Grupo Televisa NYSE: TV executives highlighted ongoing fiber upgrades, cost efficiencies, and continued momentum at streaming service ViX as they reviewed first-quarter 2026 results, while acknowledging pressure at Sky from subscriber losses and a weaker sports-driven advertising environment in the U.S.
Management outlines 2026 priorities and profitability goals
Co-CEO Alfonso de Angoitia opened the call by reiterating the company’s strategic priorities for the year: attracting and retaining “value customers” to grow internet subscribers, extracting additional synergies from the integration between Izzi and Sky, implementing operating and capital spending efficiencies, and upgrading 6 million homes to fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) to end 2026 with 75% of the footprint passed with FTTH.
De Angoitia said efficiency measures “implemented over the last couple of years” helped expand consolidated operating segment income margin by about 330 basis points in the quarter, driven by an approximately 8% year-over-year reduction in OpEx. He added the company expects to “sustain profitability above 40% over the coming quarters.”
On TelevisaUnivision, de Angoitia noted that with direct-to-consumer business ViX representing more than 20% of consolidated revenue and EBITDA, management believes additional value can be unlocked through further integration and operational optimization of the content business. He also pointed to U.S. headwinds tied to the “cyclical timing” of major sports events, while saying TelevisaUnivision preserved ratings and “managed yields to drive pricing growth.”
Cable growth supported by broadband and mobile; Sky declines weigh on revenue
Francisco Valim, CEO of Cable and Sky, reported the cable network ended March with 20 million homes, after passing about 12,000 new homes during the quarter. The company upgraded over 1.5 million homes to FTTH, ending the quarter with more than 52% of the footprint passed with FTTH, and said it remains on track to upgrade another 4.5 million homes over the remainder of the year.
Valim said the monthly churn rate remained below the historical average of 2% for the fourth consecutive quarter, as the company emphasized value customers “rather than volume.” Broadband gross additions led to 25,000 net adds in the quarter, in line with the fourth quarter of 2025.
In video, Valim said cancellations were lower than in the prior quarter, and the company lost about 34,000 video subscribers in the first quarter (compared with 31,000 disconnections in the fourth quarter of 2025). He added that management expects lower video cancellations to continue, citing a multi-year partnership with Formula 1 that began in the fourth quarter of last year and runs through the 2028 season, providing live coverage of all Grand Prix via Sky Sports channels available through Izzi and Sky.
Mobile also contributed, with 95,000 net adds in the quarter. Valim said the MVNO offering has made bundles more competitive, increasing share of wallet and helping keep churn low.
Financially, Valim said net revenue from residential operations was MXN 10.6 billion (about 89% of total cable revenue), up 0.9% year-over-year and up 0.5% sequentially, which he characterized as the best quarterly revenue growth performance in two years for the residential business. Enterprise revenue was MXN 1.3 billion (around 11% of cable revenue), up 30% year-over-year, driven in part by the timing of revenue recognition on a significant contract signed in the fourth quarter of 2025. Excluding that contract, enterprise revenue grew 15.6%, Valim said.
At Sky, Valim reported the business lost 325,000 revenue-generating units, mostly from prepaid subscribers not recharging service. He also reiterated that Sky began charging an installation fee of MXN 1,250 to new satellite pay-TV customers starting in the second quarter of 2025, contributing to a steady slowdown in gross additions over the last four quarters. Sky first-quarter revenue was MXN 2.6 billion, down 24.6% year-over-year, primarily due to a lower subscriber base.
Overall for Cable and Sky, segment revenue was MXN 14.5 billion, down 3.1% year-over-year, while operating segment income rose 5.2% to MXN 6.0 billion. The operating segment income margin expanded to 41.4%, up about 330 basis points year-over-year, which Valim said reflected efficiency measures and integration synergies between Izzi and Sky.
First-quarter CapEx totaled MXN 2.5 billion, representing 17.2% of sales, which Valim attributed largely to FTTH upgrades. Operating cash flow (defined as EBITDA minus CapEx) was MXN 3.5 billion, or 24.2% of sales.
TelevisaUnivision posts revenue growth led by ViX; EBITDA pressured by costs
In prepared remarks delivered by the operator, TelevisaUnivision’s first-quarter revenue was reported at $1.1 billion, up 5% year-over-year. Excluding the impact from the appreciation of the Mexican peso, revenue was described as flat.
The company attributed results to growth in ViX, as well as strong linear distribution and content licensing revenue in both regions. Total advertising was “nearly flat,” though management cited anticipated softness in the U.S. due to a sports calendar weighted toward events outside the company’s portfolio.
Operating expenses rose 11% (or 5% excluding peso appreciation), driven by higher strategic marketing investment and a higher concentration of sports-related costs tied primarily to the Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Adjusted EBITDA was $323 million, down 6% year-over-year.
Advertising revenue declined 3% year-over-year. In the U.S., advertising revenue fell 12% as growth in direct-to-consumer advertising was offset by softness in linear networks. In Mexico, advertising revenue increased 13%, driven by DTC growth, partially offset by a timing shift of private-sector advertising to later quarters related to World Cup campaigns.
Subscription and licensing revenue increased 15% year-over-year. In the U.S., subscription and licensing rose 12%, driven by DTC momentum, higher average rates, and incremental revenue from Hulu + Live TV. In Mexico, subscription and licensing increased 28%, supported by ViX premium subscriber growth, higher average rates, and content licensing growth tied to demand for sports rights. Management said it has fully lapped renewal-cycle impacts from last year, setting up “more normalized growth comparison going forward.”
On ViX, TelevisaUnivision reported double-digit subscriber growth in the SVOD tier and an all-time low global churn, plus a record 1 billion streaming hours across AVOD and SVOD. Management also said it has made “strong progress” preparing the ecosystem ahead of the FIFA World Cup, with a strategy focused on acquisition, accessibility, and sustained engagement beyond the tournament.
Balance sheet updates and capital allocation commentary
TelevisaUnivision ended the quarter with $411 million in cash and approximately $725 million of available capacity under credit facilities. CapEx was $34 million, flat year-over-year, and management expects full-year 2026 CapEx to be consistent with 2025.
TelevisaUnivision’s leverage ratio ended the quarter at 5.7x EBITDA, up modestly from 5.6x at the end of 2025, which management attributed partly to seasonality. The company also issued $1.5 billion of new senior notes due 2033 and offered to purchase all outstanding notes due 2028, moving the next debt maturity to 2029.
At Grupo Televisa, management reiterated it used free cash flow to repay the remaining $207 million principal amount of senior notes maturing this year. Grupo Televisa ended the quarter with a leverage ratio of 2.0x EBITDA, down from 2.4x a year earlier, which management tied to about MXN 4.3 billion in free cash flow over the last 12 months and 1.5% year-over-year EBITDA growth.
Q&A: margins, competition, CapEx pacing, pricing, and equity income line
Asked by Morgan Stanley’s Ernesto González about the sustainability of margins and fixed-market competition, Valim said margins “will fluctuate around the 40% range.” He described the market as competitive and said the company focuses on “more sophisticated, more long-term clients,” adding it does not believe pursuing “huge volumes” of new acquisitions will create value.
On M&A and capital allocation, JPMorgan’s Livea Mizobata asked about appetite and strategy. Management said it continues exploring M&A opportunities in the sector while using free cash flow to strengthen the balance sheet and remain prepared for potential deals in Mexican telecommunications.
Valim said CapEx while upgrading the network should run in the “low 20%s” as a percentage of revenue, then decline to around the “15% range” as the build finishes, which he indicated would occur in the second half of next year. CFO Carlos Phillips added that CapEx should be more level through the year, rather than back-end loaded, because the network build ramped last year and is now moving at a stable pace.
UBS asked about a notable increase in Grupo Televisa’s share of income from associates and joint ventures. Phillips said the line rose by about MXN 1.2 billion in the quarter. He explained the company accounts for TelevisaUnivision under the equity method and includes items such as its share of net income and income from preferred shares. Phillips said Grupo Televisa’s ownership stake increased from 43.2% to 44.3%, primarily because TelevisaUnivision repurchased certain preferred stock.
New Street Research’s David Lopes asked about pricing and the fiber roadmap. Phillips said the company implemented a MXN 30 broadband price increase in March. He also said that while the company expects to reach 75% FTTH by the end of 2026, it expects to reach 100% fiber by mid-2027, describing it as a matter of timing.
Bank of America’s Lucca Brendim asked about the strength in enterprise revenue. Phillips said the contract referenced is recurring and will impact future quarters, but the growth spike seen this quarter “should not be repeated” at the same level, while the company still anticipates high growth in the enterprise business.
In closing remarks, de Angoitia said management was “very happy with the results of this quarter.”
About Grupo Televisa NYSE: TV
Grupo Televisa, SAB. is a leading Mexican multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Mexico City, specializing in the creation, production and distribution of Spanish-language content. The company operates free-to-air television networks, subscription pay-TV services, broadband and telephony under its cable arm, and a range of digital streaming platforms. Grupo Televisa's portfolio spans news, sports, telenovelas, reality programming and original series, positioning it as one of the largest content producers in the Spanish-speaking world.
Televisa's broadcast division includes flagship channels such as Las Estrellas and Canal 5, while its pay-TV segment features operations under brands like Sky México and Izzi Telecom.
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