Hispanic Sports Marketing has acquired the rights to produce the first-ever Spanish language radio broadcasts for the NFL New York Jets.
Under the agreement, HSM will hire the announcers, create feature programming and sell all advertising within the broadcasts. The San Diego-based marketing firm has similar deals with three other major pro teams.
"Spanish language broadcasts ...give us the ability to directly cultivate both new fans and new sponsors," said New York Jets marketing director Marc Riccio.
HSM President Anthony Eros, who founded the company in 1997, said it is expanding rapidly and is seeking to acquire the rights to as many as 28 teams or other sports broadcast properties in the next two years.
Eros said he is marketing sponsorship packages to Hispanic and non-Hispanic sponsors alike and that HSM is close to deals with two major national companies interested in the company's ability to reach the market's $350 billion in annual buying power.
"Most of the companies we're dealing with are not just in the Hispanic market," Eros said. "It's definitely a market they're trying to tap."
Eros, who invested $175,000 to start the company after quitting his job at another marketing firm, recently added an equity partner, which will allow HSM to expand more rapidly. The company expects 1999 revenue of about $1 million.
In addition to the Jets, HSM owns the rights to the NFL San Francisco 49ers and the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. HSM is working with a second MLB team that Eros would not disclose.
Neither the Jets nor Eros would disclose how much HSM paid for the rights. Eros said HSM is close to an agreement with a radio affiliate that would carry the games live and support the broadcasts by carrying additional programming.
