Sports

Fox Sports en Español announced a partnership with Thompson Boxing Promotions to carry exclusive coverage of its fight cards through 2011.

The NBA announced the launch of its third annual Noche Latina event, a program that recognizes the NBA’s fans and players from across Latin America and U.S. Hispanic communities. Noche Latina will take place in eight of the top 10 U.S. Hispanic markets this season (up from four in 2007-08): Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix, San Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, Houston and New York.

Hispanics are America’s fastest growing demographic – and, according to a just-released report from rEvolution and Knowledge Networks, 38% of U.S. Latinos say they are at least “Casual” Fans of NASCAR. But Hispanics have not learned to love the sport at the same pace as the general population, with just 7% saying they are “Avid” Fans (“very interested”). This first authoritative, in-depth study of Hispanic NASCAR Fans provides insights into the cultural values and preferences of U.S. Latinos related to the sport – and how these point to key actions for expanding Latino involvement with NASCAR.

ESPN will launch a global promo campaign in support of the World Baseball Classic beginning Saturday, Feb. 14. Tagged, “National pastime. International stars”, the multimedia rollout will feature some of baseball’s top names – Jorge Cantu, Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez and Ichiro Suzuki – paying homage to their heritage and the pride it instills in them as they prepare to participate in the global baseball tournament.

Fútbol Picante, the network’s Mexican soccer nightly news and information program, enjoyed its two most-watched telecasts ever. The 6 p.m. ET pre-game edition earned a 2.6 Hispanic HH coverage rating, representing an average of 192,000 Hispanic viewers (P2+). The 9 p.m. ET edition immediately following the match earned a 2.9 Hispanic HH coverage rating, representing 223,000 Hispanics viewers (P2+). The two airings of Fútbol Picante were the most-watched live sports telecasts on Spanish-language cable yesterday.

Univision’s live telecast of Wednesday night’s highly anticipated World Cup qualifying soccer match from Columbus, Ohio between the national teams of the U.S.A. and Mexico was seen in its entirety or in part by 10.7 million viewers, and was watched by more viewers than any other sporting event in the history of Spanish-language television.

Fútbol de Primera, the largest Hispanic radio network with over 95 affiliate stations across the U.S., will bring fans EXCLUSIVE LIVE PLAY BY PLAY comprehensive coverage of the most significant qualifying CONCACAF match-up between Mexico and the U.S on Wednesday February 11, 2009. FDP kicks off coverage of the final phase of World Cup Qualifying from Columbus, OH at 6:30 p.m. (ET) 3:30PM (PT).

Terra announced a partnership with Telemundo to offer marketers an opportunity to sponsor soccer games across multiple screens and own specific custom content areas.