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Univision’s Number-One Sports Show Turns Three: Republica Deportiva Celebrates its Third Anniversary
Miami, FL -- Three years ago, a new kind of show hit the airwaves that would forever revolutionize the way sports are covered. Refreshing, entertaining and always informative, Univision’s República Deportiva initially made headlines for its innovative approach to sports reporting and continues to be one of the most successful and popular programs on television. To commemorate this anniversary, the Network will air a special República this Sunday, April 7, during its regularly scheduled time period of 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET (check local listings). This unforgettable show will feature several invited guests as well as a newly inaugurated “museum” of sports memorabilia that will include many autographed items given to the program’s members by the athletes during the last three years, including jerseys, soccer balls, and bats.
República Deportiva is a one-of-a-kind show that has put the fun back into sports coverage, emphasizing the lighter, amusing, positive side of sports, as well as informing viewers about the latest scores, hottest players and best teams. Its relaxed, conversational approach to sports commentary has become a model for other shows and is even reflected in the program’s informal setting – a sports bar. Because of its unique format, many viewers who do not traditionally watch sports have been drawn to the show. Week to week, República commands a national Nielsen rating average of 5.5, which is equivalent to 550,000 Hispanic households.
República Deportiva is hosted by popular television personality Fernando Fiore, one of the leading figures in sports in the U.S. and this year’s principal anchor for Univision’s World Cup coverage, along with Rosana Franco, Spanish-language television’s foremost female sportscaster, and Jorge Gomez, veteran journalist and respected sports authority. Upon its debut, the show was originally designed to be only one hour in length, but later expanded to two-hour live broadcasts due to popular demand. Each week, one of the show’s hosts travels to the site of a particular sporting match – be it a boxing bout in Las Vegas or a soccer game in Mexico – in order to provide viewers with an up close and personal look at what’s going on before, during and after the event. It’s this very quality, going behind the mere reporting of sports, that has led to the program’s overwhelming success and broad appeal.
Since its inception, República Deportiva has highlighted many of the greatest Latin American athletes in the world. Among them are the boxers “Golden Boy” Oscar De La Hoya, Felix “Tito” Trinidad, Fernando “El Feroz” Vargas, Marco Antonio Barrera, Eric “El Terrible” Morales, and John Ruiz, to name just a few, in addition to such up-and-coming superstars such as Francisco “Panchito” Bojado and Miguel Coto. Soccer’s best and brightest have also appeared on the show, including Mexico’s Luis “El Matador” Hernandez, Pavel Pardo, Oscar “El Conejo” Perez, Jared Borgetti, Alberto “El Beto” Garcia Aspe, Marcelino Bernal, “El Maestro” Benjamin Galindo, and Nacho Ambriz, as well as such all-time Mexican greats as Antonio “La Tota” Carbajal, Hugo Sanchez, and Carlos Hermosillo. Many of Mexico’s leading coaches have also appeared on the show, including Manuel “El Pelon” Lapuente, Enrique “El Ojitos” Meza, Luis Fernando Tena, Raul Arias, Fernando Quirarte, Alberto “El Beto” Guerra, and the current coach for the Mexican national team that will play in this year’s World Cup, Javier “El Vasco” Aguirre. Additionally, several other major Latin American soccer athletes have been interviewed such as Ivan “Bam Bam” Zamorano and Fabian Estay from Chile, Alex Aguinaga from Ecuador, and the Paraguayans Jose Luis Chilavert and Jose Saturnino Cardozo.
Despite its relatively short time on the air, República Deportiva has managed to cover many of the world’s major sporting events. Previously it has reported on three World Series’ (including the famous Subway Series between the NY Mets and the Yankees); the Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia; the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada; five Mexican Soccer League finals; the last four major boxing matches (Oscar De La Hoya vs. Tito Trinidad, Eric Morales vs. Marco Antonio Barrera, Oscar De La Hoya vs. Shane Moesley, and Tito Trinidad vs. Fernando Vargas); two Gold Cups; and, although occurring next month, the program will provide full coverage for the upcoming World Cup in Korea/Japan. Moreover, República has also presented many important moments in sports. Some of the show’s major highlights include an exclusive, hard-hitting live interview with controversial baseball star John Rocker; the dramatic on-camera retirement announcement by legendary Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez; and the momentous reuniting in the República studios of three of the six Hispanic members of the Baseball Hall of Fame (Luis Aparicio, Orlando Cepeda, and Tany Pérez).
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Cristina Plotkin
Univision Network
305-463-4610
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