Telemundo on Wednesday unveiled some ambitious plans for its first-ever broadcast of the men’s soccer World Cup, coming next summer in Russia.
The Comcast-owned network owns the rights to be the exclusive U.S. Spanish-language home for the world’s biggest sporting event. Back in 2011, Telemundo bid $600 million to present all FIFA soccer tournaments in the U.S. in Spanish from 2015 through 2022. FIFA later extended Telemundo’s rights through 2026 without a formal bidding process.
Ely Velasquez, Telemundo Deportes’ executive vice president of programming production and content, said “we are looking at how we can create the most engaging, most in-depth and authentic coverage that will be relatable to not just the die-hards, but also the casual fans who every four years also stop what they’re doing to see what’s going on in the world of soccer.