| | |  Business News | January 2009 
Spanish Language TV In US Could Be Changing
 Mic Mell - TheCelebrityCafe
go to original
Univision and Grupo Televisa are in court over a major royalty fiasco.
Univision is the largest Spanish language television network in the U.S. They are now locked in a heated court battle with Grupo Televisa, a Mexican company that is the world's leading creator of Spanish language soap operas and dramas.
GT is claming that Univision owes them more than $100 million in back royalties, and wants their contract nullified. The contract ends in 2017 and locks Televisa into an exclusive deal.
In his opening arguments, GT Lawyer Marshall Grossman told the court, "Televisa is saying no more ... lawsuits. We hope to put an end to this relationship and each go our own way."
The heart of the case is around unpaid royalties to Televisa, whose programs provide Univision with more than 30 percent of their ad revenue. Univision has paid out more than $1 billion to Televisa during their time together, and Univision lawyer John Keker insists that everything has been done in good faith. However, Televisa claims their attempts to audit Univision's books was repeatly stonewalled.
The row began in 2005, when Televisa first claimed they had not been paid what was owed to them, even alleging that Univision excluded some programs from their royalty deal. Things got worse when Univision was sold in 2006.
Univision lawyers are claiming that the litigation was originally a play by Televisa to clear the path to buy Univision, a play that did not succeed, and resulted in Televisa selling off their 11 percent ownership in the network.
If Univision wins, they will have control of the bargaining process, and maintain their exclusive right to Televisa content, forcing Televisa to find creative ways to sidestep the deal without breaching it.
If GT wins the case, they will have the freedom to re-negotiate with Univision or work with another network, like General Electric's Telemundo.
The trial will run for a few weeks, and the outcome could have a major impact on the Spanish TV landscape in the U.S. |
|
| |
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us