WKAQ San Juan, Puerto Rico, part of NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group, is offering viewers more than 300 hours of locally produced Olympics coverage. The standout athletes for Puerto Rico in Paris include table tennis player Adriana Diaz, sprinter Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
The men’s hoops team lost to the U.S., 104-83, and the women lost to China, 80-58, both on August 3. Both are finished in France.
Diaz made it to the table tennis round of 16, but was knocked out.
Migdalia Figueroa, president and general manager of WKAQ, said Diaz has a big personality and enjoys rock-star status in Puerto Rico. “Everybody absolutely loves her,” she said.
Camacho-Quinn has a shot at a medal August 7 in the 100-meter hurdles, and Puerto Rico will be watching to see if it can grab its first in the 2024 Games.
“We are all aware when she is competing,” said Figueroa. “The entire country will tune in to watch her.”
WKAQ has been in a decade-long partnership with the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee to produce and broadcast the Olympics, Pan American Games and other high-profile sports events.
WKAQ’s dot-two channel Punto 2 has live coverage from the Olympics from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and WKAQ, known as Telemundo Puerto Rico, goes 5 to 10 a.m. weekdays. Men’s and women’s basketball, and Diaz’s table tennis adventures, all appear on the main channel. (Figueroa is quick to remind people that the Puerto Rico men beat the U.S. in the 2004 Games, 92-73.)
Ricardo Torres, sports anchor and reporter, is in Paris for WKAQ, contributing to weekday 5-7 p.m. show The Olympics Recap on Punto 2, and speaking with the Puerto Rican athletes at their competitions. “Every time Puerto Rico is represented, he will be there,” said Figueroa. “It’s been cool to have somebody there. As soon as they finish competing, we get to talk to them.”
She said the Olympics is driving visibility for the Punto 2 channel big time. “In the past we’ve created stories for Punto 2, and explain it to viewers, and they don’t find it,” she said. “For the Olympics, they are finding it.”
Figueroa was named president/GM of WKAQ in January. She had been the general manager at Telemundo station WTMO Orlando, adding oversight of Tampa and Fort Myers, and previously was WTVJ Miami VP of news.
She’s hopeful, as is all of Puerto Rico, that Camacho-Quinn can claim a medal. Either way, she’s happy to bring the Games to the island.
“For us, it’s a big deal to be able to support the local athletes,” said Figueroa, “and also provide the community the content that is most relevant to them.”
