NFL Signs 2-Year Deal With Fox Deportes to Telecast the Super Bowl in Spanish
Fox Deportes and the National Football League (NFL) have signed a two-year deal for the Spanish telecast rights to the postseason and the Super Bowl starting this year, becoming the first Spanish-language network in NFL History to broadcast the title game.
The deal includes broadcasting rights, which began with Thursday's Dallas Cowboys-Oakland Raiders Thanksgiving Day game, and will include this year's and next year's postseason as well as Super Bowl XLVIII and Super Bowl XLIX. Games will be called by Fox Deportes' John Laguna and Francisco X. Rivera. The network will also add Impacto NFL to their broadcasting lineup, a weekly 30-minute NFL show, as well as air NFL segments on the network's nightly news program, Central FOX.
"This agreement highlights the commitment of the NFL their huge and growing base of Hispanic fans," said Brian Rolapp, Chief Operating Officer, NFL Media, in a statement. "With more than 25 million Hispanic NFL fans, we're excited to work together with FOX Sports to broadcast more programming in Spanish football."
Fox Deportes addition of the NFL to their network further diversifies their programming portfolio, which includes UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores, Copa Total Sudamericana; NCAA College Football, Golden Boy Promotions Boxing, UFC, NASCAR, and Major League Baseball (MLB) - including MLB All-Star Game, American League Championship Series and World Series.
"We are extremely pleased about our new agreement with the NFL," said Jeff Krolik, President, FOX Sports Regional Networks, in a statement. "Being the first U.S. Spanish-language network to broadcast the Super Bowl is a testament to our continuous efforts to strengthen our programming, and further solidify FOX Deportes as the leader in the Latino sports space."
The NFL has been attracting Hispanic viewers in record numbers, including 23.1 million Latino viewers during the 2012 NFL season. Ten million Hispanic viewers tuned in to watch the Baltimore Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XLVII, attracting greater viewership than the Olympics, the NCAA Final Four or major award shows like the Academy Awards.
With 53 million Hispanics currently living in the United States and the population expected to grow by 132.8 million by 2050, corporations, television networks, and sports leagues are making great efforts to court Hispanic consumers to their brands. Fox Deportes reaches more than 20 million cable and satellite households, including 6.5 million viewers in the U.S.
"Clearly, the Hispanic market has, and continues to be, a major priority for us," Peter O'Reilly, vice president for fan strategy and marketing for the NFL, said to the New York Times. "We have a large and growing Hispanic fan base, and we're seeing growth among the more Spanish-dominant segment."