TelevisaUnivison narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter, boosting advertising revenue in the U.S., after excluding political spending.
The company said its ViX streaming service ended the first full year with more than 7 million subscribers. Monthly active users of the free ad-supported version of ViX grew in the fourth quarter. Total direct-to-consumer revenue was more than $700 million, the company said.
TelevisaUnivision’s fourth-quarter net loss was $918.9 million, compared to $1.57 billion a year ago. The results include a $1.01 billion impairment charge. A year ago, the company recorded an impairment charge of $1.66 billion.
For the fourth quarter, adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization decreased 7%, reflecting the absence of FIFA World Cup sub-licensing and U.S. midterm political revenue from a year ago. Operating expenses decreased 6%.
Revenue fell 7% to $1.36 billion.
In the U.S., revenue fell 15% to $820.7 million in the fourth quarter. Advertising revenue fell 5% to $467.2 million. Factoring out political advertising and the sale of radio stations the prior year, ad revenue rose 4%.
Subscription and licensing revenues were down 28% to $328.5 million.
“In TelevisaUnivision’s second year, we demonstrated that our strategy, our assets and our execution against a differentiated market opportunity can yield superior operational and financial results,” said CEO Wade Davis.
“We outperformed both the U.S. and Mexican advertising markets. Our DTC business finished its first full year of operation with over $700 million in revenue and our strategy to build complementary linear and streaming platforms is resonating with audiences and our distribution partners as evidenced by our strategic early renewal with Charter which will include a new ad supported premium tier of ViX,” Davis said. “This is the backdrop for an even stronger 2024 in which we are poised to capture a massive U.S. political opportunity and have sustained DTC profitability on the horizon.”
