Wade Davis, who oversaw the combination of Televisa and Univision in 2020, has been replaced as CEO of the combined company by Daniel Alegre. Davis will transition into the role of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and continue as a member of the Board’s Executive Committee.
“It’s been a very dynamic media environment, and we are grateful for what Wade has accomplished in the turnaround of Univision and the subsequent transformative merger between Univision and Televisa’s content business to create TelevisaUnivision — the world’s leading Spanish-language media and content company,” Executive Chairman Alfonso de Angoitia said in a news release. “As we look to grow our unparalleled market position and the recent investments in our linear and streaming platforms as well as our news and sports products, Daniel is the right leader at the right time to take the helm. His unique global operational experience working in the U.S., Mexico, and Latin America across technology, digital platforms and entertainment honed over three decades is exactly what TelevisaUnivision needs to drive our next phase.”
Alegre has more than 30 years of global experience in media, entertainment, and technology. He was most recently CEO of Yuga Labs, a leading web3 company. He previously served as President and COO of the video game company Activision Blizzard. Alegre was with Google for 16 years, occupying the roles of President of Global and Strategic Partnerships, President of Shopping and Payments, and President of Asia Pacific and Latin America.
“The media landscape is undergoing a profound transformation and TelevisaUnivision is strategically poised to seize new opportunities while staying deeply connected to the communities we serve,” Alegre remarked. “The U.S. and Mexico represent the most valuable and populous Spanish-language markets in the world, a demographic that is becoming more prominent both regionally and globally. Building on TelevisaUnivision’s solid foundation, global content pipeline, ongoing investments in cutting-edge technologies, and unmatched reach, we are uniquely positioned to continue serving this vital audience. Wade and the entire TelevisaUnivision team have created a strong multi-platform media business with world-class quality and breadth of entertainment, news and sports programming.”
Davis, who previously served as CFO at ViacomCBS, commented, “In 2020 Searchlight, ForgeLight and Liberty Global partnered with Grupo Televisa in our acquisition of Univision, setting out to turn around and transform the legacy business. The success of those efforts paved the way for the merger with Televisa’s content business to create TelevisaUnivision — a business without comparison in the global media landscape today… We could not have picked a better successor than Daniel, who brings an incredible track record of operational and strategic execution. He is the ideal executive to take TelevisaUnivision into its next phase of growth. The company’s future is bright, and I look forward to supporting Daniel and the TelevisaUnivision team in my role as Vice Chairman of the Board.”
The New York Times describes the leadership change as “a stunning turn of events” for TelevisaUnivision, one of the most influential Spanish-language media companies in the U.S. However, the company has been struggling to grow profits since the merger. Sources tell the Times that the company has not met several of its internal budget targets, and is not on track to meet its financial target for this year.
The company is struggling to pay down its debt. In July, the media group had approximately $9.8 billion in debt, slightly down from the $9.9 billion owed before the merger. Profits have decreased to $1.61 billion in 2023 from $1.69 billion in 2022, according to the Times.
Speaking at the Bank of America Media Conference, Davis said the company will continue to examine which stations are core to the long-term plans for the Spanish-language media giant as it looks to reduce its debt load. In 2022, the company sold 18 radio stations in 10 markets to Latino Media Network for $60 million.
“We will continuously look at refining the portfolio,” Davis said. “So, if there’s any non-core assets that we can dispose of to deleverage, we’ll do that. You’ve seen us do that with tertiary radio stations that weren’t core to the proposition, and we’ll continue to look at the portfolio to drive that.”
TelevisaUnivision currently owns 35 radio stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Phoenix, San Diego, San Antonio, San Jose, Austin, Monterey-Salinas-Santa Cruz, CA, and Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX.