In under two years, a seven-person startup has grown to more than 270 staffers, multiple production studios, 8,500+ hours of annual programming outputWhen FOX Corp. launched a company in Mexico in January 2025, it had seven employees, a handful of sports properties, and no facility to call home. Less than two years later, FOX LATAM runs two studios in Mexico City, with a third due in January. It employs more than 270 people there, is on pace to produce more than 8,500 hours of programming this year, and has taken over production of all FOX Deportes programming for the U.S. Hispanic market.
This has been an incredible change and an incredible challenge, says Luis Rodrigo Gomez, VP, production and digital, FOX LATAM. We didn't have much to work with, but FOX believed in the project and was fully behind it. We are very happy and thankful to FOX Corp. for deciding to expand internationally through us.
From Startup to Superstar in About 20 Months
The operation's roots go back to the FOX business - which included Gomez and his team - that was sold to Disney in 2019. After several fits and starts over the ensuing years to reestablish its footprint in Mexico, FOX Corp. decided to create a brand-new company in Mexico. Gomez credits the strategy to his boss, FOX LATAM EVP/GM Carlos Mart nez, who carried through on his vision despite various false starts.
Part of the lineup of studio shows produced by FOX LATAM in Mexico City, FOX 365 offers sports news and analysis. (Photos: FOX LATAM)The new company's initial properties were Concacaf, the Premier League, motorsports, and Liga MX men's and women's competition, which were produced through third-party production companies for the first five months. The turning point came with the acquisition of Caliente TV, the network launched by sportsbook Caliente. The deal gave FOX LATAM a production facility, albeit a modest one with a single studio and control room.
FOX funded a full remodel and a new studio and brought in a third-party production partner located just outside the facility. Then, in April of this year, FOX LATAM acquired the programming and local production of Tigo Sports Channel in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Soccer debate show Cuadro Titular features mostly former players.Since the launch, FOX LATAM's programming output has skyrocketed from about 3,000 hours in its first year to 5,000 after the Caliente acquisition and is set to hit 8,500 hours this year.
We are now working in six countries across Central America in addition to our work in Mexico, says Gomez. This has grown beyond anything I could have imagined just a few years ago. It has been quite a journey.
Not surprisingly, FOX LATAM's rights portfolio is anchored by soccer, with a lineup including Liga MX and Liga MX Femenil, the Concacaf Champions Cup, the UEFA Champions League, the Premier League, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, the Saudi Pro League, Coppa Italia, and MLS. It also includes top women's leagues in England, France, and Italy; Copa do Brasil; and the top divisions in Argentina and Colombia, plus domestic leagues in Panama, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.
Beyond soccer, FOX LATAM carries the NFL, the UFL, and Big Ten football; MLB, LMB, and LMP baseball; NASCAR, NASCAR Mexico, IndyCar, WRC, WEC, and MXGP; PFL; and boxing.
FOX Deportes' U.S. Production Moves to Mexico City
With the capacity to produce 10 events simultaneously from its Mexico facilities, FOX LATAM recently took over all production for FOX Deportes in the U.S.
Mother Soccer is a sportainment show. When [FOX Corp.] saw how much we were spending for that many hours and compared it with what was being done at the time at FOX Deportes in L.A., it just made sense, Gomez says. They decided to bring everything to Mexico, which was exciting, but we had to do it in a very short period of time.
Although the timeline was a major challenge, cultural differences proved to be the bigger hurdle for the production team.
I'm Mexican, he notes. I know a lot of Mexicans in the U.S., and the culture is totally different. We needed to understand that, combine our cultures, and create something that suits both the Mexican market and the U.S. Hispanic market.
FOX LATAM produces Spanish-language MLB shows in Mexico City.In addition to Spanish-language studio programming and game broadcasts for FOX Deportes, FOX LATAM also produces English-language broadcasts of the soccer matches for FOX Sports and LatiNation in the U.S.
Inside the Studios: FOX Sports' Model, LATAM Style
The newest studio in Mexico City, modeled after FOX Sports' studios in Los Angeles, was designed to support live sports programming, studio shows, and other broadcast productions. Gomez spent several weeks in L.A. working with FOX Sports EVP/Creative Director Gary Hartley; SVP, Graphic Technology and Integration, Zac Fields; and SVP, Field Operations and Engineering, Kevin Callahan to get firsthand experience on sets combining large-format LED visuals with integrated video, audio, graphics, routing, communications, and lighting systems.
The newest studio covers 200 sq. m (about 2,150 sq. ft.) and is anchored by a 97-sq.-m (about 1,040-sq.-ft.) LED display. The display features a 1.8-mm pixel pitch and nearly 26.6 million pixels and, according to Gomez, is the largest LED screen in Latin America. Each studio is equipped with four Sony HDC-3500 cameras, and routing is handled by an EVS Neuron router.
It's very FOX [in terms of] style and technology, he notes, but it's also unique. We wanted to re-create what [L.A. has], but we also had the chance to put our thought and creativity into doing it our own way.
Thanks to a 360-degree design, the new studio already hosts four studio shows and all of FOX LATAM's NFL programming. With the magic of tel
