríguez, an analyst at Monex Grupo Financiero, considered that TelevisaUnivision’s attempts to remain relevant within the digital entertainment industry is correct, especially in content issues, but the effort may be insufficient compared to the giants of the audiovisual world.