Grupo Televisa's Strong Signal

Investors in Grupo Televisa (NYSE: TV) must have felt like changing the channel on their investment in 2007, when the Mexican media group posted a series of rocky results that caused the stock to fall more than 11% during the year, badly underperforming the 10% gain managed by the wider Amex Mexico Index.

While the past year's returns have been a disappointment, I believe that Grupo Televisa should continue to benefit from its dominant position in its core Mexican market and from favorable demographic trends within Latin America and the United States. I peg Grupo Televisa's shares as attractively valued relative to their growth prospects.

Market leadership
Grupo Televisa thoroughly dominates the media landscape in Mexico, as the company's four television networks, along with its approximately 250 affiliated stations, account for roughly 70% of the prime-time audience share of the overall Mexican TV market. Its Editorial Televisa publishing wing holds a 49% share of the magazine market. Lest I forget, the company also holds a 59% stake in Sky Mexico, a joint venture with DIRECTV (NYSE: DTV), which is the leading satellite provider in Mexico.

Grupo Televisa isn't a slouch on the international front, either: It licensed out roughly 49,000 hours of programming to 108 nations around the world in 2006 and its company's publishing division shows similar strength. In 2006, this division published and distributed 78 titles in more than 20 countries, and believes that it held the top position in terms of readership in 14 of these countries, including five of the top 10 Hispanic interest magazines in the U.S.

While the TV broadcasting, publishing, and satellite businesses constitute the "core" drivers of Grupo Televisa's growth, I'm also excited by the company's recent expanded push into telecom and the ramping up of its new gambling division. Cablevision, the company's cable subsidiary, recently received permission to offer telephony services and will now be able to offer the classic "triple play" of telephone, Internet, and TV services in one package with the gambling division.

Favorable demographics
According to the World Population Reference Bureau, Latin America's population is expected to grow 38% by 2050, a pretty significant increase. Furthermore, while the U.S. population is estimated to grow 39% over the same time, the country's Hispanic population is expected to more than double to 128 million, representing close to 30% of the total population in the country.

The numbers are equally impressive when considering the prospective growth in purchasing power. According to a recent report by the PEW Hispanic Center, consumer spending by people of Hispanic descent in the U.S. will hit $2 trillion by 2015, a rate of growth that is well ahead of the overall increase in U.S. consumer spending. With its dominance in the Hispanic community, Grupo Televisa appears well-positioned to cash in on this rapidly growing (and increasingly wealthy) consumer segment.

An attractive valuation
At a recent price of $25, shares of Grupo Televisa trade at roughly 16 times 2008 earnings estimates, a significant discount to other slower-growing multimedia groups such as British Sky Broadcasting (NYSE: BSY) and Clear Channel Communications (NYSE: CCU). Given the reasonable valuation, the strength of the company's core businesses, and the demographic outlook, I think investors should tune in for a closer look.

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