The Central American region has been experiencing growth year after year for ESPN. Due to this, August last year, they launched an edition of SportsCenter for that region, led by Carolina Padrón, which is produced in Mexico.
“One of the things that boosted the region greatly was the classification of Panama for the Russia World Cup. Consequently, in the region—particularly in Panama—new commercial opportunities have arisen for us,” comments Gustavo Huertas, senior manager Multimedia and Advertising Sales at ESPN Latin America.
Huertas says that they have made several shows locally, as is the case of Fuera de Juego that was made in Panama for the seventh time. For that occasion, they received the support of six clients. “The idea is to repeat this type of initiative. For the launch of SportsCenter Central America we did a road show in Costa Rica and have also taken studio shows, such as Béisbol Esta Noche to the Dominican Republic, which in our case is part of the feed for Central America,” he explains.
He said that it has all been very well received internally in the company. “It has opened the possibility of having Central America on the table as a unique platform for us. The fact of having taken these actions in the region has generated great interest, and the positive response of advertisers, who ultimately move the machinery of a channel to innovate and have new launches. The launch in Central America is very close to the region,” he comments.