Mediapro Finishes 2019 With EBITDA of €224 Million

The MEDIAPRO group ended 2019 by consolidating its results and support in the international expansion with an active investment portfolio. Adjusted EBITDA for the Group in 2019 was €224 compared with €222 in 2018. Turnover decreased slightly from €1.97 billion to €1.82 billion due to the effects of modifications in certain audiovisual rights contracts and the end of the contract to the rights to LaLiga in Spain. Despite this slight fall off, the Group’s activity has not diminished consolidating solid basis from where to face the coming years in a secure and solvent manner. The debt at year end stands at €727 million.

The Group has made a strong investment effort (80 million euros) to consolidate its international expansion and activity in all markets of its different business areas.

The launch of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO has made the producer an essential actor in the international content production scene. His productions with partners like Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Netflix, Turner, Viacom, DirecTV, Movistar, Orange, Atresmedia, RTVE, Mediaset, TVE, Telefe, FOX, Disney, Sony, Hulu, or YLE have had creators like Paolo Sorrentino, Woody Allen, Iván Escobar, Borja Cobeaga, Diego San José, Marc Cistaré, Àlex Pastor, David Pastor, Manuel Huerga, Ernesto Daranas, Gastón Duprat, Mariano Cohn, Laura Belloso, Marc Vigil, Fernando González Molina, Javier Olivares, and Ruth García, among others. In 2019, the Studio has launched 37 productions in Spain, Italy, Finland, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, and Chile.

In Spain, and in the 2018-2019 season, Spanish channels broadcast 10,501 hours produced by THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO, accounting for accumulated viewers of more than 43 million. THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO reinforced its division dedicated to entertainment and comedy with the incorporation of El Terrat, a leading production company in the sector in Spain that will have the support and structure of THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO to face the internationalization of its projects.

2019 has also been the year in which THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO has increased its awards gallery with the two Emmy awards for “Six Dreams”. In cinema, the company produced “Rifkin’s Festival”, the new film written and directed by Woody Allen. Filmed in San Sebastian last summer, this is the fourth collaboration with the New York director and screenwriter.

The audiovisual coverage of the Pan American Games involved the deployment of more than 700 Group professionals in Peru to cover 17 days of competition with 1,000 hours of live production for 33 operators from 41 countries. MEDIAPRO professionals were also responsible for the production of the four European competition finals played in 2019: UEFA Champions League (Madrid), UEFA Europa League (Baku), European Super Cup (Istanbul) and UEFA Nations League (Porto) , as well as producing 16 national leagues and the provision of VAR service in 9 national and CONMEBOL competitions (Copa América 2019), CAF (CAN 2019), FIFA (U-17 Brazil), and AFC (Asia Cup UAE 2019). In 2019, the Group was responsible for the provision of VAR service in 10 national leagues.

In 2019, the MEDIAPRO Group also successfully delivered the One Soccer channel for the dissemination of the Canadian Soccer League and the audiovisual production of the competition. MEDIAPRO teams in Canada experienced a boost with the incorporation of Tri Lite TV into the Canadian production group.

The acquisition of the rights of the Canadian League for 10 years and of the Canadian national team has been, together with the international rights of the Chilean national teams and those of pay-TV in Chile, the most relevant operations entered into in terms of audiovisual rights. In 2019, the Group completed its rights package in France with the acquisition of 260 matches per season of the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. MEDIAPRO also acquired rights to the Qatar World Cup in 2022 and the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF qualifiers.

The total integration of LVP in the Group and the launch of the UBEAT digital platform have marked the strategy in the digital segment and new audiences. The LVP has offices in Argentina, Mexico, and Colombia and operate the national leagues of up to 12 countries. The platform, which is still in its first year of life, is available throughout the LATAM area and has become the go-to eSports platform in Spanish with 3 million views and more than 1.3 million unique users. 2019 has also been the year of the launch of the first game of The Breach Studios, the Group’s online games factory.

The incorporation of Visyon in May 2019 meant another step in the Group’s commitment to the development of new technologies. Specialized in innovation services, it has reinforced the leadership in the production of immersive audiovisual contents with outstanding advances in Virtual Reality (VR).

In 2019, the Group also made its contribution to the sustainability of the planet avoiding the emission of more than 4,000 tons of CO² thanks to the development and implementation of a pioneering system in the world of remote production and that has greatly reduced the displacement of large Outside Broadcast vehicles.

7,123 professionals at 58 locations in 38 countries have made it possible this year to consolidate MEDIAPRO as a world leader in its sector.