Winning with Culture: How TelevisaUnivision Connects Brands with Hispanic Audiences

As the leading Spanish-language media company globally, TelevisaUnivision is uniquely positioned to connect brands with the rapidly growing Hispanic audience. With a robust portfolio spanning linear TV, streaming, digital, and audio platforms, the company is redefining how advertisers engage with multicultural consumers in today’s evolving media landscape.

We spoke with Jeremy Varner, SVP of global programmatic strategy & operations at TelevisaUnivision, who shared insights on the company’s global partnership strategy, sports dominance, programmatic growth, and the role of key tech partners like Magnite in driving innovation and efficiency.

How does TelevisaUnivision’s global partnership strategy influence your advertising efforts, and what synergies have you found between these two regions? 

As a company with a strong presence in the Spanish-speaking market, we take pride in helping brands authentically connect with “La Cultura.” The influence of Latin culture and music continues to expand globally, and brands that embed themselves in this vibrant community can build deep trust and drive meaningful growth—no matter the region. Our audience demonstrates high levels of co-viewing in multigenerational Spanish-language households, with a strong preference for live content, whether it’s their favorite musical artists or beloved soccer teams. 

Since announcing our transformative partnership with Liga MX and Liga MX Femenil, we’ve seen tremendous demand and engagement. By combining our extensive media rights with the official global league sponsorship rights, we’ve unlocked new opportunities for advertisers in the U.S. and Mexico, helping them reach, engage, and move Spanish-speaking audiences.

The Hispanic American audience is growing rapidly, especially in relation to sports like football/soccer. How does TelevisaUnivision leverage this growth, and what unique strategies do you use to engage this audience across linear broadcast and streaming channels?  

We continue to expand and diversify our sports portfolio to meet the needs and interests of our consumers. We have rights to some of the biggest leagues and events, including Liga MX, Liga MX Femenil, Leagues Cup, UEFA Champions and Europa League, Mexican Men’s and Women’s National Team, CONCACAF Nations League and 2025 Gold Cup, UEFA European Qualifiers, United Soccer League and Major League Baseball. Leveraging our multiplatform coverage – including our leading broadcast and cable networks as well as our streaming service ViX, TelevisaUnivision reaches millions of soccer and sports fans worldwide. Sports is also a huge driver of ad revenue. 

In 2024, we aired the two biggest tournaments of the year: Copa America and UEFA Euro Cup, which both reached viewership milestones. We saw our highest-grossing revenue tournament ever outside of the World Cup and reached a sell-out for the title. We will continue to build on that momentum on the road to 2026, with 18 months of the best global soccer within our rights portfolio, including 18 matches of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup this summer, in partnership with DAZN.

Contextual and genre-based targeting is a significant part of your ad strategy. Can you explain how this approach enhances audience engagement and how it works alongside first-party data to deliver more personalized advertising? 

At TelevisaUnivision, contextual and genre-based targeting is crucial in maximizing audience engagement by aligning brand messages with content that resonates most with viewers. Our deep understanding of Hispanic audiences allows us to curate culturally relevant content, ensuring that advertisements appear in the most impactful environments. By leveraging insights from our direct consumer relationships across linear and digital platforms, we refine audience segmentation and personalize ad experiences, allowing advertisers to reach the right audiences with precision. 

TelevisaUnivision operates in traditional linear broadcast, vMVPD distribution points, AVOD, and FAST environments. How do you balance monetization across these platforms, and what are some of the unique challenges you face in each area? 

We offer a differentiated opportunity for consumers and advertisers by creating a complementary Spanish-language content ecosystem. With strategic investments across linear and streaming, we engage our audience in a way only TelevisaUnivision can – deeply rooted in cultural connection and driven by our commitment as a company dedicated to and largely operated by the Hispanic community we serve. 

In an increasingly oversaturated streaming marketplace, our platform stands out by delivering unique and relevant in-culture content to Hispanics. The consistency we offer to deliver and meet consumers’ rapidly changing needs is valuable.  

Our deep understanding of Hispanic audiences fosters loyalty and long-term connections in a world where culture and content reign supreme. Historically, Hispanic consumers have been undervalued and underrepresented in both content and marketing. That’s why we’ve built the most sophisticated capabilities to break down every single barrier for brands to enter our marketplace with confidence and impact. 

As relationships with buyers evolve, giving programmatic a larger role, how is TelevisaUnivision adjusting its strategies to form and maintain these relationships?  

TelevisaUnivision is meeting buyers where they want to transact by investing in the infrastructure, technology, and support needed to enhance the programmatic buying experience. Our focus remains on providing brand-safe, culturally relevant, and high-impact advertising opportunities that drive meaningful engagement. By strengthening our partnerships with agencies, brands, and leading SSPs like Magnite, we ensure that programmatic buying with TelevisaUnivision is seamless, efficient, and aligned with advertisers’ evolving needs. 

What is most important in a tech partner for TelevisaUnivision? 

A strong tech partner for TelevisaUnivision must provide scalable, innovative solutions that enhance demand generation and monetization while supporting seamless ad delivery across platforms. Given that Hispanic audiences have been historically underinvested in, we need partners who break down barriers for brands, making it easier to activate within our marketplace with confidence and impact. 

The ideal partner drives incremental investment and creates new brand opportunities to engage with our audience. It optimizes yield across our programmatic stack and offers seamless integration and innovation to support our evolving digital and CTV ecosystem. Additionally, expertise in LATAM markets is essential to fueling our cross-regional growth and brand expansion efforts. Magnite is a prime example of a partner that meets these criteria, helping us scale our programmatic strategy while ensuring advertisers can seamlessly access our inventory. 

Over the past two years, TelevisaUnivision has greatly increased its use of SpringServe for ad serving. How does SpringServe meet TelevisaUnivision’s specific ad-serving needs? 

SpringServe has been essential in meeting our programmatic ad-serving needs by enabling seamless integration with multiple demand sources and optimizing inventory performance. SpringServe’s unified auction helps to create an environment where all demand can compete fairly, maximizing competition and yield. Our team can monitor performance in real-time to make data-driven decisions to optimize campaigns. 

As a preferred partner, how does Magnite support TelevisaUnivision’s goals? What do you see as the future of this relationship? 

Magnite is instrumental in helping TelevisaUnivision scale our programmatic business by providing robust technology, demand connectivity, and monetization solutions tailored to our ecosystem. Their platform enables us to optimize revenue across ViX and vMVPD inventory. One of the most impactful ways Magnite supports our goals is by acting as an extension of our sales team, helping to attract more brands that have not historically invested in Hispanic audiences. Looking ahead, our partnership with Magnite will continue to evolve as we explore new ad formats and enhanced reach capabilities. As programmatic adoption in CTV and AVOD accelerates, Magnite’s role in supporting our digital growth will be critical in shaping the future of Spanish-language advertising.