TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis will hand over the reins of the major Spanish-language media outlet to Daniel Alegre, a former Activision Blizzard and Google employee who joins the company on Thursday.
The transition came as part of a succession planning process led by the company’s board of directors, with Davis moving into a vice chairman role. Alegre, who was president and chief operating officer of the online gaming powerhouse that was acquired for $69 billion last year by Microsoft, brings deep digital media experience to lead an organization that is undergoing a steep climb like its English-language rivals as it adjusts its linear operations to adapt to the rise of streaming.
“As we look to grow our unrivaled market and make recent investments in our linear and streaming platforms, as well as our information and sports products, Daniel is the perfect leader at the right time to take the helm,” Alfonso de Angoitia, executive chairman of TelevisaUnivision, said in a statement. “His distinguished international operational experience working in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America in technology, digital platforms and advanced entertainment over three decades is exactly what TelevisaUnivision needs to drive our next step.”
CEO of TelevisaUnivision, Daniel Alegre
Courtesy of TelevisaUnivision
Davis was Viacom’s chief financial officer before leaving to lead the purchase of debt-laden Univision from Haim Saban and investors in late 2020. He then led it to a merger with its partner and largest program supplier, Mexico-based Grupo Televisa, in 2022.
With Alegre joining, Davis will serve as vice chairman and will continue as a member of the board’s management committee. Davis remains one of the company’s largest shareholders. His private equity firm ForgeLight made the strategic investment in Univision with a view to modernizing corporate operations. Until recently, Univision had a large market share in the U.S. However, streaming platforms and NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language competitor Telemundo have made vital inroads.
“In 2020, Searchlight, ForgeLight and Liberty International partnered with Grupo Televisa on our acquisition of Univision, beginning to turnaround and reshape the legacy business. The success of these efforts paved the way for our merger with Televisa’s content business to create TelevisaUnivision – a business unmatched in the international media landscape today,” said Davis. “Due to the efforts of our distinguished workforce, TelevisaUnivision has consistently delivered above-market revenue growth, outperformed the U.S. and Mexican promotional markets, and launched and expanded our direct-to-consumer business, ViX, to become the largest dedicated Spanish-language streaming service in the world. We could not have chosen a better successor than Daniel, who brings an incredible track record of operational and strategic execution. He is the best executive to lead TelevisaUnivision into its next phase of growth.”
One of Davis’ partners in the Univision transaction was Searchlight Capital Partners. Eric Zinterhofer, a founding partner of Searchlight Capital, credited Davis with seeing the potential for a major Spanish-language media company in the U.S. He credited Davis with streamlining and accelerating the digital transition at an organization that was largely rooted in broadcast TV under previous owners.
“We, along with ForgeLight, invested in Univision in 2020 to support Wade’s vision for a holistic, growth-driven turnaround of the company,” said Zinterhofer. “The Televisa transaction was a continuation of that vision for a profitable, global turnaround that would result in a vertically integrated, unmatched Hispanic media company. In coordination with Grupo Televisa, Wade and the management team, we completed the merger of TelevisaUnivision and the global launch of ViX, concluding a multi-year transformation process. There has been long-standing alignment between TelevisaUnivision, Wade, Searchlight and the rest of the Board to implement a strong succession plan to inaugurate a world-class CEO to guide the company through this next phase of its trajectory. We are all extremely supportive of Daniel and have full confidence in the company’s strategy and management team.”
A report released Wednesday in The New York Times suggested the privately held company had not significantly reduced its debt since the merger, while revenue had fallen.
TelevisaUnivision faces the same challenges as its English counterparts, particularly figuring out how to monetize viewership for its content as it increasingly uses streaming providers to watch it. Under Davis, TelevisaUnivision has backed new broadband providers such as ViX and Prende TV and has been making inroads into relationships with U.S. sports leagues. The company has also found itself headed for controversy, as its news division has been accused of hosting a soft-ball interview with former President Donald Trump that may have been arranged in part by its corporate executives. A top journalist, Leon Krauze, has left, and Jorge Ramos, one of Univision’s celebrated reporters, plans to leave after the 2024 election.
Alegre spent 16 years at Google before moving on to become COO of Activision Blizzard from 2020 to 2023. There, he was responsible for managing all revenue, esports growth, and management groups for the company’s major game franchises. Most recently, he was CEO of Yuga Labs, custodian of the NFT collection known as Bored Ape Yacht Club.
“The media landscape is currently undergoing profound transformation, and TelevisaUnivision is strategically positioned to seize new opportunities while remaining deeply connected to the communities we serve,” said Alegre. “The U.S. and Mexico represent arguably the largest and most populous Spanish-speaking markets on the planet, a demographic that is becoming increasingly distinct regionally and globally. Building on TelevisaUnivision’s stable foundation, international content pipeline, continued investment in cutting-edge technologies and unparalleled reach, we are uniquely positioned to continue serving this critically important audience. Wade and his entire TelevisaUnivision team have created a powerful multiplatform media enterprise with world-class quality and breadth of programming across entertainment, news and sports. I look forward to working with our international partners and networks to build on TelevisaUnivision’s great history and take the company to new heights.”
Alegre currently serves on the Board of Directors of FEMSA, one of Latin America’s leading international trade and pharmaceutical retailers and the world’s largest bottler of Coca-Cola. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Cinepolis, the largest movie theater chain in Latin America.
(Pictured above: Wade Davis)
