Televisa set to ink deal with Record

Televisa, the leading Spanish language producer in the world, is set to ink a deal to produce content for Brazilian broadcaster TV Record.

The Mexican programmer said that it was in talks with Record to produce content for its access prime time slot of 7pm.

"We are in the process of finalizing an agreement with Record… to produce programmes for its 7 p.m. slot," Jose Baston, SVP, television, told analysts following the company’s 2Q08 financials.

This move further boosts Televisa’s international business and follows similar deals with French producer JLA Groupe and US mini-major Lionsgate. It also sees Televisa compete directly with leading media group Globo TV. Globo is Brazil’s leading broadcaster and producer and sold 23,000 hours of its Portuguese language novelas last year. It also recently inked a deal with Televisa Spanish language rival Telemundo’s US Hispanic network to produce a local version of hit novela The Clone.

Televisa posted an increase in revenues for the year, but a slight drop in net profits. It attributed this to expenses relating to a Televisa-backed local US station and a slight drop in programme sales to Europe, although this was slightly offset by an increased royalty from Univision.