SVG Sit-Down: Fox Deportes' Sergio Verdu Aims To Synergize Technologies With Fox Sports Veteran president of production joined the network in March after years at ESPN By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital
Friday, October 15, 2021 - 2:51 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The first and longest-running Spanish-language sports network in the U.S. is nearing a milestone.
Next month, Fox Deportes will have been on the air for a quarter of a century, and the network is running as strong as ever. Based in Los Angles, the domestic Spanish-language broadcaster is home to a bevy of major properties: Liga MX (the top-flight soccer league in Mexico), NFL, MLB, Premier Boxing Champions, Major League Soccer, and the WWE.
Fox Deportes' Sergio Verdu: One of my first priorities - and it's happening right now - is to get as close as we can be with Fox Sports, especially in technology.
This year, the network made a key addition to its executive ranks, bringing in Sergio Verdu from ESPN as president of production. A veteran of the industry for more than two decades, Verdu was most recently director, production development and new projects, for ESPN and brings with him loads of broadcast experience at the global level. He played a key role in ESPN's carriage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup for Sub-Saharan Africa and helped craft a global strategy to grow UFC viewership.
Since joining Fox Deportes, Verdu has moved back west; been onsite for the MLB All-Star Game, the MLB at Field of Dreams event, and last weekend's Fury-Wilder III fight; and gained his footing in his new role.
As his new network prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary next month, SVG sat down with Verdu to discuss his acclimating to the role, growing technologically alongside Fox Sports, and what excites him about this new opportunity.
What has it been like to join the team at Fox Deportes?
I'll be honest, it has definitely been a challenge. I had all of this excitement [when I got started], and COVID made it difficult to be together with the team. That was hard for me. There were a lot of Zooms.
I have to say, I was really, happily surprised about the culture at Fox. I report to Mike Davies [SVP, field operations, Fox Sports], and he has been fantastic. He has introduced me to all the key executives at Fox Sports and is helping integrate me. That helps me see how my department fits into the larger, 360-degree view of what's going on when I'm not there in the day-to-day. Now that I'm [in L.A.], it feels the way it should. People stop by your office, and everyone wants to talk to you. That understanding of how Fox operates has been absolutely fantastic. I know so many executives here already, and that tells you a lot.
One of my first priorities - and it's happening right now - is to get as close as we can be with Fox Sports, especially in technology. Fox Deportes is in a different building from Fox Sports, and COVID certainly did not help us when it came to linking technologies. I'm happy to say that today we have a plan in place to upgrade our facilities and be completely in sync with what Fox Sports is doing from a technology perspective.
The open approach that those guys - Mike and [Fox Sports VP, Field Operations and Engineering] Brad Cheney - are giving us and [Fox Deportes Director, Production] Ruben Rocha, who is our guru, is a fantastic thing. We are, right now, so close to everything that they do.
LigaMX is a massive property for you, and I feel like the average sports-media person in the U.S. doesn't get how big Mexican sports can be for the Spanish-language sports viewer in this country. What are the big projects and top priorities for you as you join the family?
LigaMX is the number-one property for us. To your point, I don't think people understand the scope of some of those events in the Hispanic market and how that market consumes TV. We were lucky that one of the teams that we have the rights for, Santos Laguna, got to the final last season. We got 900,000 viewers for the first leg of that. When you share those numbers with people, they don't understand the scope of those ratings. This is a huge event. In the U.S.! There's a market from an advertising point of view and a marketing point of view, and we've working to continue to improve that.
Rights are different in Mexico. In the U.S., the NFL may control the rights to all of their clubs. LigaMX is split up by teams. Every time there are rights on the market, we need to be available to bid for them. When you work with those teams, you become more than a broadcast partner. We become full partners, meaning how can we help each other? How can we help the teams with their marketing campaigns in the U.S.?
It's not just paying for the signal. We have a much deeper relationship with them, and I think that's good for the broadcast. We get more access. For one of our teams, our broadcast booth converts to a mini studio, and, when there aren't matches, we can use that studio to create all kinds of content with a view of the stadium behind us.
Is there anything new in particular that you and your team are working on?
Yes, absolutely. In our productions of LigaMX, we were able to introduce our own version of the Megaladon [mirrorless] camera. We were the first to do it in the soccer world [in the U.S.]. That's something that I am so proud of. We are also using a drone on those games as well.
In terms of our building at 1440 [S. Sepulveda Blvd. in Los Angeles], I'm super happy to share that we are going to be redoing our studios in this fiscal year. The good part of that is, Fox Sports is also working on their studios at Pico, and we are taking advantage of those designs and that technology and applying that to our building. That's a great project of synergy betwe
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
06/07/2026
Long-developed relationships and informal access, three production models, and c...
06/07/2026
The deal follows Lumine's recent acquisition of Synamedia's video-networ...
06/07/2026
This former SportsCenter producer is shaping local-team studio coverage to surro...
06/07/2026
IMS Productions and FOX Sports deployed more than 100 cameras, 32 onboard feeds,...
06/07/2026
Lumine Group Inc. has announced the completion of its acquisition of the Video Network Business from Synamedia. The business will operate as a standalone compan...
06/07/2026
NASCAR has announced a content and commercial partnership with Motorsport Network, a motorsports and automotive media platform, to distribute NASCAR original co...
06/07/2026
Versant Media Group has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Full Swing, a sports technology company, from Bruin Capital and a group of minority investor...
06/07/2026
DAZN has announced global broadcast rights to 3ICE, a professional hockey format featuring three skaters and a goalkeeper per side, with no power plays or offsi...
06/07/2026
Bundle gains 100 new synths & more
Synth Anthology 5 the largest and most feature-packed edition of UVI's hardware synth emulation bundle, bringing toge...
06/07/2026
Available now via free firmware update
MOTU have just announced that three of their popular audio interfaces now boast official Milan Certification. The 16A...
06/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz completes Hunter Preliminary Design Review for the Integrated Co...
06/07/2026
The R&S IMAGER from Rohde & Schwarz uses millimeter wave imaging to inspect the ...
06/07/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
06/07/2026
Digital Domain Appoints Industry Veteran Patrick Davenport as Executive Vice Pre...
06/07/2026
Gravity Media USA appoints Brittney Boston as Head of Business Development
Brie Clayton July 6, 2026
0 Comments
The strategic new appointment supports...
06/07/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage in Resolve
Michael Cioni July 6, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup your...
06/07/2026
Automatic Caption Translation in Adobe Premiere Pro
Colin Smith July 6, 2026
0 Comments
Here I showcase the innovative automatic caption translation f...
06/07/2026
Flavor's First Ever Managing Director Neal Cohen Retires; Longstanding Execu...
06/07/2026
How Adam Rosenwach Pivoted from Music to Medtech Without Missing a Beat What do the rehearsal room and the boardroom have in common? More than you might think...
06/07/2026
Zhongyi Optics unveils the Dreamy Zone T1 FF Cine Lens Series on Indiegogo with ...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
06/07/2026
Monday 6 July 2026
Sky agrees to acquire ITV Media & Entertainment, creating a ...
06/07/2026
Fresh from his World Cup heroics with Cabo Verde, Roberto Pico' Lopes will join the RT panel for Argentina v Egypt tomorrow and for the England v Norway q...
06/07/2026
Nations have long invested in domestic infrastructure to advance their economies, protect and use their data, and take advantage of technology opportunities in ...
06/07/2026
Every year, the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) reveals where thousands of AI researchers have decided to put their work.
This year's ...
06/07/2026
A death can be unsuspicious, but it has to be explained
What happened to Ke...
05/07/2026
We've gone to another level of integrating the graphics into the set architecture' - Zac Fields, SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, FOX Sports...
05/07/2026
Browser-based and desktop apps available
Digital Sunset Studios have been busy working on an interesting project: a free software tool that provides compute...
04/07/2026
When Canada qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, OneSoccer knew this wasn'...
04/07/2026
Celebrates company's 80th anniversary
Rhodes have recently revealed that they will be producing a limited run of electric pianos in celebration of their...
04/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Empower Youth Broadcasting Program
Brie Clayton July 3, 2026
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro and Blackmagi...
04/07/2026
iZotope Joins Boris FX
Boris Yamnitsky July 3, 2026
0 Comments
iZotope, the team behind RX and Ozone, is joining Boris FX. A letter from founder Boris...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
03/07/2026
New bundle & three Single Packs
Continuing to expand their already sizeable orchestral collection, VSL's latest release introduces three new Single Pack...
03/07/2026
Venue installs new ATC-equipped control room
LSO St Luke's, a unique music venue that also serves as the home of the London Symphony Orchestra, have rec...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
03/07/2026
1 February 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st February 2023: Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for digit...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/07/2026
Death Star
Andy Marken July 2, 2026
0 Comments
Look, I can't get involved. I've got work to do. It's not that I like the Empire; I hate i...
03/07/2026
Berklee's New Visual Identity: Honoring Our History, Building for What's...
03/07/2026
Scripps Research scientists awarded $2M to advance global disease surveillance Two Gates Foundation grants will expand wastewater surveillance and AI-driven dis...
03/07/2026
Joan Pulupa joins Scripps Research faculty to study the organization of DNA in brain cells and its links to neurodegeneration Using smell-sensing neurons and ad...
02/07/2026
Entering her senior year, this hometown girl is paving a career in live sports production gaining experience in replay and audio and as a TD
In the live-sports...
02/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
SVG Sit-Down: Fox Deportes' Sergio Verdu Aims To Synergize Technologies With Fox Sports Veteran president of production joined the network in March after years at ESPN By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital 
