Spanish-language media giants Grupo Televisa and Univision have closed their $4.8 billion merger.
The deal, which was first announced last year, will see Mexico-based Televisa’s media, content and production assets combined with Univision, the US Hispanic network in which it already holds a 36% stake.
The new company, named TelevisaUnivision, creates the world’s leading Spanish-language media and content company.
TelevisaUnivision will produce and deliver premium content for its own platforms and for third parties.
Televisa’s four broadcast channels, 27 pay-TV channels, Videocine movie studio, Blim TV subscription video-on-demand service, and the Televisa trademark, will be combined with Univision’s assets in the U.S., which include the Univision and UniMás broadcast networks, nine Spanish-language cable networks, 59 television stations and 57 radio stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets, and the PrendeTV AVOD platform.
As a result of the combination, TelevisaUnivision reaches over 60% of the respective TV audiences in both the U.S. and Mexico.
Across television, digital, streaming, and audio, the Company reaches over 100 million Spanish speakers every day.
TelevisaUnivision said it remained on track to launch its previously announced unified global streaming service in 2022, which will include both a free and a premium subscription tier.
The service will offer original Spanish-language content in the U.S. and Latin America.
Univision CEO Wade Davis will lead TelevisaUnivision as CEO. Alfonso de Angoitia will serve as Executive Chairman of the TelevisaUnivision Board and Marcelo Claure will become Vice Chairman of the Board.
The Company’s new investors include SoftBank Latin America Fund, Google and The Raine Group.
TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis said: “We are combining two iconic and market-leading companies that have a rich, shared history and an incredible portfolio of assets…The power and momentum of the transformed core business is truly unique and will be a springboard for the upcoming launch of the preeminent Spanish-language streaming service.”
“The combination of content assets from Televisa and Univision, the two leading media companies from the two largest Spanish-speaking markets in the world, has created a company with tremendous potential,” said Alfonso de Angoitia, Executive Chairman of the TelevisaUnivision Board of Directors. “
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