Telemundo Scores Two Sports Emmys

Deportes Telemundo won two Sports Emmy® Awards given by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences at a gala ceremony yesterday night in New York. Telemundo received more nominations and awards than any other Hispanic broadcast network at the 35th Annual Sports Emmy® Awards, the first time specific categories for Spanish-language television were included. The World Cup classifying match between Mexico and Costa Rica on "Rumbo al Mundial" in October 2013 was recognized as "Outstanding Live Sports Coverage in Spanish" and the network's acclaimed sportscaster Andrés Cantor was honored as "Outstanding On-Air Sports Personality in Spanish." Deportes Telemundo executives Jorge Hidalgo, Executive Vice-president of Sports, Eli Velázquez, Senior Vice-president of Sports, and Roberto Pardo, Vice-president of Sports Operations, accepted the award representing "Rumbo al Mundial."

Andrés Cantor has made his legacy felt since narrating his first World Cup, Italy 1990. He has narrated every FIFA World Cup since then, in addition to hundreds of Mexican league games on "Fútbol Estelar" and "Barclays Premier League por Telemundo," as well as the Mexican national team's World Cup classification matches on "Rumbo al Mundial." He gained international fame during the US 1994 World Cup, when his cry of "GOOOOAL!" became a national phenomenon that transcended cultural barriers and led to numerous awards and television appearances on US English-language television shows such as "The Late Show with David Letterman." In 2000, Cantor became the first Hispanic to present men's and women's soccer in English for NBC, Telemundo's sister network, during the Sidney Olympic Games. In the years since, he has cemented his reputation as a leading host of Telemundo's award-winning Olympic coverage. Recently, Cantor was the only Spanish-language representative to be included in the official FIFA magazine's list of the world's top soccer commentators. This latest honor bring his Emmy® award count to three.

Narrated by Cantor and his fellow Deportes Telemundo commentator Sammy Sadovnik, also nominated for a 35th annual Sports Emmy®, the World Cup classification game between Costa Rica and Mexico broadcast on "Rumbo al Mundial" on October 15, 2013, had an average audience of 4.63 million viewers, including 1.75 million men aged 18 to 49, making it one of the year's most watched sports events.