MIAMI — ESPN will launch its 24-hour Spanish-lingo sports net ESPN Deportes on Jan. 7.
ESPN Deportes first started in 2000 with some Spanish-lingo broadcasts of Major League Baseball games. In 2001, it was expanded to a Sunday-night programming block.
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In addition to live-sports event broadcasts, the 24-hour net will have its own, dedicated “SportCenter” and programs such as “Fuera de Juego,” a roundtable discussion of soccer; “Perfiles,” interviews with Latin American sports stars; “Goles de Espana,” a Spanish soccer analysis and highlights show; and “NFL Semanal” and “RPM Semanal,” weekly shows dedicated to U.S. football and to auto racing, respectively.
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Leading off the channel’s bow on that first Wednesday at 8 p.m. will be “Somos ESPN Deportes,” a show that will preview key programming and feature Latino sports stars, including Eduardo Najera of the Dallas Mavericks, Bernie Williams of the New York Yankees and veteran race car driver Adrian Fernandez.
It will be followed by the inaugural Spanish-lingo “SportsCenter” at 8:30 p.m. and then complete coverage in Dallas of the Warriors vs. Mavericks game.
ESPN Deportes plans to showcase more than 200 live events in its first year, including ones of the National Basketball Assn., Major League Baseball, National Football League, UEFA Champions League, Wimbledon, the French Open and selected boxing events. It also will offer some major League Soccer matches and up to 35 games per season of the Liga del Pacifico, a Mexican winter league.
ESPN Deportes will face competition from Fox Sports en Espanol, which has already been targeting the U.S. Hispanic viewer, and from broadcasters Univision, which holds rights to key soccer leagues and events, and NBC-owned Telemundo.
