Did Comcast start broadcasting the Super Bowl in Spanish? Many say that was the case.
During the first quarter of Sunday's Super Bowl, many tweeted their Comcast service started broadcasting in Spanish.
@comcast why is NBC commentary all of a sudden in Spanish? #SuperBowl
— Rohit Kumar Sharma ✌ (@roheat_) February 4, 2018
And yes I’m at a Super Bowl party @comcast @XFINITY where the NBC broadcast is in Spanish. SBenEspanol
— Audrey Irvine (@audreycnn) February 4, 2018
NBC's Spanish announce team is doing a great job so far.
— James Kratch (@JamesKratch) February 4, 2018
The Philadelphia-based company didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. But it appeared to respond en masse to people complaining about the language switch.
Thank you for reaching out to us about the commentary being in Spanish. I am not experience that. Can you check to see if your SAP settings are on? Here are instructions //t.co/9ARJJzti5E - QS
— Comcast (@comcast) February 4, 2018
At least one person said the commercials were in English and the commentary in Spanish. Another said the broadcast was switching between English and Spanish.
Thank you for reaching out to us about the commercials. We are currently aware and are working as quickly as possible to fix the issues. - QS
— ComcastCares (@comcastcares) February 4, 2018
Telemundo Deportes is the self-proclaimed “home of the biggest, best, global sports in Spanish-language.”
Already home to the FIFA World Cup through 2026 and the Olympics through 2032, Telemundo added to its impressive résumé by landing the exclusive Spanish-language rights in the United States for Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022 from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
This will mark the first time ever that a Super Bowl will be televised on a Spanish-language broadcast network; previously, the Big Game had been broadcast on Spanish-language cable networks including Universo and Fox Deportes.
Not only will Telemundo be the home to Super Bowl LVI, it will also be the Spanish-language destination of Sunday Night Football for the next 13 seasons.
“We are thrilled to partner with the NFL to be the first to showcase the Super Bowl on a Spanish-language broadcast network and to bring the entire SNF schedule to the growing U.S. Hispanic NFL audience,” Telemundo Deportes president Ray Warren said in a statement. “We look forward to 2022 when we’ll present fans the most powerful content in sports beginning the year with the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl LVI, and wrapping it up with the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the fall, creating a unique opportunity to merge the worlds of fútbol and football exclusively across all Telemundo Deportes platforms.”
Under the new agreement, Telemundo Deportes will continue to present all Sunday night regular-season games, the NFL Kickoff game, the annual Thanksgiving prime time game, two Wild Card games, and one Divisional Playoff Game. The distribution will expand with select games shifting to broadcast television, with Telemundo Network featuring both Super Bowl LVI and the Sunday primetime Wild Card game this coming season.
In the 2021, Universo will televise 22 NBC NFL games, beginning September 9 with NFL Kickoff 2021 featuring Tom Brady and the Super Bowl-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers facing Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
Telemundo broadcast the entire slate of Sunday Night Football games during the 2020-21 NFL season, marking the first time in the league’s 101-year history the whole SNF slate was broadcast in Spanish throughout the United States.
It was the eighth season Telemundo Deportes (or Universo) televised NFL games. The network broadcast select games from the 2010-11 through the 2012-13 season, then again between the 2014-15 season and the 2017-18 season.
Telemundo’s first Sunday Night Football broadcast was between the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins on September 26, 2010, though it was limited to New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago and Dallas markets. Universo broadcast seven NFL games, including Super Bowl LII, during the 2017-18 season.
“We are delighted to partner with Telemundo Deportes to continue enhancing game availability and the overall fan experience for the extremely passionate Latino NFL fanbase for years to come,” NFL vice-president of marketing strategy Amanda Herald said in a statement. “We are especially excited to expand Telemundo broadcast coverage to Super Bowl LVI as we look to engage fans both in the host city of Los Angeles—the largest Spanish-speaking region in the country—and nationwide.”
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