The nation's biggest Spanish language broadcaster, Univision Communications, has named New York ad executive Joe Uva as its new chief executive officer, the company's prospective owners announced Tuesday.
Mr. Uva, 51, the CEO of OMD Worldwide, would replace Univision co-founder Jerry Perenchio in the role. Mr. Perenchio, the largest shareholder in Univision, has said he would retire once the broadcaster is delivered into the hands of a private equity group that bought the company last year. Federal regulators are expected to approve the sale in March.
"I am excited to have the opportunity to lead a premier company that has redefined the American media landscape and is so deeply embedded in the lives of its audience," Mr. Uva said in a release. "This is a company with tremendous strength that has fabulous growth opportunities. Its relationships with its consumers are unparalleled in the media industry. I very much look forward to working with Univision's outstanding management team, programming and industry partners, and leaders in the Hispanic community to build on the company's legacy of innovation and success. At the same time, it will be difficult to leave OMD where I have had a very positive experience. OMD is a strong company with a deep management team that will move forward without missing a beat."
Mr. Uva spent five years as president of OMD Worldwide, which is the No. 2 global media strategy and buying agency, according to Univision. Before joining the media communications company, he was president of Turner Entertainment Group Sales and Marketing, being appointed to that position in 1996, a dozen years after he joined Turner as an account executive for CNN.
A graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, he serves on the boards of directors of TiVo Incorporated and Imaginova Corp.
In its annual report filed in early February, Univision said it will keep most of its existing management team intact. COO and President Ray Rodriguez, CFO Andrew Hobson, Vice Chairman Robert Cahill, and General Counsel Douglas Kranwinkle had their contracts extended until the end of 2009.
While Madison Avenue might applaud the appointment, Wall Street is still a little skittish on Univision. Earlier this month its debt was downgraded by Standard & Poors.
"The two-notch downgrade reflects Univision's significantly increased financial risk following its pending LBO (leveraged buy-out)," wrote S&P credit analyst Michael Altberg wrote. S&P also said the outlook is negative, which suggests Univision's rating may fall even deeper into junk status.
Univision shares (NYSE:UVN) traded down 6 cents Tuesday to $35.90 on twice normal volume as the news of Mr. Uva's appointment filtered out. Despite the loss, that was a relatively strong performance on a day where the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 416 points.
Univision sold for approximately $13.7 billion, a price that includes the investors -- Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Thomas H. Lee Partners, and Saban Capital Group -- assuming $1.4 billion in debt.
Los Angeles-based Univision's holdings include the Univision TV network; the TeleFutura Network; Galavision, a Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 62 TV stations; Univision Radio, which owns or operates 73 radio stations; Univision Music Group; and Univision Online.
The company was fined $24 million by the Federal Comminications Commission this week for persenting a teen-themed telenovela as part of its mandated children's programming. Observers said the company agreed to the settlement to avoid impediments to the buy-out.
