Variety: TelevisaUnivision CEO Unveils Layoffs, Restructures Executive Team

Story from Variety:

The CEO of Spanish-language giant TelevisaUnivision said he would restructure his executive team and cut jobs in a move he said was “aimed at strengthening our position for 2025 and beyond.”

In a memo to employees sent Monday, Daniel Alegre, who was named CEO in September, indicated he wanted to tear down some walls between different kinds of media, and move to work more closely with clients. ” Our partners’ needs are evolving, and we must serve them in ways no one else can in the market,” Alegre said.

As a result, Alegre said he planned to reorganize some teams. José Luis Fabila was named to lead all content efforts and create a new global organization devoted to the purpose. “José Luis will ensure that our content investments align with our company’s reach, engagement, and monetization goals, and are distributed efficiently across all platforms worldwide with the right windowing strategy,” said Alegre. “This is an exciting opportunity to elevate how we deliver world-class content to our global audiences.”

Jesús Lara, head of local in the U.S., will leave TelevisaUnivision, and U.S ad sales — both local and national — will be centralized under Donna Speciale. Ignacio Meyer will add U.S. audio and local programming to his portfolio. And Rafael Urbina, currently COO of the company’s ViX streaming service, will oversee all digital and streaming operations.

The move is the biggest from Alegre since he took the company’s reins. He replaced Wade Davis, formerly chief financial officer of Viacom before exiting to lead the buyout of a debt-laden Univision from Haim Saban and investors in late 2020. He then steered it into a merger with its most crucial partner and program supplier, Mexico-based Grupo Televisa, in 2022.

In tandem with the restructuring, TelevisaUnivision is expected to cut a portion of the workforce that is seen as equivalent to mid-to-high single-digit percentage, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Alegre in October suggested he intended to work to break down barriers in the corporation, which was formed out of the merger of the Univision TV network in the U.S. and Mexico’s Televisa content-production business. The different operations have “been around for more than 60 years, and while that creates a rich history, catalog and branding recognition, it also brings with it very established ways of operating,” Alegre said in October during a call with investors. “We have a real opportunity to shift from two regional companies into one global company.” He also indicated that “we need to evolve from a company with siloed linear and streaming businesses into a content-first company that is platform agnostic.”