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A growing audience hasn't insulated Spanish language media giant Univision Communications from the woes of a down economy.
The company today announced financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008, and the news wasn't good.
Despite being the only major network to witness growth in its 18-to-49-year-old market, Univision's net revenue dropped 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter, to $502 million from $544 million in 2007. Also, for all of 2008, its net revenue decreased 2.5 percent from 2007 levels.
But when it comes to the size of Univision's audience, 2008 was a stellar year.
The company's viewership grew, even as ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and CW, saw their audiences decline. Also, Univision's Los Angeles television station beat all others in the country, ranking as the No. 1 station among adults 18-49 during prime time, said Joe Uva, the company's chief executive officer, in a statement.
"Our fourth quarter results reflect an operating environment that was among the most difficult we have seen across most industries," he said. "Nevertheless, we continued to meet our key near-term goals of maintaining ample liquidity to operate our business, successfully negotiating favorable retransmission agreements and aggressively managing costs."
Throughout 2008, Univision was the fourth-largest network in prime time for the 18-34 category, behind FOX, NBC and ABC, and beating out CBS.
Univision reaches 96 percent of U.S. Hispanic households, according to Nielsen Media Research statistics.
