Univision Net Income Down in Second Quarter

Revenue up 3.8%

By Jon Lafayette -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/2/2012 12:57:37 PM

Univision announced that its profits fell in the second quarter. Net income was $31.8 million, down 62% from $82.6 million a year ago.

Net revenue was $613 million, up 3.8%.

"In the second quarter of 2012, we worked to bolster our position on the cutting edge of Hispanic media and augmented our digital presence with the launch of our digital network, UVideos," CEO Randy Falco CEO said in a statement. "We continue to develop our three new networks, and are forging ahead with our groundbreaking partnership with ABC News. When you consider these initiatives on top of our networks' strong ratings and the retransmission consent agreements we have already reached with four of our nine major distributors, we believe Univision is on the right track to deliver strong results and continued growth in audience engagement in 2012."

Univision, the leading Spanish-language media company, is facing increased competition from Comcast's Telemundo Media and from News Corp.'s new MundoFox TV network.

"Our mission and strategy continue to be validated by the proliferation of Hispanic-focused media outlets in this country, but we remain far ahead of the pack," Falco said. "Early results of the upfront indicate that many marketers are following the example set by Tapestry and Starcom earlier this year and shifting larger portions of their budgets to Univision and away from both English- and Spanish-language competitors. To new and existing clients looking to tap into the upside potential of the growing Hispanic community, we believe we are the obvious partner."

Revenues at Univision's TV business rose to $508.1 million from $485.3 million.