Latest news with #JingYi
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TelevisaUnivision Reports Full-Year Streaming Profit, U.S. Ad Revenue Grows on Sports, Political
Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision reported a 2 percent U.S. revenue gain to $835.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 and a 5 percent U.S. subscription and licensing revenue improvement to $346.5 million. The company, led by CEO Daniel Alegre, said that its streaming business with its flagship service ViX posted another profit in the fourth quarter of 2024 after achieving profitability in the third quarter 'after just two full years in the marketplace.' After having ended 2023 with more than 7 million subscribers and $700 million in annual revenue, 'the direct-to-consumer (DTC) business generated $1 billion in revenue and positive adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) in ViX's second full year of operation,' the company highlighted on Thursday. More from The Hollywood Reporter Max Launches Successfully in Southeast Asia, But Netflix Still Dominates the Region Berlin Hidden Gem: China's Jing Yi Taps Memories of Xinjiang for Enigmatic Feature Debut 'The Botanist' BBC Revenge Thriller Series 'Reunion,' Set in the Deaf Community, Gets First-Look Pictures José Luis Fabila is now leading all content globally for the company as part of an Alegre-overseen reorganization and reduction of its workforce by a mid- to high-single-digit percentage, which was unveiled late last year. TelevisaUnivision disclosed restructuring, severance and related charges of $53.4 million for the fourth quarter, compared with $24.2 million in the year-ago period. For the full year 2024, these charges amounted to $72.9 million, compared with $53.4 million in 2023. Revenue in the fourth quarter declined 1 percent, but grew 4 percent when excluding foreign-exchange impacts, to $1.3 billion, with the U.S. growth outweighed by a 5 percent drop in Mexico, which amounted to an 8 percent gain when excluding currency impacts. Operating expenses were 'essentially flat' at $892 million. The firm's quarterly loss narrowed to $809.7 million from $912.1 million in the year-ago period. TelevisaUnivision's quarterly adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA), another key profitability metric, declined 3 percent to $451.9 million in the fourth quarter, or grew 3 percent when excluding currency impacts. The company also disclosed a quarterly charge for the impairment of program rights of $142.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 and $157.1 million for the full year. It also posted an impairment loss of $900.2 million for the full year 2024, compared with $1.01 billion in 2023. Both impairment charges are non-cash charges recorded as a result of regular testing of the company's assets and do not impact its OIBDA, leverage or cash position. Advertising revenue fell 1 percent in the final quarter of 2024 to $851 million as the U.S. gain to $475.6 million was outweighed by a 4 percent drop in Mexico. Excluding the impact of foreign exchange rates, Mexico advertising revenue grew 10 percent. Full-year 2024 U.S. advertising revenue growth 'accelerated to 2 percent, driven by a record-breaking year in sports and political advertising demand garnering $70 million,' the firm said. '2024 was a year of continued momentum for TelevisaUnivision, and my early days at the helm have reinforced the tremendous opportunity ahead of us,' said Alegre, the former president and COO of Activision Blizzard and CEO of Yuga Labs who took over as TelevisaUnivision CEO in September: 'The recent U.S. election cycle underscored the power and influence TelevisaUnivision has to deliver the Hispanic vote through our reach and connection with the community.' He added: 'With our newly unified organizational structure, we are fully harnessing the strengths of Univision in the U.S. and Televisa in Mexico to drive further connectivity and expand our impact as a global content leader.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Max Launches Successfully in Southeast Asia, But Netflix Still Dominates the Region
Max's long-awaited standalone launch in Southeast Asia proved to be a success, with Warner Bros. Discovery's streamer capturing 1.4 million subscribers in the region in Q4 2024, according to new research. In The Southeast Asia Online Video Consumer Insights & Analytics Report published by Singapore-based media consultancy Media Partners Asia (MPA), Max entered five Southeast Asian markets — Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and the Philippines — in November 2024 and captured 26 percent of Q4 net customer additions for streaming services in SEA. Max launched with key titles such as House of the Dragon, The Big Bang Theory and Friends and its success was driven by a strong performance in Thailand, according to the report. MPA predicts that Max will continue to see increased engagement and subscriber growth in 2025 as the service rolls out new originals, most notably the Thailand-set third season of HBO's wildly successful The White Lotus, and as more and more WBD pay-TV customers activate the Max app in the key SEA markets. More from The Hollywood Reporter Berlin Hidden Gem: China's Jing Yi Taps Memories of Xinjiang for Enigmatic Feature Debut 'The Botanist' BBC Revenge Thriller Series 'Reunion,' Set in the Deaf Community, Gets First-Look Pictures Blackpink's Jisoo to Star in Netflix K-Drama Series 'Boyfriend on Demand' Despite a strong start for Max, the streamer has a long way to go to get near Netflix, the dominant player in SEA. MPA says that Netflix captured 48 percent of Q4 2024 net customer additions in SEA, fuelled by a strong content slate, including Korean and U.S. films and series, as well as a rapidly expanding library of local original productions. As it has with bigger Asian markets like Japan, South Korea and India, Netflix has committed to increasing its production footprint in SEA markets and announced 14 original productions for Indonesia and Thailand in 2025. The report states that Netflix ended the calendar year 2024 with just less than 12 million customers combined across SEA's 5 markets. The report states that Netflix leads the SEA category with a commanding 52 percent viewership share and 42 percent revenue share. However, the MPA adds that streaming competition is growing, particularly in Indonesia and Thailand, from local players like Vidio, which led the Indonesia market with 4.7 million subscribers in 2024, and regional players like Viu which ended 2024 with 9.5 million customers in SEA. Disney+ continues to maintain a robust 10 percent category revenue share in SEA as it has repriced and repackaged its service, the MPA adds. The MPA says that Q4 2024 was a period of significant expansion for streamers generally, with 3.2 million net new SVOD subscriptions added, bringing the regional total to 53.6 million in SEA, a 12 percent year-on-year increase. Growth for streaming was fuelled by Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, in particular. The report states that SVOD revenues (that includes subscriptions and advertising) surged 14 percent in Q4 2024 to hit $1.8 billion, with Indonesia ($552 million) leading the way, followed by Thailand ($473 million). 'Southeast Asia's streaming landscape is evolving rapidly,' said Vivek Couto, executive director of MPA in a statement. 'While Netflix has solidified its leadership position, the category is growing with the entry of Max and the scaling of local and regional platforms like Vidio, Viu and TrueID. The next phase of growth will be fuelled by the expansion of connected TV and home broadband penetration. Continued investment in local/Asian content and premium sports, led by Netflix and key local and regional platforms in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, will further stimulate growth. The industry is also exploring new strategies focused on short-form content and bundling partnerships to attract and retain subscribers.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter How the Warner Brothers Got Their Film Business Started Meet the World Builders: Hollywood's Top Physical Production Executives of 2023 Men in Blazers, Hollywood's Favorite Soccer Podcast, Aims for a Global Empire
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Festival Favorite Bi Gan Mentored the Dreamy Berlin Coming-of-Age Premiere ‘The Botanist' to Bloom: Watch the Teaser
One of IndieWire's favorite films of 2019 was 'Long Day's Journey Into Night,' Chinese director Bi Gan's genre-bending epic that used 3D and more formally twisting conceits to tell a story of romantic longing and a tryst that leads to a disappearance. While between films, Bi, who is rumored to have his much-anticipated third feature 'Resurrection' premiere at Cannes this year, ended up mentoring a young budding director for their own woozily dreamy portrait, 'The Botanist.' Jing Yi's new film premieres at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival in the Generation Kplus section, and IndieWire shares an exclusive first look below. Here's the synopsis, per the Berlinale's official website: 'In a village in a remote valley on the northern border of Xinjiang, China, a lonely Kazakh boy named Arsin nurses fading memories of his family. He finds solace in the company of plants. The arrival of Meiyu, a Han Chinese girl, is like the discovery of a plant he has never seen before, bringing him comfort and a strange sense of wonder. Together, they grow like two distinct species, rooted in a shared corner of the world, imagining the valley as an endless ocean. But one day, Arsin learns that Meiyu will be moving to Shanghai, which is 4,792 kilometres away – a distance he struggles to comprehend. She is headed to a city where the ocean actually exists. Arsin is left alone to grapple with the quiet shifts in their small, fragile world.' More from IndieWire 'No Other Land' Is Nominated for an Oscar, but in Masafer Yatta, We're Still Being Erased - Opinion How the Editing of 'Conclave' Gives Its Cardinal All the Clues Jing Yi, born in 1994 and raised in Xinjiang, is a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy. His debut feature film 'The Botanist' was selected as an official project at the Asian Project Market 2023, where it won the New Horse Award. The film also received post-production funding from the Doha Film Institute Grants Programme 2024 Spring session. 'The Botanist' premieres on Saturday, February 15. Here's the teaser. Magnify is handling worldwide sales rights. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie The 55 Best LGBTQ Movies and TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now
