The World Cup is in full swing and the best news thus far for Hispanic marketers and media is that the Mexican team has started out strong. Univision scored strong preliminary Nielsen ratings for Sunday morning's match against Iran, with an average audience of 5.4 million viewers.
One piece of data the final ratings may reveal when they come out on Thursday is how many non-Hispanics are tuning into Univision. ESPN is transmitting the matches in English but has met with criticism from fans for assigning baseball play-by-play announcer Dave O´Brien to call the action. Some bloggers have been scathing in their criticism and many mention switching to Univision. Motivations vary but the enthusiasm and "excitement" of Univision's announcers is routinely cited.
One of the more intriguing descriptions of Univision's allure comes from a blog maintained by a British expatriate in New Mexico who writes "The best thing about this experience by far was that we watched the match on Univision. … The World Cup commentators are two amply moustached men wearing badly fitted suits, and they cut every 2 minutes to woman in a cowboy hat and tight pink clothes who in a very husky voice gives us live feedback from Germany. After the match they link to a studio filled with women who are wearing very little and waving flags."
