NBA, Univision Deportes Ink Multiyear Partnership to Deliver Spanish-Language Content

The NBA and Univision Deportes, the sports division of Univision Communications, announced today a new multiyear partnership that will provide fans with Spanish-language NBA content across Univision Deportes’ multimedia platforms, and activation around NBA signature events.

Univision Deportes will debut new NBA programming via UniMás and Univision Deportes Network (UDN), the 24-hour Spanish language American network devoted to sports. UDN will offer fans NBA Action, the popular weekly basketball show that will be customized in Spanish, beginning on Thursday, March 26. Additionally, UniMás will present Zona NBA, a new season-long, one-hour weekly show produced by Univision Deportes delivering the basketball content that Hispanic America cares about most. This season, the show will debut during the upcoming NBA Playoffs and run through the end of the NBA Finals. Zona NBA will include appearances by current NBA players, coaches and legends, and will include remote broadcasts from locations around the NBA.

The new agreement also features Univision Deportes and the NBA unveiling new, enhanced co-branded éne•bé•a web and mobile sites to further expand éne•bé•a, the league’s first fully integrated Hispanic marketing campaign. The new éne•bé•a domestic Spanish-language destinations, which will launch in September 2015, will be operated by Univision Deportes and will provide fans with the latest basketball news, including blogs by Hispanic NBA players, extensive video highlights, photo galleries, interactive fan content, and other offerings.

“Our partnership with Univision, coupled with our success with éne•bé•a, will allow us to further engage our Hispanic fans in an inclusive and culturally relevant way via television, broadband and mobile,” said NBA Senior Vice President, Programming, Aldo DiCuffa. “The NBA continues to see significant increases in interest and consumption of our game among U.S. Hispanic sports fans and this new partnership, featuring captivating television programming, will enable us to further connect with our passionate fans across multiple platforms.”

As part of its coverage, Univision Deportes will cover various NBA marquee events including NBA All-Star, the NBA Playoffs and The Finals. Univision Deportes will also collaborate with the NBA on various éne•bé•a activations throughout the season.

“We are proud to partner with the NBA to deliver high quality, customized content to Hispanic basketball fans,” said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, president of Univision Deportes. “This new multi-platform deal underscores our commitment to creating relevant and engaging content focused on the sports, leagues and teams that Hispanics care about most.”

Hispanics currently represent 18 percent of the NBA’s fan base, outpacing the growth of the U.S. Hispanic population by 38 percent since 2008. Throughout March, the league has been hosting its ninth annual Latin nights (Noches éne•bé•a), the NBA’s commemorative uniform program that recognizes the growing support of NBA fans and players across Latin America and U.S. Hispanic communities.