Sports Media Report
Telemundo and Chivas today announced multi-year and multi-platform media rights agreement whereby Telemundo continues to be the exclusive home of Las Chivas de Guadalajara in the U.S. in Spanish and English. The agreement will include coverage of all home matches and key friendlies in the U.S. across Telemundo, Universo and Peacock, and all Telemundo digital platforms.
In addition to the men’s team, Telemundo will continue to carry live and exclusive coverage of the women’s team Chivas Femenil and youth teams across Telemundo’s digital platforms. The announcement comes ahead of this weekend’s match concluding the 2023 Apertura season with a historic rivalry as Chivas take on Cruz Azul in Akron Saturday, Nov. 4 at 11 p.m. ET LIVE on Telemundo Universo and Peacock.
“We are proud to announce our partnership with Chivas and to continue serving as the exclusive home of one of Mexico’s most popular teams and look forward to growing the club’s fandom in the U.S. by building upon our collaborative successes of the past few years,” said Eli Velazquez, EVP, Sports, Telemundo. “We’ve been able to demonstrate our commitment to Chivas and our ability to deliver the most comprehensive coverage, insightful analysis and top-quality production that helps expand the club’s reach across our country.”
The latest partnership between Telemundo and Chivas dates back to 2020, and since then our coverage continues to reach new milestones and grow year-over-year. The Total Audience Delivery (TAD) for 2023 year-to-date has increased by over 40% vs. 2022 to deliver over 1.1 million viewers, with the average minute audience (AMA) from digital growing an impressive 1123%. This year marks the most-watched Chivas match in network history with a TAD of 3.3 million viewers across all platforms for Chivas vs. Tigres (May 28, 2023). And for the third consecutive Clausura regular season, Telemundo’s coverage of Liga MX ranks as the #1 Spanish-language network among adults 18-49.
“We are thrilled about this new era between Chivas and Telemundo. We are confident that it’s the ideal option to provide the best experience for our fans all around the U.S. and want to continue building and developing the great upcoming initiatives and joint projects that we are excited about,” said Amaury Vergara, president of Club Deportivo Guadalajara. “Together, we will work to improve the fan experience before, during and after the broadcast of matches while also creating new and diverse content that will keep making the exclusive home of Chivas in the U.S. an incredible place to follow El Rebaño Sagrado closely.”
Telemundo Deportes’ production will supplement and enhance the live match coverage game around the game programming with pre- and post-game show Futbol Estelar Chivas Extra as well as original series and specials and multiplatform content and promotional fan engagement opportunities. Viewers can also find exclusive player interviews and game highlights on Telemundo’s leading late-night sports show Zona Mixta on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Coverage will be led by Telemundo Deportes’ award-winning team, featuring seven-time Emmy winner Andres Cantor providing play-by-play commentary alongside the analysis of Chivas de Guadalajara veteran Manuel Sol. Emmy-award winning expert Miguel Gurwitz will continue to lead the network’s pre- and post-game coverage as host of Futbol Estelar Chivas Extra.
Telemundo Deportes will also continue presenting optional English-language commentary led by Carlos Yustis and Jorge Calvo. Audio coverage of the matches available on SiriusXM.
Telemundo Deportes is the leading U.S. sports media brand and destination for the biggest and best global sports programming in Spanish language, delivering a comprehensive roster of live and studio programming featuring the most significant and most in-demand sporting events, including exclusive Spanish-language coverage of all FIFA properties and Teams USA through 2026. In addition to serving as the exclusive U.S. home for Liga MX’s Chivas de Guadalajara home matches, the network offers comprehensive Spanish-language coverage of the Premier League. Beyond soccer, Telemundo Deportes delivers exclusive Spanish-language coverage of NFL’s Sunday Night Football and the Olympics as well as other premier sporting events.
