Basketball in Spanish
NBA and Telemundo combine to attract viewers
First there was baseball,where Hispanics have had great stars for a few decades. Then Football- not soccer, the other one- conquered the hearts of Hispanic audiences from Los Angeles to New England. Now the NBA sees the great economic potential of Hispanic audiences and understands that in order to reach them the fastest and most effective means is their own networks.
 The NBA has understood the spending power of the Hispanic audience. Maybe they have seen the numbers of the last census. In any case, the NBA has just signed a Multiannual Contract with Telemundo Miami, FL The National Basketball Association (NBA) has reached a televising agreement with Telemundo, the fastest growing Hispanic language network in the United States, to broadcast the games of the NBA and the WNBA in Spanish for all of the U.S.A. during the next three seasons.
The agreement, that turns Telemundo into the official Hispanic network of the NBA and increases the coverage of the league in network television, will allow Telemundo to transmit 15 live games of the regular season of the NBA in the afternoons of Saturdays and Sundays, as well as 10 additional games of the WNBA starting with the 2003 season.
The television network, along with NBA Entertainment, will also create a new, 30- minute program, oriented towards a youth audience with basketball highlights. The program, Reading for Success (Leer para Destacarse) through the NBA All-Star, will also be transmitted in February by mun2. The NBA has undertaken a program of marketing directed towards the Hispanic market, the fastest growing demographic group in the United States. This new association with an exciting and progressive Hispanic language network, will not only have 15 more games in the regular television season but it also will be one of the mainstays of the new NBA drive.
The NBA must be pleased to be associated with Telemundo and to be able to bring through a Hispanic language network, the games of the NBA and the WNBA to the Hispanic fans in the United States. According to the Census 2000, 38 million Hispanics live in the United States and the 11 teams located in the 10 most important Hispanic markets in this country, form an integral part of the league’s effort to expand its appeal into the Hispanic markets.
The competition has heated up recently among the Spanish language networks vying for influence and market share in the largest markets. Philadelphia, being one of those markets has finally attracted the attention of Univision and Telemundo. The two networks are trying to attract local audiences with the traditional programming of movies and soap operas. This step, bringing the NBA into the Hispanic market, is a definite advantage for Telemundo. Uriel Rendon, General Manager of the Telemundo affiliate in Philadelphia said: “We are very excited to have this for the first time in the history of Latino television. It has been tried with soccer, but now-this is one of the things people don’t know-we will be able to see that there are European and Latin American players, from Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina in the league.
Last year the rookie of the year was a Hispanic. We just had our first Sunday, and ratings are not in but we are optimistic” Evidently, by electing Telemundo as a partner, the NBA realizes that the Hispanic language network will help it to gain new followers of the game. It has been said that the NBA is the sports property of greatest growth in the world and it will now be able to make inroads into a potential market that has remained largely ignored by the other sports.
Broadcasting in Spanish will certainly make a big difference in this market and around the nation. The NBA is doing this in recognition of the growth of Hispanic fans. The NBA unveiled an all out campaign directed towards the Hispanic market during the Weekend of the Stars 2002 that took place in Philadelphia this past February, and since then has implemented some initiatives for the fans of this group, including broadcast of the NBA Finals 2002 in Spanish, via television, radio and Internet. At the moment, eight of the NBA teams broadcast in Spanish radio in their local markets. Uriel Rendon expressed his desire to continue the association with NBC that has allowed Telemundo to have this kind of programming.
Through this association: “We are planning to broadcast next year’s Olympic games in Spanish”. It is unquestionable that the buying power of the Hispanic area is just now being discovered. The fact that the NBA is a sort of pioneer in this area (the NFL has established connections with Mexico) is an example of their ability to react quickly to the market forces.
The NBA has one of the fastest growing Hispanic fan bases in professional sports in the United States. Approximately 65% of Hispanics are followers of the NBA. Hispanics who follow the NBA constitute a greater percentage of fans compared to any of the other three professional leagues in the United States.
Right now there are seven established players of this group in the NBA, including; from Spain, Pau Gasol, the Rookie of the Year for 2001-02 playing for the Memphis Grizzlies; the Dominican, Felipe López (Minnesota Timberwolves); Eduardo Nájera (Mavericks) from Mexico; Oscar Towers, from Venezuela, playing for the Houston Rockets; Emanuel Ginobili (San Antonio Spurs) from Argentina; Milt Palace who has carved a place on the Phoenix Suns roster; and Raúl López, Spanish, playing for the Utah Jazz. The arrival of these players to the league has been key to the growth of Hispanic fans of the NBA. Telemundo reaches 90% of the Hispanic audience.
Telemundo Communications Group, Inc.. is the proprietor and it controls ten American stations. Telemundo is managed by NBC and both are owned by General Electric Co.
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