Rangers00, Euro 84 was before my time (the first tournament after my kids started playing was Mexico 86, and no, I didn't watch the NASL), so I don't remember Jorge Berry. However, I certainly remember Tony Tirado. Your point about English viewers being "piggy backers" and therefore not in the target for the Spanish commercials is certainly true. However, the brand name is usually prominent in the commercials (especially visually), so even non-Spanish speakers will recognize who the commercial is for. The issue that these points were in response to, however, was the question about SAP - i.e. why can't Univision at least put an English commentary on SAP as an option for viewers. The "historical review" was to show why Univision's policy changed, and therefore, why they wouldn't be interested in adding an SAP option, even though it could conceivably increase their viewership. George
Telefutura is definately broadcast in DC. I watched all WC games on it while a frijole-eatin' grad student with no cable.
okay, I've read through this whole thing and even clicked on all the hyperlinks and I'm still wondering....if you get Univision does that mean you get Telefutura? Are they the same thing/channel? Cuz I get Univision, plus some other Spanish channel right next to it, plus Galavision and Telemundo. Can anyone help?
Just because you get Univision does not mean you'll get Telefutra (IMHO). It all depends on your cable/satelite providers. Best thing to do is get online and check out your channel line-up to know for sure.
i dont think univision and telefutura are the same thing. however, up here in the northeastern NJ area, we get both on cable, as well as galavision and telemundo. galavision is a cable channel. apparently telefutura is a broadcast channel (i was wondering why i got that channel in my room with no cable....). univision and telemundo are also broadcast channels. just use a tv with no cable and flip thru the channels (use a big ole' antenna if u have to)...you will probably find telefutura there... it'll be the spanish channel that's NOT univision or telemundo. maybe it's the one you say you found. i guess the only way to find out will be to tune in during game time
Good comments on SAP/SIN. I just wonder if Univision knows how many English pseakers will tune into the game? Maybe we should let them know. Also, from thier point of view, it may not matter since most english speakers will only tune in for soccer and will watch it either way. As a soccer fan, I'm watching the gold cup despite the language barrier, so they have me with out SAP english broadcast and they probably know it. Odds are I'm not tuning in any other time to watch news or telenovelas (for more than 30 seconds while hot chick is on-screen ). However, if they were really smart, they would offer an SAP option for the Mexican soccer league games. I'd be much more likely to tune in then, it would help keep my interest and could help popularize the league in the US. Think about it, on FSC I'll watch French, Dutch (in the past) or sometime the Argentine league. I'd be alot more intersted with an english broadcast then.
I can recall during one of the older world cups, when cantor was at univision, he'd occasionally throw a few sentences per half in english to satisfy the anglo only speaking audience.... still I can enjoy a match with the MUTE button on... why do you really need commentary??
Mexican league, unlike the EPL, Serie A, Bundesliga, French league, etc., is a regional league that doesn't have any appeal outside of North/Central America. Soccer mad Asia doesn't carry a sniff of Mexican league. Even ESPN Latin America don't care about it... The odds of a non-Espanol speaker would be interested in the Mexican league is low. The odds of such a non-Espanol speaker would watch the MFL only in English but definitely not in Spanish is even lower. So why waste the resources to produce the English commentary especially when their ads do not target non-Spanish speakers?
Good commentary can add to the game. Also, when you are watching a team/league you don't know about, the announcer can provide a little education about the teams and who are on the field. For example, when I fist stumbled upon the Dutch league when they used to have it on ESPN2 (circa mid -1990's), watrching ti with the sound on was alot better than with the sound off. I got to know the players' names, where they came from, how thier team was doing, who is scoring goals,etc... True you can enjor a game with the sound off, but a good announcer can add interest.
Maybe I'm in the minorty, but I'd watch more Mexican games if they were in English, just like I'd be a lot less likely to watch the French league in French. Maybe it's not worth the time and expense, but with recent games between the MFL and MLS, I've gotten much more interested in the Mex league. IF they were smart, they'd start thinking about trying to drum up interest outside of Spanish speakers. -Maybe this subject deserves it's own thread since it's a bit off-topic.
a good announcer on espn or espn2 or abc is still waiting to happen... I'd agree the spanish guys on telemundo and univision do provide a generally good running commentary.... if you don't comprehend spanish, watching a match still can be enjoyable.... i've seen some matches in russian, and I couldn't begin to know the first word they were saying...
Agreed - This is an interesting topic. Worthy of a serious discussion. At some point, I would think that Telemundo or Univision would want to experiment with SAP/English on their MFL broadcasts.
I am not to familar with how SAP works, I know what it is but how much would it cost them to do this? I speak Spanish and still do not have much interest in MFL. I watch a game here and there but that is it. These channels try to target the Mexican audience first. I don't blame them as this is their big sports market.
Hey, the movie "Shaolin Soccer" is English dubbed Chinese! Being in Los Angeles, it seems like I watch soccer in Spanish often.
It would be nice if FSC aired some of the MFL games that FSE shows as well. Funny, we can watch Brazil v Argentina in Germany in English but not say U.S. v South Africa in the U.S.
Good News for US Soccer Fans in Philadelphia Area; WFPA Channel 28 a Telefutura affiliate is part of DirecTV's local package....i never knew i had it either....
Andy, you may or may not be aware of this, but we do get Telefutura in the Raleigh-Durham area... at least on the digital spectrum... If you have a digital (ATSC) tuner, and you get WKFT-DT, then you will find Telefutura in the second subchannel (40.2).
to all those w/ cable, time warner in particular, i would really check your channel lineups and your packaging options. for example i have a tw cable package that includes digital cable. they call them digipic packages. i can chose one of three options for my digital channels, the regular digital channels, the encore movie digital channels, and the spanish language digital channels. since the spanish language channels are one of my choices, all i would have to do to get telefutura, a digital channel around most of nc, except for raleigh, is to switch my digital channel options to the spanish language on gameday and switch it back after the game is over. this should work for all nc systems with twc and you should not endure any extra charges because you have the option to chose which selection of digital channels you want to subscribe to.
Telefutura stations consist of string and cups. I went out today and bought an antenna just to try to get the Telefutura station two counties away, I don't even get a lousy signal, just snow.