TelevisaUnivision is going to have a new boss in the morning.
In a move that surprised some and seemed only a matter of time to others, Wade Davis is out as CEO and Daniel Alegre is taking over the Spanish-language media empire. The announcement of the ex-Activision Blizzard president and COO as the new top dog came late Wednesday, mere hours after a New York Times article that posited the former Viacom CFO was in his last days running the joint.
Davis led a group of investors that created the company in 2022 by merging Univision and the entertainment arm of Mexico’s Grupo Televisa. But nearly four years after coming on board to lead Univision, Davis’s departure has been in the cards for a while with a variety of succession plans in the works, the company says and sources confirm. And the process seems to have accelerated in recent weeks.
Related Stories
While out as CEO, Davis will continue at the company as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and on the Board’s executive committee. The ongoing role for Davis comes as lower-than-anticipated revenues for TelevisaUnivision resulted in a loss of confidence in the executive on both sides of the border as well as in the boardroom, two sources tell Deadline. The company’s debt has remained high since the merger and, like other media companies, TelevisaUnivision has struggled to reconcile its expensive investments in streaming with declines in its linear business.
Watch on Deadline
“In 2020 Searchlight, ForgeLight and Liberty Global partnered with Grupo Televisa in our acquisition of Univision, setting out to turnaround and transform the legacy business,” Davis said in a statement Wednesday of the $4.8 billion deal he steered. “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,” the exec noted.
“Thanks to the efforts of our exceptional team, TelevisaUnivision has consistently delivered above-market revenue growth, outperformed the U.S. and Mexican advertising markets and launched and have grown our direct-to-consumer business, ViX, to become the largest dedicated Spanish-language streaming service in the world,” Davis added. “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 old CEO said of the new CEO, ex-Google exec and, up until now, CEO of of Yuga Labs. “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 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,” the newly-appointed Alegre noted.
“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,” he added. “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. I look forward to working with our global teams and partners to build on TelevisaUnivision’s great history and take the Company to new heights.”
The recent announcement that long time news anchor Jorge Ramos would be leaving at the end of the year had nothing to do with a loss of confidence by fellow board members and moneymen, I hear. Having expressed his displeasure earlier this year with some of the editorial choices the company made in interviewing Donald Trump and other moves, the ambitious CAA-repped Ramos’ upcoming departure had more to do with money and a new contract, not office politics.
In that context, the company is trying to project a business-as-usual stance amid the literal overnight parachuting of Alegre into the CEO hot seat.
“On behalf of the Board, I’m excited to welcome Daniel to TelevisaUnivision as we embark on the next phase of our strategic journey focused on further integration and optimization,” said Alfonso de Angoitia, Executive Chairman of TelevisaUnivision tonight.
“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,” de Angoitia added.
“We are proud stewards of a storied and prolific content factory containing the largest Spanish language library of rich and iconic intellectual property,” the satellite pay television system leader went on to say. “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.”