Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications, which late last year sold a majority stake to an investor group led by former Viacom CFO Wade Davis and then agreed to a merger with Mexican TV giant Televisa, reported a big increase in third-quarter advertising revenue.
The company said Thursday that its quarterly revenue rose 20.3 percent to $754.7 million.
Quarterly ad revenue jumped 32.5 percent to $442.7 million from $334.1 million in the prior year’s quarter. It also increased 15.6 percent over the pre-coronavirus pandemic third quarter 2019 when it had recorded $382.8 million.
Core advertising revenue increased 37.4 percent to $412.1 million from $300 million. Core ad revenue is adjusted for political and advocacy ads.
Davis said in a statement: “Our outstanding third-quarter results underscore the enormous opportunities that lie ahead for Univision. The strength of our content and the connection with our audience are demonstrated by the fact that we continue to deliver the highest overall ratings growth in the industry.”
Added Davis: “This quarter, we delivered advertising revenue growth of 33 percent over 2020 and 16 percent over 2019. This level of growth allowed us to continue to invest in our digital transformation and increase (earnings) by 9 percent. Our strong financial performance further affirms that our strategy and world-class execution has enabled a unique and differentiated opportunity that can continue to drive significantly above-market results.”
