Televisa and Univision, who closed the $4.8 billion merger of their content businesses in January, recorded $1 billion in Q1 revenue on a pro forma basis — up from $896 million the year prior — in their first earnings report as TelevisaUnivision. 

The separate entities had strong ties before they became the largest Spanish-language media company in the world, merging their sports divisions in 2019. 

Operating expenses for the quarter grew 16% year-over-year to $608 million due to investments across the company, including its streaming business and increases in sports, entertainment, and news programming costs. Advertising revenue increased 12% to $569 million, while subscription and licensing revenue jumped 14.3% to $407 million.

TelevisaUnivision made a couple of other milestones during the quarter.

• TelevisaUnivision was the No. 2-rated network on all of TV in the U.S. for the first time ever in February.
• It launched its new streaming service, ViX AVOD, in the U.S., Mexico, and most of Spanish-speaking Latin America, with plans to launch a premium subscription platform later this year.

Sports Sell

The self-proclaimed “Home of Soccer” continues to score with sports — TUDN is the No. 1 Spanish-language sports network in the U.S. and Mexico.

In roughly the last year, Televisa entered a $560 million, eight-year deal with La Liga, while Univision signed a five-year deal with Combate Americas. Univision already had coverage of Copa America, Copa MX, and Liga MX, as well as partnerships with NFL and MLB teams.

Phil Mickelson could compete in both the PGA Tour’s flagship events and the inaugural tournament of the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV Golf league, if granted permission.

Mickelson requested a release from the PGA Tour to play in LIV Golf’s event in June at the Centurion Club near London. He also signed up for the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. 

Sergio Garcia, Robert Garrigus, and up to 20 others, possibly including 15th-ranked Louis Oosthuizen, have reportedly requested releases for the tournament, which carries a $25 million purse. 

The requests present the climax of the drama stirred by Mickelson’s support for LIV Golf.

• After initially threatening lifetime bans, the PGA Tour shifted to grant conditional waivers to LIV’s tournaments.
• Reports from earlier this month stated that Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Kevin Na were set to join LIV.
• LIV’s June event conflicts with the PGA Tour’s Canadian Open, which has an $8.7 million purse.

LIV’s schedule includes five U.S. tournaments, plus one each in Bangkok and Jeddah, with prize purses totaling over $250 million. 

Lefty’s Turn

Mickelson turned heads in February after the release of an interview with author Alan Shipnuck in which he stated plainly that he was aware of Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, but saw the breakaway league as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates.”

Mickelson’s comments led sponsors including Heineken-owned Amstel Light, KPMG, and Workday to break ties with the golfer. Callaway “paused” its partnership with Mickelson.

Though the New York legislature has agreed to a funding package for a new Buffalo Bills stadium, Erie County is still negotiating.

County lawmakers are seeking a community benefits package from Bills owners Kim and Terry Pegula. Among the key issues that legislators and community groups want addressed:

• Transportation access to the stadium
• Job opportunities
• Youth development

“That’s a non-negotiable for myself and my vote,” said Erie County chair April Baskin.

The county legislature is expected to vote on a nonbinding memorandum of understanding in the coming weeks and to have the entire process wrapped up by Sept. 1.

Under the deal with the team, Erie County will chip in $250 million for the new stadium, on top of $600 million from the state. NFL owners are providing a $200 million loan, which the Pegulas must at least match. The team will repay the loan through visiting team ticket revenue. 

Sinking Approval

A new Siena poll conducted April 18-21 found that 63% of New Yorkers oppose the state providing $600 million for the stadium, with 24% in favor. Those results are similar but more pronounced than one released March 30, which saw the deal opposed 55% to 22%. 

The same Siena poll found that Gov. Kathy Hochul, who orchestrated the stadium deal, saw her job performance rating drop to 36%, with voters citing a host of issues.