WTOP celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month this Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, with stories spotlighting the contributions, culture and accomplishments of Hispanic communities across the D.C. region.
Spanish-speaking Washington Wizards and Capitals fans will now have the opportunity to watch games in their own language.
Monumental Sports will broadcast 10 regular-season games, five for the Capitals and five Wizards matches, in Spanish as alternative broadcasts outside of its normal English coverage. They will be broadcast on Monumental’s overflow channel, newly rebranded “M2,” and can be accessed through its digital streaming service.
The first game that will have a Spanish-language broadcast will be on Tuesday, Oct. 15 — the final day of Hispanic Heritage Month — as the Capitals face the Vegas Golden Knights. The first Wizards Spanish-language broadcast will take place during Washington’s trip to Mexico City to face the Miami Heat on Saturday, Nov. 2.
As we continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month at MSE, @MonSportsNet is excited to air five @Capitals and five @WashWizards Spanish-language TV broadcasts this upcoming season, a first among the four major sports leagues in D.C.
— Monumental Sports & Entertainment (@MSE) Oct. 9, 2024
The Spanish broadcasts are one of several new alternative ways Monumental is trying to get fans to watch Wizards and Capitals games this year. While the other alternative formats are expected to be based on free-flowing conversations in a relaxed environment, the Spanish-speaking broadcasts will follow the traditional play-by-play format fans are used to seeing and listening to.
Zach Leonsis, president of media and new enterprises at Monumental, told WTOP the organization has had inquiries in the past to do more Spanish programming. Now, with its new studios next door to Capital One Arena and more control of its broadcasting rights, one of its goals is to make games more accessible and foster more communities of interest than ever before, he said.
“We wanted to create something that was in culture and in language,” Monumental Sports Network General Manager Friday Abernethy said. “We have many Hispanic fans that watch our English-language broadcast, but we wanted to also expand that experience to something that was culturally different, but also really fun, and bring that extra flavor to it.”
Both teams will become the latest to include some form of Spanish-speaking programming this year. The Washington Nationals brought back its Spanish-language broadcast for the 2024 MLB season following an 11-year hiatus.
‘Los voces’
Moisés Linares will serve as the network’s Spanish-language play-by-play voice for both teams, with ESPN Deportes hockey analyst Carlos Rossell (Capitals) and former Maryland basketball star Greivis Vásquez (Wizards) providing color commentary.
Linares previously covered both teams during his time working as a sports anchor at local TV outlets Telemundo 44 and NBC4 Washington. He currently calls MLS matches for Apple TV and is the Spanish play-by-play announcer for the Washington Commanders.
When asked why he decided to join Monumental’s broadcast team, Linares told WTOP the ability to call yourself a four-sport broadcaster is “one of the biggest challenges of my career.”
“I’ve been an advocate for Spanish-speaking TV for a lot of years, and I felt that the DMV has always been a place where you have a big percentage of the fan base that’s either bilingual or Spanish speaking that are not catered to,” Linares said. “I think this is a big opportunity for Monumental Sports to show the world that they mean business.”
The most well-known name is Vásquez, who played in Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland, before becoming a star point-guard at the University of Maryland from 2006-10. After being drafted in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft, the Venezuela-native played in the league for eight years before injuries cut his pro career short.
Rossell has been a Spanish voice for hockey fans for over 20 years. He handled color commentary for NHL on Fox broadcasts in Latin America between 1994-99 before being hired at ESPN. He’s covered the NCAA Men’s Division I Hockey Championship (“The Frozen Four) since 2017 and currently serves as an analyst for ESPN’s NHL coverage.
All three of their hirings was a part of a “thoughtful” approach Monumental took when taking on the challenge of setting up a Spanish-language broadcast. Abernethy, who previously worked at Univision for seven years, said the organization wants the broadcast to feature recognizable names to the community while also providing the best coverage possible.
“We wanted to make sure that we were giving the most authentic experience to the broadcast,” she said. “Just because you speak the language doesn’t mean that you know the game that intimately where you can really bring the fan in. So we really wanted to make sure that we were being really meaningful to our broadcast.”
For Linares, people like Rossell and Vásquez are experts in the field, which will make the broadcasts smoother for him and more fun for the viewer. The Salvadoran American, who’s gone viral in the past for his soccer and football calls, has already begun practicing some catchphrases, including “Desde la Casa Blanca!” (From the White House!)
“There’s an entire generation like us, and then we have a generation or two coming behind us that are consuming sports in two different languages,” he said. “I feel that’s the future of the business, and to be on the inside in this first wave is a huge thing.”
‘El futuro’
Other Capitals Spanish-language games are Monday, Nov. 25, at Florida; Tuesday, Jan. 14, vs. Anaheim; Thursday, March 20, vs. Philadelphia; and Tuesday, April 1, at Boston. The remaining Wizards Spanish-language games are Thursday, Dec. 5, vs. Dallas; Monday, Dec. 30, vs. New York; Friday, Feb. 21, vs. Milwaukee; and Monday, March 31, vs. Miami.
The games chosen are known to have significant Latino fanbases in their specific sports, making it easier to add more viewers while maintaining the broadcasts’ quality, Leonsis said.
As to adding more Spanish-speaking games in the future — or even doing an entire season — Leonsis said Monumental will be looking at the engagement and will inform its strategy for the future.
“I think what’s so important about this, is we want to be really thoughtful about being authentic to our community, and we don’t want to rush it,” Abernethy said. “But we want to give ourselves enough volume so that we can actually test and learn and continue to improve upon it. So we’re ready to go where the audience wants to take us.”
Other alternative broadcasts fans can tune into will feature former players, social media influencers, sports radio personalities and other Monumental talent, including WTOP alum Dave Johnson.
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