FOX Deportes, the first Hispanic sports network in the United States, reinforces its commitment to Spanish with 6 new programs after the success of the 2026 Soccer World Cup, in which even English-speaking audiences tuned in to matches in this language, explains its commentator Claudio Suárez, a historical figure of the Mexican team.
“El Emperador” Suárez maintains in an interview with EFE that this channel perceives an opportunity to “continue growing” with broadcasts in Spanish and enter “a new era”, with a team that already has 150 talents in the United States, Mexico and Central America.
As an example, he points out that FOX Deportes is celebrating “30 uninterrupted years” of broadcasting in the US, where it was a pioneer in sports coverage in Spanish, and highlights an expansion to “all of Latin America”, starting new programming last September, with special attention to Mexico and Central America.
“The reality is that we continue to think about continuing to grow,” emphasized Suárez, a notable former central defender, three-time World Cup winner in the 1994 World Cups in the United States, France 1998 and Germany 2006.
It should be noted that in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the number of soccer fans in the United States increased 12.5% year-on-year, totaling 75.2 million in July, which is also a growth of 27% since 2022, as reported by the Major Soccer League (MLS) citing the ‘Fan Insights’ report from the consulting firm Nielsen.
A previous Nielsen report showed in September that almost half (46.5%) of the audience for World Cup broadcasts in Spanish came from homes where this is not the dominant language, which, according to the firm, shows that this type of broadcasts are “attracting broader audiences.”
Suárez, who last played for Chivas USA in the MLS, attributed this phenomenon perhaps to the “issue of emotion or storytelling.”
«Everyone has their own style, but the Hispanic one did draw a lot of attention and I did see that the same Americans (Americans) or from other countries preferred to watch the game in Spanish. And, for us, it is truly a compliment because one is in the industry in Spanish,” he said.
In the United States, the 2026 World Cup accumulated 84 billion minutes of viewing on FOX and NBCUniversal, while the audience of all affiliates of the country’s first Hispanic sports channel grew by 73%, according to Nielsen.
Latinos increasingly watch other sports
As its star program, the network has the debate table ‘Cuadro titular’ with the Spanish Claudia García and the Argentine Santiago Fourcade, in addition to the news program ‘FOX 365’, presented by Ricardo Murguía, and ‘Los Espartanos’, a talk show by José Pablo Coello, both Mexicans.
The offer is completed with three other programs hosted by Mexicans: ‘Código Fox Fútbol’, by Raúl Orvañanos; ‘Referentes’, by Jorge Sánchez, and ‘Mother Soccer’, presented by Ana Valero.
Although the “king” is still soccer, Suárez calls Hispanics “a very noble market” that “has practically increased” in “all sports,” such as baseball, motorsports, women’s soccer and American soccer.
“It’s been impressive, really, we have a market for everyone,” says the former soccer player. “I see many Latinos who are very fond of not just one sport, but several, and there I know people who are glued to the television for the same reason, who love different sports, not just soccer,” he adds.
