Adds call details, background on results

MEXICO CITY, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Executives at Mexico's largest broadcaster Grupo Televisa TLEVISACPO.MX said Friday the company's budget for capital expenditures (CAPEX) in 2025 was $665 million.

The company's 2024 consolidated capex was $493 million, lower than the previously forecasted $793 million.

A day earlier, Televisa posted its fourth quarter results showing a wider net loss of 9.8 billion pesos ($471 million), compared to the 6.8 billion-peso-loss in the year-ago period.

The broadcaster's revenues during the October-to-December period totaled 15.2 billion pesos, a nearly 7% decrease from the same three months in 2023.

It cited a drop in its subscription base, plus reductions in revenue from business operations and its satellite TV unit Sky.

In a earnings call on Friday, executives said the company had the equivalent of about $2.3 billion in cash and planned to use excess cash to address upcoming debt maturities this year and next year.

The company reported cash and cash equivalents of about 48.7 billion pesos ($2.3 billion) in 2024, an increase of nearly 40% from the previous year.

Televisa shares were down about %4.1 after the call.

Executives also said that TelevisaUnivison, its firm that combines content with U.S. broadcaster Univision, had reduced its workforce by about 8%, or 1,000 employees.

Its streaming platform Vix became a billion-dollar business in the second half of 2024, executives said, adding that they were actively looking to deleverage TelevisaUnivision.

The chief executive of streaming giant NetflixNFLX.O on Thursday announced a $1 billion investment to produce some 20 films and TV series in Mexico annually over the next four years.

In the call with investors, Televisa executives said the announcement was "great" and would make the broadcaster better.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; additional reporting by Noe Torres)

((Cassandra.Garrison@thomsonreuters.com; +52 55 6200 7873;))