Univision and Televisa will remain “friends.” Three weeks into the trial, after an all-night negotiating session between Univision Chairman Haim Saban and Televisa Executive Vice President Alfonso de Angoitia, both companies reached a deal that will keep their program-sharing agreement alive.
The settlement was announced just before Televisa CEO Emilio Azcarraga Jean was going to take the witness stand in the federal jury trial.
The AP reports that Univision agreed to pay Televisa $25 million in disputed royalties, plus give it advertising time worth $65 million a year for the next nine years, an estimated $585 million value. Univision will also increase the license fees paid to Televisa under its existing deal. In exchange, Televisa will continue to provide telenovelas exclusively to Univision through 2017.
The legal battles aren’t over. The two companies are scheduled to go to court in March to decide whether Univision has the Internet rights to Televisa’s programming.