TelevisaUnivision Adds 25 Million Streaming Customers — and Profits Rise

Wade Davis took over as chief executive officer of Univision Communications Inc. at a rough time for the largest Spanish-language broadcaster in the US. Its namesake TV network had lost some of its edge to its biggest rival, Comcast Corp.’s Telemundo, and was seeing younger viewers flock to video-streaming services and social media. The company had tried and failed to sell shares to the public, depriving its billionaire backers of a lucrative exit. Rather than try again, the private equity funds that owned Univision opted to sell the company for less than they paid 13 years before.

But then, after merging last year with the largest producer of TV shows in Mexico, Univision did something few traditional media companies in the US have accomplished in recent years: It grew its sales and profit. TelevisaUnivision Inc. boosted sales by 13% to $4.7 billion last year, including 22% in the final quarter, buoyed by a booming advertising business and wider distribution of its main TV network.