TelevisaUnivision’s streaming service ViX reaches 25 million monthly active users

Spanish-language media and content company TelevisaUnivision announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022, and revealed that its streaming service ViX is now the largest dedicated Spanish-language streaming service in the world with more than 25 million monthly active users on its free tier alone.

The company reported fourth quarter revenue grew 22% to US$1.5 billion, driven by a strong World Cup performance. Meanwhile, total advertising revenue grew 10%, comprised of 14% growth in the United States and 4% in Mexico. At the same time, total subscription and licensing revenue grew 47% during the period.

For the full year, consolidated total revenue grew 13% to US$4.7 billion. Advertising revenue increased 10% driven by strong Upfronts in both the United States and Mexico, where the company produced the highest volume growth in recent history in both markets, as well as growth in scatter pricing and volume, and active clients. In the United States, advertising revenue increased 10%, reflecting growth in both linear and streaming, as well as record midterm political revenue. In Mexico, advertising revenue increased 9%, and also benefitted from World Cup advertising revenue which increased 9% relative to the prior World Cup.

Moreover, also for the full year, subscription and licensing revenue increased 20%, reflecting nearly US$150 million from sublicensing the World Cup rights in other Spanish speaking Latin American countries and the launch of ViX's subscription tier. In the United States, growth of 22% was also driven by virtual MVPD revenue following carriage on YouTube TV that began in the third quarter of 2021. In Mexico, growth of 14% benefited from strong content licensing revenue and linear subscription price increases, while subscribers grew modestly.

“A year ago, we created TelevisaUnivision to become the largest Spanish language media company in the world. We executed a strategy to create a business without comparison, and our stellar results in 2022 demonstrate the power of our combined company. Our content engine in Mexico continues to produce hits that resonate in both the United States and Mexico, and is now powering our market-leading streaming platform as well as our linear networks,”  said Wade Davis, CEO of TelevisaUnivision.

“ViX is now fully launched and is the definitive leader in Spanish-language streaming in less than a full year of operations. The growth and profitability of our core business more than offset the investments we made in ViX. The power of the combined assets in the United States and Mexico cause us to continue to expect ViX to reach profitability by the end of 2023,”  Wade Davis added.