Upfront 2007 – 2008: Fox Sports en Español.

Ten years after launching as the first national Spanish-language sports network in the United States, and four years since becoming the lone Hispanic cable sports programmer to be fully measured by Nielsen, Fox Sports en Español has evolved into a dominant sports brand in Spanish-language television. Hosting its seventh upfront presentation before an audience of nearly 1,000 media and advertising professionals, Fox Sports en Español served up a powerful combination of exclusive live sports programming and best-in-class multiple content delivery platform offerings that position it to capture an even greater share of viewers and advertisers in BY’08.

Category Leading Distribution Footprint

With nearly three times the distribution of ESPN Deportes, Fox Sports en Español added approximately 500,000 new households over the past year alone. Now in 4.5 million Hispanic households and in more than 13 million homes overall, the network recorded a seven percent increase in distribution across the top 10 Hispanic DMAs over the past year and continues to bolster its category-leading distribution footprint with strong gains over CY06 in New York (+36%), Houston (+76%), and Phoenix (+17%). (Source: Nielsen FSE Receiveability Report Feb’07 vs. Feb’06)

“We’ve grown tremendously over the past ten years and are proud of the strong relationship we’ve built with our loyal advertisers and viewers,” said David Sternberg, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Sports en Español. “As we embark on our second decade as the leading Spanish-language sports network in the U.S., we look forward to continuing to deliver the high quality programming and innovative solutions our fans and sponsors have come to expect from us.”

Targeted and Cost Effective Delivery of Adults and Men 18-49

Fox Sports en Español continues to reign supreme among advertisers as the most cost effective, targeted vehicle for reaching the right mix of adult and men 18-49. In fact, during a time when national Spanish-language television as a whole grew by only 12 percent, in 2006 Fox Sports en Español scored a 32 percent increase in advertising sales over the previous year. Strong ratings are just one of the drivers for this success.

Boasting the highest composition of Hispanic males in all of Spanish-language television, According to Nielsen Media Research, over the past six months (dating back to Q4/06) Fox Sports en Español delivered 11 of the top 20 highest-rated sports programs in all of Spanish-language television among adults 18-49; and 12 of the top 20 among men 18-49.

The April 25 Copa de Campeones final between Mexican powerhouses Pachuca and Chivas currently ranks as the network’s top-rated program of all time, as well as the year’s number one Spanish-language cable program among HH, adults 18-49 and men 18-49. That evening, Fox Sports en Español out-delivered Telemundo, Telefutura, and Galavision combined across both adults and men 18-49.

Year-to-year total day coverage area ratings and impressions among adults 18-49 have increased by 19 and 40 percent, respectively. Similarly, over the same period, Fox Sports en Espanol’s coverage area ratings and impressions delivery among men 18-49 increased by 18 and 38 percent, respectively.

Prime time ratings growth was also solid, registering a 22 and 39 percent increase in coverage area ratings and impressions, respectively, among adults 18-49; for men 18-49, prime time coverage area ratings and impressions have risen by 18 and 36 percent, respectively.

Another important contributor to Fox Sports en Español’s increasing influence among advertisers is the purchasing power of its audience. According to a recent study conducted by Nielsen Media Research and Simmons, not only does the Hispanic cable household out-deliver its broadcast counter parts on purchasing power, but Fox Sports en Espanol’s audience in particular was found to have the highest household income of any measured network in Spanish-language television. By combining its viewers’ purchasing power and relentless passion for sports with exclusive “can’t miss” live programming in their language, Fox Sports en Español is helping advertisers move away from simply counting the people they reach and instead hone in on reaching the people who count.

Spanish-Language Television Home to the Best International Soccer

Solidifying its position as the number one soccer destination in Spanish-language television via exclusive rights agreements with CONCACAF, T&T Sports Marketing, LTD and Soccer United Marketing, in BY’08 Fox Sports en Español once again will be the only Spanish-language network to offer exclusive coverage of as many as five of the most important Latin American soccer tournaments.

“This is a very special year for us since there isn’t a World Cup or a Copa America on tap,” said Tom Maney, senior vice president of advertising sales for Fox Sports en Español. “With five of the major Copas in our line up, Fox Sports en Español will be the only network to offer advertisers and viewers alike the most competitive and highly anticipated soccer action from around the globe over the course of 11 months.”

These agreements, the cornerstone of the network’s long-term programming strategy, extend Fox Sports en Español’s ownership of the Copa Toyota Libertadores and the Copa Nissan Sudamericana through 2014, and of InterLiga through 2010. Also returning to Fox Sports en Español in BY’08 are the CONCACAF Copa de Campeones, the Liga Mexicana, and the year-end FIFA Club World Cup. Additional world-class soccer programming will include the Torneo de Verano and Recopa, as well as coverage of the Mexican, Argentine, Italian Serie A and English Premier Leagues.

In addition, through its partnership with Fox Broadcasting, the network will also offer exclusive Spanish-language coverage of up to 28 regular season and 3 playoff Major League Soccer matches.

Major League Baseball and Combat Sports

As part of an expanded seven-year deal, a sublicensing agreement with Fox Broadcasting Company that extends through the 2013 season, the network will offer live and exclusive Spanish-language coverage of approximately 26 regular season Major League Baseball (MLB) games, the All-Star Game, the American League Championship Series, and the World Series.

Fox Sports en Español also will continue to pack a punch with its weekly “Friday Fight Night” block featuring a combination of the most exciting and popular combat sports, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Lucha Libre, domestic and international boxing, and kickboxing.

Sports News and Original Programming

Continuing to deliver viewers the most in-depth Spanish-language nightly sports news from around the globe, Fox Sports en Español’s year-round live sports action will be complemented by its signature interactive talk show “Jorge Ramos En Vivo,” alongside daily sports news programs “Diario Fox Sports,” “Fox Sports Noticias,” “Fox Gol México,” and call-in show “Palabra del Deporte.”

Presented by DHL and returning for a fifth edition in December, Premios Fox Sports 5ta Edición, Fox Sports en Español’s annual sports award show, continues to be the only awards show of its kind honoring the contributions and accomplishments of U.S. Hispanic and Latin American athletes, both on and off the field. Produced in Miami Beach, Florida, each year, Premios Fox Sports is transmitted to more than 30 million households across the United States and Latin America.

Multiple Content Delivery Platforms

The combination of the network’s strengths across distribution, ratings, and exclusive live sports content uniquely position Fox Sports en Español to continue to deliver advertisers the most cost effective and integrated consumer engagement solutions across multiple content platforms.

Through a mobile partnership with Proteus, a ten-hour monthly VOD deal with Comcast, a fast-growing online sports destination in partnership with MSN (foxsportsla.msn.com), the most widely distributed Spanish-language sports magazine in the country (the Fox Sports en Español magazine), and various broadband initiatives in the works, Fox Sports en Español is able to connect marketers with consumers wherever they may be in the new digital world.

Maney continued: “While we own the exclusive broadcast rights for many of our key properties for years to come, having the exclusive online, wireless and VOD rights for our two major Copas, the Copa Toyota Libertadores and the Copa Nissan Sudamericana, enables us to come to the table with creative and engaging solutions that only Fox Sports en Español can deliver.”

Elevating the Hispanic Upfront dialogue from multiplatform content delivery to multinational brand integration, Fox Sports en Español announced that it has signed a three-year, multiplatform integrated sponsorship deal with Nissan that nets the car manufacturer exclusive title sponsorship rights to the prestigious Copa Sudamericana across the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean. Spanning television, print and online, the first of its kind deal was conceived in collaboration with Nissan’s strategic Hispanic media planning and buying agencies The Vidal Partnership and OMD, respectively.

Fox Sports en Español will kick off its exclusive coverage of the five-month-long Copa Nissan Sudamericana in August, just in time for the prime auto buying season. “We’re proud to extend our relationship with Nissan and to continue to work closely with some of the industry’s top media agencies to create innovative solutions that not only connect with consumers in a culturally- and lifestyle-relevant manner, but also deliver on our partners’ branding and business objectives,” said Tom Maney, Senior Vice President of Advertising Sales at Fox Sports en Español.

While Nissan North America has been the title sponsor of the Copa Sudamericana for the past two years, its involvement both stateside and across Latin America had previously been negotiated by each of the regions independently of one another.

“Gone are the days when multinational brands can afford to operate in geographic silos. We wanted to own the Copa Sudamericana and to really engage consumers with a consistent message, look and feel pan-regionally we needed to change the way we approach the marketplace,” said Jan Thompson, Vice President of Marketing Communications at Nissan North America. “We saw an opportunity to harness our creativity, strategic thinking and resources across the Spanish-speaking Americas and establish a new Hispanic media paradigm that yields greater engagement and a stronger connection to our brand among this very important and growing audience.”

For The Vidal Partnership, the deal marks yet another breakthrough integrated solution on behalf of Nissan. The second installment of the award-winning El Reto Final Nissan, which airs this May and June on Fox Sports en Español and pits long-time World Cup rivals Mexico and Argentina, was also devised by The Vidal Partnership and created in collaboration with Zeal Television and Animus Group.

“At Vidal we thoroughly understand that to truly engage Hispanic consumers, we must provide them relevant value, be it entertainment, information or a useful tool,” said John-Paul Aguirre, Group Communications Director at The Vidal Partnership. “We are also mindful that the creative solutions we develop for our clients are more than just engaging, they must also maximize cost efficiencies and ROI at every step.”

“The OMD Investment team was challenged by Nissan to seek out sponsorships that help communicate the ‘Shift’ philosophy to Hispanic consumers, using our General Market and Hispanic expertise,” said Allison Klein, Group Director, Investment at OMD. “Because fútbol is the global currency among U.S. Hispanic and Latin American males, partnering with Fox Sports en Español was the perfect opportunity for Nissan to reach this group and maximize synergies by owning and entitling the Copa Nissan Sudamericana.”

To fully engage the target audience of soccer enthusiasts, the three-year deal, which includes the option to extend for a fourth year, incorporates multiple platforms, from television, digital and print to out-of-home and off-channel extensions.

The television component includes full automotive exclusivity, total tournament naming rights, player of the game features, in-game animated graphics, in-program brand integration, and in-field signage to reach more than 30 million viewers via Fox Sports en Español in the United States and across the Spanish-speaking Americas on Fox Sports Latin America.

On the Internet, Nissan will take center stage on foxsportsla.msn.com, MSN’s exclusive Spanish-language sports destination, via a dedicated Copa Nissan Sudamericana mini site that will feature customized content, a fantasy league, player and team profiles, statistics, results and highlights.

In print, Fox Sports en Español Magazine, the most widely distributed single-brand Spanish-language sports title in the United States and Latin America, will feature a series of ads promoting tune-in, as well as a Nissan-sponsored tear-out schedule designed to keep fans abreast of all the action over the five-month tournament.

The Copa Nissan Sudamericana continues to be one of soccer’s premier international club tournaments and the recent addition of Mexican teams to its roster of participating nations has helped transform the annual 34-team CONMEBOL-sanctioned tournament into one of the crown jewels of Latin American soccer.

The inaugural El Reto Final Nissan, which featured former World Cup teams from Mexico and the U.S. and aired on Fox Sports en Español in 2006, won “Best Foreign Language Program” honors at the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications’ (NAMIC) 13th Annual Vision Awards this year.