Univision Touts Strong TV, Radio Returns And Younger Demos

Randy-Falco

Univision CEO Randy Falco acknowledged the increased competition in the Spanish-language TV space, but suggested the company's entrenched leadership will continue -- even as News Corp. has joined the fold and Comcast looks to upgrade Telemundo.

"We were the early movers and have spent many years as the undisputed leader,” Falco said on an investor call. “We hold that title now and expect to long into the future.”

He said the company’s Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision together account for a 73% share of Spanish-language viewing in prime time among the 18-to-49 demo. 

"Univision was one of the few voices evangelizing the growth of the Hispanic community, but with the wealth of hard data that now backs up the demographic trends we have voiced for years," others are joining the fight to grab ad dollars away from the general market, Falco noted.

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Univision has distribution agreements with three of the top-nine distributors for its fledgling all-sports network, according to CFO Andy Hobson. Only Dish Network has been announced. Hobson did not provide further details.

Hobson said Univision Deportes is being “typically” distributed on a digital basic tier and of the six other top operators, he said “no one has said no” and discussions are continuing.

Univision has launched a campaign in advance of the upfront market touting a younger average viewer than large broadcast networks (36 vs. 50); less clutter (13 minutes of ad time an hour vs. 15); and wealth of live viewing (94% in prime time vs. 75%).

"On the road to the upfront, we are delivering strong results, which we expect to lay a solid foundation for the upcoming selling season,” Falco said. “In addition to that, our unique strength and brand equity in the marketplace will be another key component of our strong positioning this upfront.”

In the first quarter, excluding political dollars, net revenue for the company was up 9.3%. Overall, it was up 9.7% to $528.4 million, while the company posted a $14.1 million loss.

Univision expenses in one stream rose in the quarter by $5 million, primarily due to a new deal with Nielsen. In the quarter, net revenue in the company’s TV segment, which includes the national networks and local stations, grew 10.4% to $449.5 million. The increase was a shade less when not counting political dollars.

Radio revenue increased $4 million to $66.8 million, while interactive media was up to $12.1 million from $11.9 million in the same period the year before.

Hobson said the first quarter marked the strongest performance for the radio group since 2007, and the TV station group looks to have done its best since 2010.

The company does not have a slew of local stations linked with the flagship Univision network that should benefit markedly from spending in the presidential campaign. Swing-state stations in Miami, Cleveland and Raleigh might do well. If President Obama competes heavily in Arizona, there are Univision stations in Phoenix and Tucson.

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