YupiMSN and ESPNdeportes.com Team Up to Deliver the Best In Online Sports to Spanish-Speaking Fans Throughout the Americas

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., June 4, 2002 — YupiMSN ( http://www.yupimsn.com/ ), a leading Spanish-language Internet network and a joint venture between TELMEX and Microsoft Corp., and ESPNdeportes.com ( http://www.espndeportes.com/ ), the Spanish-language site produced by ESPN.com, today announced an agreement for ESPNdeportes.com to become the exclusive sports content provider on YupiMSN throughout the Americas.

The broad agreement also places ESPNdeportes.com as the exclusive sports content provider for T1msn, the No. 1 online property in Mexico. 1 Available today, ESPNdeportes.com on YupiMSN aims to become the place that Spanish-speaking sports fans throughout the Americas will turn to for top-quality sports content combined with the unique, rich content from YupiMSN and T1msn.

Agreement highlights include the following:

  • ESPNdeportes.com will have preferred positioning on the YupiMSN home page, and the ESPNdeportes.com site will contain YupiMSN branding and links throughout.

  • ESPNdeportes.com’s content — including in-depth coverage and analysis of more than 10 sports; live scoring for soccer, MLB, NBA and NFL games; interactive features; and live chats — will be integrated into YupiMSN.

  • YupiMSN services will be available directly from ESPNdeportes.com.

  • YupiMSN and ESPNdeportes.com will offer cross-promotional digital marketing opportunities that will allow advertisers to reach the rapidly expanding Spanish-speaking online sports audience.

“This new offering deepens ESPN’s commitment to the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American region, and we’re excited to work with YupiMSN on this initiative,”
said Tim Bunnell, vice president of programming at ESPN International.
“With ESPNdeportes.com content available to the millions of visitors to YupiMSN each month, sports fans will truly be able to receive some of the most comprehensive Spanish-language sports coverage available online. Given that we have just launched our 2002 World Cup section on the site, the timing with YupiMSN couldn’t be better.”

The combination of YupiMSN’s solid reputation of delivering unique Spanish-language content and services and ESPNdeportes.com’s expertise in online sports enables U.S. and Latin American Spanish-speaking consumers to instantly access an environment dedicated to delivering the best and the latest in sports-related content. Consumers can move with a single click from ESPNdeportes.com’s comprehensive sports news and information, scores, and highlights to their MSN® Hotmail® Web-based e-mail service, all available in Spanish, and then back to ESPNdeportes.com.

“Our association with ESPNdeportes.com provides first-rate online sports entertainment to our consumers as we continue to deliver on our vision of bringing the richest and most diverse Internet experience to Spanish speakers throughout the Americas,”
said Oscar Co
ë
n, president of YupiMSN.
“In doing so, we are creating a distinctive new opportunity for marketers to reach Hispanic sports enthusiasts online.”

Since last fall, ESPN.com users in the United States have grown by more than 60 percent. 2 This new relationship extends the successful ESPN.com English-language relationship with MSN, which has contributed to ESPN.com’s recent growth. Under the terms of the agreement, ESPN.com is the exclusive sports content provider for MSN in the United States. ESPNdeportes.com will continue to be managed by ESPN Inc. and will remain directly accessible to all Internet users at http://www.espndeportes.com/ .

About ESPNdeportes.com

ESPNdeportes.com is the Spanish-language sports site produced by ESPN.com. ESPN.com, a division of ESPN Inc., is the leading provider of sports on the Internet. ESPN.com, which is also home to ESPNdeportes.com, ESPNsoccernet and ABCSports.com, also works in conjunction with the Walt Disney Internet Group. ESPN Inc., The Worldwide Leader In Sports, is 80 percent owned by ABC Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co. The Hearst Corp. holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN. ESPN Inc. includes six domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Now and ESPN Today), ESPN International (24 international networks and syndication), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Regional Television, ESPN Wireless, SportsTicker, and ESPN Enterprises, overseeing brand extensions such as the ESPN Zone, an interactive sports-themed dining and entertainment experience.

About YupiMSN

Founded in 1996 and acquired by the Microsoft and TELMEX joint venture T1msn in June 2001, YupiMSN is a leading network of Spanish-language sites that responds to the great need for easy-to-use and relevant offerings on the Web in Spanish. YupiMSN enables its large and loyal audience of Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States and Latin America to take full advantage of all the benefits the Web has to offer. The YupiMSN network provides marketers with unique and innovative opportunities to effectively reach their target audiences. Within its flagship portal site, YupiMSN features best-of-breed content and services such as MSN Hotmail, MSN Messenger Service and MSN Search as well as popular communities such as CiudadFutura.com, http://www.ciudadfutura.com/ , considered to be one of the first Spanish-language online communities, and MujerFutura.com, http://www.mujerfutura.com/ , a specialized site catering to the interests and needs of Spanish-speaking women. YupiMSN was acquired by the Microsoft and TELMEX joint venture, T1msn, in June 2001. More information can be found at http://www.yupimsn.com/ .

About T1msn

T1msn ( http://www.t1msn.com/ )

is the leading portal in Mexico that enables users to communicate with each other, search, buy and sell more effectively, because it has the support of Telmex and Microsoft, two leaders in communications and technology. T1msn offers its users diversified content and the best Internet services available in Spanish such as MSN Hotmail, MSN Messenger, MSN Search and others.

About TELMEX

Telmex is the leading communications company in Mexico with more than 12 million telephone lines in service, offering telecommunications services through a 68,000-kilometer fiber-optic digital network. Telmex and its subsidiaries offer a wide range of advanced telecommunications, data and video services, and Internet access as well as integrated telecom solutions for corporate customers like Data Connectivity and Internet Data Centers Infrastructure. Today Telmex is the telecommunications solutions provider leading in Mexico between products designed for all population segments. Those are interested in viewing additional information on Telmex may visit the Telmex Web page at http://www.telmex.com/ .

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

1 Nielsen//NetRatings, Audience Measurement Service, February 2002, Home Only

2 Source: Jupiter Media Metrix, Monthly Flash Report, April 2002

Microsoft, MSN and Hotmail are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft® Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. Journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team for additional assistance.

Related Posts