Thread: Univision predicts lean times ahead

It will be interesting to watch Univision durig this economic downturn. This was written in November. I would love to see them go under! That would be a good indicator that the illegal alien base is dwindling.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-u ... 4033.story

From the Los Angeles Times
Univision predicts lean times ahead
The Spanish-language broadcaster posts a $2.9-billion third-quarter loss after writing down assets.
By Meg James

November 18, 2008

Univision Communications Inc. said Monday that it probably would trim expenses as the Spanish-language media giant grappled with a worsening economy and a mountain of debt.

"Univision, like every broadcaster, is going to be taking a very hard look at all of its expenses," Chief Financial Officer Andrew Hobson told analysts during a conference call Monday to discuss the company's third-quarter results.

"We are preparing for a pretty tough recessionary environment," he said.

Hobson also warned that, despite strong television ratings, Univision's fourth-quarter results would be "substantially worse" than those produced during the first half of the year. However, Hobson said it was premature to identify areas within the company that might be targeted for cuts because those decisions had not been made.

For the quarter that ended Sept. 30, Univision posted a $2.9-billion net loss, the result of a $3.7-billion write-down to reflect the diminished value of its core television and radio assets as well as its struggling online operation.

Revenue fell 2.4% for the quarter to $511.3 million compared with $524 million during the same period a year ago. The company does not release per-share results because its stock is not publicly traded.

Univision, like all media companies, has been pinched by a dramatic slowdown in advertising spending. Univision's television and radio divisions took in about 25% less auto advertising in the third quarter compared with last year, Hobson said. Auto spending accounts for about 15% of the company's TV ad revenue and 10% of its radio ad revenue.

Declining revenue compounds Univision's challenges in meeting its debt obligations.

Last year, a group of private investors, including Los Angeles billionaire Haim Saban, took Univision private in a $12.3-billion leveraged buyout that saddled the company with more than $10 billion in debt. Since then, the economic climate has deteriorated, credit markets have seized up and sales of Univision assets, including its music labels, have been slow or have not generated as much money as Univision had anticipated.

"The high leverage constrains financial flexibility to manage a deep advertising downturn," Moody's Investors Service said in a recent report on Univision's debt.

In addition to making interest payments on its bonds, Univision by the end of March must pay off the $385-million balance on a "bridge" loan that was supposed to be retired quickly through asset sales after the new owners took over the company.

Univision anticipates that it will be able to pay off the loan, Hobson said, noting that the company had more than $700 million in cash and short-term investments as of Oct. 31.

However, that's not Univision's only worry. The outcome of a federal trial, expected to get underway in January in Los Angeles, could disrupt Univision's steady supply of programming.

Univision relies heavily on the popular telenovelas produced by Grupo Televisa of Mexico to drive ratings and revenue. Televisa sued Univision three years ago in a bid to terminate their long-term agreement that requires Televisa to provide its shows exclusively to Univision in the U.S. until December 2017.

"If Televisa were to stop providing us programming for any reason, it could be difficult to develop or acquire replacement programming of comparable quality," Univision noted in a regulatory filing late last week. Univision spent nearly $5 million during the third quarter preparing for the trial and in payments it made under protest to Televisa.

The Spanish-language broadcaster posts a $2.9-billion third-quarter loss after writing down assets.
By Meg James


Good! Maybe they will go bankrupt and go out of business?

NA!! The government (we) will bail them out too.

NA!! The government (we) will bail them out too.

Not that Congress cares, but if that happened, We the People would be outraged.

I've always went along with the thoughts that cable subscribers should have the right to pick and choose the stations they want to pay for. Like a lot of people, I don't want to pay for univision and BET.

Additionally, I don't want to pay for ABC, CBS and the rest of the left-wing, agenda-driven propaganda machines...Real simple, they quit lying or we wuit paying for their channels.

Wonder if that means they won't show up at rallys when we protest illegal aliens? Means illegal aliens are costing them also.

Is it still on the air? DirecTV has a notice on a station I thought was a Spanish station that says it is no longer available.????????

Good maybe all spanish networks will go bankrupt.

Originally Posted by caasduit

Wonder if that means they won't show up at rallys when we protest illegal aliens?

Good point, you know Univision actually has more balanced reported about immigration enforcement than the English stations.

Originally Posted by Bowman

Originally Posted by caasduit

Wonder if that means they won't show up at rallys when we protest illegal aliens?

Good point, you know Univision actually has more balanced reported about immigration enforcement than the English stations.

Yep, true, back a couple yrs ago, we had a protest in Sacramento at Arden Fair mall, where channel 3 does the noon news, right across the street is Univision.
Now mind you there was about 400 people, Univision was there filming, channel 3 never came out, and they knew about it, because we let them know.