Yahoo Sports Major League Baseball, TelevisaUnivision Strike Pact For Post-Season Games
TelevisaUnivision will start running weekly programming devoted to Major League Baseball and get to air some postseason play in a deal that will put a World Series telecast on over-the-air Spanish-language broadcast TV for the first time.
The pact, unveiled Thursday, includes a grant to TelevisaUnivision of the exclusive Spanish-language rights in the U.S. to the 2024 American League Division Series and American League Championship Series, which will air on UniMás and be simulcast on TUDN, with select games on Univision. Games will also be available on the premium tier of ViX. Additionally, Game 1 of the 2024 World Series will be broadcast on Univision, in conjunction with Fox Sports and Fox Deportes.
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“Major League Baseball is truly excited for the launch of this new partnership, as it provides
a valuable opportunity to increase exposure for our great game across the formidable reach
of TelevisaUnivision’s unmatched domestic platform,” said Kenny Gersh, executive vice
president, media and business for Major League Baseball, in a statement. “Communicating authentically with our robust Spanish-speaking fanbase is a priority for Baseball and this partnership will allow us to connect them more directly to our brand, our clubs, and the growing number of dynamic Latino stars represented in the game today.”
TelevisaUnivision has showed new interest in U.S. sports in the recent past. Earlier this year, the Spanish-language media giant, created via an early 2022 merger between Univision Holdings and Groupo Televisa valued at $4.8 billion, secured U.S. rights to run a Spanish-language version of the Super Bowl. The company already shows hundreds of hours of soccer.
Baseball fans won’t have to wait until the post-season, however. Beginning August 20, the Spanish-language giant’s UniMas network will air a weekly two-hour “whip-around” program called “MLB En Vivo” that features live look-ins, highlights and recaps of up to 15 games every Tuesday for the remainder of the regular TelevisaUnivision will also produce “MLB Esta Semana” during the regular season, a weekly MLB-focused show airing on UniMás in the U.S. every Saturday and on TUDN in Mexico.
The programs will also be available on the company’s ViX streaming service, and will rely on hosts Antonio de Valdés and Enrique Burak.
“We are proud to partner with Major League Baseball, delivering action from the best players
and teams to our viewers across the country,” said Marco Liceaga, senior vice president of
sports rights acquisitions and commercial partnerships at TelevisaUnivision, in a statement. “Baseball is
engrained in Latin culture. With Hispanic players making up more than 30% of the league, this first-time partnership deal will undoubtedly bring a new wave of pride, influence and sense of community, providing Spanish-speaking fans with in-language coverage of the game they love.”
TelevisaUnivision’s has served as MLB’s official national Spanish-language audio partner in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. TUDN Radio broadcasts each Sunday Night game of the week, July 4 games, the MLB All-Star Game, Labor Day games, the MLB Postseason and the World Series.
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