Tecate Inks Deal For ESPN's Spanish, English Boxing Content

Tecate, ESPN Deal Includes Title Sponsorship Of Tecate Friday Night Fights Studio

ESPN and Mexican brewer Tecate yesterday signed a sponsorship agreement that aligns Tecate with ESPN's Spanish and English-language boxing content on TV, online and radio. The deal includes the title sponsorship of the Tecate Friday Night Fights Studio within weekly "Friday Night Fights" telecasts on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. Tecate will air ads on ESPN Deportes' "Viernes de Combates" and will be running 30-second spots in Spanish during "Friday Night Fights." Additional TV exposure includes presenting sponsorship of ESPN Deportes' "Golpe a Golpe." As a result of the deal, boxer Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions reached an agreement with ESPN for seven Golden Boy events to be part of "Friday Night Fights," with the first event scheduled for this Friday (ESPN). Terms of the one-year deal were not disclosed, and ESPN officials indicated that the agreement "not only marks Tecate's initial connection with ESPN Deportes' boxing product, but the first time the beer brand had made a media buy on a general-market network to reach Hispanics." MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Mike Reynolds notes Tecate "will also sponsor boxing updates on ESPN Classic and on ESPN Deportes' 'SportsCenter'" (MULTICHANNELNEWS.com, 4/8). Tecate Brand Dir Carlos Boughton said that the deal "fell together serendipitously" after Telefutura cancelled the Spanish-language "Solo Boxeo" series last year. Boughton: "You had a brand (Tecate) looking to increase its participation in boxing, a media outlet putting out new boxing programs and a promoter that wants to promote fights. In the wake of the cancellation of 'Solo Boxeo,' we set out to find an alternative; we talked to a number of media and production companies about relevant boxing properties" (MEDIAPOST.com, 4/7).