FOX Hispanic Cable Networks Post Record Ratings in 2010

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- FOX Deportes and Utilisima outperformed the competition in the Hispanic cable landscape in 2010 with two of the most popular offerings for both men and women.  FOX Deportes, the premiere U.S. Hispanic sports network, once again reigned supreme as the #1 Hispanic cable sports network in primetime in 2010, while Utilisima, the only 24-hour, 100% original Hispanic lifestyle channel, was the fastest-growing Spanish-language cable network among women 25 and over.

"As Latino demographics are forever evolving, we are thrilled that more of them, men and women, are watching our targeted cable channels," said Hernan Lopez, President and COO of FOX International Channels (FIC), who oversees both FOX Deportes and Utilisima.   "Whether your interests lie in exclusive sporting events, or household lifestyle programming, we feel well-positioned to address the unique needs of our Hispanic consumer landscape."

FOX Deportes' exclusive rights to the biggest sports events that matter most to U.S. Hispanics drove its ratings to new heights in 2010.  FOX Deportes reigned as the #1 Hispanic cable sports network in primetime in 2010, finishing #1 in prime time 33 out of 52 weeks.

FOX Deportes also delivered the #1 Spanish cable program for the year with its exclusive rights of Copa Libertadores soccer.  The Copa Libertadores Internacional vs. Chivas 2010 Final delivered a 9.26 HH coverage area rating and 876k total viewers.

In fact, FOX Deportes aired 1.6 times more original soccer game hours than all U.S. Spanish Broadcast networks combined (Univision, Telemundo, and Azteca America), as well as more original soccer game hours than all U.S. Spanish Cable networks combined (ESPN Deportes, GolTV, and Galavision).  

Additionally, for the year, FOX Deportes aired the most sports events on an exclusive basis versus any other Spanish Broadcast or Cable network, including Copa Libertadores soccer, UEFA Champions League soccer, Italian Serie A soccer, Copa Sudamericana soccer, Major League Baseball Playoffs & World Series, and Formula 1 Racing.  

"As the exclusive rights holder for the biggest sports events that matter most to U.S. Hispanics, FOX Deportes is the new face of Hispanic media," said Vincent Cordero, Executive Vice President and General Manager, FOX Deportes.  "We are uniquely positioned to best engage the multi-lingual and multi-generational U.S. Hispanic community - whether U.S. born or foreign born, English dominant, Spanish dominant or bilingual.  Our viewers trust us to exclusively provide the very best in live-sports, period."

Since its U.S. launch in July 2010, the Utilisima network, which covers a wide variety of genres, from cooking, arts and crafts, health and beauty, parenting, and home improvement, has quickly attracted the highest concentration of adult women of any Spanish-language network, holding a 66% per viewing household over its nearest competitor during total day (8a-2a).  Utilisima's audience continues to grow, with viewership increasing an impressive 39% during December 2010 for the 8A-3P daypart with the W25+ demo.  Utilisima has already emerged as the #3 Spanish-language cable network during total day (based on Coverage Area ratings), following only Galavision and Discovery en Espanol.

In addition to attracting viewers, Utilisima has also experienced tremendous success with advertisers.  The network developed original content with key brands and leveraged its multiplatform offering through air, and on the web.  Since launching in July, it has struck deals with Sears, Procter & Gamble, Ford Motor Co., Kmart, El Jimador, Farmers Insurance, SC Johnson, Toyota, Daisy Sour Cream, Kellogg's, Prudential, T-Mobile and Wal-Mart.

"We're thrilled with the remarkable growth and popularity of Utilisima, which has exceeded even our high expectations," said Emiliano Saccone, EVP Global Development, FOX International Channels.  "As we continue to innovate and develop unique, high-quality content for women, we expect our audience to reward us with their loyal viewership."  

The increase in niche Hispanic cable offerings reflects larger changes in the overall Latin community, which parallel the same evolution that occurred in general market programming twenty years ago.  As the U.S. Hispanic market continues to mature and grow, with the majority of growth coming from U.S.-born Hispanics, the demand for upscale, high-quality programming is growing in tandem.  There is no longer a one-network-fits-all solution to the viewing needs of U.S. Hispanics.  Fox's two booming cable channels are positioned to address this trend, by offering high-quality niche content to the men and women who live and breathe both cultures.

About FOX Deportes

Reaching more than 18 million cable and satellite households in the country, of which almost 6 million are U.S. Hispanic, FOX Deportes is the leader in Spanish-language sports media. FOX Deportes features premier soccer programming with exclusive coverage of Futbol Liga Mexicana, Barclays Premier League, Italian Serie A, UEFA Champions League, Copa Santander Libertadores and Copa Nissan Sudamericana; coverage of the Major League Baseball regular season, All-Star Game, American League Championship Series and World Series; Top Rank Boxing, UFC® and mixed-martial arts across four compelling media platforms. Boasting more than 2,100 hours of live and exclusive programming, a robust web site brimming with streaming video and portable content from FD Movil, FOX Deportes is the first name in the U.S. Hispanic sports space.  For more information, visit FOX Deportes online at Foxdeportes.com.

About Utilisima:

Created in 1996, Utilisima offers 24 hours of Spanish lifestyle programming especially oriented to women. Utilisima is one of the largest producers of Television and Internet Spanish lifestyle content producing over 1,200 hours every year. One of Latin America's dominant entertainment destinations for women, Utilisima's programming spans across Food, Arts & Crafts, Home Improvement, Health & Beauty and Parenting. As a unit of FOX International Channels (FIC) since 2007, Utilisima is distributed across Latin America, United States, Canada, Spain, New Zealand and Australia.  For more information, visit Utilisima online at Utilisima.com.

About FOX International Channels:

FOX International Channels (FIC) is News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A) international multi-media business. We develop, produce and distribute 183 wholly- and majority-owned entertainment, factual, sports and movie channels across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa, in 35 languages. These networks and their related mobile, non-linear and high-definition extensions, reach over 300 million subscribing households (875 million cumulative) worldwide. We also operate a global online advertising unit, .FOX (pronounced "dot-fox") which specializes in online video and display, and four TV production houses. In operation since: August 14, 1993.

SOURCE FOX International Channels