ESPN Deportes Gains 1M Digital-Basic Subs
Time Warner Cable of New and New Jersey Adds Spanish-Language Sports Service
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 9/17/2007 5:29:00 AM
Time Warner Cable will soon add ESPN Deportes to its cable systems in New York and New Jersey next month.
Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey will place the Spanish-language service on digital basic, reaching 1 million customers, beginning Oct. 15. The network will be positioned at channel 173, following ESPNU, ESPN Classic and ESPNEWS on channels 170, 171 and 172, respectively.
The network is now available as part of free preview that began Sept. 15.
With the launch, ESPN Deportes will be available to a total of 5 million homes, 3.7 million of which are Hispanic households, according to network officials.
The rollout in the New York metro area is part of the far-ranging deal Time Warner Cable struck with ESPN Deportes parent The Walt Disney Co. back in April. An ESPN Deportes spokeswoman said the network, which also has carriage contracts with Comcast Corp., Cox Communications, Charter Communications, DirecTV and Dish Latino, already has a place on some of Time Warner Cable Hispanic tiers.
“Sports play such an important role in the Latino culture,” said Lino Garcia, general manager of ESPN Deportes in a statement. “Our goal is to offer high-quality sports content to an audience that has historically been underserved and this is a great step forward in our effort to making the network available for Latino sports fans nationwide. With an unmatched mix of marquee live events, ESPN Deportes will become the primary viewing destination for Latino sports fans in New York.”
Added David Preschlack, executive vice president, affiliate sales and marketing, Disney and ESPN Media Networks in a statement: “The growth of ESPN Deportes through digital basic distribution offers tremendous value to more than a million consumers in the New York Area, as well as to Time Warner Cable and our advertisers. We look forward to working with more systems nationwide to offer ESPN Deportes and its incredible line-up of Spanish-language programming on the same level of service as Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey.”
Time Warner Cable of New York will have a vastly revamped channel lineup by the time ESPN Deportes bows next month. Fox Business Network and Fox News Channel will have adjacent positions at channels 43 and 44, while NBC Universal has a run of channels between 14 and 18 for MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, Sci Fi Channel and Bravo, respectively. The NBCU realignment, which sources say was secured at the cost of millions of dollars, has also prompted moves for A&E Network, The History Channel, Discovery Communications and The Movie Channel.
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