Networks Compete For Spanish-Language Sports Fans

Networks Compete For Spanish-Language Sports Fans
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 07: (L-R) Edgar Lopez, Jorge Hidalgo, Mirella Grisales, Karim Mendiburu and Eli Velazquez attend Deportes Telemundo's celebration of their hit show 'Titulares Y Mas' at Ebanos Crossing on October 7, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jennifer Lourie/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 07: (L-R) Edgar Lopez, Jorge Hidalgo, Mirella Grisales, Karim Mendiburu and Eli Velazquez attend Deportes Telemundo's celebration of their hit show 'Titulares Y Mas' at Ebanos Crossing on October 7, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jennifer Lourie/Getty Images)

Univision’s sports division holds the Spanish rights for soccer’s World Cup finals in Brazil this summer, giving the Doral-based network exclusive access to the hottest athletic event in the Hispanic market. It will also be the first World Cup scrum for Univision’s new sports cable network, launched in 2012 to steal market share from long-time cable leaders ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes.

Despite the crowded field, Al Jazeera saw enough of an opening to start its own Spanish-language sports network in the summer of 2012, picking studios in Miami for its base. And while Univision’s cross-town rival, Telemundo, is staying out of the cable-sports game for now, it signed a reported $600 million deal to wrest Spanish-language World Cup broadcasts from Univision after Brazil.

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