Latin America. Televisa and Univision announced the closing of the transaction between the content and media assets of both companies. The new company, called TelevisaUnivision Inc., creates the world's leading Spanish-language media and content company.
TelevisaUnivision will produce and deliver premium content for its own platforms and others, while providing innovative solutions for advertisers and distributors globally.
"The closing of our transaction marks a historic moment for our company and our industry," said Wade Davis, CEO of TelevisaUnivision. "We are combining two iconic, market-leading companies that have a great shared history and an incredible portfolio of assets. This combination will create an unparalleled business on the global media scene. Over the past year, both companies have transformed, reaching levels of financial performance and audiences that have not been seen in years. The power and momentum of our revamped core business is truly unique and will be a springboard for the launch of our global Spanish-language streaming platform."
Alfonso de Angoitia, Executive Chairman of TelevisaUnivision's Board of Directors, said, "The combination of Televisa's content assets with Univision, the two leading media companies in the world's two largest Spanish-speaking markets, has created a company with tremendous potential."
This transaction brings together the most compelling content and intellectual property with the most comprehensive media platforms in the world's two largest Spanish-speaking markets. Televisa's four free-to-air television channels, the 27 pay-TV channels, the Videocine film studio, the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service Blim TV and the Televisa brand, are combined with Univision's U.S. assets, which include the Univision and UniMás channels. nine Spanish-language cable channels, 59 television stations and 57 radio stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and its AD-based on-demand streaming service (AVOD) PrendeTV.
Now, TelevisaUnivision owns the world's largest library of Spanish-language content and intellectual property, and the entertainment industry's largest Spanish-language content factory. As a result of the combination, TelevisaUnivision reaches more than 60% of television audiences in both the United States and Mexico. Through television, digital platforms, streaming and audio, the Company reaches more than 100 million Spanish speakers every day, occupying leading positions in both markets.
Integration and positioning as a single Company
Since the announcement of the transaction on April 13, 2021, both Univision and Televisa have independently transformed their core businesses in anticipation of integration, and both have had the highest levels of financial and audience growth in recent years. The long-standing business relationship between the two companies has allowed for increased content and business coordination that will accelerate the integration. These efforts uniquely position TelevisaUnivision to begin immediately executing a combined strategy and capture the tremendous opportunity presented by the global Spanish-speaking population of nearly 600 million, representing a total GDP of approximately $7 trillion.
The two companies have strategically recruited a senior management team of world-class leaders for the global operation, combining great professionals from Televisa and Univision, as well as bringing in talent at the highest level of leading media and technology companies.
In addition, TelevisaUnivision's transformation also included the development of a large amount of original content for the upcoming launch of the global streaming platform, investment in new advertising products in both markets, the renewal of the programming strategy and the execution of new distribution alliances, as well as the launch of PrendeTV AVOD in the United States, which has served as a powerful pilot program for the upcoming streaming launch.
As a result of these strategic efforts, both companies have experienced higher-than-market advertising revenue growth. Univision's ad revenue during the first nine months of 2021 increased 32.6%, significantly exceeding 2019 levels, while Televisa's ad revenue during the same period increased 24% year-over-year.
Univision's portfolio of television networks, comprised of Univision, UniMás, Galavision and TUDN, garnered 62% of the primetime audience for Spanish-language television in the United States among adults ages 18 to 49, up from 58% in 2020, and marked the highest audience share since 2014. Meanwhile, Televisa's content and audience performance in Mexico was equally impressive. The 20 highest-rated free-to-air television programs in Mexico were produced and broadcast by Televisa. Televisa's top three shows during 2021 had audiences between 63% and 73% higher than the highest-rated show of its nearest competitor.
Industry leadership, innovation and impact
TelevisaUnivision is still on track to launch, in 2022, its previously announced unified global streaming platform, which will include a version with a free subscription and a premium version. The service will have the largest offer of original Spanish-language content in the United States and Latin America, which will include dramas, comedies, docuseries, game shows, reality shows, variety shows, movies, musical and cultural events, children's and educational programs, sports and special events, as well as truthful news programming.
Leveraging Televisa's extensive content library, along with new Spanish-language original content in development and a wide variety of collaborations with some of today's most recognizable creators, as well as promising ones, this offering will be the first large-scale global streaming service developed specifically for the Spanish-speaking audience.
The creative partnerships with Eugenio Derbez, Selena Gomez, Maria Dueñas, Mario Vargas Llosa and Santiago Limón were among the first announced and will strengthen what will be a truly compelling and novel offer of its kind.
Leadership
Wade Davis will lead TelevisaUnivision as CEO. Alfonso de Angoitia will serve as Executive Chairman of the Board of TelevisaUnivision and Marcelo Claure will become Vice Chairman of the Board.
The TelevisaUnivision Board will also be composed of Emilio Azcárraga, Bernardo Gómez, Michel Combes, Gisel Ruiz, Oscar Muñoz, María Cristina "MC" Gonzalez Noguera, Eric Zinterhofer and Jeff Sine. In addition, Televisa reserves the right to appoint two additional directors.
Content production and operations in Mexico will be handled by Bernardo Gómez and Alfonso de Angoitia, Executive Co-Presidents of TelevisaUnivision Mexico, who also continue to be Executive Co-Presidents of Grupo Televisa. Grupo Televisa's news operations in Mexico will become part of a new independent company dedicated to producing news for TelevisaUnivision's channels in Mexico, and will be led by Emilio Azcárraga, Executive Chairman of Grupo Televisa's Board of Directors.
The Company's new investors include SoftBank Latin America Fund, Google and The Raine Group.
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