Daniel Alegre Named CEO of Spanish-Language Giant TelevisaUnivision, Succeeding Key Shareholder Wade Davis

TelevisaUnivision CEO WadeDavis will hand the reins of the Spanish-language media giant to Daniel Alegre, the Activision Blizzard and Google alum who joins the company on Thursday.

The transition came as part of a succession planning process led by the company’s board of directors, including Davis, who will shift to the role of vice chairman. Alegre, who was president and chief operating officer of the video game powerhouse that was acquired for $69 billion last year by Microsoft, brings deep experience in digital media to lead a company that is facing an uphill climb like its English-language competitors as it adjusts its linear operations to adapt to the rise of streaming.

Related Stories

VIP+

4D Movie Tech Lacks Consumer Awareness: Survey

Greece Chooses 'Murderess' for International Feature Oscar Race After Scandal-Plagued Selection Process

 “As we look to grow our unparalleled market position and the recent investments in our linear and streaming platforms as well as our news and sports products, Daniel is the right leader at the right time to take the helm,” said Alfonso de Angoitia, executive chairman of TelevisaUnivision, in a statement. “His unique global operational experience working in the U.S., Mexico and Latin America across technology, digital platforms and entertainment honed over three decades is exactly what TelevisaUnivision needs to drive our next phase.”

Davis was formerly chief financial officer of Viacom before he exited 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 suppliers, Mexico-based Grupo Televisa in 2022.

With Alegre coming in, Davis will serve in a vice chairman capacity and continue as a member of the executive committee of the Board of Directors. Davis remains one of the largest shareholders in the company. His ForgeLight private investment firm made the strategic investment in Univision with the vision of modernizing the company’s operations. Until recently, Univision enjoyed massive market share in the U.S. But streaming platforms and NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language competitor Telemundo have made significant inroads.

“In 2020 Searchlight, ForgeLight and Liberty Global partnered with Grupo Televisa in our acquisition of Univision, setting out to turnaround and transform the legacy business. The success of those efforts paved the way for the merger with Televisa’s content business to create TelevisaUnivision – a business without comparison in the global media landscape today,” Davis said. “Thanks to the efforts of our exceptional team, TelevisaUnivision has consistently delivered above-market revenue growth, outperformed the U.S. and Mexican advertising markets and launched and have grown our direct-to-consumer business, ViX, to become the largest dedicated Spanish-language streaming service in the world. We could not have picked a better successor than Daniel, who brings an incredible track record of operational and strategic execution. He is the ideal executive to take TelevisaUnivision into its next phase of growth.”

One partner of Davis’ in the Univision transaction was Searchlight Capital Partners. Eric Zinterhofer, Searchlight Capital founding partner, credited Davis with seeing the potential for a hefty Spanish-language media giant in the U.S. He credited Davis for streamling and accelerating the digital transition at a company that had been largely rooted in broadcast TV under previous owners.

“We, alongside ForgeLight, invested in Univision in 2020 in support of Wade’s vision of a holistic, growth-led turnaround of the business,” said Zinterhofer. “The transaction with Televisa was a continuation of that successful vision at a global scale, resulting in an unmatched, vertically integrated Hispanic media business. In coordination with Grupo Televisa, Wade and the management team, we accomplished the integration of TelevisaUnivision as well as the global launch of ViX, completing the multi-year transformation process. There has been longstanding alignment between TelevisaUnivision, Wade, Searchlight and the rest of the Board to effect an organized succession plan to bring in a world-class CEO to lead the Company in 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 published earlier Wednesday in The New York Times suggested that the company had not lowered its debt significantly since the merger, even as profits declined.

TelevisaUnivision faces the same challenges as its English counterparts, namely how to monetize audiences for its content as they increasingly use streaming services to watch it. Under Davis, TelevisaUnivision backed new broadband services liek ViX and Prende TV, and had been making inroads into relationships with U.S. sports leagues. The company also found itself steering into controversy as its news division was accused of hosting a softer interview with former President Donald Trump that may have been organized in part by its business executives. One top journalist, Leon Krauze, left, and Jorge Ramos, one of the most venerated reporters at Univision, plans to exit after the 2024 election.

Alegre spent 16 years at Google before moving to become COO of Activision Blizzard from 2020 to 2023. There he was responsible for managing all revenue, game development and leadership teams for the company’s top gaming franchises. He was most recently CEO of Yuga Labs, parent of the NFT collection known as the Bored Ape Yacht Club.

“The media landscape is undergoing a profound transformation and TelevisaUnivision is strategically poised to seize new opportunities while staying deeply connected to the communities we serve,” Alegre said. “The U.S. and Mexico represent the most valuable and populous Spanish-language markets in the world, a demographic that is becoming more prominent both regionally and globally. Building on TelevisaUnivision’s solid foundation, global content pipeline, ongoing investments in cutting-edge technologies, and unmatched reach, we are uniquely positioned to continue serving this vital audience. Wade and the entire TelevisaUnivision team have created a strong multi-platform media business with world-class quality and breadth of entertainment, news and sports programming. I look forward to working with our global teams and partners to build on TelevisaUnivision’s great history and take the Company to new heights.”

Alegre currently serves on the Board of Directors at FEMSA, one of the leading Latin American global commerce and pharmaceutical retailers and the world’s largest Coca Cola bottler. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Cinepolis, the largest movie theater chain in Latin America.

(Pictured top: Wade Davis)