With World Cup soccer play due to begin Friday in South Africa; Univision is pulling out all of the stops for its exclusive US Spanish-language play-by-play coverage. Even before the teams take to the field, Univision is devoting all day Thursday to pre-tournament coverage and a live broadcast of the FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert, featuring international music superstars Shakira, Juanes, Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys and John Legend, among other artists.
Univision is inviting viewers to live “La Pasión del Mundial” (The Passion of the World Cup). The network will dedicate an entire day to celebrate the kick-off of the highly-anticipated quadrennial tournament with special broadcasts of some of its most popular shows, beginning with pre-concert coverage at 7am ET/PT (8am Central) with a four-hour edition of “Despierta América” (Wake-Up America). Airing live coast-to-coast from South Africa, the special concert will be broadcast on June 10, 2010 at 2pm ET (1pm Central) on Univision and on UnivisionFutbol.com.
The main hosts for the coverage of this event will be Univision commentator for the FIFA World Cup Pablo Ramírez and “Despierta América’s” co-host Raúl González. They will be joined by “Despierta América’s” correspondent Amelia Macchiavelo, “El Gordo y La Flaca’s” (The Scoop and The Skinny) co-anchor Raúl de Molina and entertainment host Carlos Calderón, “Primer Impacto’s” (First Impact) co-anchor Ilia Calderón and entertainment host Tony Dandrades, “Noticiero Univision’s” (Univision News) anchor Jorge Ramos, “Noticiero Univision Fin de Semana” (Weekend News) anchor Edna Schmidt, “República Deportiva” (Sports Republic) hosts Fernando Fiore and Rosana Franco and “Escándalo TV’s” (Showbiz TV) Lilia Luciano.
Hosting the event and reporting from different locations in South Africa, the various Univision personalities will bring viewers full details of the spectacular celebration as it unfolds.
Sports and music unite for what is being billed as the greatest entertainment event to date in Africa, staged at Orlando Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. The first-ever live event of its kind will bring together some of the world’s most popular international artists in collaboration with major African performers, as well as soccer legends from past and present and other personalities.
The special concert will be streamed live online at UnivisionFutbol.com. The site will feature the latest information on the venue and performers, including popular Latin artists. A dedicated section will also provide audio and video clips of Shakira’s official FIFA World Cup song and Univision’s official theme for its coverage, Waka Waka (This Time for Africa/Esto es África) and access to World Cup forums. After the event, fans can revisit their favorite performances from the concert on the website.
Broadcasting all 64 games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa live and in high definition (HD), Univision will be utilizing all of its platforms – Univision, TeleFutura, and Galavisión Networks; Univision.com, Univision Móvil and Univision On Demand – with nearly 900 hours of coverage.
Univision.com is an Official Internet Broadcaster of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and will offer live streaming of all games on www.UnivisionFutbol.com. Fans will have access to real time game stats and minute-by-minute commentary. Live coverage of the tournament will also include interviews with players and coaches, exclusive behind-the-scenes video of soccer stars, and Univision talent reporting directly from the streets of South Africa.
Univision Móvil is a Mobile Content Provider of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and is already providing the latest news, game calendars and more on the UnivisionFutbol.com mobile website. Live mobile streaming of the matches will be accessible to Verizon Wireless V CAST subscribers where available.
Univision Interactive Media launched its new Univision Fútbol App which offers the latest news, video and photos directly from South Africa along with detailed stats and game results.
Univision On Demand will also make the games available 24 hours after they air, free of charge to subscribers On Demand on various cable distributors. Some distributors will offer the games in HD as well, Univision noted.
