Reuters and Editorial
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, October 26, 2024, p. 3
The shares of Televisa, a Mexican media giant, fell yesterday after it was reported the day before that its executive president, Emilio Azcárraga Jean, took a leave of absence pending the results of an investigation in the United States related to alleged bribery payments to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
The company’s securities, which also released a quarterly report on Thursday that analysts considered weak, fell 8.86 percent, closing at 8.43 pesos, being the second with the largest drop on the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV). .
Friday’s losses eliminated 2,203 million pesos ($110 million) from the company’s market capitalization, in what was its worst day in almost a year. In addition, the securities of its subsidiary Ollamani, which controls Club América and the Azteca stadium, among other businesses of the group, subtracted 2.28 percent.
The decline in Grupo Televisa shares ended up weighing on the BMV’s benchmark index, the S&P/BMV IPC, which at the close of the session lost a marginal 0.02 percent, ending at 51,784.33 points, despite having remained at positive territory for most of the session. Thus, the index accumulated a weekly drop of 2.3 percent.
During a call with analysts, Grupo Televisa executives did not offer more details about the license. with immediate effect
of Azcárraga Jean, one of the richest men in the country and the third of the generation of the Azcárraga family to run the company.
The fall of the titles occurred in the context of the investigation that the United States Department of Justice is carrying out on Azcárraga Jean, which the company itself reported since last August.
The investigation is into alleged bribe payments of $15 million from Televisa to FIFA executives in 2017 to obtain the broadcast of World Cup matches during the 2018, 2022, 2026 and 2030 tournaments.
Grupo Televisa is the largest media company in the Spanish-speaking world. Through its subsidiaries, it produces, distributes and transmits television programs for the national and foreign markets; in Mexico it operates the cable firm Izzi and the satellite company Sky; It also offers comprehensive services including video, Internet and telephony.
Televisa is the largest shareholder of the TelevisaUnivision consortium, a media firm that produces and distributes content in Spanish in Mexico, the United States and more than 50 countries with cable operators, pay television channels and additional Internet services. (streaming). Televisa also operates the publishing and distribution of magazines, professional sports and live entertainment, as well as games.
