Telemundo, a leading producer of high-quality content for Hispanics in the U.S. and audiences around the world, today announced it has renewed the rights to broadcast all of the home matches of six premiere teams of Mexico’s First Division Soccer League (Futbol Liga Mexicana – FLM) for 2010. These rights also include all the playoffs, semifinals and final matches of the Mexican National Championship where these teams may be involved. Telemundo first secured this deal in 2008 and is extending their broadcasting rights for 2010. Adding to its exclusive rights for Las Chivas Rayadas de Guadalajara, the most popular team in Mexican League Soccer, Telemundo becomes the largest broadcaster of Mexican League games in the U.S.
«Our great soccer story continues. This deal is a strong affirmation of the great performance soccer has delivered on behalf of our network,» said Don Browne, President of Telemundo. «The combination of the best soccer properties and the exceptional coverage from our Deportes Telemundo team makes us the premiere destination for Mexican soccer in the U.S. We are thrilled to go into next year with this successful partnership.»
The continuation of this deal includes the rights to over 100 matches from the Torneo de Clausura and Torneo de Apertura of the following FLM teams: Atlas, Toluca, Monterrey (Rayados), Tigres, UNAM (Pumas) and Atlante. As part of their commitment, Telemundo will broadcast the November 4 match of Mexico’s most popular team, Chivas, as they take on Indios at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific. On November 5 at 10pm Eastern/7pm Pacific, the action continues as UNAM (Pumas) hosts America in a crucial regular season battle. In addition, on November 7, Telemundo proudly presents «El Clasico Tapatio,» where Atlas welcomes Chivas in a renewal of their classic match-up to determine the bragging rights for the top team from Guadalajara.
«This deal solidifies Telemundo as the ultimate destination for Mexican League Soccer fans,» said Jorge Hidalgo, Senior Executive Vice President, Telemundo Sports. «As always, Deportes Telemundo is proud to deliver the highest quality sports programming to our audiences.»
Fubol Liga Mexicana on Telemundo continues to bring momentum in its second season with a 28% increase over its premiere season among Adults18-49. In May of this year, the UNAM vs. Pachuca match delivered over 1 million Adults 18-49, the highest performance to date for Fubol Liga Mexicana in 2009.
Telemundo is also the exclusive broadcaster of the Mexican National Team games under its franchise Rumbo al Mundial. The successful franchise reached new ratings heights in 2009 with the Rumbo al Mundial: Mexico vs. Honduras match on September 9, 2009. This game delivered an unprecedented 5.1 million total viewers (Persons 2 ) and nearly 3.4 million Adults 18-49 (3,360,000), making it the highest-rated program ever and the highest-rated Rumbo al Mundial match in the history of the network. The match also delivered the network’s best numbers in its history among other key demos: Adults 18-34 (2,201,000), Men 18-49 (2,130,000), Men 18-34 (1,335,000), Women 18-49 (1,230,000) and Women 18-34 (866,000).
