ESPN And Mexican Beer Giant Tecate Announce Boxing Sponsorship Deal

ByBoxing Press

ESPN and Tecate, the Mexican cerveza con carácter, announced today a ground-breaking sponsorship agreement that aligns Tecate with ESPN’s Spanish and English-language boxing content on TV, online and on radio.

The highlight of the sponsorship will be the Tecate Friday Night Fights Studio within weekly Friday Night Fights telecasts on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

With this agreement, Tecate, which for the first time will have presence on a general market network on a consistent basis to reach Hispanics boxing fans in both languages, will enhance its commitment to growing the sport among adults 21 and older with a passion for boxing.

In addition, as a result of the ESPN-Tecate deal, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions reached an agreement with ESPN for seven GB events with ESPN’s Friday Night Fights. The first Golden Boy Promotions event as part of Friday Night Fights will be aired April 10.

“We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with ESPN, one of the most trusted sports broadcast entities, and support their boxing programming,” said Carlos Boughton, brand director for Tecate.

“As an authentic Mexican cerveza that embodies the boldness and character of the sport, Tecate has built a strong relationship with adult boxing fans by sponsoring some of the biggest Championship bouts in the last three years.

“We see this agreement as a natural progression of Tecate’s commitment to bring quality boxing events to our adult consumers in their hometown. We are confident that our relationship with ESPN will catapult Tecate’s positioning as the leading brand in the sport.”

“This is a landmark agreement for ESPN for many reasons,” said Lino Garcia, general manager, ESPN Deportes. “Tecate’s sponsorship illustrates the strength of the Hispanic market in driving sponsorship in the sports category.

“It’s also gratifying because this deal allows us to collaborate with Tecate to offer our general market and Hispanic viewers enhanced boxing programming across multiple platforms. We are also pleased to work with Golden Boy Promotions in an effort to continue showcasing some of the most promising fighters on the ring.”

“ESPN has always been a great supporter of the sport of boxing through the years and it’s an honor to partner up with them now to deliver some of the most exciting fights and fighters in the game to the fans who tune in every week,” said Oscar de la Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions.

“When I tell fighters that they’re going to be appearing on Friday Night Fights, their eyes always light up with excitement and you know they’re going to be bringing their ‘A’ game when the bell rings. We are also excited to team up once again with Cerveza Tecate on this new adventure and I know the fans will definitely reap the benefits of these new partnerships.”

Tecate’s sponsorship represents a fully integrated alliance across multiple platforms. As part of the agreement, Tecate will air ads on ESPN Deportes’ original production of Viernes de Combates. In addition, to further highlight ESPN’s commitment to Hispanic boxing and sponsors serving this segment of the population, Tecate will be running :30 second ads in Spanish during all of ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights, an effort that commenced Friday, April 3.

ESPN will tie in the Tecate concept of “Con Caracter” by integrating the brand into both networks’ Friday Night Fights telecasts as well as on ESPN Deportes Radio’s afternoon program Zone ESPN.

This week’s Friday Night Fights on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes will feature a Golden Boy Promotions main event Ossie Duran vs. David Lopez in a 10-round middleweight bout from Desert Diamond Casino in Las Vegas.