Univision, Televisa Combine Content Efforts

NEW YORK/MEXICO CITY: Isaac Lee is taking on the role of chief content officer at Univision and Televisa as the Mexican media giant and the U.S. Hispanic broadcaster align their programming development and production efforts.

Lee is currently the chief news, entertainment and digital officer at Univision and CEO of Fusion. In his post as chief content officer he will report to both Randy Falco, president and CEO of Univision, and Emilio Azcárraga Jean, the president of Televisa.

Separately, Televisa announced the appointment of José Bastón Patiño as president of Televisa International, reporting directly to Azcárraga. He is tasked with the continued expansion of Televisa beyond Mexico and the United States. He remains a member of the board of directors of Televisa.

The merger of the content teams at both organizations is intended to enhance their abilities to serve a “combined audience of 175 million viewers in the United States and Mexico, with an aggregate purchasing power of close to $2 trillion,” the companies said in a statement. The groups also expect to benefit from potential cost synergies. The restructure does not affect the news or other divisions of the groups, or the programming license agreement between Univision and Televisa.

Falco said, “I look at Isaac Lee as the ideal leader of our joint content efforts. With his creative mind and keen understanding of the rapidly changing tastes of young audiences, Univision and Televisa are best positioned to continue to evolve our aligned content offerings.”

Azcárraga noted, “By unifying our production of content for distribution on multiple platforms in Mexico and the United States, we will take advantage of the unique opportunity that Televisa and Univision have to compete more effectively in an increasingly complex and fragmented industry. I welcome Isaac, whom I trust will maximize the value and success of our content, which we have been producing for over 60 years.”

He continued, “Pepe will lead the initiative to expand our content franchise globally. We already reach over 70 countries around the world, but there is an opportunity to strengthen our presence in many markets and improve our prospects internationally. I am sure Pepe will have great success in this important endeavor.”