Sports

It’s a somewhat tarnished event, of course. First of all: It’s in Russia, and the process by which the country won that honor was tied in with now-proven voting irregularities that ultimately cost then FIFA boss Sepp Blatter his job, and countless regional association leaders their freedom as they are either being prosecuted or are in jail.

Around the globe, few things are as ubiquitous as the sport of fútbol, le foot, calcio, or, as it’s called in the U.S., soccer.  While Americans have their own special moniker for it, the sport has certainly made its own imprint in the U.S. Soccer’s influence and power in the world of televised sports is no exception.  Behind this driving force are U.S. Hispanic viewers, whose consumption habits give televised soccer a unique and powerful profile.

When I was a kid growing up in Colombia, I remember my Dad explaining the game of soccer (aka fútbol) to a visitor from Kansas. He said, “Soccer is a ballgame with two teams, each consisting of 11 players… and Germany always wins!”  By Miguel Gomez Winebrenner, Principal, Ahzul

Soccer is not only one of the most popular sports in the world, but it’s one that has become an integral part of describing our culture in most of the countries in Latin America. We have all experienced and talked about memorable moments of happiness, excitement, surprise and disappointment. Our passion for soccer unites us and helps us, for a moment, to take our mind off of difficult times our countries may be facing.  By: Claudia Gioia, Hill+Knowlton Strategies President, CEO Latin America & the Caribbean

In anticipation of this week’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ kickoff, Telemundo Deportes, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises’ sports division, announced digital activation plans and partnerships ensuring the most complete, digital and linear tournament experience for all fans. In addition to the Spanish-language live streaming of all 64 World Cup matches on Telemundo Deportes En Vivo and the NBC Sports apps, new digital initiatives surrounding the network’s coverage of the tournament will include a full-service virtual reality experience, which will be available on the Telemundo Deportes VR App, World Cup highlights customized with musical GIFs through Gifnote.com, a soccer Emoji keyboard with Sportsmania, GOAL! SHOOTOUT – for the Instant Games platform on Messenger and Facebook and an interactive bracket (or “quiniela”) experience.

The World Cup will account for one in ten of every new ad dollars spent on advertising globally this year. That’s the takeaway from Zenith’s report this year, which predicts the tournament will add $2.4bn to global advertising this year.

The FIFA World Cup is approaching fast, and people around the world are planning to watch it – in a social setting. Globally, more than eight in ten people (84%) report that they will watch the games with friends and family. About half (49%) plan to join with work colleagues.

Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the 2018 FIFA World Cup RussiaTM, and Google announced a partnership that will bring Telemundo’s Spanish-language World Cup content to Google and YouTube for soccer fans across the U.S.

Wonderful Pistachios announced that sportscaster and TV personality, Carmen Boquín, will serve as the brand’s ambassador during the most important soccer event in the world. 

Combate Americas, a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sports and multimedia entertainment company targeting Hispanics, announced the appointment of media industry veteran and former NBCUniversal executive, Jacqueline Hernandez, as Combate Americas President.

La Copa Mundial is much bigger than the Olympics for Latinos across the U.S., and around the world. But, oftentimes, we think of the World cup as a television property. This isn’t necessarily true, as Entravision Communications Chief Revenue Officer Mario Carrera notes in this Hispanic Radio Podcast.

  By Gonzalo López Martí  –  Creative director, etc  / LMMiami.com

• Imagine you brand organically integrated into the official virtual reality channel of Real Madrid F.C.
• Imagine an immersive behind-the-scenes experience roaming the field, the stands and the corridors of the emblematic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium during game day.
• Imagine having access to Real Madrid’s social feeds reaching more than 560 million fans around the world.
• Imagine no more: it’s a done deal.

Telemundo Deportes unveiled the theme song and music production package for this summer’s World Cup broadcast on Telemundo and Universo, “Sueño de Campeones” or “Champions Dream,” by Emmy Award winning composer and producer Yoav Goren. “Sueño de Campeones” is an extensive music package supporting Telemundo Deportes’ coverage of the most prestigious soccer tournament in the world, featuring 32 teams and a total of 64 matches, played across 12 venues in Russia.

In 2011, Fox and the Spanish-language network Telemundo won the rights to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 World Cup in the U.S. for a record $1 billion dollars. Fox agreed to

Telemundo Station Group announced it’s dispatching a team of local station journalists from stations in Los Angeles, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, McAllen and its news bureaus in Washington, D.C. and Miami to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. The station group’s team consists of 12 sports and news anchors, photographers and producers. This is the largest group of Telemundo station journalists to ever report from an international, live sporting event. Telemundo’s local journalists will round out Telemundo Deportes’ coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ by delivering local audiences the most relevant and compelling coverage about all 32 competing teams across the stations’ on-air, digital and mobile platforms. The stations’ mobile apps will also help soccer enthusiasts watch livestreams of the games and receive their World Cup news and sports updates wherever they go.

RELEVENT, a multi-national media, sports and entertainment group and organizer of the International Champions Cup, announced the acquisition of BRC Group, the leading marketer and producer of Hispanic soccer programs in the U.S.. 

The National Football League and CBS have reached an agreement with ESPN Deportes to televise Super Bowl LIII in Spanish on Sunday, February 3, 2019 at 6 p.m. ET, live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.

Telemundo Deportes announced the complete line-up of Telemundo’s daily news and entertainment programming, supplementing the network’s World Cup coverage during the month-long event. Telemundo will deploy the network’s top news and sports on-air talent from Un Nuevo Dia, Noticias Telemundo, Al Rojo Vivo and Titulares y Más to report live and on-site from Russia, in addition to the new primetime studio show Viva el Mundial y Más hosted by renowned TV host and actress Jacqueline Bracamontes and Titulares y Más’s Karim Mendiburu.

beIN SPORTS’ beIN BED campaign was awarded four separate awards at the 2018 Clio Sports Awards. The beIN BED campaign was recognized in the categories of Social Media, Direct, and Integrated Campaign, including a Gold Award for Social Media Multi-Platform campaign, two Silver Awards for both Direct Social Media and Integrated Campaign and a Bronze Award for Social Video.

Veteran soccer commentator and play-by-play announcer known for his unmistakable goal call, Andres Cantor, won his fifth Sports Emmy for Outstanding On-Air Sports Personality in Spanish at the 39th Annual Sports Emmy Awards for his work with Telemundo Deportes.