Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

2018 FIFA World Cup: Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren on Making a Big First Impression

14/06/2018

2018 FIFA World Cup: Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren on Making a Big First Impression Spanish-language U.S. broadcaster makes highly anticipated World Cup debut By Brandon Costa, Director of Digital

Thursday, June 14, 2018 - 11:01 am

Print This Story

After 2,428 days, Telemundo Deportes' FIFA World Cup moment has arrived.

On Oct. 21, 2011, Telemundo shook up the Spanish-language sports-media-rights landscape in this country and landed the rights to its first World Cup package. Many long-time veterans of the network celebrated that day and are ready today to kick off the biggest sports event in the world on their air.

Telemundo Deportes President Ray Warren isn't one of those people; he joined the company in his current role in September 2016. However, he'll be the first to admit that he was brought on largely to usher in the World Cup era for the network.

And Telemundo isn't shying away from making an epic first impression. The NBCUniversal-owned domestic Spanish-language broadcaster has deployed 64 production engineers and an additional 25 dedicated Telemundo camera crews at various points throughout Moscow and Russia, including the IBC, the network's Red Square studio set, and the stadiums. A total of 150 dedicated personnel are working at the IBC, with 40 dedicated to the set in Red Square.

Telemundo Deportes Ray Warren: There's definitely aligning of stars here.

Then there's the complete global effort: Telemundo is leveraging at-home workflows much the way sibling NBC does for the Olympic Games. Eighteen technical-production and editing facilities will touch this World Cup in some way for Telemundo, including the new Telemundo Center in Miami; Telemundo Hialeah; NBC Sports Group's facility in Stamford, CT; 30 Rock in NYC; NBCU Technology Center in Englewood Cliffs, N.J.; and Comcast Media Center in Colorado.

Last week, prior to Warren's departure for Russia (where he will spend the entirety of the tournament), SVG caught up with him on the eve of, perhaps, the biggest event in the history of his network.

When you look around at the people you work with and with this event, what's the feeling like around the offices right now?

I've been in this business for a long time. When I got here, we had about 600-something days to go, and the fact that we are here right now is crazy. We've been doing a lot of gatherings of Telemundo employees, and I asked, How many people have been here for seven years?' A whole bunch of hands went up. Those people have been waiting a very long time for this moment. It's stunning to a lot of people who have been in the Spanish-language and digital-television business.

I have a history working in the RSN [regional-sports-network] side of the business, and I've always said there's no better fan than the local sports fan. Nobody wears CSI: Miami pajamas to bed or paints their face with the logo of American Idol. For me, the World Cup is like regional sports networks for the planet Earth. Countries become the regional sports network. People root in Argentina the way Cubs fans do in Chicago. To be involved in this is just a dream for me, frankly. It's a really fun and exciting time here.

The power of domestic Spanish-language sports fans has been noted. The network serves them exceptionally well, and, with the demographic, there are lots of positive feelings about your network headed into this World Cup. It feels a bit like a coronation for the U.S. Spanish-language soccer fan. Would you agree?

The stars have aligned very nicely. So, yes, I can't disagree.

The Spanish-language audience is a growing audience and is younger. It's bolstered by immigration, though there's a bit of a freeze there in our current climate that won't be forever, hopefully. We've got a young, mobile, multicultural audience.

We're going to be able to reach them across all platforms, so I think, in some ways, the time shift [won't hurt us]. Would we like it to be primetime? Yes, because, sure, we'd have higher viewing numbers there, but no, because, for Telemundo, which, for the first time ever, in 2017 won the primetime ratings race against our stiffest competitor, we'll be able to have World Cup all day and our primetime lineup all night. We'll be promoting primetime during the World Cup and the World Cup during our primetime. That's not too bad, either.

The one thing that I think is also occurring is, there is a rise in the U.S. across all ethnicities, and soccer is just in a better place. It's got a bigger mind share than it may have had in 2014 or 2010. I think other ethnicities are seeing more Spanish-language soccer because they watch Liga MX or La Liga.

There's definitely aligning of stars here, but let's be clear: we aren't taking anything for granted. I'm not for a second not thinking about it all the time, worrying about it to some degree, and praying to the Nielsen gods that they get it right because we feel like we are in a really good place. But you never know!

What's it like working with your NBC partners? There's a lot of cooperation going on. There are plenty of differences but some big similarities between a World Cup and an Olympics: a host broadcaster, an IBC, an onsite set, leveraging at-home workflows. In what ways has working with NBC Sports and NBC Olympics helped you prepare for what this event might be like?

It's been a great collaboration. The fact that I've worked at both Stamford and [30 Rock] in the past established a lot of connective tissue, but there was already a lot of that between NBC and Telemundo. Telemundo has been doing the Olympics since 2004.

One of the things that helped us the most, honestly, was that they were in Russia in 2014 for [the Sochi Olympics]. That was good fort
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2018/06/14/svg-sit-down-telemundo-deportes...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

14/02/2026

Cineverse Acquires TV Monetization Platform IndiCue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/02/2026

ESPN's Audiences for College Basketball On Track for Major Growth

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/02/2026

TCL Display Technologies Deployed at Winter Olympics

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

14/02/2026

Boston Conservatory Orchestra Helps Peter and Leonardo Dugan Complete Their Dream Piece

Boston Conservatory Orchestra Helps Peter and Leonardo Dugan Complete Their Dre...

13/02/2026

OBS Accelerates Shift to Cloud

Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) has provided an update on its adoption of the cloud as it continues on its journey to fully migrate to IT-based systems by 2...

13/02/2026

France Tlvisions Launches France 2 UHD with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to Max out AC-4 Experiences for Winter Olympics Fans

France T l visions has successfully launched France 2 UHD featuring Dolby Vision...

13/02/2026

OBS Expands Athlete Moment,' Family Reunions to Capture Human Side of Winter Games

Partnering with Worldwide Olympic Partner TCL, OBS deploys connected Athlete Mom...

13/02/2026

Men's Figure Skating Photo Gallery

The men's figure skating long-form program is tonight, and it promises to be an exciting night for fans in the stands, fans at home, and even the production...

13/02/2026

Entertainment Takes the NBA Court in a Big Way

With new partnership between the league and NBC, workflows distinguish more between live, broadcast sound There'll be a lot new for the 75th NBA All-Star W...

13/02/2026

SVG GameDay, Episode 3: Sean Tabler - Producing Hockey in the City of Angels

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...

13/02/2026

Teradek Introduces RF-X, Revolutionizing Mission-Critical Signal Redundancy

Teradek announces the launch of RF-X Auto Switcher, a revolutionary appliance designed to deliver flawless, uncompromised signal integrity for the world's m...

13/02/2026

Synamedia & Globecast Selected for FA Cup Cloud Distribution

Globecast and Synamedia announces that Pitch International (Pitch), the leading London-based sports marketing agency, has gone live with cloud-based distributi...

13/02/2026

Ratings Roundup: NBC Sports' Legendary February Hits Record Viewership Levels

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...

13/02/2026

NBC Olympics' Amy Rosenfeld on the Drone Craze, Friends & Family Moments, Stamford's Role for Milano Cortina

Far from the action in the snow and on the ice, the team controls the production...

13/02/2026

2026 Daytona 500: FOX Sports' Mike Davies, George Grill on Working Within an IP-Based Compound, Solving the Ops Puzzle of the Super Bowl of Racing

The Daytona 500 is called The Super Bowl of Racing for a reason. Whether it's the culmination to five days of action on the track, the sheer size and scop...

13/02/2026

OBS Expands AI-Powered Content Workflows

For the Milano Cortina Games, Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS) is delivering more than 6,500 hours of content, with more than 900 hours of live action, sprea...

13/02/2026

NBC Sports Director Pierre Moossa Previews NBC's First NBA All-Star Production in 24 Years

After 24-year absence, NBC Sports returns to NBA All-Star Weekend with unique ca...

13/02/2026

Film Festival Watch: 18 Sundance Institute-Supported Projects To Watch at the 2026 Berlin International Film Festival

By Jessica Herndon We may have just wrapped an unforgettable 2026 Sundance Film...

13/02/2026

Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Amanda Kramer, the Writer-Director Behind By Design

By Jessica Herndon One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...

13/02/2026

Women in Podcasting Craft New Connections at Spotify's Galentine's Day Celebration in LA

This Wednesday in Los Angeles, Spotify brought together a group of podcast creat...

13/02/2026

Spotify and LoveShackFancy Bring Galentine's Glam to NYC, Featuring Special Performance by Joshua Basset

Yesterday, Spotify and LoveShackFancy hosted a Galentine's and Gents Lunch a...

13/02/2026

L3Harris Successfully Completes First Phase of P25 Transition for Florida SLERS

The upgrade to a Project 25 network provides state agencies communicating on the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System flexibility to tailor the network to the...

13/02/2026

Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Global 24...

Riedel Communications has officially opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, marking a strategic expansion of its global Customer Success and IT software...

13/02/2026

ES Broadcast Hire duo celebrate 10-year anniversary with...

Two of ES Broadcast Hire's longest-serving employees recently celebrated a decade working for the company. Annie Breislin, Operations Manager, and Charles ...

13/02/2026

Disguise Opens Experience Center and Office in Atlanta

Disguise, the award-winning technology company powering global experiences, today unveils a new 8,000-square-foot office and Experience Center in Atlanta, creat...

13/02/2026

Mavis Expands External Camera Support with Accsoon SeeMo...

At BSC Expo 2026, Mavis announced full support for the Accsoon SeeMo series of iOS camera adapters across Mavis Camera and Mavis Monitor apps. This new integrat...

13/02/2026

Butcher Bird Studios Keeps Signals Flowing Seamlessly Acr...

Executing technically ambitious live streams, virtual productions, and immersive media today requires talent, creativity, and the right supporting technology. L...

13/02/2026

LTN makes key appointments and introduces new Technology...

Michal Miskin-Amir, Jonathan Stanton and Bobby Bond to lead technical advances amid surge in demand for LTN's IP video transport services as satellite capac...

13/02/2026

NATO Upgrades Broadcast Studio with Grass Valley Cameras

Grass Valley, the pioneering media and entertainment technology innovator, has won a competitive NATO-wide tender to provide the new camera system for NATO'...

13/02/2026

Digital Azul strengthens remote production strategy with...

Wireless IP intercom underpins agile, multi-location live production workflows Digital Azul, the independent production powerhouse specialising in complex liv...

13/02/2026

Actus Digital Sets a New Standard for QA Monitoring and C...

Actus Digital, a LiveU company, will unveil major new enhancements to its Actus X Intelligent Monitoring Platform at NAB Show (LiveU booth N1740), reinforcing i...

13/02/2026

FA Cup goes IP with Pitch International plus Synamedia an...

Globecast, a worldwide leader in broadcast services, and leading video software provider, Synamedia, today announced that Pitch International (Pitch), the leadi...

13/02/2026

Rai Selects Imagine Selenio Network Processor for IP Migration

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

CIMM Details Research Plans for 2026 and New Board Appointments

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Teradek Unveils RF-A Auto Switcher

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Spectrum Launches 'Invincible Wifi'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Actus Digital to Introduce Actus X Platform Enhancements At NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Sennheiser Wireless Spectera Solution Tackles Super Bowl LX With Ease

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

Nate Bargatze to Receive 2026 NAB Television Chairman's Award

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/02/2026

UKTV Highlights Saturday February 14th - Friday February 20th 2026

What can I watch on UKTV this week?What can I stream on U this week? This guide highlights romantic dramas for Valentine's Day, alternative relationship t...

13/02/2026

New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists

New RT series tells stranger-than-fiction stories of Irish con artists Swindlers airs Wednesday 18 February, 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player Swindlers, a...

12/02/2026

Chyron Merges Live Web Content and CG Graphics with PRIME 5.3

Chyron unveils PRIME 5.3, the latest software release of the company's powerful engine for live production graphics. PRIME 5.3 delivers the first official i...

12/02/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Interra Systems' Anupama Anantharaman on Protecting Live Sports Quality Across IP and OTT Workflows

The vendor's VP of Product Management explains how quality assurance, monito...

12/02/2026

LTN Makes Key Appointments and Introduces New Technology Organization

LTN announces the appointment of three experienced executives to lead its new Technology organization: Michal Miskin-Amir as EVP and Head of Technology, Jonatha...

12/02/2026

Riedel Opens Kuala Lumpur Office to Strengthen Global 24/7 Software and IT Support

Riedel Communications has officially opened a new office in Kuala Lumpur, Malays...