Spanish-language broadcasting giant TelevisaUnivision said third-quarter revenue was boosted by telecasts of the FIFA World Cup in Mexico and Latin America and continued improvements at its ViX streaming service.
\n\nIndeed, the World Cup had a significant effect on the company’s third-quarter financials, with revenue from subscriptions and licensing revenue up 30% to $640 million, driven largely by approximately $90 million in revenue attributable to sublicensing the FIFA World Cup rights across Spanish-speaking Latin American countries and the expansion of ViX’s premium tier. Ad revenue fell 5% to $717 million, but $389 million of that came from ads tied to World Cup telecasts in Mexico. In the U.S., advertising revenue decreased 24% to $328 million, in part due to comparisons with year-earlier activity that included the Gold Cup.
\n\nOverall, total revenue increased 9%, to $1.4 billion.
\n\nTelevisaUnivision posted an operating loss of $119 million in the third quarter, compared with operating income of $265 million in the prior year. The company said it recorded a non-cash impairment loss of $372 million related to the write-down of television broadcast licenses.
\n\nThe company has been working to bolster its balance sheet since Wade Davis, the former Viacom CFO who orchestrated a buyout of…
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/