While American football reaches its pinnacle on Super Bowl Sunday, Telemundo Deportes and UNIVERSO (US), which will present Spanish-language coverage of the NFL championship, are also keeping their eyes on the apex of the soccer world, the 2018 FIFA World Cup from Russia.
Three years ago, NBC Universo televised Super Bowl XLIX, with coverage serving as the centerpiece and calling card for a network rebranding from cable network mun2 on Feb. 1, 2015. Peaking with 457,000 watchers, the telecast averaged 368,000 viewers, which remains the most-viewed program outside of soccer in the channel's history.
The stakes are somewhat different with Universo's second Super Bowl telecast, the New England-Philadelphia matchup.
"We're very excited. We'll have NBC Sports' top production of the game with our talent calling the action for our audience," said Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren in an interview. "It's going to drive viewers to Universo on Feb. 4 and serve as a showcase for our programming beyond the Super Bowl."
Some of that focus will be on the 2018 FIFA World Cup from Russia, where broadcaster Telemundo (US) and Universo will air a combined 500 hours of match and shoulder programming around the soccer competition from June 14-July 15. Some 1,000 hours of digital content are also on tap.
Telemundo Deportes is also hoping to gain a promotional berth within NBC's coverage of the game.
NBCUniversal Media LLC's promotional game plan includes a quintet of 60-second spots telling the stories of U.S. Olympian skiers Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, snowboarders Chloe Kim and Shaun White, and figure skater Nathan Chen. The schedule calls for one spot to run during the pregame show, another just before the kickoff, a third during the game, the fourth just after the final gun, and the fifth within the "This Is Us" special that will air after the NFL championship game.
NBC Sports Chief Marketing Officer Jennifer Storms said in an interview that in addition to the high-profile Olympic spots, all of NBCU's business units — entertainment, film, theme parks and the Games — will be touted to some degree with "typical network" promos airing during NBC's pregame fare and the Super Bowl.
"Everybody around the company is raising their hand," said Warren, before noting that Telemundo Deportes has to be "judicious" when it comes to heralding its World Cup coverage too heavily. "It’s the NFL's day."
Warren expects Universo's Super Bowl coverage will largely draw "Spanish-language dominant viewers, and some kids coming home to watch the game with their parents. Most of the young, bilingual adults are going to watch the game in English."
Super Bowl LII culminates Universo's NFL coverage, flanking NBC's presentation of four Thursday night contests in November, as well as Divisional and Wild Card playoff action in January.
Warren said the audiences "have not been that big," and he wants to work with the league during the offseason to add more content online and on the network to help boost audience interest in pro football.
On the ad sales front, Universo's coverage is part of the package with NBC's presentation and digital offerings that have pushed average in-game, 30-second unit pricing above $5 million. Coupled with inventory in pre- and post-game shows and "This Is Us" that night, NBCU is eyeing a $500 million haul Feb. 4, en route to what the company says will be a one-day ad sales record for a single media company.
Dan Lovinger, executive vice president of advertising sales at NBC Universal Sports Group, said that while most of the sales have come via packaging, a dozen or so advertisers will only air their in-game commercials on Universo.
Warren, who said only a few spots remain, noted that these marketers place "value in speaking directly to this audience in Spanish."
As to World Cup sales, Warren said Telemundo Deportes is ahead of plan, buoyed by strong sponsorship positions.
Warren noted that with the 2018 World Cup being sold during 2017's upfront, Telemundo will turn its attention to the 2019 Women's World Cup from France during the upcoming selling season. It's a pitch that holds the promise of featuring the defending champion U.S. women's national team.
In keeping with Telemundo Deportes' big-event strategy, Warren points out that its roster includes the 2020 Summer Games from Tokyo, Super Bowl LV in 2021 from Tampa, the 2022 World Cup from Qatar and the Women’s World Cup in 2023.
Universo has more than 40 million subscribers, including 7 million Hispanic homes.
