Giant Spanish-language powerhouse TelevisaUnivision, which merged just over a year ago, saw sales surge 22% in the fourth of 2022 to $1.45 billion on strong World Cup games. Advertising revenue was up 14% in the U.S. and 10% overall.
Vix, now the largest dedicated Spanish-language streaming service, hit 25 million+ monthly active users on its free tier. Subscription service Vix+, which launched in July, wasn’t broken out. TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis said the streamer should be profitable by the end of this year.
Ad revenue in Mexico grew 4%.
TelevisiaUnivision said adjusted OIBDA grew 5%.
Operating expenses of $3 billion, up 21%, reflect investments in ViX original content, sports rights, marketing and technology.
The company recorded a $1.7 billion non-cash impairment charge driven by the impact of general market conditions, including comparable market valuations and the rising interest rate environment.
Subscription and licensing revenue grew 47%. Excluding revenue associated with sublicensing World Cup rights, U.S. subscription and licensing revenue grew 4%; Mexico grew 20%.
Linear television market share expanded in both Mexico and U.S. Spanish language, with around 60% of each.
“A year ago we created TelevisaUnivision to become the largest Spanish language media company in the world. We executed a strategy to create a business without comparison, and our stellar results in 2022 demonstrate the power of our combined company,” said Davis, CEO of TelevisaUnivision. “Our content engine in Mexico continues to produce hits that resonate in both the U.S. and Mexico and is now powering our market-leading streaming platform as well as our linear networks. ViX is now fully launched and is the definitive leader in Spanish-language streaming in less than a full year of operations. The growth and profitability of our core business more than offset the investments we made in ViX.”
