Televisa
Univision Ad Revenue Jumps 72 Percent
Quarterly ad revenue jumped 72 percent from the coronavirus pandemic-hit year-ago period to $407.2 million and “surpassed the second quarter of 2019,” when it had recorded $405.1 million, the company said. Core ad revenue, which is adjusted for political and advocacy ads, rose 70 percent. Media networks unit ad revenue increased 66 percent, or 63 percent when looking at core results. “The increase in media networks core advertising revenue was due to higher ad revenue driven by new brand activations, strong scatter volume and pricing, growth in previously low volume accounts, two major soccer tournaments, and improvements in the auto, retail, and beverage sectors, which are recovering from the negative impacts of COVID-19,” the company said. Said Davis: “This quarter marks another period o...
Televisa, Univision to Merge, Forming Spanish-Language Media Powerhouse
The merger will be partly financed by $1 billion of new Series C preferred equity investment led by SoftBank’s Latin American Fund, along with current Univision investor ForgeLight LLC, Google and The Raine Group; and $2.1 billion of debt commitments arranged by J.P. Morgan. The merger would create the largest Spanish-language media company in the world with bases in the two biggest Spanish-speaking markets: Mexico and the United States. Televisa is a production powerhouse, producing some 86,000 hours of content in 2020, and both companies hold big sports rights packages. “This strategic combination generates significant value for shareholders of both companies and will allow us to more efficiently reach all Spanish-language audiences with more of our programming,” said E...
European Union backs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for WTO role
The European Union has endorsed former Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation, Bloomberg reported. The business news outlet cited anonymous officials familiar with the matter that all the 27 EU member countries agreed on Monday in Brussels to support Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala. Bloomberg also reported that the United States has decided to back Yoo Myung-hee, South Korea’s trade minister, for the role. The position has been fiercely contested amongst candidates of different countries since Roberto Azevedo resigned in August. Last month, Okonjo-Iweala and Myung-hee were selected as the last two candidates in the contest. The EU’s endorsement is seen as a significant boost for Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, with the final winner expected...
