MORE THAN 100 ANGELS, DODGERS, AND CLIPPERS GAMES TO BE TELEVISED IN SPANISH THIS YEAR
MORE THAN 150 TELECASTS PLANNED FOR YEAR TWO
Fox Sports plans Spanish-language games
In what appears to be a response to Time Warner Cable’s plans to launch a Spanish-language regional sports network in Los Angeles, Fox Sports will make many of its Angels, Dodgers and Clippers games available in Spanish starting this season.
Fox Sports is negotiating with local cable operators to carry those Spanish-language games on a basic tier. Prime Ticket and FS West would keep their regular channel positions on Los Angeles-area cable systems. The cable operators would simply find an overflow channel where they would put the Spanish-language games.
“We think this is a significant audience, and we think we can deliver a really compelling product to that audience,” said Jeff Krolik, FSN’s executive vice president.
Krolik said FSN’s move is not a response to Time Warner’s pending network launch.
“We’ve been doing Spanish-language games for two years,” he said, referencing the handful of Dodgers and Angels games that Fox Sports has produced in Spanish. “We’re not in the business of reacting to anyone else.” The plan calls for Fox Sports to carry more than 100 Angels, Dodgers and Clippers games in Spanish in the first year and more than 150 games in the second year. This includes play-by-play, graphics and player interviews.
Fox Sports wouldn’t charge more for the programming. Sources say it appears Time Warner Cable and Cox are likely to carry it in Los Angeles. Fox is planning to roll out a similar Spanish-language offering in San Diego this season with Padres and Clippers games. Eventually, it hopes to carry Spanish-language games on its regional sports networks in Texas and Florida, as well.
Time Warner Cable is in the process of launching two regional sports networks in Los Angeles around the Lakers — one in English and one in Spanish. Sources have said that Time Warner Cable is asking for a license fee of about $3.50 per subscriber per month for the two channels.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - MARCH 19, 2012
MORE THAN 100 ANGELS, DODGERS, AND CLIPPERS GAMES TO BE TELEVISED IN SPANISH THIS YEAR
MORE THAN 150 TELECASTS PLANNED FOR YEAR TWO
FOX Sports Networks (FSN) today announced that it will launch an unprecedented effort to serve Hispanic sports fans in Los Angeles by producing over 100 games in Spanish this year featuring the Angels, Dodgers, and Clippers.
The productions will include Spanish-language play-by-play, graphics, player interviews, and more. All video providers in the Los Angeles market will have the opportunity to offer these games to their customers.
The total number of Spanish-language telecasts will grow to more than 150 in year two and will continue to grow in subsequent seasons. The games that will comprise the telecast schedule this year will be announced in the coming days.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Los Angeles is the largest Hispanic DMA in the U.S., with more than 1.8 million television homes.
“We’re proud to make this major commitment to Spanish-language sports programming in Los Angeles,” said Jeff Krolik, Executive Vice President of FOX Sports Networks. “Not only is this a great opportunity to serve Hispanic viewers, but it’s also an opportunity to provide value to our affiliates by giving them programming options for their customers.”
FSN’s Spanish-language effort will be game focused and will serve to complement FOX Sports West and Prime Ticket, as well Fox Deportes, the 24-hour, 7-day-a-week Spanish-language sports network. FOX Deportes finished 2011 as the country’s number-one-rated Spanish sports network in primetime, total day, and weekend day among total viewers.
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