Univision Posts Q4 Loss

Revenues fell by 8.9 percent to $688.5 million in the fourth quarter at Univision Communications, with the U.S. Hispanic broadcaster posting a loss of $73.1 million as compared with a year-ago profit of $386.7 million.

Advertising revenues at Univision’s networks fell by 6.6 percent to $337 million, with viewership down following the carriage dispute with DISH and reduced marketing spending in the retail, telecommunications and automotive sectors, partially offset by increases in scatter advertising pricing and growth in local station advertising revenue. Subscriber fee revenue, content licensing revenue and other income was down by 11.4 percent to $279.6 million.

“Univision serves a unique audience,” said Vince Sadusky, CEO of Univision. “Hispanic America is driving population and GDP growth and will continue to do so for decades. Our strategic focus on serving this core audience has recently resulted in viewership growth, as from the third to fourth quarter, we saw increases in our primetime ratings in all key demographics at a time when all other major networks experienced declines. Our ratings resurgence was fueled by a more diversified, modernized programming line-up, which has provided Univision with a powerful springboard in 2019 to offer our distribution and advertising partners even greater value. I’m grateful to all our teams across Univision for their dedication, focus and passion to serve our audience.”