Telemundo Names Joaquin Duro as New EVP of Sports; Eli Velazquez Exits After Ushering In Immense Growth

Telemundo Names Joaquin Duro as New EVP of Sports; Eli Velazquez Exits After Ushering In Immense Growth By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor

Thursday, September 26, 2024 - 10:20 am

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Joaquin Duro, who previously served as SVP of AVOD Streaming and Digital for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, has been named EVP of Sports. Duro succeeds Eli Velazquez, who is leaving at the end of the month after 25 years with the company.

Joaquin has been a pioneer in the growth and development of digital sports content in Hispanic media for over two decades, says Luis Fernandez, Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, who will be Duro's direct report. He is the right person to lead our sports division at a time when sports content is key to our future multiplatform growth. With Joaquin's extensive expertise and leadership, we are strengthening our sports business for the future as Hispanic audiences increasingly evolve their media consumption habits across linear and streaming.

An accomplished media executive with extensive experience in sports and digital media, Duro will lead Telemundo Deportes with oversight of sports production, programming, acquisitions, operations, and multiplatform content. He is also responsible for the management and execution of major Spanish-language event coverage, including FIFA World Cup properties, the Olympic Games, Sunday Night Football, U.S. Soccer Federation matches, Premier League, and Liga MX's Chivas de Guadalajara, working closely with NBC Sports and Peacock.

In his previous role, Duro managed all aspects of digital productions, monetization, and operations for AVOD streaming content across all owned and operated platforms. In this new position, he returns to the Sports team where he previously played a key part in Telemundo's multiplatform coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which delivered record audiences across linear and digital platforms, including the most-streamed FIFA World Cup match in U.S. media history, regardless of language. Having joined Telemundo in 2014, Duro has been a key figure in shaping Telemundo's digital strategy for major events including the Olympic games, U.S. presidential elections, NFL Super Bowls, and Billboard Latin Music Awards.

I am thrilled to have the privilege to lead such a great team of professionals at Telemundo Deportes, says Duro. They have consistently delivered world-class sports content to Latinos for years. I look forward to working with the team to build on this great body of work and position us for the future, as we continue to produce and distribute the biggest sporting events in the world to millions of fans across linear and streaming.

Before joining Telemundo, Duro held several leadership positions at Univision Communications where he spearheaded the production and broadcast of entertainment and sports events. Duro is a recipient of three Emmy Awards and has been honored with the Cynopsis Media award eight times.

Velazquez played an integral role in helping build Telemundo Deportes into a world-class sports content organization across linear and all platforms. Throughout his long-standing career at Telemundo, he was an important member of the sports team and, most recently, led the award-winning sports division through the record breaking 2023 Women's World Cup and the most comprehensive coverage of an Olympics in Spanish language media this summer in Paris. Velazquez spearheaded production for Telemundo's coverage of the FIFA World Cup tournaments since Telemundo acquired the exclusive broadcast rights in 2011. In addition, he led Telemundo's coverage of NFL Sunday Night Football, U.S. Soccer Federation matches, Premier League and Liga MX's Chivas de Guadalajara. Under his leadership, Telemundo partnered with the U.S. Soccer Federation to become the exclusive Spanish-language home of U.S. National Teams last year. He was also instrumental in delivering the first-ever Super Bowl to air on a Spanish language broadcast network in 2022.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2024/09/26/telemundo-names-joaquin-duro-as...
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