SVG Sit-Down: Telemundo Deportes’ Velazquez Previews Confed Cup, World Cup 2018 Plans

The Spanish-language programmer will collaborate with its NBCUniversal siblings

As EVP, programming production and content, Telemundo Deportes, Eli Velazquez leads the division’s sports programming, acquisitions and production. Working closely with NBC Sports, he coordinates resources and existing production capabilities to provide Telemundo Network, Universo, and their respective digital platforms with high-quality sports content. The longtime Telemundo veteran has a busy two years ahead with the Confederations Cup this summer and FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia.

SVG sat down with Velazquez to discuss Telemundo’s plans for both events, the broadcaster’s new production facility in Miami (set to open next year), a look back at the 2016 Rio Olympics, his view on next-gen technology like 4K and VR, and how Telemundo is serving Spanish-speaking fans on a multitude of platforms and devices.

Eli Velazquez inside Telemundo Deportes studio in Hialeah, FL

We are just under 100 days from the Confederations Cup Russia 2017. Give us a preview of Telemundo’s coverage.
The Confederations Cup Russia 2017 is the start of something special for us. We plan to deliver on the promise that we made to our audience when we acquired the rights [to the 2017 Confed Cup and 2018 World Cup from FIFA in 2011], which is to produce the greatest soccer coverage that they’ve ever seen in the Spanish language for the U.S. audience. Folks call [the Confed Cup] a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, but we’re not taking that approach. We are going to be at all of the venues with coverage before, during, after the games, as well as serving that coverage on all the platforms and all the verticals within the organization. The news and entertainment division are taking part in what we believe is a huge opportunity to bring to life this event for our audience here in the U.S. The morning show and news divisions will be sending anchors and talent to Russia.

And we’re less than 18 months from the 2018 FIFA World Cup. How are Telemundo’s plans shaping up on that front?
We don’t want to pull the curtain back just yet, but, as early as 2015, we started kicking the tires on what we want to do for 2018. One of the things that we are very excited about is the ability to collaborate on this global event with the NBC Sports Group as part of the NBCUniversal family. We are trying to leverage the combined expertise that we’ve developed over the years [for] Olympics coverage and use that knowledge and those skills to make the World Cup as special as possible for our audience.

We’re working with the executive producer of NBC Olympics, Jim Bell, who is going to be executive producer for the World Cup as well. We’ve been working with NBC Olympics since 2004 in Athens. So, when we acquired the rights to the most important event in the Spanish-language world, it was an obvious decision to tap into [NBC Olympics] as a resource and as collaborators.

Again, we don’t want to reveal too much, but I’ll just say that the audiences that we serve across all platforms are going to get the best coverage that they’ve ever seen of this event. I’m confident that we will be able to execute on that promise.

In 2018, we’ve got [the Olympics in] Pyeongchang, the Super Bowl, and the World Cup. It’s an amazing opportunity for us to have a one-of-a-kind year.

Tell us a bit about the production facility Telemundo is building in Miami and how you foresee its impact on Telemundo Deportes.
I think the new facility is another demonstration of the importance that the overall organization has put on the audiences and the consumers that we serve. [Recently, we built] the most state-of-the-art studio that we’ve ever had in my time at Telemundo [at our current facility] in Hialeah. That was just a taste of what to expect in our new facility.

The way consumption has changed across the different platforms means that we have to create more and better content. [The new facility] allows us to create innovative solutions technologically not just for the linear side but for the non-linear side as well. The most exciting part of the new facility is that it’s going to bring the entire organization together — the telenovelas, the studios, news, sports, and others — into one collaborative environment.

You mentioned the importance of serving fans on platforms beyond the linear telecast. How is Telemundo looking to accomplish this?
We launched a podcast recently that we’re very proud of, Día de Gallos, and it’s starting to grow. We believe it is another way to reach our audience on [mobile] devices in a way that is digestible. It’s very quick, short-form, but it hits the point.

We’ve also rolled out a Facebook Live offering that we do on a daily basis. We’re very proud that we were one of the first ones to embrace Facebook Live with live pregame shows.

We’re also working to make our Confed Cup coverage [available] on connected TVs and streaming devices. We’re going to be on Amazon Fire, Roku, and Apple TV.

We also have a very robust Instagram and Snapchat rollout with our talent. We have been working with them to make sure that they’re engaging with our audiences across these verticals.

Sports fans want to consume their sports wherever they can. So the reality is that you have to be in those [mobile and streaming] spaces to have a meaningful impact on the lives of the people that you serve. We believe that we’re set up to do that and will continue to keep our eyes on what’s going on in the space to identify where our future opportunities will be.

Telemundo had a significant presence in NBCUniversal’s Rio Olympics coverage. Can you single out a few highlights?
I’m extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish in Rio 2016. We were able to, for the first time ever, produce event programming on two networks as opposed to just the broadcast network of Telemundo. Our digital rollout for Rio 2016 was also much larger than we’d ever done before, and we got some really good results [in] total delivery.

Our goal in Rio was always to make sure that we provided the Hispanic space with the Olympics story of every athlete. These athletes have made it to that pinnacle of their sport, and now they’re on the world stage. Our audience tends to be very aspirational. Our task is to make sure that we present these stories so that [fans are moved] emotionally [and] inspired. I think, in Rio 2016, we were able to do that effectively.

The other thing I’m most proud of: we were able to team with NBC Sports to highlight our major talent. We were able to get Michael Phelps to sit down with Andres Cantor for an interview. I think that was an indicator for us that these athletes, regardless of language, are important to every audience member in this country.

How does Telemundo tailor its coverage to its Spanish-speaking demographic?
I think sports fans, regardless of culture or background or language, are all passionate about the same things. We want to provide the same level of quality in coverage that any other [major network] would. One area we focus on is how Hispanics tend to over-index on early adoption of mobile devices, digital platforms, and social media. So we focus on creating more-interactive coverage. For example, we’ve made Titulares y Más, the number-one Spanish-language sports show Monday-Friday year over year, more interactive and discussion-oriented. We’re tapping into technologies like Tagboard and using things of that nature to leverage a social discussion in real time. As our coverage continues to develop, I think you’re going to see a lot more real-time live interaction with our viewers and our consumers to make sure that they feel like they’re part of what we’re trying to do.

NBC is delivering Premiere League games in 4K, as well as the Olympics and Notre Dame football. Does Telemundo plan to produce soccer in 4K in the near future, possibly at the 2018 FIFA World Cup?
The beautiful thing about what NBC is doing with 4K is that we work for the same company, so we can collaborate with them on the technology and eventually determine when it is appropriate for us to pull that lever. 4K is obviously an exciting format, but we do not have a defined position yet on whether we’ll leverage that in the World Cup. We have to be smart about it and make sure it’s something our viewers and our consumers want. If they do, I’m sure we will give it consideration.

Any plans to produce a live sports VR experience?
It’s definitely something we are looking to implement and working on with third-party providers. We’re also working with our partners from FIFA to explore what things they would like to do in the VR space in partnership with us. I suspect that VR is something we want to explore for our coverage for the World Cup.

What’s on tap over the next few months that you’re most excited about?
We have a tremendous opportunity now when we launch the second part of our promotional campaign for the Confed Cup. We’ve got our World Cup qualifiers on March 24 and 28. It’s a nice opportunity for folks to get a real sense of the way we produce events. We look at that as a launch point in 2017 to get people ready for a very exciting summer.