ViX, the streaming platform owned by TelevisaUnivision, has reached 10 million paid subscribers and now accounts for nearly a quarter of the company’s total revenue. The figures were disclosed by Rafael Urbina, the company’s President of Streaming and Digital, during a panel at Content Americas.
According to the executive, the service is a ‘profitable business’. Financial reports indicate that ViX reached profitability in the third quarter of 2024 and has maintained a positive balance since then. Despite the 10 million subscriber milestone, Urbina stated that the platform is barely ‘scratching the surface’ of its potential.
While the United States Hispanic market and Mexico remain the areas with the highest penetration, Urbina confirmed that the company is engaged in conversations with partners across the region. The goal is to advance toward more localized and segmented proposals in other markets. ‘I cannot say what the subscriber number will look like in a couple of years, but I can assure you it will be much larger’, Urbina added.
Content strategy and the ‘Premium’ debate
Addressing questions regarding recent strategic shifts and whether the platform had moved away from premium series production, Urbina argued that the concept of ‘premium’ is subjective. ‘We are more interested in what our consumers say than how the industry perceives us’, he noted.
The executive emphasized a focus on cost-effectiveness and stories that reach the audience at scale. ‘We are managing a business and we want ViX to be very profitable’, he explained. This approach has led to a more unified production style between the streaming platform and the group’s open TV channels to maximize value. Urbina confirmed that ViX continues to produce between 20 and 30 originals per year.
Vertical Dramas and Monetization
The executive highlighted ViX‘s position in the vertical programming sector, noting the release of 40 micro-dramas last year. Currently, these series are offered for free and monetized through advertising, a model that has worked ‘extremely well’.
However, the platform is laying the groundwork for alternative monetization. ViX recently launched a digital wallet and is allowing users to purchase tokens. ‘We haven’t put these micro-dramas behind that token wall yet, but eventually we will get to that point and keep testing’, Urbina said.
Industry Consolidation
When asked about the acquisition of Warner Bros. by Netflix, Urbina suggested the impact could be positive for ViX, particularly depending on the future of HBO Max. ‘If it finally becomes a single service, that opens up many opportunities for other streaming platforms to gain market share’, he analyzed. He reasoned that consumers have a limited budget for services, and if one disappears, it frees up spending capacity that competitors can attempt to capture.
