U.S. Hispanic media giant Univision Communications reported Tuesday a 6.4% net revenue bump in its first quarter results to $562 million from $528.4 million in Q1 2012.
Good news comes ahead of its Upfront presentation May 14 in New York where the company is optimistic that Univision’s increasing share of a burgeoning Hispanic demographic will “see a lot of smart people moving ad dollars from English broadcast networks to Spanish-speaking networks,” said Univision prexy and CEO Randy Falco during a conference call.
Falco, a former NBC exec, pointed out that Univision “made history in the February sweeps” when it beat NBC in primetime among adults 18-49 and Adults 18-34. Overall, Univision maintained its number five ranking during primetime in the first quarter of 2013.
Falco reiterated Univision’s position on Aereo, the controversial pay TV service that streams TV signals over the internet, calling it a clear indication of piracy. “We will review our options after this issue is settled in court,” said Falco who admitted that Univision had a high percentage of live viewership. A move to a subscription model, as some broadcast networks are threatening, would greatly erode its viewership.
Univision ended the first quarter of 2013 with a primetime viewer that was, on average, 12 years younger (39 years old) and with a higher percentage of live viewership (92%) among Adults 18-49 than its English-language broadcast competition: ABC (63%), CBS (67%), NBC (68%) and FOX (65%).
Univision also reported first quarter performance growth across its other divisions, Unimas (formerly Telefutura), radio and digital. Digital, in particular, saw a 150% jump across its online and mobile offerings combined compared to the first quarter of 2012.
Per the company report, “UniMas generated more viewers in every daypart and across all key demographics than the combined viewers of Azteca America, Estrella TV and MundoFox.” Meanwhile, Univision Radio held the number one spot in key markets across the U.S.
