Digital distribution for ESPN Deportes in New York and New Jersey.

ESPN and Time Warner Cable announced the addition of 24-hour Spanish-language network ESPN Deportes to Time Warner Cable’s digital basic channel line-up in New York and New Jersey as of October 15th. The channel will be available as a Free Preview starting September 15th. ESPN Deportes is now available to approximately 5 million homes, 3.7 million of which are U.S. Hispanic households.

“Sports play such an important role in the Latino culture,” said Lino Garcia, general manager, ESPN Deportes. “Our goal is to offer high-quality sports content to an audience that has historically been underserved and this is a great step forward in our effort to making the network available for Latino sports fans nationwide. With an unmatched mix of marquee live events, ESPN Deportes will become the primary viewing destination for Latino sports fans in New York.”

Added David Preschlack, executive vice president, Affiliate Sales and Marketing, Disney and ESPN Media Networks: “The growth of ESPN Deportes through digital basic distribution offers tremendous value to more than a million consumers in the New York Area, as well as to Time Warner Cable and our advertisers. We look forward to working with more systems nationwide to offer ESPN Deportes and its incredible line-up of Spanish-language programming on the same level of service as Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey.”

ESPN Deportes will be available to more than one million Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey digital basic customers on channel 173. The network will be positioned adjacent to other ESPN networks on Time Warner Cable’s digital basic channel line-up in New York and New Jersey, including the recently launched ESPNU (170), ESPN Classic (171) and ESPNEWS (172).

”Cable television is all about choice, and we’re happy to provide our customers with a variety of multicultural, in-language programming. Adding ESPN Deportes offers customers an even wider array of sports programming that sports enthusiasts are sure to embrace,” stated Barbara Kelly, senior vice president and general manager, Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey. “ESPN Deportes is enjoyed by Spanish-speaking and mainstream viewers alike. Adding them to our digital platform gives over one million Time Warner Cable customers access to their extensive sports coverage and original programming,” added Ms. Kelly.