Univision Invites Marketers Into Its Transformative Year

Donna Speciale, the former WarnerMedia ad sales chief who joined Univision earlier this year as president of advertising sales and marketing, told Adweek in January, "I guarantee you at the end of the year, we are going to be a different company." She wasn't kidding. Univision presented a Grow With Us-themed upfront presentation to the advertising community Tuesday afternoon, and company executives touted milestones, new content, new leadership—including Speciale and Luis Silberwasser, the former Telemundo TV chief who joined Univision earlier this year as president of Univision Television Networks Group—and the launch of AVOD service PrendeTV, all of which are being bolstered by last month’s $4.8 billion merger with Mexican radio and TV conglomerate Televisa. Both companies said at the time of the announcement that the Univision-Televisa deal would give them the content, production capacity, global reach and financial resources necessary to take advantage of the fledgling global Spanish-language streaming space. Currently, less than 10% of the Spanish-speaking global population—around 600 million people—use an OTT service. When it comes to targeting Hispanic-Americans, Univision executives believe streaming is a significant piece of the puzzle—and that now is the time for marketers to hop on board. "We continue to be the Spanish language leader in linear, digital, local, audio, social, news, entertainment and sports, not just by the numbers, but also in trust," said Speciale. "Univision is the most trusted network in the U.S., full stop. If you want a surefire path to new customers, our audience is the best way to start." 'We're bullish on both linear and digital' Digital and streaming are not the full puzzle, however. The company sees streaming and digital products as "complementary" to their linear broadcast and cable networks. “We're bullish on both linear and digital,” said Silberwasser. "We think that's part of the transformation message that we have, that's part of the vision that [Univision CEO] Wade Davis has for this company. Univision, in a way, is moving from being a legacy media company to a much more digital-friendly company—a company that was mainly focused on the U.S. to one that's focused on the entire speaking world." Univision Debuts PrendeTV, a Free Streamer for US Hispanics Silberwasser added: "We see these two things as not overlapping. We see them as very different and complementary platforms, and I really do believe that there's content that people want to watch on broadcast—big, live appointment viewing like news and sports. There's an immediacy and an urgency to the content that we have on the broadcast networks. On the other hand, there's content on the streaming platform, like PrendeTV. It depends on the situation." Speciale told reporters after the presentation that Univision's decision to enter streaming had nothing to do with the "attrition of the linear business," something she feels is happening at the English-language media companies, and that's a major reason why they're launching standalone streaming services. "That is not the case with us," said Speciale. "We're growing our linear business and our digital business, so PrendeTV is really just another platform that our consumers want to watch content on. To us, it's an extended reach that will add bilinguals, younger, multi-generations. The reach for marketers will now be extensive on all touchpoints." Speaking of younger and multi-generational audiences, Speciale and Silberwasser both touted the ever-growing influence ad spending power of the Hispanic-American population, which makes up 20% of the total U.S. population and is projected to account for 54% of total U.S. population growth between 2021 and 2026. The population is growing in influence and is driving consumer spending in all key categories, including auto, health, insurance, retail and technology. In fact, the U.S. Latino GDP is $2.6 trillion, larger than Italy, Brazil or South Korea, and is the third fastest growing GDP in the world. "Hispanic marketing is foundational for growth," said Speciale. "It's an urgent opportunity, a true business imperative that delivers results." Speciale also noted Univision's new brand studio, launching this year, "will be brand journalism at its finest," she said. "Together, we'll find credible, hopeful and powerful stories, stories your brands should tell, then we'll make sure we're telling them in all the right places."

TV Upfronts

During Its Transformative Year, Univision Invites Marketers Along for the Ride

With a new streamer and a merger on the horizon, the company makes its upfront pitch

A.J. Katz

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A.J. Katz