Latinos were the main stars at the LiS: Latinos in Sports event, which brought together people from all over the nation as well as Miami for the Formula One Grand Prix weekend.
For fans, the main event was the race itself, and the packed stands got to see Team McLaren racer Lando Norris earn his first-ever win. However, for those who attended the LiS: Latinos in Sports launch event, the panel conversation—hosted by CNBC’s Alex Sherman with Mónica Gil, chief administrative and marketing officer at NBCUniversal Telemundo, and Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO for TNT Sports—was the event to watch.
Xavier Gutierrez, president and CEO of the Arizona Coyotes, kicked off the event and shared how the impact of sports led him to the creation of ImpactX and to an exciting joint venture to launch LiS: Latinos in Sports with Pedro A. Guerrero, CEO of Guerrero, who first created the inaugural Latinos in Sports editorial series in November 2023 through the company’s flagship brand Hispanic Executive.
“Sports are important to commerce,” Gutierrez emphasized to the audience. “Not only do they define what we wear, but also they define and impact communities.”
As the impact of sports in the Latino community, and of Latinos in the sports industry, continues to grow, one element plays a large role in this growth: media. Mainstream media is how game coverage, news, and stories are shared to those outside of a stadium or locker room. Media is the one able to spread the awareness and growth of Latinos in the sports world, from on the field and off.
“Latinos in Sports is a major milestone for us. I am extremely passionate about this endeavor and showcasing the Latino executives who work so hard behind the scenes to bring us all the sports content we love and enjoy,” Guerrero said. “Sports are important to us as Latinos. The numbers don’t lie. More than 90 percent of Latinos view sports as important to their lives. From sports events to sports content to in-game commercials and more, this translates to a $21 billion Hispanic sports marketplace.”
(L to R: Xavier A. Gutierrez, José E. Feliciano, Pedro A. Guerrero)
According to Gil, Latinos represent one of every five Americans and are a young demographic that continues to grow into not only sports fans but also the next generation of Latinos working in the sports industry. “For any company that is trying to grow, they have to reach Latinos,” Gil said, “because Hispanics are not just shaping America, they are America.”
As the world continues to become more technology-driven every day, media significantly influences the way these Latinos are shaped. Media companies must intensify their efforts to connect with audiences and communities, with a key part of that being a deep understanding of their audiences.
TNT Sports is focused on the general audience, and because of that, it can reach a wider range with its content. Sports that may not usually have a large Latino audience have Latino players who have the potential to draw in new fans, and TNT Sports works to help grow that audience through its coverage.
“Part of it is about people [who] we have on screen that are bringing those diverse voices, that’s one,” Silberwasser said. “The other one, [is seeing] what kind of stories can we tell?”
One example Silberwasser used was baseball, a key sport for TNT Sports on TBS. Thirty percent of Major League Baseball players are Hispanic, and TNT Sports knows the importance of capitalizing and highlighting this in its content. One way was having a broadcast during Hispanic Heritage Month with Latino analysts and broadcasters who shared the game from their point of view.
In the case of Telemundo, the television network focuses on the Spanish-speaking audience, using English and Spanish to broadcast sports events, thus reaching sixty-six million Latinos daily. The network strives to bring the best coverage to fans all around, especially the ones who cannot go to the games.
“When I am fortunate enough to work for a company that is servicing Latinos 365 days a year, my job is not to only tell their stories but to amplify [them], to find those stories that people may not know,” Gil said. “How do you bring them into light?”
One upcoming event that is expected to make waves through the Latino sports community is the FIFA World Cup in 2026, which will take place across sixteen cities in the US, Mexico, and Canada. With Telemundo as one of the main broadcasters of the World Cup in the US, there will now be a US-based, Spanish-speaking broadcast option for anyone to tune in.
“It’s not just doing something for the sake of good—it’s about the fact that it’s business,” Gil said.
The industry—the companies to the brands and the fans—sometimes must see how these big events, like the World Cup, can impact the sports industry and the growing Latino fanbases. While the loyal Latino fanbases are often the ones coming out to the games and buying the merchandise, Latinos are growing to be much more than that within the sports industry.
“My vision, my goal, for our next generation is that we can all be owners. That Latinos are not seen just as a check, as purchasing power, just a young demographic [that is] growing,” José E. Feliciano, managing partner and cofounder of Clearlake Capital Group and co-owner of the Premier League’s Chelsea Football Club, told the audience. “That we can be seen as CEOs, as executives, and as owners.”
Silberwasser and Gil are two examples of this as Latino powerhouses leading the way in delivering sports and Latino coverage to a rapidly growing audience and helping build the network for Latinos in sports.
What’s next for Latinos in Sports?
Our next event will be at the US Open in New York City on September 5. Stay tuned for additional content as we continue to highlight inspiring Latinos in the sports industry.