Univision Deportes’ Pitch Extends Across Many Futbol Fields

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Carlos Deschapelles, Executive Vice President of Multimedia and Sports Sales at Univision, has seen soccer transform in the U.S. this decade.  While there has always been a core group of fanáticos, Deschapelles said the embrace of the beautiful game has broadened beyond Hispanics, who over-index in their passion for futbol.  “It’s amazing how much the market has changed,” he told me. “Now, you hear more and more people saying ‘Did you see that goal?’”

That growing interest has translated into more money from marketers.  Deschapelles (pictured below) said that since 2012, spending on soccer has more than doubled in the U.S., with Hispanic media netting three-quarters of that gain.  And rest assured Univision, which wields a futbol portfolio that is second to none, is picking up more than its fair share.

The company, which televises soccer on main broadcast network Univision, fellow broadcaster UniMas and dedicated sports cable serviceUnivision Deportes Network, recently released findings from a custom research project it commissioned from Nielsen.  Findings from “Los Fanáticos: The Passion and Power of the Hispanic Sports Fan" center around increased sports watching by Hispanics and co-viewing trends, as well as Latinos’ affinity for ads that run in athletic programming and their attendant intent to purchase such products.

Univision’s roster is headed by Liga MX, Mexico’s top league and the most-watched soccer circuit in North America, with more than twice the audience of the U.K.’s Premier League, whose U.S. rights are held by NBC Sports.  The company also carries domestic circuit Major League Soccer, as well as the Mexican and U.S. national teams.  Deschapelles said these core properties will deliver strong advertising gains in 2017.

Kicking off July 7, Univision also holds multi-platform, Spanish-language rights to the Gold Cup, the biennial competition matching national teams from North (U.S.) and Central America (Mexico) and the Caribbean region (Fox Sports holds the English-language rights).  But it has been deals with UEFA, European’s governing body that have added both breadth and depth to Univision lineups.

Fulfilling part of a mandate to buttress its weekday programming roster, Univision Deportes President Juan Carlos Rodriguez in January 2016 scored a multiplatform, U.S. rights deal for Euro 2020 and qualifying matches ahead of that national tourney, plus qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup. The deal also extends to the UEFA Nations League and UEFA Nations League Final Four, new events involving the 54-country associations that provide new interest to what were formerly “friendlies.”

Then, at Univision’s 2017 Upfront presentation, Rodriguez told media buyers that starting with the 2018-19 campaign Univision Deportes has the rights to Europe’s top club completion, the UEFA Champions League, as well as the second-level UEFA Europa League.  With the Champions League acquisition, Rodriguez declared that Univision Deportes is “the undisputed home of soccer."> 

J.P. Fields

J.P. Fields is a veteran business writer with an enthusiasm for sports and the business gambits and decisions that support/fuel their growth. read more