TelevisaUnivision has officially entered the big game. For the first time ever, the network has secured the Spanish-language rights to the next Super Bowl, which is supposed to take place in Las Vegas on Feb. 11, 2024.
The network will partner with NFL and CBS Sports on the event. “We will build on the incredible fan passion and love for sports in Spanish to deliver an unprecedented viewing experience designed for our fanaticos,” Donna Speciale, president of advertising sales and marketing at TelevisaUnivision, said during the network’s upfront presentation in New York.
It’s a big get for the network. In 2022, the NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo became the first Spanish-language broadcast network to air the Super Bowl. That licensing deal resulted in 1.9 million viewers. Fox Deportes then drew 951,000 viewers from the event in 2023. Because of that, Fox Deportes currently holds four of the top five highest-rated Spanish-language telecasts in Super Bowl history. It’s notable that TelevisaUnivision, a Mexican-American media company not owned by any of the big American networks, has acquired this coveted event.
That’s not the only major sports announcement the network had up its sleeve. TelevisaUnivision also scored the Spanish-language rights to Copa América 2024, also known as the South American Football Championship. The event will be held in the United States and will likely include the U.S. and Mexican men’s national teams, pending their qualification. Under this new deal, the network also has the rights to the women’s edition of this tournament, Copa América Femenina.
These announcements indicate the network will continue to make live sports a priority moving forward. Founded in 1962, TelevisaUnivision owns the American Spanish-language network Univision as well as the Mexican channels Las Estrellas, Canal 5, Foro and Nu9ve. The company is known for broadcasting Spanish-language sports, telenovelas, news and exclusive content. In 2022, the media conglomerate entered the streaming game with Vix, which featured an ad-supported and a subscription tier.
