Univision, Televisa look to end feud

Possible settlement could hurt rival Telemundo

By ANNA MARIE DE LA FUENTE

A long-simmering feud between media giants Televisa of Mexico and top U.S. Spanish-language web Univision may just fizzle out, judging from the 11th-hour postponement of their April 29 court date.

At stake is a 25-year programming supply agreement that gives Univision rights to Televisa's ratings-winning telenovelas. Televisa wants to end the pact before its 2017 expiration, accusing Univision of breach of contract.

Televisa exec VP Alfonso de Angoitia told analysts last week that a judge has asked the companies to try to reach an out-of-court settlement. They now have until July 1, the new court date, to do so.

Latino media pundit Julio Rumbaut believes a settlement may be possible and could see Televisa investing in Univision.

It's not such a far-fetched idea.

"When Univision went private, Televisa and Bill Gates' Cascade Investments were the only parties willing to pay $40-plus share for Univision," he says.

If cooler heads prevail to avoid a court faceoff, both parties stand to benefit. It's Univision rival Telemundo that could lose out.

In March, Televisa inked a 10-year programming and licensing pact to distribute Telemundo content in Mexico. The NBC U-owned web is likely hoping to pick up Televisa's widely popular content in return.