MEXICO CITY (The Hollywood Reporter) — The clash of Spanish-language media titans has intensified following an announcement from Mexican broadcaster Televisa that it has filed two more claims against its U.S. partner Univision over royalties and rights to unsold advertising time.
Speaking in a conference call July 15, Televisa executive VP Alfonso de Angoitia said the two new claims “amend” an existing royalties suit filed against Univision in May in a California U.S. District Court.
Televisa provides the bulk of Univision’s primetime programming under a license agreement that runs through 2017.
“The first claim has to do with the right to air soccer games, which is separate from the program license agreement that we have with [Univision],” de Angoitia told analysts. “We believe that they have broadcast various Televisa programs that Univision has altered in ways not permitted by those agreements and, of course, without Televisa’s consent.”
The other new claim, de Angoitia said, is related to Univision’s alleged failure to make part of its unsold advertising time available to Televisa, which the Mexican network considers a breach of the program license agreement. He added that Univision has “unilaterally refused to broadcast Televisa advertising.”
Televisa’s original suit claimed that Univision failed to pay $1.5 million in royalties.
A Univision spokesperson said July 15, “The lawsuit is baseless, and we will vigorously defend against it.”
The Mexican media outfit owns a 10.9% stake in Univision, while Venezuela’s Venevision has a 13.4% share in the No. 1 U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster.
De Angoitia also acknowledged July 15 that Televisa has an ongoing dispute with Univision over online content rights.
“For the time being, we have an agreement in which we share some of the content,” said de Angoitia, who hinted that Televisa might be seeking a better deal.
The issue, separate from the program license agreement, might create further tension between the two companies when they sit down to renew the agreement next year.
