ESPN Deportes, Centroamérica TV Add International Soccer

Jacobson Adam — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 13:00:00 +0000

The passion for soccer among Latino sports fans is, as all advertisers are aware, second to none.

That’s why ESPN Deportes can expect a ratings bonanza from an international pre-season competition of professional teams to be played in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The 2016 International Champions Cup puts the top teams from the world’s top soccer league together in a unique 10-team competition held around the world.

Matches kicked off July 22 in Shanghai, China with Barclays Premier League fan favorites Manchester United losing to Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga 4-1. Subsequent matches have been held in Melbourne, Australia; Glasgow, Scotland; Eugene, Oregon; Beijing; Columbus, Ohio; Chicago; Pasadena, Calif.; Shenzhen, China; Dublin, Ireland; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Charlotte, North Carolina; Santa Clara, Calif.; Carson, Calif.; Stockholm, Sweden; East Rutherford, N.J.; and Minneapolis, Minn.

An August 6 match is set for Liverpool vs. FC Barcelona in London, England, and the tournament wraps up August 13 in Limerick, Ireland with FC Internazionale facing Celtic FC.

Fernando Palomo will lead ESPN Deportes’ match commentary. He will be joined by Ricardo Ortiz, 1978 FIFA World Cup champion and golden boot winner Mario Kempes, and former Mexican National Team player Tato Noriega. Other contributors include Andres Agulla, Richard Mendez, Flavio Pereira, Alex Pareja, Barak Fever, Mauricio Pedroza and Robert Sierra.

In other ESPN Deportes news, the network ushered in a “new era” for its Nación ESPN studio program on July 18 when Pilar Pérez took a seat alongside commentators David Faitelson and Mauricio Pedroza. Pérez had previously been with FOX Sports in Mexico, serving as a commentator since joining the ESPN Deportes rival in 2009.

The interactive program, which mixes debate and fan discussion with news and interviews, is also boasting a new look that includes a set change, and new graphics, animation and music.

Meanwhile, soccer fans can now benefit from the addition of first-division soccer tournaments of El Salvador and Costa Rica on Hemisphere Media Group-owned pay-TV offering Centroamérica TV

Viewers can enjoy the complete 2016 season of the “2016 Torneo Apertura” of El Salvador and the “2016 Campeonato de Invierno” of Costa Rica, which will run through December on Centroamérica TV.

“Soccer is a source of great national pride among Hispanics, and we’re proud to be the home of the club teams of El Salvador and Costa Rica,” said Francisco Gimenez, general manager of cable networks for Hemisphere Media Group.

Centroamérica TV, TCS Team Up for ‘Calle 7’

Jacobson Adam — Wed, 02 Mar 2016 14:00:00 +0000

Centroamérica TV has entered the reality TV fray, thanks to a production pact with El Salvador’s top television network.

Calle 7 El Salvador, a co-production with Telecorporación Salvadoreña (TCS), which airs weeknights at 8 p.m., bowed on Feb. 29. The reality show pits two all-male and all-female teams of 10 competitors against each other in a series of physical challenges that test strength and agility. Contestants will be eliminated over four months until just one man and one woman remain.

The winning contestants will take home a cash prize of $7,500, the network said.

“We are extremely excited to team up with TCS to bring U.S. audiences our new series,” Francisco Gimenez, general manager of networks for Hemisphere Media Group, Centroamérica TV’s parent company, said. “This format has been an enormous hit throughout Latin America, and we are confident it will be a great success among our viewers.”

Centroamérica TV has 4 million U.S. customers through MSOs Comcast, Time Warner Cable, RCN, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications and Cablevision Systems; telcos AT&T and Verizon Communications; and satellite-TV providers DirecTV and Dish Network.

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ESPN Deportes, Centroamérica TV Add International Soccer

Centroamérica TV, TCS Team Up for ‘Calle 7’