sports
NBCUniversal Chairman Says Soccer Has Reached Critical Mass in U.S.
Cesar Conde stated at a Wednesday event that World Cup viewership on Telemundo and Peacock has drawn mid-40 million audiences for quarterfinals. He attributed the growth to authentic coverage that appeals across language lines.
Jul 15, 7:04 PM·1m read1 source
DeadlineAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, said soccer has reached critical mass in the United States. Speaking Wednesday at Telemundo’s Playmakers event at NBCU’s 30 Rock headquarters, Conde pointed to World Cup quarterfinal viewership that reached the mid-40 millions across English and Spanish broadcasts.
Conde noted that non-Spanish speakers have woken up to coverage on Telemundo and Peacock.
He said Telemundo has generated much of its World Cup audience from those viewers and that audiences respond when soccer is presented authentically regardless of language. Telemundo holds Spanish-language rights to the World Cup while Fox holds the English-language rights. One panelist at the event said Telemundo does not air commercials during FIFA-created hydration breaks.
Conde described soccer as the biggest global sport and the fastest-growing team sport in the United States. Deadline reported the remarks during coverage of the ongoing tournament.
