Univision reported lower third quarter earnings as the company prepared for its sale to former Viacom CFO Wade Davis and private-equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners.
Net income fell to $30.9 million from $77.4 million as the company took a $28.9 million loss on TV sports rights and restructuring expenses.
Revenue fell 8% to $627.6 million. Core revenue fell 12% to $593 million as the pandemic hurt advertising demand.
Revenue for Univision’s media networks group fell 6% to $579.8 million. Advertising revenue was down 11% to $287.6 million. Adjusting for political activity, core ad revenue dropped 18% to $260.4 million. Political ad revenue was $27.2 million, up from $4.3 million a year ago.
Non-advertising revenue was $292.2 million, down slightly from $293.8 million. Subscriber fee revenue rose 3% to $263.2 million.
“Univision delivered solid operating and continuing financial improvement, as our strong ratings continued into the third quarter of 2020 and delivered year-over-year primetime audience growth among Adults 18-49, while the major English-language broadcast networks and our closest Spanish-language competitor reported audience declines,” said CEO Vince Sadusky.
“Despite the ongoing uncertainties of COVID-19, advertising significantly improved from the second quarter, including record political advertising on our platforms. In the July sweeps, Univision’s primetime lineup delivered a 70% audience share among major Spanish-language networks with Adults 18-49, up 10 points from the July 2019 sweeps,” Sadusky said. “Live soccer returned in July with a new Liga MX season and record ratings for UEFA Champions League. I could not be prouder of all that our team has accomplished.”
