Consolidated Spanish-Language Streaming Service ViX Helps Drive TelevisaUnivision Revenue in 2023 Second Quarter
As the demand for Spanish-language content continues to increase across the country, TelevisaUnivision’s ViX streaming service is rising to meet the growing appetite. With both free and subscription options, the platform — which just launched last year — is already helping drive viewers and revenue to its parent company, painting a far rosier picture than many of its larger, primarily English-language competitors.
On Thursday, TelevisaUnivision shared its second quarter 2023 earnings report, and while the company did not provide an update on the total monthly active users for its dual-approach streaming service, the rest of the reported results seem to be promising for the streamer. In February, it was announced that the platform had eclipsed 25 million monthly active users, and the company followed up in May to report that the total had risen to over 30 million, showing a promising trajectory.
On the financial side, TelevisaUnivision reported that in Q2, its subscription and licensing revenue increased 14% and that in the United States, it saw 10% growth due in large part to the success of ViX’s ad-free subscription plan. Similarly, in Mexico, the company saw a 27% increase in subscription and licensing income driven by ViX’s premium tier.
“This was a fantastic quarter for TelevisaUnivision, accelerating our revenue growth into double digits and continuing to drive our leadership position in Spanish-language streaming with ViX — all through a disciplined approach in which our core business continues to offset our investments in streaming,” TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis said in the earnings release. “Leading our portfolio this quarter was extraordinary growth in Mexico, where we strategically programmed across linear and the ad-supported and premium subscription tiers of ViX to drive 22% revenue growth. This is a terrific example of the components of our ecosystem working together to deliver amazing financial performance.”
ViX initially launched as a free, Spanish-language streaming platform in March 2022 and then added a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) tier in July of that year. Since then, TelevisaUnivision has continued to add titles to the service's library and has reportedly been pleased by the subscriber and revenue growth of the services.
However, in April 2023, TelevisaUnivision decided to simplify things and combine their ad-supported and ad-free services, dropping the “+” from the latter’s name and merging them into a single, multi-functioning service. The success that ViX has seen in both the United States and Mexico bodes well for the future profitability of the platform. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, the “2023 Focus Latinx Survey” indicates that Latinos are more likely to watch TV and movies on streaming than the general population is. Also, they are more likely to watch live content on streaming services than via traditional linear broadcast and cable channels.
Last year, reports indicated that Spanish-language viewership was up 11% year-over-year in the U.S. and that nearly 40% of self-identified Latino viewers watched programming exclusively on streaming.
ViX customers have access to over 100 live channels and 40,000 hours of on-demand content via the streamer’s free option, including telenovelas and movies, as well as programming curated by Spanish-speaking celebrities. For $6.99 per month, they can opt for the ViX Premium plan, which not only makes all of the content ad-free, but also includes thousands of hours of additional premium entertainment and live sports.
ViX
ViX is a video streaming service focusing on Spanish-language content. Users will see 100+ TV channels, thousands of movies, TV series and soap operas, soccer leagues, and 24/7 news. For more exclusive content without ads, users can subscribe to ViX Premium, which has 40,000 hours of content, featuring originals and library content from Univision and Televisa’s pool of programming. ViX Premium includes 7,000 hours of live sports, including Liga MX and UEFA Champions League soccer.