Emilio Azcárraga Talks Reinventing Televisa

At an event at NATPE that showcased Televisa’s portfolio of productions, Emilio Azcárraga, executive chairman of the board of the Mexican media giant, spoke to World Screen Newsflash about reinventing the company in a rapidly changing media landscape.

The event included some 400 attendees, including Patricio Wills, the president and head of Televisa Studios, and Fernando Muñiz, the director at Televisa Internacional.

“From its beginnings in radio in 1930, Televisa has always reinvented and positioned itself to leverage developments in technology,” Azcárraga told World Screen. “Within audience fragmentation, the greatest opportunity any television producer has, but Televisa more so, is being able to fully satisfy the need for content hours that are in demand.”

Azcárraga added: “We’ve always believed that partnerships are important and with new OTT platforms and the growth of pay TV, we see an opportunity, without neglecting the free-TV segment. We think every day about what viewers want in order to produce content and deliver it on the best possible platform.”

He noted that the company’s outlook for this year is based on two main pillars: “One is content production and the other is telecommunications in pay-TV distribution as well as offering internet access to consumers. What we’ve been able to do with our platform izzi is offer high-quality speed and internet access at a reasonable price.”

Asked about the plethora of foreign drama entering Latin America from Turkey, India and other territories, and Televisa’s new position in the media landscape, Azcárraga said, “In this globalized world, we have an advantage with the formats we create. It used to be that only the finished versions were available, which then had to be dubbed or subtitled. It’s very different now. We’re also co-producing with OTT and linear platforms. We’ve done a couple of things with Amazon and made some offers to Netflix, and we’re working with Sony on a few projects. All of this is very helpful because it helps create new ideas and offers you a new perspective.”

The company’s highlights for this year include the titles Fábrica de sueños, El último dragón, Por amar sin ley, Amar a muerte, Doña Flor y sus dos maridos, Sin miedo a la verdad and La reina soy yo.