Monumental Sports will broadcast 10 regular season games, five for the Capitals and five for the Wizards, in Spanish as an alternative to its regular English broadcast.
WTOP celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15th through October 15th.
Spanish-speaking Washington Wizards and Capitals fans will have the opportunity to watch games in their language.
Monumental Sports will broadcast 10 regular season games, five for the Capitals and five for the Wizards, in Spanish as additional broadcasts outside of its regular English broadcast. They will be broadcast on Monumental’s overflow channel, the newly revamped “M2”, and can be accessed through its digital streaming service.
The first game to have a Spanish-language broadcast will be on Tuesday, Oct. 15 – the last day of Hispanic Heritage Month – when the Capitals face the Vegas Golden Knights. The Wizards’ first Spanish broadcast will take place during Washington’s trip to Mexico City to face the Miami Heat on Saturday, Nov. 2.
As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at MSE, @MonSportsNet is pleased to present the fifth @Cities and five @WashWizards Spanish-language TV broadcasts this coming season, the first of the four major DC sports teams
– Monumental Sports and Entertainment (@MSE) October 9, 2024
The Spanish broadcasts are one of several new ways Monumental is trying to get fans to watch Wizards and Capitals games this year. Although some methods are expected to be based on free discussions in a relaxed environment, the Spanish-speaking announcements will follow the standard play-by-play method used to see and listen.
Zach Leonsis, president of media and new ventures at Monumental, told WTOP that the organization has had inquiries in the past to do more Spanish programming. Now, with its new studios near Capital One Arena and increased control of its broadcast rights, one of its goals is to make sports more accessible and promote a community with interest than ever before, he said.
“We wanted to create something that was a culture and a language,” Monumental Sports Network General Manager Friday Abernethy said. “We have a lot of Spanish fans who watch our English-language broadcast, but we wanted to expand that experience into something different from the culture, but also very fun, and bring more flavor to it. .”
Both groups will be the latest to include some form of Spanish-language programming this year. The Washington Nationals have returned their Spanish-language broadcast for the 2024 MLB season after an 11-year hiatus.
‘words’
Moisés Linares will serve as the network’s Spanish-language play-by-play voice for both teams, with ESPN Deportes hockey analyst Carlos Rossell (Capitals) and former Maryland basketball star Greivis Vásquez (Wizards ) who provide color descriptions.
Linares previously covered both teams during his tenure as a sports anchor for local Telemundo 44 and NBC4 Washington outlets. He currently calls MLS games for Apple TV and is the Spanish play-by-play announcer for the Washington Wizards.
When asked why he decided to join the Monumental broadcasting team, Linares told WTOP that the ability to call himself a four-sport broadcaster was “one of the biggest challenges of my life .”
“I’ve been a Spanish-language TV anchor for many years, and I felt like the DMV has always been a place where you have a large percentage of bilingual or Spanish-speaking fans who don’t interact with them. . . .,” said Linares. “I think this is a great opportunity for Monumental Sports to show the world that they mean business.”
The most famous name is Vásquez, who played at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland, before becoming a star guard at the University of Maryland from 2006-10. After being drafted in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft, the Venezuelan native played in the league for eight years before injuries curtailed his career.
Rossell has been the Spanish voice for hockey fans for more than 20 years. He handled color commentary for NHL broadcasts in Fox Latin America between 1994-99 before being hired at ESPN. He has covered the NCAA Men’s Division I Hockey Championship (“The Frozen Four”) since 2017 and currently serves as an analyst for ESPN’s NHL.
The hiring of all three was part of the “thoughtful” approach that Monumental took when taking on the challenge of creating Spanish-language broadcasting. Abernethy, who has worked at Univision for seven years, said the organization wants the broadcaster to offer names that are well-known in the community while providing the best coverage.
He said: “We wanted to make sure that we provide the most authentic experience in the broadcast. “Just because you speak the language does not mean that you know the game that you can put the supporter well. So we really wanted to make sure we were relevant to our broadcast.”
For Linares, people like Rossell and Vásquez are experts in this field, which will make the promotions easier for him and more exciting for the viewers. The Salvadoran American, who in the past was best known for his soccer and football calls, has started using other words, including “Desde la Casa Blanca!” (From the White House!)
He said: “There’s a whole generation like us, and now we have a generation or two coming up behind us who eat games in two different languages.” “I think it’s the future of business, and to be in this first wave is a big deal.”
‘the future’
The Capitals’ other Spanish-language games are Monday, Nov. 25, Florida; Tuesday, January 14, vs. Anaheim; Thursday, March 20, against Philadelphia; and Tuesday, April 1, in Boston. The Wizards’ remaining Spanish-language games are Thursday, Dec. 5, against Dallas; Monday, Dec. 30, vs. New York; Friday, February 21, vs. Milwaukee; and Monday, March 31, vs. Miami.
Select sports are known to have a significant Latino following in their specific games, which makes it easier to add more viewers while maintaining the quality of the ads, Leonsis said.
As for adding more Spanish-language games in the future – or even doing an entire season – Leonsis said Monumental will focus on engagement and will inform its future strategy.
“I think that’s what’s really important about this, is that we want to think a lot about being real in our community, and we don’t want to rush it,” Abernethy said. But we want to give ourselves enough volume so that we can test ourselves and learn and continue to improve on it. So we are ready to go where the audience wants to take us.”
Other broadcasts fans can listen to will include former players, social media influencers, radio personalities and other Monumental talent, including WTOP alum Dave Johnson.
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