TelevisaUnivision Quarterly U.S. Ad Revenue Falls 24 Percent, But World Cup Boosts Mexico Results

Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision reported a 24 percent U.S. advertising revenue drop and a 14 percent total U.S. revenue decline to $715 million in the third quarter. During the July-September quarter, rival NBCUniversal’s Telemundo featured the Spanish-language U.S. rights and games as part of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which took place from late in the second to early in the third quarter. But World Cup momentum continued to drive results across linear TV and streamer ViX in Mexico.

The U.S. ad results reflected “cyclical headwinds primarily from competitive sports programming and a prior-year comparison that included the Gold Cup,” the company said.

In Mexico, quarterly advertising revenue increased 19 percent, with total revenue up 51 percent to $665 million, driven by the FIFA World Cup, which took place June 11-July 19.

TelevisaUnivision also shared an update on its streaming business. The “DTC business delivered record revenue, with double-digit year-over[-year] growth, fueled by ViX’s performance during the quarter,” it said on Thursday.

“Our performance in the third quarter reflected disciplined execution against our multiplatform strategy as we delivered exceptional results from the World Cup in Mexico while gaining momentum in the U.S. with increased engagement across our fall content slate and robust sports portfolio,” said Daniel Alegre, CEO of TelevisaUnivision. “As we close out the year, we remain focused on maximizing the value of our content across multiple platforms to reach a wider audience and increase our monetization opportunities.”

Total company revenue in the third quarter grew 9 percent to $1.4 billion, driven by a 51 percent gain in Mexico, powered by the World Cup. TelevisaUnivision posted an operating loss of $119 million, a swing from an operating profit of $265 million. A non-cash impairment loss of $372 million “related to the write-down of television broadcast licenses” was the key reason. Adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $461 million was slightly down from $467 million in the year-ago period.

Total ad revenue in the third quarter declined 5 percent to $717 million, with the U.S. drop outweighing the growth in Mexico.

Total quarterly subscription and licensing revenue grew 30 percent to $640 million, driven 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.” In the U.S., subscription and licensing revenue dropped 4 percent to $372 million “due to lower content licensing revenue, partially offset by pricing growth in ViX’s premium tiers,” the company said. In Mexico, the metric jumped 156 percent to $268 million, driven by content licensing and growth in ViX’s premium tier thanks to the World Cup.

Operating expenses in the third quarter rose 14 percent to $918 million, or 11 percent when excluding foreign exchange impacts, hitting the bottom line. The change was “mainly driven by FIFA World Cup rights and production costs,” TelevisaUnivision said.