The Seattle Mariners and television partner FSN Northwest today announced two efforts designed to bring Mariners baseball closer to Spanish speaking fans locally, nationally and internationally.
The Mariners official Spanish-language website, losmarineros.com, will go live on Opening Day, Monday, March 31, and FSN announced an enhanced distribution package for Spanish Audio feeds of Mariners home games. Spanish speaking fans will now have four options for receiving the game broadcasts:
* The Secondary Audio Program (SAP) feed on cable systems carrying the FSN telecasts in the Northwest
* Radio station ESPN Deportes 1230 in Portland
* XM Satellite Radio
* Via losmarineros.com
The expanded service is the product of the new rights agreement reached by the Mariners and FSN during the off-season.
“FSN is dedicated to connecting fans to their favorite teams and players and through this expanded Spanish audio offering, we are happy to provide new avenues that will help the Hispanic community to improve their access to the Mariners organization,” said Mark Shuken, President & CEO of Liberty Sports Group, the operating company of FSN Northwest. “We share the team’s commitment to making Mariners Baseball available to as many fans as possible across the Northwest and are looking forward to these new outreach opportunities beginning on Opening Day.”
Losmarineros.com
Losmarineros.com will be updated daily with coverage of games. Other sections include photo galleries, feature stories and online polls. Original content will be provided on a regular basis by national and international wire services. The site, which is presented by Safeco, is a one-stop outlet for Spanish-language information about tickets, Mariners player profiles and stats, and information on Safeco Field and Mariners Community Relations programs. Fans will also be able to sign up for the new Boletin Spanish-language e-newsletter.
“Safeco is thrilled to be a part of this outreach,” said Eddie Navarrete, Safeco marketing director. “This in-language digital connection is a natural extension of our award-winning Spanish-language campaign–Tú ¿qué valoras? (What matters to you?). More importantly, it helps us to reach this important audience through this unique experience.”
“The Spanish speaking population of the Northwest is growing and losmarineros.com will help us connect with those fans,” said Chuck Armstrong, Seattle Mariners President and COO. “It’s also an important way for fans in the home countries of our Latin players to keep tabs on how they’re doing. We appreciate Safeco’s commitment to the site and for helping make it possible.”
The Mariners are among 16 Major League clubs offering Spanish-language websites in 2008. Of the Mariners 2008 40-man roster, 12 are of Hispanic descent from Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
About Spanish Audio
The Spanish broadcast team will again feature Alex Rivera on play-by-play with Julio Cruz providing analysis. Rivera is an experienced broadcaster and print journalist and former Latin and Reggae musician. This is Rivera’s second season calling Mariners games. Cruz, a long-time favorite of Seattle fans, was an outstanding second baseman for the Mariners from 1977-83 and still stands as the Mariners all-time stolen base leader with 290. He returns for his sixth season behind the microphone for Mariners Spanish radio broadcasts.
Production, engineering and coordination services for the Mariners-FSN Spanish Audio are provided by the KXLY Broadcast Group of Spokane.
Most cable systems are equipped with SAP capability. Subscribers should contact their cable operators to determine if the Spanish feed will be available on their system.
Salute to Latin American Beisbol
Again this season, the Mariners are saluting the contributions Spanish-speaking players have made to the game with Salute to Latin American Beisbol on Saturday, May 31, presented by Safeco. Mariners players will wear jerseys with the name Marineros on the front. In the past, such celebrations have included salutes to the Latino greats of the game, Hispanic Heroes trading cards, and traditional music and dance performances.”
The Mariners have celebrated Latinos in baseball annually in recent years. In 2008, they will do so as Los Marineros.
