(Adds comments by Univision CEO, details on planned global streaming service, company background, updates share move) MEXICO CITY, April 14 (Reuters) - Shares of Grupo Televisa surged more than 32% on Wednesday after the Mexican broadcaster said it would combine its content with U.S. peer Univision, creating a potential Spanish-language challenge to U.S. streaming giant Netflix Inc. The combined operation, conceived as a new media company called Televisa Univision, will feature content from both broadcasters, including series, movies, sports, telenovelas and archive content. It also plans to launch a global streaming service in early 2022, competing with other major companies like Netflix and Amazon.com Inc’s Amazon Prime. Televisa shares soared 32.7% on Wednesday following the news, reaching their highest level since December 2018, before trimming gains. Shares were up around 22% in the afternoon. Televisa and Univision officials expressed confidence about the new company’s ability to capture an “underserved” Spanish-language population through its new “unmatched reach.” Univision Chief Executive Wade Davis, who will also lead Television Univision, said the massive combined content libraries from the two companies will spur growth of the streaming service. “We believe the market for streaming services across just the top Spanish language market is worth billions of dollars and will continue to grow,” Davis said on a conference call. Less than 10% of the Spanish-speaking market utilizes a streaming product, versus nearly 70% of the English language market, according to data shared by Televisa. The new company will provide $2 billion of equity value on day one, Televisa Co-Chief Executive Alfonso de Angoitia said on the call. It is expected to generate between $5 billion and $5.5 billion of leverage-free cash flow over the coming years, Davis added. Televisa’s biggest shareholders include different funds managed by BlackRock Inc as well as the Vanguard Group Inc, Dimensional Fund Managers, Norges Bank Investment Management and Charles Schwab Investment Management, data from Refinitiv Eikon shows. Mexico’s Operadora de Fondos Banorte Ixe is also among the top ten shareholders. The data showed a low turnover for nearly all investors, suggesting most hold the shares longer-term. Univision is privately held. The Televisa Univision plan was quickly hailed by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who dedicated the start of his daily news conference on Wednesday to underlining the potential of the tie-up. Lopez Obrador praised the deal as an “important function for the Hispanic community,” but called on the company to prevent discrimination and xenophobia, particularly against migrants, and to respect the “dignity” of Mexicans. He did not elaborate. The president, who has pressed companies to ensure they fulfill their fiscal obligations, also said the operation would yield several billion pesos in taxes. “All taxes will be paid,” he said. (Reporting by Cassandra Garrison in Mexico City Additional reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher, Miguel Angel Gutierrez and Noe Torres in Mexico City Editing by Jan Harvey and Matthew Lewis)