With Mexico vying for one of the final spots for the FIFA 2014 World Cup finals, Univision Deportes is ratcheting up its coverage of El Tri as it meets New Zealand in a pair of home-and-home matches.
Mexican-Americans represent a significant portion of the audience for Univision Communications, the Spanish-language media giant holds Stateside rights to FIFA’s famed tourney next June-July. The Mexico-New Zealand winner will advance to the World Cup finals in Brazil.
Univision Deportes Network on Nov.12 will preview the Mexico-New Zealand matchup through live segments on Futbol Club at 7 p.m. and midnight, as well as UniMas’s Contacto Deportivo and Univision Network’s Despierta America and Primer Impacto.
On Nov. 13, a special noon edition of Fútbol Club live from Mexico City precedes the pre-match special on UDN and Univision at 2 p.m. Then, the first Mexico vs. New Zealand match will air live from Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca at 3 p.m. on Univision and UDN, with the latter providing an encore at 8 p.m. UDN’s Futbol Club will provide post-game analysis at 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m., UDN will present the first of two-part documentary special on Mexican and New Zealand soccer history -- Mexico vs. Nueva Zelanda: La Última Batalla (Mexico vs. New Zealand: The Final Battle). Part two, Nueva Zelanda: La Tierra de los Sueños (Mexico vs. New Zealand: The Land of Dreams) will air on Monday, Nov.18 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 17 will feature live segments from New Zealand on República Deportiva (Univision Network/UDN, 11 a.m.). In addition, Camino a la Copa (Road to the Cup) will air at 1 p.m. on both services.
The second match will receive a build-up on Tuesday, Nov. 19 with related content on UDN’s Fútbol Central (2:30 p.m.), Locura Deportiva (6 p.m.) and Fútbol Club (7 and 11 p.m.), as well as on Contacto Deportivo (UniMás/UDN, 12 a.m.). Following a pre-game special on Univision and UDN at midnight on Wednesday, Nov. 20, the second Mexico-New Zealand match will air live from Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand at 12:50 a.m. (Tuesday, November 19, 9:50 p.m. (PT)) on Univision and UDN, followed by a special edition of Contacto Deportivo at 3 a.m. on UniMás and UDN.
Additionally, for the first time ever, Univision Radio will provide coverage of the match, Live from New Zealand, on its stations across the U.S., while Univision Deportes.com will live-stream both matches and provide video highlights, exclusive video blogs and interviews. Extensive news coverage, photos and interactive engaging voting tools are all available on online and through mobile web and app.
ESPN, through a programming alliance with Univision for Mexican men's national team matches, is airing both contests live between El Tri and the All Whites in English. The worldwide leader also holds U.S. rights to the FIFA 2014 World Cup.
