Abogados de Inmigracion

In conjunction with the Super Bowl, the NFL is tapping into media deals with Spanish-language broadcasters, Latin celebrities and the teams' profiles outside the United States to lure Hispanic viewers.

"We've really ramped up our efforts to physically create a lot more tailored and customized ways for what is a rapidly growing Hispanic fan base to connect with the NFL throughout the year," NFL director of marketing Peter O'Reilly told Reuters.
"It is a major, if not the major, growth priority from a fan perspective," he added in a telephone interv
iew.
The NFL has long worked to popularize the sport beyond U.S. borders by playing games in England and Mexico, where sports fans have been playing American football for decades.

The 2005 game in Mexico City between the Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers still stands as the largest crowd -- at 103,467 people -- ever to view a regular-season game.

In the last few years, the NFL, which boasts the strongest TV ratings and largest broadcast deals of all North American sports leagues, has cut deals with a variety of media partners and corporate sponsors to further expose itself to U.S. Hispanic fans raised in soccer-loving households.

In conjunction with these networks, the league offers "NFL 101" introductory shows to explain the rules and action.
Hispanics in the United States are a desirable demographic because of their growing numbers, financial clout and youth.

Their collective buying power in 2012 could reach more than $1.2 trillion, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. That would be larger than the 2008 gross domestic product of all but 11 countries.

CRITICAL FOR GROWTH The NFL's efforts are critical if the league, with more than $7 billion in annual revenue, is to continue growing. That is especially true in a recession that has pinched the NFL, forcing it to cut almost 14 percent of its workforce.

"It doesn't take a whole lot to figure out there's a lot of potential growth within the Hispanic market," said Lino Garcia, general manager of Walt Disney Co's ESPN Deportes, which has televised Monday Night Football games in Spanish since 2006.

"As the market grows, clearly there's more opportunity to increase the fan base of the NFL and increase our potential viewers for the sport as well," he added.

While the number of U.S. Hispanic viewers of NFL games is a far cry from the numbers that watch soccer games, media companies see the potential for the sport, which has two dozen Hispanic players.

"We still know today that our bread is buttered by soccer, but from a business standpoint we felt like the world is changing," said Eli Velazquez, vice president of Telemundo Sports, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal. "You're seeing more Hispanic names on those (NFL) jerseys."

Telemundo provides Spanish commentary for NBC's NFL games on Secondary Audio Programming or SAP, and at the Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida, it will show a flag football game between former NFL players and Latino celebrities, as well as a concert featuring Latino musicians.

PepsiCo Inc is sponsoring both celebrity events. It joins a well-known lineup of companies that sponsor Hispanic-themed events or advertise during Spanish network coverage of games, including Molson Coors Brewing Co,

The teams facing off during this Super Bowl have also worked to boost their popularity with Hispanics.
The Cardinals boast proximity to Mexico and have worked hard to build a following with Spanish-speaking fans, while the Steelers have built a large following from their glory days in the 1970s. Both are among the 11 NFL teams that offer team websites in Spanish.

"What's amazing to me is how many fans the Pittsburgh Steelers have in Mexico," said Chicago Bears offensive lineman Roberto Garza, a first-generation Mexican-American.

Garza is well-known as the cover boy for Electronic Arts' Spanish version of Madden NFL 09, one of the top-selling video games in its English version. It is the second year a Spanish version has been offered.
Last year, the NFL rebranded NFLatino.com, forming a partnership under which Univision Communications Inc's online unit runs the league's Spanish-language website.

"That's where the growth is," ESPN Deportes commentator and former NFL player Raul Allegre said. "In another generation or two, your Hispanic fan base is going to be a lot more important perhaps than other segments of the population." (Reporting by B