NBC Universo enjoyed a good coming out party on Sunday.

Fueled by its coverage of Super Bowl XLIX, the Spanish-language network, which was converted from mun2 at 1 a.m. (ET) on Feb. 1, was the most-watched Hispanic cable channel in total day and primetime.

The network's presentation of the New England Patriots and their last-second stand that secured a 28-24 win that dethroned the Seattle Seahawks, averaged 368,000 watchers, according to Nielsen data, 259,000 of whom were adults 18 to 49.  The telecast peaked with 457,000 during the final minutes, and cumed 1.14 million watchers. Fox Deportes' coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII, the first cablecast of the Super Bowl to air in Spanish in U.S., history, averaged 561,000 watchers.

NBC Universo officials said the network outdelivered Hispanic cable competitors by at least 2:1  margin during primetime, and Super Bowl XLIX was also the most-viewed program outside of top soccer matches in its predecessor's history.

Among Hispanic adults 18 to 49, the modern, general-entertainment channel was the most-watched cable network -- regardless of language -- during total day and primetime. Gauged on a total-day basis, NBC Universo averaged 121,000 total viewers, 81,000 ages 18 to 49. the network's best-ever performance with the demo.

In primetime, NBC Universo averaged 267,000 total viewers, including 186,000 in the aforementioned segment, marking its highest Sunday ever in the daypart with that group.

“Sunday marked a historic day for our network. On the first day of our re-launch, NBC Universo succeeded in delivering high-quality sports and edgy entertainment series to Latino viewers across the U.S., and more than a million people joined us to watch Super Bowl XLIX in Spanish,” said network president Rubén Mendiola. “As we continue to establish our network and new brand, we’re off to a thrilling start. We could not be more pleased with our viewers’ positive response to our new, vibrant look and feel. With FIFA World Cup, the NASCAR Mexico Series, more Premier League matches, WWE RAW and Smackdown en Español, and The 2016 Rio Olympics all on deck, Super Bowl XLIX was the first of many brilliant sports moments Latinos can expect from NBC Universo in the months ahead.”

NBC's coverage of Super Bowl XLIX wasn't the only platform to set records on Sunday.

NBC Sports Live Extra’s live stream of the New England Patriot's 28-24 win over the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL championship game averaged 800,000 viewers per minute, 1.3 million concurrent users and 213 total minutes, according to Adobe Analytics.

The live stream to desktops and tablets -- Verizon holds NFL mobile streaming rights -- also produced 2.5 million uniques, up 9% from Fox's tally last year and 19% compared to the 2.1 million for NBC’s live stream of Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, which was the first-ever live stream of the NFL's title tilt.

The 800,000 average viewers per minute was up 52% versus Fox’s stream of Super Bowl XLVIII last year, which averaged a then record 528,000 viewers per minute. Concurrent users peaked at 1.3 million at the moment when Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler made his game-winning interception in the final seconds, and was up 18% versus Fox's 1.1 million last year.

In addition to the record traffic, NBC Sports Live Extra delivered a high-quality stream with a long engagement of 84.2 minute per viewer, according to Akamai.

“The Super Bowl stream on the NBC Sports Live Extra platform went fantastically well,” said Rick Cordella, senior vice president and general manager of digital media at NBC Sports Group. “We were excited, not only by the record-breaking consumption, but also the quality of the streams we delivered to football fans.”

Super Bowl XLIX scored the highest overnight rating in history on Sunday night.

NBC's coverage of New England's 28-24 win over Seattle delivered a 49.7 rating and a 72 share, according to Nielsen data.

The number still to beat:  the U.S. TV record-audience of 112.3 million viewers (live + same-day) for last year's Super Bowl in which Seattle demolished Denver 43-8.

The overnight for Super Bowl XLIX was up 4% from last year's 47.6/70 for Seahawks-Broncos and up 3% from the prior record  -- the 48.1/71 for Baltimore-San Francisco in  SB XLVII.

The mark not only set a Super Bowl record, but equaled the tally CBS recorded with its coverage of the 1994 Winter Olympics -- following the controversy of rival figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan -- as the top overnight rating for a sporting event.

NBC’s Super Bowl XLIX overnight topped a 50 in each half hour from 8 p.m. (ET), peaking at a 52.9/73 in the 10 p.m. quarter hour, when the Patriots dethroned the Seahawks on Malcolm Butler's end zone interception (pictured) with 20 seconds remaining.

The halftime show -- an elaborage staging led by Katy Perry, and featuring Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliott, garnered a 50.8 overnight rating, up 5% ahead from ast year’s halftime festivities with Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The post-Super Bowl episode of The Blacklist drew a 13.5 rating. That was up 9% over. last year's lead-out spot -- Fox's New Girl -- and represented the top post-Super Bowl metered market measure since the last time NBC aired the Big Game. The delivery was also the best overnight for a primetime entertainment telecast since last year's Oscars.

Super Bowl XLIX produced a social media maelstrom as Twitter recorded more than 28.4 million tweets worldwide during the New England Patriots’ 28-24 defeat of defending champ Seattle Seahawks, making it the most-tweeted Super Bowl on record.

Totals from #SB49  -- from kickoff through 30 minutes after the clock expired -- was good enough to surpass the 24.1 million tweets generated during last year's he 2013 Super Bowl matchup between the Seahawks and the Denver Broncos, according to Twitter.   

But soccer still has a bigger grip on sports fans around the world, as tweets from #SB49 weren’t enough to break the current Twitter record for a sporting event, when the social network handled 35.6 million tweets during Germany’s beatdown of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semifinals on July 8. Twitter traffic from last night’s game also did not surpass the 32.1 million tweets generated during the World Cup finals match between Germany and Argentina on July 13, 2014.

Malcom Butler’s interception of Russell Wilson with 20 seconds remaining to seal the win was the most tweeted moment of the live telecast, generating 395,000 tweets per minute. That was followed by the end of the game (379,000 tweets per minute), and the end of Katy Perry’s halftime performance (284,000 tweets per minute). 

NBC Universo tranforms from mun2 at 1 a.m. on Feb. 1, with the Spanish-language network serving up a diverse slate on its opening day, highlighted by its presentation of Super Bowl XLIX.

The 40-million subscriber network, which has reached an affiliate accord for DirecTV to become the first distributor to carry it in the high-definition format, dawns its new era with Bienvenidos a NBC Universo, a half-hour special that gives viewers a taste of what’s on the air and what will come down the road. The program will encore after the conclusion of the NFL championship game, as NBC Universo becomes the second Spanish-language cable outlet to televise a Super Bowl, following Fox Deportes' presentation last year.

Following the post-game airing of Bienvenidos a NBC Universo, the network, bolstered by a freeview expanding its reach to 74 million homes on Sunday, will air a special preview of its first new acquired series of the re-launched network. Crónica de Castas is nine-episode fictional drama series filmed in the small, impoverished neighborhood of Tepito in Mexico City. The series follows the lives of polarizing characters whose stories revolve around the local Hotel Galicia, where nothing is as it seems. This marks the pay TV debut of the series in the U.S., which is slated to run in full later this winter.

The coming out party for the network features a host of Super Bowl-related programming, and a couple of hours of Larrymania, the network’s venue for Larry Hernandez. The multi-award-winning artist will bring a fourth season to the network of his show in which he attempts to balance his lift as father, son, partner and high-profile celebrity.

Underlining the network’s enhanced emphasis on sports, which will see it carry FIFA World Cup, Olympics, NASCAR and other action, NBC Universo will showcase the Premier League match between Arsenal and Aston Villa at 8:25 a.m. (Check out the day’s full schedule below.)

In line with its mission to bring Latinos must-see live events and continuing its delivery of hot music offerings, NBC Universo will present “Festival Viña del Mar” – a top music festival in Latin America, featuring some of the most-renowned artists in the world. Live from Chile, the event begins on Feb. 22, streaming online at nbcuniverso.com. Details regarding its TV telecast will be announced at a later date.

“We’ve promised Latinos high-quality programming, masterful storytelling and the best sports presented in culturally relevant ways,” said Rubén Mendiola, president, NBC Universo. “Our new programming is just the first step in delivering on this promise to our Latino viewers, as well as building a rich platform for distributors and advertisers to reach an important portion of the population with growing influence.”

NBC Universo Feb. 1 Lineup

1:00am – Bienvenidos a NBC UNIVERSO

1:30am – Operacion Repo

2:00am – Sabor Al Super Bowl

3:00am – Fugitivos De La Ley

4:00am – Fugitivos De La Ley

5:00am – Fugitivos De La Ley

6:00am – Larrymania

7:00am – Larrymania

8:00am – Universo: Amanecer

8:25am – Premier League – Arsenal vs Aston Vila

10:30am – Universo: NOW

11:00am- WWE RAW

2:00pm – Sabor Al Super Bowl

3:00pm – Estrellas Del Medio Tiempo

4:00pm – Road To The Super Bowl

5:00pm – La NFL en NBC UNIVERSO: Super Bowl XLIX Pre Game

6:00pm – La NFL en NBC UNIVERSO : Super Bowl XLIX

10:15pm – La NFL en NBC UNIVERSO: Super Bowl XLIX Post Game

10:30pm – Bienvenidos a NBC UNIVERSO

11:00pm – Crónica De Castas

Their pro football interests aside, executives at NBCU’s flagship entertainment service now have another reason to dig corporate cousin NBC's presentation of Super Bowl XLIX.

USA Network's upcoming drama will benefit from Big Game exposure, as Dig will be highlighted in a 15-second spot during the first quarter of the NFL championship tussle between the defending champion Seaattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

Running in the first quarter, the unit features clips from the international production, and series stars Jason Isaacs (Awake) and Anne Heche (Save Me). Dig, from Universal  Cable Productions and Keshet, tells tale of a murder mystery set against the backdrop of modern day Jerusalem in which an FBI agent (Isaacs) investigates the death of a young American and becomes embroiled in some of the Holy Land’s darkest secrets.

Dig joins E!'s The Royals in securing a promotional berth in what will be the biggest telecast of 2015 and perhaps in U.S. television history,  The 10-event miniseries will debut on USA's lineup on March 5 at 10 p.m. (ET).

They’re throwing footballs in the desert.

No, we’re not talking about Tom Brady and Russell Wilson -- they will do their thing on Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Rather, fans at the NFL Fan Experience in Phoenix are tossing nerf footballs dipped in various paints at blanks canvases as part of interactive exhibit sponsored by Oxygen to help promote its upcoming Street Art Throwdown competition series. On Thursday and Friday, fans, players and celebrities attending the NFL Fan Experience are putting the painted pigskins in flight as the starting points for the show’s contestants turning them into murals representing Play 60, the NFL’s youth outreach initiative, and nearby Luke Air Force Base, as charitable beneficiaries.  

Award-winning artist and show creator Justin Bua, co-judge Lauren Wagner and La’Roi Glover, former NFL player and current director of player engagement for the St. Louis Rams, were the judges for Thursday’s entries.

The show’s hosts will be joined in the judging on Friday by Olympic hurdler Queen Harrison.

On Saturday, the artists will work on two massive murals depicting the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, the NBC logo, and other Super Bowl-related fare. Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, Arizona Cardinals punter Drew Butler and actor Kellan Lutz (Twilight franchise and Legend of Hercules) were expected to be on hand.

The Saturday activities will be filmed in their entirety and then edited to be included as a segment in NBC’s six-hour pre-game show.

The high-profile promotional platform comes ahead of the show -- in which 10 contestants will create various outdoor art forms around Los Angeles with the winner taking home $100,000 --  which will premiere Tuesday, Feb. 3 debut at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).  

"We saw an amazing synergy between the high- energy, competitive nature of Super Bowl and street art,” said Bravo and Oyxgen Media executive vice president of marketing Ellen Stone. Partnering with NBC Sports and the NFL provided the perfect opportunity to highlight Street Art Throwdown, in an impactful way that literally touches the fans and allows them to experience the visually arresting nature of this art through on-site demonstrations by the incredible talent/artists throughout the weekend." .

Each day, the murals are vetted by the judges and then donated back to the participating charities or auctioned off by NFL for proceeds given to an NFL selected organization

OXYGEN’S SUPER BOWL SCHEDULE (all times MT)

THURSDAY & FRIDAY:

2-3pm: The charity organization stops by to meet artists, take photos at the activation site and participate in the pop-art challenge.

2-5:30pm: Pop-art challenge where consumers, fans and talent throw nerf footballs dipped in paint at blank canvas walls to create art splatter and backdrop for the mural.

6-9pm: Artists live-paint the specific theme on the pop-art splattered murals. Talent can participate in painting the mural.

9-9:30pm: Judging by two show hosts and NFL player/celebrity.

SATURDAY:

12-4pm: Live-painting massive Super Bowl XLIX themed murals – one for the New England Patriots, the other for the Seattle Seahawks. Talent will participate in the mural and hold photo opps.

4-4:30pm: Judging by two show hosts and NFL player/celebrity.

The official transition of mun2 to NBC Universo on Sunday will be a highly defining moment for the network in more ways than one.

The modern general-entertainment cable service for Latinos has inked a deal with DirecTV for high-definition carriage. Subscribers at the nation’s leading DBS providers will be able to watch all of NBC Universo’s programming in the high-definition format on Feb. 1, highlighted by the network’s exclusive Spanish-language telecast of Super Bowl XLIX.

Deal terms were not disclosed.

While the DirecTV pact marks NBC Universo’s initial HD carriage entry, officials at NBC Universo, which counts some 40 million subscribers, are continuing to engage all of its affiliates in those conversations.

In the meantime, NBC Universo will look to provide more exposure for its coming out party via a free preview for the day with DirecTV, AT&T U-verse, Cox, Verizon FiOS, Dish, Cablevision and corporate parent Comcast that will make it available to 74 million homes.

On Super Bowl Sunday, NBC Universo viewers will be greeted at 1 a.m. by Bienvenidos a NBC Universo, a half-hour show outlining what viewers can expect from the service. The program will also air after the conclusion of NBC Universo’s coverage of the Super Bowl, a presentation that will make it the second Spanish-language network to air the NFL championship in the States.

After the post-game airing of Bienvenidos a NBC Universo, the network will air a special preview of its first new acquired series. Crónica de Castas is a nine-episode fictional drama series that was filmed in the small, impoverished neighborhood of Tepito in Mexico City. The show follows the lives of polarizing characters with plenty of secrets whose stories revolve around the local Hotel Galicia. The Sunday night airing marks the pay TV debut of the series in the U.S., before it unfurls in full later this winter.

The network’s opening day lineup also features a host of Super Bowl-related specials sporting among other things, highlights from Media Day, an interview with halftime entertainer Katy Perry, a behind-the-scenes look at its production game plan and the best performers from Super Bowl halftimes past. The official pregame show starts at 5 p.m.

Content will be accessible to all users at nbcuniverso.com.

Joe Casper may not be able to illuminate “Deflategate,” but he believes his company’s efforts are going to bring new perspectives of Super Bowl XLIX for those in Glendale or watching the action at home.

This season, the University of Phoenix Stadium became the first NFL venue to be illuminated with high output LED Lighting.  In addition to reducing energy usage by more than 75%, the Ephesus LED lighting system provides a much more even disrtribution of light throughout the playing surface. For the Super Bowl, Ephesus Lighting engineers calculate 250 foot candles of light on the playing surface – nearly 20% more than has ever been provided for an NFL game.

According to Casper, the founder and CTO of Ephesus Lighting, the increased level of light will serve to reduce glare and eliminate unwanted shadows. The improved uniformity will enable fans at the stadium and at home to upgrade their vantages. With traditional metal halide light, broadcasters need to keep adjusting the camera’s aperture and open as wide as possible to let enough light in. This limits the high-definition TV capabilities. 

Casper said that with an assist from Ephesus, NBC will reduce the aperture size, and, in turn, increase the focal plane providing more depth of field and more detail. Additionally, blurry images emanating from cameras zooming in or showing a slow motion replay will be greatly mitigated.

Speaking of replay, the not so instant version has certainly impacted the playoff fortunes of the Detroit Lions and their tamers, the Dallas Cowboys. Casper said the advances in LED lighting will aid referees and league playoff officials at Super Bowl XLIX by providing the clearest pictures ever from an NFL game.

“The way we are lighting the field for Super Bowl XLIX will allow NBC cameras to get more clarity and a greater depth of focus,” said Casper.  “As a result they will be able to zoom in tighter on replays and super slow motion without the flicker-effect or blurriness that is often associated with zooming in.  This should help replay officials have the best possible pictures to make the right call.”

Casper said Ephesus' game plan for LED lighting centered on a trio of tenets.

“When we went into the sports LED lighting business we wanted to focus on three attributes,” he said. “We wanted to improve player performance, give the fans at home and at the game a better experience, and reduce energy usage.  The ability to help referees make the right call is an added benefit that may help change the outcome of a game for the better one day.”

Given the way things have gone for the NFL on and off the field this season, one can certainly hope so.

The Ephesus system also carries other benefits.  NBC, if it desires, can trigger an in-stadium light show or have the lights chase each other and “do the wave” around the venue. Moreover, Casper said Ephesus will function as a prevent defense of sorts to what happened in the Superdome with the 2013 Big Game, maintaining there won’t be a 20-minute delay if there is a power disruption. Rather, he says, the lights will flip right back on.

Regardless of the outcome on the field, Casper thinks broadcasters and stadium operators will look back at Super Bowl XLIX as the day the lights went on for new ways to showcase American sports.  “Every new stadium and arena will feature LED lighting,” he said, adding that over the next five years half of extant sporting structures will make a similar conversion.

Casper said Ephesus is in discussions with a number of new venues about its LED system.

E! will have a regal presence in the NFL’s Big Game.

The network will run its first-ever Super Bowl spot in the fourth quarter of broadcast brethren NBC’s presentation of Super Bowl XLIX touting its first-ever original scripted series, The Royals.

The spot, part of NBCU’s “Symphony”  promotional push behind The Royals, will take viewers inside the high stakes world of the show’s fictional British royal family, led by Elizabeth Hurley, Alexandra Park and William Moseley, via a “mini movie” of sorts.

Check out a teaser here.

A co-production of Lionsgate and Universal Cable Productions, The Royals will bow on March 15 and has already been picked up for a second campaign, production of which will kick off this spring in London. 

Hurley and Vincent Regan portray Queen Helena and King Simon, while Moseley and  Park are their devious and scandalous royal twins, Prince Liam and Princess Eleanor.  

It might be the NFL and Comcast/NBCU’s day, but for those in and around Phoenix for Super Bowl XLIX Cox, Communications will certainly be in play.

The leading distributor in the nation’s 13th largest DMA is the provider inside the University of Phoenix in Glendale, Ariz., site of the NFL championship game. Cox has hundreds of phone lines within the facility, which is managed by Global Spectrum, part of Comcast Spectacor, and will provide pictures via cable video in the venue. NBC has the broadcast rights to what will be the biggest telecast of 2015 and possibly in U.S. TV history.

 Cox officials said in order to better serve the needs of the 78,000 attending the Big Game, it pulled in a new Gigabit circuit, as well as several primary rate interfaces (high-end voice switches).

The MSO is also furnishing additional infrastructure to support a number of the events taking place ahead of the title tilt, and its video signals will be front and center at a number of hotels in the area

But Cox’s best Super Bowl play, though, will come on the WiFi side of the line.

Cox is opening up more than 1,200 hotspots in the Valley of the Sun to the public for free during the Super Bowl XLIX week. It's also continuing to add additional temporary hotspots to high-traffic areas to help keep Valley residents and tourists stay connected.

In addition to its extant WiFi hotspots that are already available to Cox customers, hotspots have been installed at Super Bowl Central in downtown Phoenix, just north of US Airways Center; the Fan Fest  in Scottsdale at Fashion Square;, and in the east and west parking lots, just south of the University of Phoenix Stadium on game day.

Cox said it activated the 1,200 WiFi Hotspots late last year, and additional hotspots are being implemented on a monthly base. The launch came on the heels of the company's announcement that residential gigabit internet speeds are now available in the Phoenix metro area -- Cox's first market in the country to offer residential Gig service. Cox customers can taps speeds 100 times faster than the average speed in the market today.

Cox WiFi hotspots can also be found by entering a user's location at www.cox.com/hotspots. Users can also click on a WiFi icon on the map or download the Cox Connect app for iPhone and Android devices to immediately access directions to or from the specific WiFi hotspot address. Once a user has logged onto a Cox WiFi or cable WiFi hotspot, his or her wireless device will automatically recognize and logon to other Cox WiFi and cable WiFi hotspots for up to two years.

The MSO also will have a presence at the NFL Experience in the "Characters Unite End Bullying Zone." An End Bullying Zone Playbook will be ready electronically on Jan. 23 for students, teachers and parents as a supplement/study guide to flank the "Characters Unite" NFL documentary that will air Friday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. on USA Network. The film will be available Feb. 7 to Cox subscriber via its video on demand platform.

The Dan Patrick Show will decamp to Glendale, Ariz.. next week for five days of on-site shows ahead of Super Bowl XLIX.

Beginning Monday, Jan. 26, and continuing through Friday, Jan. 30, The Dan Patrick Show,  the syndicated radio show that is simulcast on NBCSN and  DirecTV's Audience Network, will originate from a specially designed set at the DirecTV Super Fan Stadium, located across the street from University of Phoenix Stadium., the venue for the NFL's title tilt that will be presented by NBC.

Patrick, who also serves as co-host of NBC' Football Night in America, hinted that the set  will have a feel in keeping with the western town the top DBS provider is constructing for the Super Bowl.

"We can't reveal what the set looks like, but let's just say that Bonanza, Shane and Blazing Saddles have nothing on us." said Patrick. "John Wayne and Clint Eastwood would be proud to visit our set."

No word on whether The Danettes -- the show's production crew of Paul Pabst, Patrick O'Connor, Andrew Perloff and Todd Fritz -- will be sporting six-shooters, ten-gallon hats or buckskin outfits

.

“It was a challenging task to convince the Danettes to leave the snow and 30-degree weather in Milford, Conn., and travel to Arizona for Super Bowl week,” said Patrick. “Ultimately, McLovin, Paulie, Seton and Fritzy understood that it was the right thing to do for our viewers and listeners.”

The audience will get to see and hear from a number of high-profile athleties and celebrity guests in town for the Big Game.

The Dan Patrick Show airs weekdays from 9 a.m. – noon (ET) on NBCSN and DirecTV's Audience Network. In addition, the show is simulcast across more than 200 radio stations nationwide, and streams online via NBC Sports Live Extra, NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for digital, mobile and tablets.

Arizona will open the 2015 playoffs against Carolina on Saturday afternoon in ESPN's first-ever NFL postseason telecast.

The battle in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium also marks the kickoff of the most expansive NFL playoff coverage in Spanish, as ESPN Deportes will jump in with its own presentation of the Cardinals-Panthers. Later that night, NBCUniversal’s mun 2 will televise the Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers matchup, which also will air on NBC.

On Sunday, Fox Deportes, alongside Fox Broadcast, will showcase the Detroit Lions against the Dallas Cowboys. 

Last season, Fox Deportes became the first Spanish-language network in the U.S. to televise the NFL’s title tilt. This year that distinction falls to Comcast’s programming unit, as mun2 will culminate its transformation to NBC Universo on Feb. 1, Super Bowl Sunday.

Left unanswered:  Which network will televise Super Bowl L in Spanish. CBS will air the golden anniversary of the NFL’s Big Game from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. next year. However, CBS doesn’t have a Spanish-language outlet.

All of the league’s extant parties expressed interest in securing the rights to the contest. However, talks have yet to materialize. “We have not had discussions with the NFL; we expect them to take place soon,” said Carlos Sanchez, executive vice president and general manager of Fox Deportes.

Although the NFL is growing among Latinos – a 2013 ESPN Deportes Sports poll found that 60% of all Hispanics are NFL fans, more than boxing, NBA and MLB, and the game trails only soccer and Olympics overall. Moreover, among U.S.-born Hispanics, the NFL is the most popular sport.   

Despite such sentiment, and this year’s expanded postseason, the NFL, which has set a goal of raising its revenue base to $25 billion, from $10 billion today, by 2027, has not fully capitalized in this arena. ESPN Deportes’ coverage of Monday Night Football aside, there are only a handful of other regular-season games in Spanish-language play.

Could Spanish-language media leader Univision’s cable networks Galavision, or its dedicated sports network, Univision Deportes, be in the mix for an NFL package and/or Super Bowl L?

The league declined comment about its Spanish-language television game plan.

As for the 2015 postseason, the networks are sanguine about the ratings and commercial prospects.

*ESPN Deportes.  The Carolina-Arizona affair marks the apex of a long run with NFL that began before the network’s full-time bow. Fred Rolon, vice president of programming and business, noted that the service in 2001 -- when ESPN held the rights to the Sunday Night Football package -- made the games available in Spanish through ad hoc telecasts that were carried by Comcast and Time Warner Cable. ESPN Deportes launched as a 24/7 network in 2004.

The 2014 Monday Night Football schedule scored as ESPN Deportes’ most-watched and highest-rated season on record. During the recently completed campaign, the service averaged 59,000 Hispanic households and 85,000 of those viewers, up 31% and 25%, respectively, from 45,000 and 68,000 in 2013. Its coverage was highlighted by the 100, 000 Hispanic households and 128,000 watchers for the Oct. 27 game between Washington-Dallas, which stands as the second-most-watched MNF telecast behind Chicago Dallas on Dec. 9, 2013.

“The NFL continues to build,” said Rolon. “This was ESPN Deportes’ most successful season so far with Monday Night Football and the Wild Card is an exclamation point for us.”

Rolon said there was strong interest in the game on Madison Avenue and great crossover with ESPN. He said a number of marketers have taken “a total market position” with a presence in both the Spanish- and English language telecasts of the contest.

That roster includes General Motors, Mars, Pepsi, P&G, Anheuser-Busch and McDonald's, according to ESPN officials.  

Fox Deportes. Now in the second of two-year deal, Fox Deportes has a quartet of playoff telecasts on tap: its Wild Card coverage of Detroit-Dallas on Jan. 4, Divisional round matchups hosted by Seattle and Green Bay on  Jan. 10 and 11, as well as the NFC Championship game on Jan. 18.

Last Feb. 2, Fox Deportes made history, when it became the first Spanish-language channel in the U.S. to air the NFL championship game.

Super Bowl XLVIII played big, setting a new record with an average audience of 561,000 total viewers to become the most-watched non-soccer sports event in Spanish cable history. Despite Seattle’s 43-8 shellacking of Denver, viewership built throughout the game and peaked at 794,000 total viewers and 568,000 adults 18-49 during the second half.  

“The first year proved to be very successful,” said Sanchez. “It was much better than we expected.”

The network averaged 49,000 total viewers with its Thanksgiving Day coverage of Philadelphia’s throttling of Dallas on Thanksgiving. Officials said the average audience performance was eight times greater than its competitors and was six times larger among Latinos 18 to 49.

Sanchez is confident Fox Deportes’ 2015 postseason schedule, featuring studio talent at game-site locales and telecasts highlighting Latino players and coaches that viewers can identify with, will perform well, even without the Super Bowl paydirt.  

“The NFL is growing sports among Latinos. We want to be involved with the league and keep our leadership position among viewers,” he said.

NBC Universo. With the Sept. 28 Hispanic Heritage Game between New Orleans and Dallas and the Thanksgiving night matchup of Seatlle-San Francisco in the books, mun 2 will begin putting the money end of its one-year primetime deal with the NFL in play on Saturday night. Mirroring NBC’s playoff schedule, the 40 million subscriber mun2 will televise the Ravens-Steelers encounter on Jan. 3, the Divisional game hosted by the New England Patriots on Jan. 10 and Super Bowl XLIX from Glendale, Ariz. on Feb. 1, when the service will officially morph into NBC Universo.   

Network president Rubén Mendiola, who is overseeing the change to a modern, general-entertainment cable channel for Latinos that will showcase FIFA, NASCAR and other sports action, said the programmer is “super-focused on the Super Bowl. This is the biggest transformation for the network. All of operations are moving to Miami and the changeover will culminate with Super Bowl,” he said, expressing thanks for the NFL assist the service is receiving from NBC Sports. “Their support has been tremendous. They are helping us with the look of our telecasts and their story-telling approach to sports.”

Mendiola said “it’s been very exciting to see how the market is reacting” to the shift to NBC Universo.

That includes media buyers who are supporting the network’s NFL slate. Mike Rosen, executive vice president of advertising sales for NBCUniversal Hispanic Group, said the team packaged the regular season, postseason Super Bowl together.

Those efforts have yielded “a mix of traditional advertisers that look to reach Hispanic viewers, as well as some new ones,” said Rosen. “The NFL postseason and Super Bowl will hopefully open more doors for NBC Universo going forward.”

Rosen wouldn’t disclose the sell-through level or identify the advertisers viewers will see in NBC Universo’s Super Bowl telecast. He did say the sales have “exceeded our expectations and there were high expectations.”

He said NBC Universo will deliver a bonus audience with its culturally relevant presentation of the title game:  “We hope the telecast will extend the reach of what will hopefully be another record audience with the Super Bowl.”

mun 2 will kick off the first of five NFL games next Sunday, a package that will culminate with coverage of Super Bowl XLIX.

NBCUniversal’s Hispanic cable network mun2, will broadcast the Hispanic Heritage Game in Arlington, Texas on Sept. 28, with the New Orleans Saints visiting the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.  The network will announce its on-air talent team later this week.

The primetime presentation is part of a one-year deal for “La NFL en mun2” that will also see the 40 million-subscriber service air the Thanksgiving night game, featuring  an NFC Championship Game rematch between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers. Mirroring NBC’s playoff schedule, mun2 will also televise a Wild Card contest, a Divisional Playoff game and Super Bowl XLIX from Glendale, Ariz.

The network will use the NFL championship as a forum to announce its new name and reveal elements of its upgraded programming slate.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to televise a number of high-profile events, capped by the Super Bowl, in partnership with the NBC Sports Group,” said mun2 president Ruben Mendiola. “We are very proud to bring these games to our audience in a culturally relevant way.”

mun2’s coverage marks the second time key NFL regular-season and playoff matchups will air on a Spanish-language cable network, as Fox Deportes was in the game last season with a package that culminated with coverage of Seattle's destruction of Denver in Super Bowl XLVIII.

The addition of the NFL games continues mun2's evolution to a lineup that features more sports. Mendiola believes the contests will not only generate strong appeal among mun2 viewers who are already pro pigskin fans, but they will open new audience doors.

“Many fans have been listening to the games on the radio, or not watching at all. With culturally relevant telecasts, we believe they are going to tune into mun2 to watch the action,” he said.

He noted that with Arizona’s significant Latino population, the Super Bowl will provide “a perfect forum” for the network to announce its name change.

The network, he said, is also benefiting from added attention on Madison Avenue: “There is a lot of interest among advertisers who are looking to reach mun2’s traditional and expanded audience.”

“La NFL en mun2” joins mun2’s sports roster that also includes coverage of the top Mexican soccer circuit and the U.K.'s Barclays Premier League. Other top sports properties on deck: La NASCAR en mun2, the FIFA World Cup starting in 2015, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.