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04-08-2002
Univision to Broadcast All 64 FIFA World Cup Games on Univision, Telefutura and Galavisión Networks
Exclusive U.S. Spanish-Language Broadcast of World’s Most Popular Sporting Event Expected To Attract Millions of Hispanics, Outdelivering The Olympics
Univision Names Team of Commentators and World Cup Television Theme Song
New York, NY -- Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE: UVN), the leading Spanish-language media company in the United States, today announced its plans to broadcast the entire 64 games of the FIFA 2002 World Cup Korea/Japan live through its three networks: Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision. This marks the seventh consecutive FIFA World Cup tournament that Univision has exclusively broadcast for the nation’s 35 million Hispanics, and represents the Network’s most extensive coverage of the games to date.
The tournament takes place May 31 through June 30. The Univision Network will air 56 of the tournament’s 64 matches live, the largest number of live coverage hours that the Network has ever dedicated to this event. TeleFutura will broadcast the remaining eight games live, along with 56 match replays. In addition, Univision’s cable network, Galavision, will air 25 “Match of the Day” telecasts, featuring a selection of the best games of the tournament.
“We’re thrilled to be able to offer the U.S. Hispanic community unprecedented television coverage of the world’s most exciting, prestigious and popular sporting event, the FIFA World Cup,” said David Downs, President, Univision Sports. “This spectacular tournament is renowned for its ability to ignite nationalistic pride in an entire population, transcending across all backgrounds, age and gender. This year, Univision will provide live coverage of all 64 games throughout 31 days on our three networks, Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision. With more live coverage of the games than ever before, advertisers will have a unique opportunity to reach the millions of Hispanics who tune in to the World Cup above all other programming.”
The FIFA World Cup has consistently been the most popular sporting event on Spanish-language television. Univision’s broadcast of the 1998 FIFA World Cup final game (Brazil vs. France) was the #1 sporting event of the year among Hispanic Men, Women and Adults 18-34, beating even the Super Bowl. The 1998 FIFA World Cup tournament attracted more Hispanic viewers than the past three primetime Winter Olympics (1994, 1998, 2002) and the most recent Summer Olympics (2000). Throughout the entire 1998 FIFA World Cup tournament, Univision’s coverage of the games attracted more viewers than ESPN’s and ESPN2’s coverage of the games combined. *
Key to Univision’s top-quality coverage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup is its respected team of soccer experts who have been assembled to bring viewers the most accurate and knowledgeable information about the sport and the tournament. Comprising part of Univision’s on-air FIFA World Cup crew and acting as hosts throughout the event will be “República Deportiva’s” Emmy-award-winning presenter, Fernando Fiore, and one of Colombia’s foremost authorities on soccer, Liliana Salazar. Providing all of the exciting play-by-play action will be the renowned announcer of Univision’s “Fútbol Liga Mexicana,” Pablo Ramírez; popular co-anchor of TeleFutura’s “Contacto Deportivo Budweiser” and Galavision’s respected soccer “voice,” Jorge Pérez; and ESPN soccer expert, Luis Omar Tapia. Additionally, leading the way in their in-depth analysis of all of the FIFA World Cup action will be Univision’s stellar commentators, former Mexican Soccer League coach, Jesús “The Professor” Bracamontes, and soccer’s own internationally recognized “Poeta del Fútbol” (Soccer Poet) and one of the sport’s most distinguished professionals, Ricardo Mayorga.
Complementing Univision’s extensive television coverage of the 2002 FIFA World Cup games, the Univision Music Group will feature one of their hottest artists throughout the tournament. On March 27th, the theme song for Univision’s 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan television production entitled “Vamos Al Mundial” was released on a CD-single with the same title. The original song is performed by the popular young Tex-Mex star Jennifer Peña, and was written by one of the most talented composers of Latin music in the United States, Rudy Pérez.
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Stephanie Sorrentino/Kristin Celauro
Citigate Sard Verbinnen
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