Fox Sports en Español Semi-Final of Copa Santander Libertadores continues ratings juggernaut.

Fox Sports en Español announced its highest ratings of the year with the Copa Santander Libertadores semi-finals. The network made ratings history in Spanish-language television with Tuesday’s semi-final match between LDU Quito of Ecuador, and América of Mexico, which captured almost one million total viewers. Nearly 700,000 adult viewers 18-49 tuned-in (943,000 total audience), delivering a 3.1 national rating in this category. Consistent with the network’s appeal to the male Latino sports fan, the match out-delivered Telemundo and Telefutura, bolstering a 4.1 national average for males 18-49.

The Copa Santander Libertadores semi-finals continue to break viewing records, averaging a total of 426,000 adult viewers 18-49, beating last year’s semis by 255%. The semi-finals this year also captured a greater audience than in 2006, when leading Mexican team Chivas was in the semi-finals. The prestigious tournament will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year, during which Fox Sports en Español forecasts even bigger numbers.

“These results are further proof of the incredible relationship we share with our viewers,” commented Tom Maney, Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales for the network. “We continue to thrive in the ratings across all key audience segments by focusing on what Latino sports fans want, offering exclusive programming, and unique access to events that can only be seen here on Fox Sports en Español.”

The network also had a big day on Thursday, May 22nd, with the Copa Santander Libertadores quarter-final match between Santos FC of Brazil and América of Mexico, which finished the night as the top-rated Hispanic cable program in the country, delivering a 2.7 national rating, and peaking at 826,000 viewers (18-49 year-old adults). Furthermore, Fox Sports en Español’s branded content on MSN Latino had roughly 242,000 unique users, and 5.24 million page views during the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals.

“We are clearly not only leading, but dominating the digital space online and on-air, by appealing, connecting, and engaging at a deeper level with consumers as we continue to offer them more exclusive sports content than any other network in Spanish-language television,” said Maney. “For our advertisers, this translates into a window of opportunity to tap into our loyal and growing consumer base.”

In the last year alone, Fox Sports en Español added approximately 500,000 new Hispanic households, reaching more than 4.6 million Hispanic homes overall, and recorded a 7-percent increase in distribution across the top 10 Hispanic DMAs. The network is also positioned to capitalize on the growing shift of Hispanic marketing dollars towards cable, as cable audience share has grown from an 8 percent to a 12 percent share of total day, and in prime-time from 6.6 percent to a 10 percent for viewers adults 18-49.

Fox Sports en Español plans to keep the momentum going in the second half of 2008, with many exciting upcoming events. Anchoring the line-up is the prestigious Copa Nissan Sudamericana, in addition to the best soccer leagues from Europe, the English Barclays Premier League and the Italian Serie A, with a host of Latin American players competing at the highest level of international play. Exclusive programming remains the cornerstone of the network’s long-term strategy, as it has recently extended its ownership of the Copa Santander Libertadores, and Copa Nissan Sudamericana through 2014, and of InterLiga through 2010.

Source: NHIH, PAV 05/22/08 thru 06/04/08 Individual Telecast Live; Online based off week of 5/18/08 – Hitbox Omniture