Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision stated it posted a loss in the second quarter despite a swell of revenue from its rights to air the World Cup in Mexico, a sign of the challenges the company, formed from the combination of Univision in the U. S. And Grupo Televisa in Mexico, continues to face.
Subscription and licensing revenue rose 40% during the second quarter, to $621 million. Approximately $90 million in revenue came from sublicensing the company’s FIFA World Cup rights to media properties in other Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. TelevisaUnivision has been working to bolster its balance sheet since Wade Davis, the former Viacom CFO who orchestrated a buyout of Univision in 2020, ceded his CEO role to Daniel Alegre, a former senior executive at Activision Blizzard.
Operating expenses increased 16% to $940 million, mainly driven by sports costs associated with the FIFA World Cup. Operating income was $224 million, a decrease of $17 million versus prior year, which the company attributed to higher direct operating expenses.