What’s next for Telemundo’s soccer plans after its World Cup victory

After record World Cup viewership, Telemundo didn’t have much time to bask in the glory before pivoting its attention to, well, more soccer. 

The NBCUniversal-owned network nabbed the exclusive U.S. Spanish-language rights to Series A earlier this month, expanding its soccer portfolio that also includes the Premier League, Bundesliga, U.S. Men’s and Women’s National teams, Liga MX, Olympic soccer and, starting in 2027, the UEFA Champions League. 

That followed an impressive start for the new Premier League season, which saw a 16% increase in viewership from last year for its debut Saturday match in August on NBC and Peacock, which streams Telemundo Spanish-language broadcasts.  

“We haven’t had a lot of time to stop because we had to prepare for Bundesliga and Series A,” Miguel Lorenzo, Telemundo’s senior vice president of sports content and production, told The Current. “Starting in 2027, we’re the home of Champions League. In less than two years, we have the LA Olympics. So we’re working on all those things, and we still need to also find time to keep analyzing the World Cup.” 

The viewership numbers at least tell part of the story. The World Cup final in July was the most-watched soccer match in Spanish-language history, with 24 million viewers, and Total Audience Delivery jumping to 6.3 million viewers a match, a 143 percent rise from 2022. 

Peacock also reported landmark numbers. Nearly 50% of NBC’s World Cup Total Audience Delivery came through streaming, a 20% jump from 2022. In 2018, streaming made up about 9% of total viewership. 

But that’s not the full picture. The broadcaster is currently finalizing a brand lift study that captures how much brand sentiment rose before and after the tournament. It also realizes that sentiment transcended traditional TV ratings, from watch parties to airport travelers exclaiming their love to Telemundo’s production crews. 

“We always wanted it to feel like we’re inviting everyone to this event on Telemundo,” Claudia Chagui, Telemundo’s executive vice president of marketing and creative strategy, told The Current. “We want everyone to feel welcome because we know that they’re going to have a great time when they’re watching this, and they’re going to feel like we’re doing it in the most authentic way, with the most expertise, emotion and passion.” 

To preserve that authenticity and passion, Telemundo kept the broadcast going through the newly added hydration breaks while also delivering ads picture-in-picture. 

“We feel ultimately it was a great strategic balance of being able to serve the audience and still have the opportunity to monetize it,” Lorenzo said. “And I think ultimately the audience is more than validated.” 

Another key strategy was introducing Sofia Vergara and Owen Wilson as the faces of the two audience segments Telemundo was targeting with its coverage — the core soccer fan and the casual fan dropped in for the experience. The duo’s Super Bowl ad was the official launch to Telemundo’s World Cup rollout. 

But even with two years of preparation, Chagui and Lorenzo were still surprised by how much success they had.  

“We were prepared for some of it, but to see it to that level was so gratifying,” Chagui said. “It was so exciting as a brand to be at the center of that conversation.”