FOS PM: Sports Spur Media Giant’s Q1

Televisa and Univision, which completed the $4.8 billion merger of their content businesses in January, posted pro forma first-quarter revenue of $1 billion in their first earnings report as TelevisaUnivision — up from $896 million the year before.

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

Operating expenses for the quarter were up 16% year-over-year to $608 million as a result of investments across the company, including its streaming business and increases in the cost of sports, entertainment and news programming. Advertising revenue increased by 12% to $569 million, while subscription and license revenues grew 14.3% to $407 million†

TelevisaUnivision achieved a number of other milestones during the quarter.

• TelevisionUnivision was the New. 2-rated network on all TV in the US for the first time in February.
• It launched its new streaming service, ViX AVODin the US, Mexico and most of Spanish-speaking Latin America, with plans to launch a premium subscription platform later this year.

Sell ​​sports

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

In about the past year, Televisa joined a $560 millioneight year deal with La Liga, while Univision signed a five-year contract with Combate Americas. Univision already had coverage of Copa America† Copa MXand League MXas well as partnerships with NFL and MLB teams.

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

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

Sergio Garcia† Robert Garrigusand up to 20 others, possibly including 15th ranked Louis Oosthuizen, have reportedly requested releases for the tournament, what a $25 million bag.

The requests are the culmination of the drama sparked by Mickelson’s support for LIV Golf.

• After initially threatening life-long bans, the PGA Tour shifted to grant conditional waivers from LIV tournaments.
• Reports from earlier this month indicated that Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Kevin Na would be joining LIV.
• LIV’s June event conflicts with that of the PGA Tour Canadian Openwho has one $8.7 million bag.

LIV’s schedule includes five US tournaments, plus one in Bangkok and Jeddah, with prize pools totaling over $250 million.

Lefty’s Turn

Mickelson attracted attention in February after publishing an interview with author Alan Shipnuck, in which he clearly stated that he was aware of Saudi Arabia’s poor human rights record, but that he saw the breakout competition as a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshaping how the PGA Tour works†

Mickelson’s comments led to sponsors including Amstel Light, KPMG and Workday, which is owned by Heineken, severing ties with the golfer. Callaway has ‘paused’ his collaboration with Mickelson.

Although the New York legislature has approved a financing package for a new Buffalo Bills stadium, Erie County is still negotiating.

County legislators are looking for a community benefits package from Bills owners Kim and Terry Pegula. Among the key issues that legislators and community groups want to address:

• Transport entrance to the stadium
• Vacancies
• Youth Development

“It’s non-negotiable for myself and my vote,” Erie County chairman April Baskin said.

The provincial legislature is expected to vote on a non-binding memorandum of understanding in the coming weeks and complete the entire process by September 1.

Under the deal with the team, Erie County will contribute $250 million for the new stadium, on top $600 million of the state. NFL owners offer a $200 million loan, which the Pegulas must at least match. The team will repay the loan through the earnings of the visiting team tickets.

Sinking approval

A new poll in Siena, conducted on April 18-21, found that: 63% of New Yorkers oppose the state providing $600 million for the stadium, with 24% in the advantage. Those results are similar but more pronounced than those on March 30, when the deal was at 55% to 22%.

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