Television led the way for leading US Hispanic media company Univision, and radio was also in the plus column. And while straight revenue comps were good, the company’s OIBDA performance was even better.
On the revenue side, TV was up 6.5% to $478.7M; radio was up 2.4% to $68.4M and digital was up 23.1% to $14.9M. The end result when the categories are combined is a 6.4% gain to $562M.
In terms of OIBDA, television was up 22.7% to $216.6M; radio was up 27.9% to $13.3M; and although digital is not yet in positive territory, Univision managed to cut its losses. Overall, OIBDA was up 22% to $224.2M.
President/CEO Randy Falco commented, “Our strong revenue growth and operating leverage are evidence that we are seeing success, while still being disciplined, in distinguishing Univision as an innovative and multi-platform media company with the brand, people, and tools to win with audiences and marketers.”
Falco noted that positive February sweeps, in which it pulled ahead of NBC, along with a new retrans deal with DirecTV will contribute to a successful May upfront season.
Continuing, Falco stated, “Along with these important achievements, we saw strong performance across our divisions throughout the first quarter. Univision increased its primetime audience by 4% among Adults 18-49 and by 5% among Total Viewers 2+ compared to the first quarter of 2012, and also finished as the #1 network during primetime on Friday nights for the quarter among Adults 18-49. UniMás saw noteworthy year-over-year audience growth in key day parts and demographics, while Digital generated 150 million video impressions across its online and mobile offerings combined, an increase of 150% over the first quarter of 2012. In addition, Univision had the #1 ranked Spanish-language radio station during the quarter among Adults 18-34 in 9 of the top 12 Univision markets where Arbitron’s® Portable People Meter is used.”
