Sports broadcasting scores with Hispanics
By Juan Fernandez Gonzalez
Univision Deportes, the sports division of Univision Communications Inc, set new ratings records in July, outperforming ESPN 2, Fox Sports 1 and NBC Sports Network in prime time among several audience groups and ranking as the No 2 sports network regardless of language, in an indication of the importance of sports content for US Hispanics.
Univision Deportes also registered good audience figures during the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The Mexico vs. Jamaica final, in which Univision commenced its partnership with Snapchat to create Live Stories around TV events, ranked as the most watched programme for last week among adults 18-49 and adults 18-34.
“The growth of UDN in just three years is a testament to the power of soccer among fanáticos in the US,” said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, president of Univision Deportes. “Our network has been able to beat major sports competitors regardless of language and has continuously delivered blockbuster ratings for major live sporting events.”
The figures see Univision Deportes as the first Spanish-language cable sports network ever to rank as the No 1 or No 2 sports network for a month in any key day part, averaging 454,000 total viewers.
The Gold Cup final delivered 1.7 million total viewers, one million adults 18-49, and 542,000 adults 18-34 – the most-viewed telecast ever on the network.
During July, Univision Deportes reached 31.7 million total viewers over the age of two, purely with 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup coverage via television and digital, with live streaming providing a 6% lift to TV viewership.
Source: Rapid TV News
