ESPN Deportes Unveils Programming & Showcases Media Platforms.

At its upfront event last night at the 40 / 40 Club in New York City, ESPN Deportes unveiled its major programming initiatives for 2005-2006 and showcased its five branded media platforms– television, radio, internet, print, and wireless– for the more than 400 invited guests.

Dream Job: Reportero: ESPN Deportes will launch its own Spanish-language version of ESPN’s popular reality series Dream Job. Working under the tentative title Dream Job: Reportero, aspiring sports broadcasters will compete head-to-head for a chance to win a job covering the biggest tournament in soccer-the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Scheduled to debut this coming fall, Dream Job: Reportero will provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Latino soccer fans to take their shot at stardom during open regional auditions in major U.S. Hispanic cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, and Miami.

Monday Night Footbal: For the first-time ever in the NFL’s storied history, Monday Night Football, the most successful series in sports television, will begin airing in Spanish on ESPN DEPORTES in 2006. ESPN Deportes will present exclusive Spanish-langauge coverage of up to 17 regular-season Monday night games.

2006 World Cup Qualifiers: ESPN Deportes will offer extensive coverage of qualifying and friendly matches leading to the 2006 World Cup in Germany. ESPN Deportes will feature top European teams including Italy, Portugal, Holland and England.

X Games 11: For the first-time ever, ESPN Deportes will present live coverage of X Games 11, the premier action sports competition, from August 4 – 7. The X Games showcases more than 150 of the world’s top athletes competing in BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Surfing and Wakeboard.

Breeders’ Cup: Exclusive coverage of the Breeders’ Cup World Thoroughbred Championship, along with the entire series of races leading up to the event each fall starting in 2006. ESPN Deportes will televise the Breeders’ Cup live, with eight divisional championship races in a seven-hour telecast.

ESPN DEPORTES 5-STAR MEDIA PLATFORMS

ESPN Deportes Television:

ESPN Deportes telecasts a wide variety of domestic and international sports programming including Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL, UEFA Champions League, the Dominican Baseball League, Mexican Baseball League, Major League Soccer, Wimbledon, the French Open, IRL Indy Car Series, and more. ESPN Deportes also showcases a selection of Spanish-language sports news and information shows, including a separately produced version of SportsCenter. Other featured programs include: Beisbol Esta Noche, a baseball highlights show, Cronometro, a sports debate show, Futbol Picante, a live Mexican soccer show, Fuera de Juego, a round table discussion of the world of soccer; Perfiles, a half-hour interview show which takes a revealing look at Latin American sports stars and Headliners, a half-hour news and information show that spotlights newsmakers and celebrated athletes.

ESPN Deportes Radio:

ESPN, Inc. will expand its portfolio of Spanish-language sports content by joining ABC Radio networks and Lotus Communications to launch ESPN Deportes Radio as a full-time, national network. Expected to launch this September, the initiative will produce the first around-the-clock national Spanish-language sports radio network in the United States. KWKW 1330 AM in Los Angeles, owned by Lotus Communications, one of the largest privately owned radio station groups in the United States, will serve as the flagship of the ESPN Deportes Radio network. ESPN Deportes Radio will offer a variety of sports talk programming and events, highlighted by exclusive, national Spanish-language broadcasts of Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game, League Championship Series, and World Series. ESPN Deportes Radio will also partner with Lotus Communications for coverage of Mexican Soccer with the exclusive broadcasts in the U.S. of all of the Chivas home matches starting with the 2006 season. Rolando “El Veloz” Gonzalez, long-time radio personality and official radio voice of the Chivas, has been confirmed as the first to join the roster of ESPN Deportes Radio talent.

ESPN Deportes La Revista:

ESPN, Inc., in association with Editorial Televisa, will publish a monthly Spanish-language edition of ESPN The Magazine beginning in August. ESPN Deportes La Revista will offer a mix of original content targeted to the interests of U.S. Hispanics, along with material from the English-language edition of The Magazine and contributions from Editorial Televisa. Editorial is expected to include coverage of Major League Baseball, as well as Caribbean and Mexican League baseball; boxing; NFL; Latin American, European, and international soccer; auto racing; action sports; and more.

ESPN Motion on ESPNDeportes.com:

ESPNDeportes.com, the most popular Spanish-language sports website in the U.S., now features a high-quality video delivery platform, ESPN Motion. With no application download, users that visit the site each day will be able to view nearly all of the video highlights and original programming on ESPN.com. ESPN Motion delivers highlights, news and analysis, original journalism and storytelling, and short-form original entertainment programming to users as an integrated part of the leading sports site. In addition, the new version of ESPN Motion features the ability for video to have click-through interactivity, meaning video can be implemented that allows fans the option to interact with the content and advertising featured. A new ESPN Motion player also features a navigation guide that can categorize content by sport or by distinct channels, and allows advertisers to combine ad clips displayed in the video window, with synchronous “traditional” online ad units displayed in the guide window.

ESPN Deportes Wireless:

ESPN Deportes Wireless offers Verizon and Sprint subscribers images of their favorite Latino sports stars, including heroes from Argentine Soccer, Spanish Soccer, Mexican Soccer, UEFA Champions League, Major League Baseball, and the NBA. In upcoming months, Verizon and Sprint subscribers will also be able to receive Spanish-language sports alerts to any text message enabled phone. Users will be able to sign up on ESPNdeportes.com and customize their alert to reflect their favorite team, sport and even player.