El Segundo, CA (August 17, 2012) – Time Warner Cable Deportes today announced its first group of on-air talent hires. Mark Shuken, Senior Vice President and General Manager, TWC Sports Regional Networks, made the announcement along with Pablo F. Urquiza, Vice President, Time Warner Cable Deportes. Veteran sports personalities Ricardo Celis, Martin “El Pulpo” Zúñiga, Elmur Souza, Enrique Gutierrez and Hipolito Gamboa will join the nation’s first Spanish-language regional sports network, which launches in Southern California and surrounding areas on October 1. Together, the group boasts more than 70 years of on-air sports experience.
“The talent we’ve assembled to help us launch the first-ever Spanish-language regional sports network will give our viewers exactly what they want – credible and authentic insight paired with more access to their teams than they’ve ever had before,” said Shuken. “We’re excited to have this distinguished group of veteran announcers join us at Time Warner Cable Deportes.”
“We’ve worked hard to assemble an on-air team specifically for the Hispanic Southern California sports fan,” said Urquiza. “We feel that Ricardo Celis, Martin Zúñiga, Elmur Souza, Enrique Gutierrez and Hipolito Gamboa are the right fit to connect with our viewers and convey the passion that our fans have for Southern California sports.”
Celis joins Time Warner Cable Deportes as a sports anchor. With more than 20 years of experience in the sports television industry, the Emmy Award-winning reporter has covered every major sporting event in the world including the Olympics, FIFA World Cup, Super Bowl and numerous World Boxing Matches. Most recently, he served as the Sports Director and Anchor for GLR Networks and Radio Grupo Prisa. Celis also spent 12 years at Telefutura calling boxing play-by-play and before that four at HBO Latinoámerica in the same role. He also was a news and sports anchor for the Telemundo Network from 1994-1998 and for the Telemundo Los Angeles affiliate KVEA-TV from 1990-1992. Celis is originally from Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
“Our team will be great because it is not just about who our audience will see on-air, but about an entire group of very capable producers, editors and cameramen that will help make our programming something historic in Spanish-language television,” said Celis. “My excitement to be joining Time Warner Cable Deportes goes beyond what it means for my individual career because I know the high-caliber team I will be working with.”
Zúñiga joins Time Warner Cable Deportes as the network’s main soccer analyst. Nicknamed “El Pulpo” or “The Octopus” for his prowess as a goalie, he spent 14 years as a professional soccer player in Mexico and the United States. “El Pulpo” won a Mexican League Championship with Chivas de Guadalajara in 1997, was a goalie for the Mexican National Team and concluded his playing career with Club Deportivo Chivas USA. Zúñiga has called soccer games around the world for Major League Soccer, Fox Deportes, KWHY-TV’s “Mundo Deportivo Polémico” and Azteca America including the UEFA Champions League, Copa Libertadores and Italy’s Serie A. He is originally from Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
“It’s an honor to be one of the first faces of this historic new network as we bring Spanish-speaking sports fans the access they’ve never had before,” said Zúñiga. “I believe that Time Warner Cable Deportes will quickly become the go-to sports destination for Latinos in Los Angeles as it connects with its audience on a deeper level.”
Souza will serve as a studio host for Time Warner Cable Deportes alongside Zúñiga. Souza, who is originally from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, has spent the past seven years working for CNN México, Megacanal, Fox Sports, ESPN Deportes Radio, KWHY-TV’s “Mundo Deportivo Polémico,” Televisa and other Mexican media outlets.
Gutierrez comes to Time Warner Cable Deportes as the network’s Senior Producer/Special Correspondent after eight years at Univision’s flagship station KMEX-TV as the anchor, producer and writer for the program “Accion Deportiva.” He has covered sports for more than a decade, reporting on events in Los Angeles, Mexico and Europe.
Gamboa is Time Warner Cable Deportes’ new Executive Editor of Content and will also have an on-camera role as a sports analyst. He has more than 20 years of experience producing and reporting on sports in the United States and Mexico, most recently calling play-by-play for Club Deportivo Chivas USA games. He has also worked for KWHY-TV in Los Angeles, Univision Radio KTNQ Los Angeles, Fox Sports en Espanol, Telemundo’s KVEA-TV in Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Recognizing the importance of Hispanic consumers in Southern California, Time Warner Cable Sports is launching Time Warner Cable Deportes, the nation’s first Spanish-language regional sports network. Time Warner Cable Deportes will air all local Lakers and Galaxy games entirely in Spanish and will feature its own production team, a distinct graphics package and a different look than its English-language sister station, Time Warner Cable SportsNet. Non-game programming on Time Warner Cable Deportes will include daily local sports news, a daily soccer news show and coverage of other sports including boxing and lucha libre. All Time Warner Cable Deportes programming will be produced specifically for the Spanish-speaking fan and with the in-depth access those fans deserve.
Celis, Zúñiga, Souza, Gutierrez and Gamboa join Adrian Garcia Marquez and Francisco Pinto, the Lakers announcers who will call games on Time Warner Cable Deportes. This group will be present at Time Warner Cable Deportes community appearances throughout the summer, including a series of basketball and soccer clinics in conjunction with Time Warner Cable Sports’ team partners.
For more information about Time Warner Cable Deportes, visit www.twcdeportes.com and for more information about Time Warner Cable SportsNet, visit www.twcsportsnet.com.
About Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is among the largest providers of video, high-speed data and voice services in the United States, connecting more than 15 million customers to entertainment, information and each other. Time Warner Cable Business Class offers data, video and voice services to businesses of all sizes, cell tower backhaul services to wireless carriers and, through its NaviSite subsidiary, managed and outsourced information technology solutions and cloud services. Time Warner Cable Media, the advertising arm of Time Warner Cable, offers national, regional and local companies innovative advertising solutions. More information about the services of Time Warner Cable is available at www.timewarnercable.com, www.twcbc.com, www.navisite.com and www.twcmedia.com.
