NFL @ Telemundo.

Spanish-speaking football fans can enjoy NFL events in their own language as Telemundo becomes the new Official Hispanic Media Partner of the 2006 NFL Opening Kickoff. This partnership, recently signed by both the NFL and the US Hispanic network, involves the broadcasting of the upcoming September 7th NFL Kickoff Concert scheduled to take place in Miami, which will air on September 9th, and a Celebrity Flag Football Event, which will air on Super Bowl Saturday, February 3rd.

“This partnership is significant and symbolic because it combines the strength of two powerful organizations and recognizes the importance of the Hispanic community that our network serves,” said Jorge Hidalgo, SEVP of Sports and News for Telemundo Network. “The NFL is the premiere professional league in the country and the fact that they, as an organization, have tasked themselves to become more involved with our viewers through this association makes them an ideal partner for Telemundo. We see this as the first step in what will hopefully become a greater association between the NFL and our community,” the Telemundo executive concluded.

On Saturday, September 9th, at 9pm Eastern/ 8pm Central/ 9pm Pacific, Telemundo will televise a two-hour NFL Opening Kickoff special that will include footage of a music concert in Miami with three-time Grammy winner Diddy, Cassie, reggaeton singer Tego Calderon, the Latino rock band Ozomatli and DJ Riz, as well as interviews with Hispanic NFL players.

“We are excited to provide our Spanish-speaking fans with special programming to celebrate the start of the 2006 NFL season,” said Peter O’Reilly, NFL’s director of marketing. “Our Telemundo partnership will serve as the first ever Spanish television extension of NFL Opening Kickoff. We look forward to working with Telemundo to better serve our Latino fans.”