HispanicAd – Q&A with Lino Garcia / ESPN Deportes

Lino Garcia, ESPN Deportes’ general manager, sat down with HispanicAd recently to talk about all things ESPN Deportes, the current state of Spanish-language cable and sports media.

HA: How would you describe the state of Spanish-language cable today?

LG: It is definitely in a big growth mode. There are now at least a dozen Spanish-language cable networks measured by Nielsen, more than double what there were a couple of years ago.  The cable share of Spanish-language TV viewing has also doubled in the past five years. Cable networks now account for 20% of all Spanish-language TV viewing among Hispanic households.  Among Hispanic Men 18-49, 26% of their Spanish Language TV Viewing is done with Spanish-language cable networks.  

There is also more Spanish-language content on linear television than ever before that could never fit on broadcast networks.  Still there are many multichannel networks that serve the broader Hispanic market that do not enjoy the full distribution that they deserve.  In the general market there are several ‘legacy’ networks–ESPN is one of them–that have been around for over 25 years and are rightfully available to the majority of multichannel subscribers.  Spanish-language TV does not have that.  Galavision comes the closest, and they have been around for 34 years.

HA: What can distributors do to better serve their Hispanic subscribers?

LG: Distributors have to remember that there are many bilingual viewers out there who would derive essential value from Spanish-language networks if they were available in their basic channel line-up but who would be unwilling to shell out an additional $10 to $15 for a Spanish-language tier.  While I know distributors cannot offer all of the Spanish-language channels on digital basic, a core group of these networks should be made available universally to serve Hispanics within their basic subscription just as legacy networks are in the general market.  That would create more value for everyone and provide more local advertising sales opportunities for cable operators.

HA: Speaking of legacy and longevity, ESPN Deportes will soon celebrate its 10th year anniversary. What is the brand’s formula to success?

LG: ESPN Deportes has been able to further build on the ESPN sports brand in a multiplatform environment that allows us to serve sports fans and advertisers anytime, anywhere. There is great value on each of our platforms; and our ability to deliver sports content across these different vehicles has translated into greater opportunities as we acquire new sports rights, when we speak with advertisers and with the way we serve the Hispanic sports fan.

We also strive to be innovators in the media industry keeping in mind our audience, what content they want to consume and how they want to consume it. In addition, we have a great collaborative corporate culture and a workforce that is unparalleled in the sports media business. We lead with technology and innovation, while we are led by consumer insights to best serve our sports fans.  That has been the key to our success.

HA: Why are sports important in the Hispanic media landscape?

LG: Sports are extremely important as a passion point for Latinos, whether it be club teams from their countries’ soccer leagues, baseball or basketball leagues, their national teams or their local market teams in whatever U.S. city they are in.  Passion translates into engagement and our advertisers are looking for viewers who are engaged with the content they are consuming whether that is on linear TV, tigital platforms, radio or in print.  Nothing beats live sporting events, whether it is championship boxing, game seven of the NBA Finals, the Caribbean World Series, Monday Night Football or the World Cup, sports unite and provide a great backdrop for fun competition and bragging rights among friends and family.  I think of it as the original source of social media; it’s something you can talk about with total strangers and can be a great unifier.  It is also the best way to reach males of all ages in a Spanish-language media world which focuses almost exclusively on women . . . and I can’t emphasize enough the importance of LIVE in a world of fast-forwarding through commercials on DVRs.  Nothing beats live.

HA: How is ESPN Deportes programming standing out from whatever else is available on Spanish-language television?

LG: The strength of ESPN Deportes brand continues to be its depth of sport offerings, programming diversity and our leadership in news and information content. ESPN Deportes currently has the most diverse programming of any sports network, including soccer (Mexican league, International friendlies, Europa League, Brazilian league and MLS), boxing, Caribbean Baseball, MMA and X Games. In addition, we carry all the major American sports leagues like Major League Baseball and we’re the only network that carries the NFL and the NBA nationally in Spanish. In terms of news and information, ESPN Deportes currently offers an average of 117 hours of original studio programming every week. That is more than any other Spanish-language network.

HA: How has the recent increased competition affected ESPN Deportes?

LG: Competition has always existed in the marketplace and we like our position. We think that competition keeps us sharp and on our ‘A’ game. We have to continue to be one and two steps ahead of our competitors as a lot of what we do gets imitated. SportsCenter for example has a number of off-shoots that competitors have developed to mimic our show, the bottom line (the sports results scroll), our sets, even our graphics. This is all part of dealing with competitors too, but it is part of the day to day in television and in industry in general. We continue to innovate and in some cases reinvent ourselves to stay ahead.  By the time some of what we do is copied, we have moved on to something else. We continue to be confident in our strategy and do what we do best, serve sports fans anytime, anywhere.   

HA: Over the past weeks, we have seen your competitors aggressively stating their leadership in the marketplace in terms of audience and reach.  How do you respond to this?

LG: Well, I’d actually rather not respond or get into competition in the press with them; I’d rather leave the competition for what happens on the screen. But yes, last week one competitor stated its ‘dominance’ and this week another network claimed to be #1 in sports.  Maybe next week someone else will come out and claim the same.  The fact is that people can spin research in many different ways to create an impression.  They can isolate time periods, months and demos where an annual, biannual or quadrennial event takes place that can drive ratings, and then make it seem as though that defines their ranking as a network. We can do that too, but what advertisers want is what we can do consistently and how we rate day in and day out, not what happens once a year or every four years when a major soccer tournament hits the air.

At ESPN Deportes we have the privilege of being at the top spot in our sports category by out-delivering our competitors across all demos for four straight years since we began to be measured and we do not see that changing any time soon, although we may not be on top single every month or quarter, especially while a big multi-week tournament is taking place somewhere else.  By the way, I invite anyone to look at the actual numbers to see which Spanish-language sports network led the quarter in question in Total Day M18-49 and Total Day Households. Ooops, I actually responded didn’t I?

HA: What about distribution?  The information that came out this week had you in last place with respect to cable or multi-channel distribution.

LG: That is extremely misleading.  If you take a look at the numbers that came out this week for the twelve Spanish-language multichannel networks that are measured by Nielsen, you will see that ESPN Deportes is in 5.8MM Hispanic TV HHs and the network making the claim of being in more homes is in under 5MM Hispanic HHs.  In this space, the homes that count are Hispanic homes. That is what advertisers buy us on and what they want us to deliver on.  If I can be in more Hispanic homes while minimizing spilling over into general market homes that have much less of a chance of watching my network, I’ll take that any day over the alternative.

HA: How is ESPN Deportes standing out in the advertising industry?

LG: We have taken a genuine total market approach that has delivered real benefits for advertisers. We provide unique opportunities for content integration across all platforms, in English and Spanish, and across all of our ESPN assets which enables us to deliver the message clients want and need to the right audience at the right time. At Deportes, we collaborate with the ESPN sales team to maximize our wide range of assets to maximize advertisers’ investment and not pigeon hole them into doing things all in one language and all in one place.

ESPN is a multimedia sports brand. For us it is about the best available screen.  We put a big emphasis on offering our audience many options to consume sports content whether online, on television, or via mobile, print or radio. We ensure that our content is available to our fans wherever they are. We also strive to take advantage of progressive technology to serve up that content the way fans and their customers want.

A great example is our recent launch of ESPN Sync, the first and only Spanish-language second screen companion for sports fans that also generates great value and opportunities for advertisers.  In addition we launched ESPN Deportes on WatchESPN allowing fans to watch the network anywhere via computers, tablets or mobile. Hispanic fans are spending more time on our digital properties and the simultaneous use of TV and mobile is rising.

HA: What’s been the biggest success for Deportes since its launch a decade ago?

LG: In only ten years we have been able to build a solid, profitable multiplatform business. We went from television only to multimedia, even before multimedia became the buzz word. We did that to super-serve Hispanic sports fans wherever they are and whenever they need us. So ultimately our biggest success is fully serving previously underserved fans. Our business success has followed, but it starts with the Hispanic sports fan and what we’ve been able to do for them.