From Fútbol to Football... A Matter of Passion - Audience Is ...
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From Fútbol to Football... A Matter of Passion
Has the NFL edged out Fútbol amongst Hispanics?
To talk about sports among Latinos is to talk about the “beautiful game”, or fútbol, or soccer or football
(whichever you prefer). Fútbol is embedded in the Latino culture; after all, Latin America is the birthplace for
stars who are to soccer what Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle are to America’s pastime. Names like Maradona, Pelé,
and Messi stand out in the minds of many throughout the world, not just Hispanics. And so, for countless
decades it was considered the king of sports for Latinos.
Today, this sport still thrives in Hispanic communities;
however, another sport is winning the hearts of many
Hispanics – the NFL. Given the high rate of US Born
Latinos, and the number of young Latinos under the VS.
age of 30, it's not surprising that football is starting to
get a larger audience. Marketers who can tap into this
fast growing group are setting themselves up for
success. But there is much more to the story. Not all
Hispanics are the same, and savvy marketers need to
know the difference.
Last season, the NFL averaged a high number of Latino viewers, with Super Bowl XLVII seen by almost 10
million Hispanics ages 12 and up, the largest Hispanic audience to date. With these impressive numbers, one
must ask: Has the NFL edged out soccer as the king of sports amongst Hispanics?
Avg Viewers(000) A12+, 2012 season
2,637
1,484
404 55 29
Liga MX MLS Int'l Soccer Mexico NFL 2012
Apertura Nat'l games
Read as: An average of 404,000Hispanics 12+ tuned in to the Liga MX Apertura for the 2012
season
On a macro level, the gap is wide for viewing between these two sports, but will unique idiosyncrasies develop
as we decompose viewing and focus on influencers such as language and country of origin.
Copyright © 2013 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved.
www.Nielsen.com
1The Power of Language
Viewing NFL games is driven by Hispanics that speak mostly or only English, while an inverse relationship occurs
with Mexico national games, also known as “El TRI”. Here, the largest share of viewers is Spanish speaking
Hispanics. Bilingual Hispanics watched the NFL, but a greater percentage tuned into Mexico’s national soccer
games, also known as “El Tri”.
Read as: 56% of the Hispanics ages 12+ that tuned into the NFL 2012 season were Hispanics that speak
mostly or only English.
Nielsen research shows that engagement of Spanish speaking Hispanics to the NFL season may have been low,
but how much of a bounce did the Super Bowl in particular see from this audience? The majority of Hispanics
that watched Super Bowl XLVII were still those that speak mostly or only English; the percent of Spanish
speaking Hispanics improved slightly. Specifically, while 56 percent of Hispanics 12 and up who tuned into the
2012 NFL season speak mostly English, 48 percent of these same viewers tuned into the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, Spanish dominant speakers increased by 3 percentage points from the regular season to the Super
Bowl.
Looking a little deeper, we evaluated viewing levels from Hispanic viewers throughout the NFL season.
Read as: 50% of Hispanics 12+ tuned into the regular season, with another 9.4% tuning into
the playoffs.
Breaking the analysis into two phases, regular season and playoffs, we found that English speaking Hispanics
had the highest reach during the regular season, confirming once more that Hispanics who speak English
dominate Hispanic viewing of the NFL. Also, viewing increased from Spanish speaking Hispanics once the
playoffs began.
When compared to ethnicity, English speaking Hispanics viewership was as strong as non-Hispanics. In fact,
only African Americans had a greater overall reach.
Copyright © 2013 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved.
www.Nielsen.com
2In addition to our prior analysis of viewing by language to ‘El TRI’ games, we also examined a Mexico vs. USA
game, which to fútbol aficionados, is as compelling as the Super Bowl.
Mexico vs. USA games have similar language distribution trends as all TRI games, except that Hispanics that
speak mostly or only English may have an increased interest in the USA vs. Mexico matches.
Hispanic 12+ Average Viewers and Distribution by Language
English Spanish Spanish/
Hispanic 12+
Dominant Dominant English Equal
“El TRI” games 2012 3,357 2% 60% 37%
Mexico vs. USA - Gold Cup Final 2011 6,326 5% 63% 32%
Read as: “El TRI” games during 2012, averaged 3.4 million Hispanics ages 12+. 2% of Hispanics that tuned into EL TRI games spoke mostly or only
English
Country of Origin Counts
Successful marketers understand there are common customs and habits amongst Hispanics, but it is vital that
they remain keenly aware of their diversity. Hispanics come from various regions with distinct culture and
interests. While some Latinos breathe and live fútbol, the intensity is not quite the same across all Latin
American Countries. The following data illustrates the role cultural diversity plays in sports viewing.
Read as: Hispanics of Mexican descent had a 3.9 average rating during the NFL season
NFL games are more likely to be watched by Hispanics of Mexican and Caribbean descent; while Mexican
Americans tune into the NFL with solid numbers, their average rating more than doubles when ‘El TRI’ plays.
With the exception of Caribbean Hispanics, fútbol tournaments draw huge Hispanic audiences; however
engagement varies by tournament and is usually influenced by participation of country of origin.
The chart below illustrates the country of origin effect by comparing the Copa America, played in Argentina
with all South American countries, vs. Gold Cup, played on US soil with US, Mexico & Central American nations
participating.
Copyright © 2013 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved.
www.Nielsen.com
3Copa America 2011
Gold Cup 2011
Read as: Hispanics of Mexican origin averaged a 6.23 during the group phase of the Copa America, and a 4.16 during the knockout stage.
Copa America drew the largest number of viewers from Americans with South American descent, but The Gold
Cup was a different tale. Hispanics with South American descent tuned in the least, while Hispanics of Central
American ancestries were the most engaged through the whole tournament.
Mexican Americans tuned in to both tournaments, but at a higher rate during the Gold Cup. The Mexican team
did not qualify for the knockout phase of the Copa America, but competed in the finale of the Gold Cup – thus
explaining the vast difference in viewing to the knockout phases.
To complete the analysis, we compared each sport’s marquee event: the Super Bowl vs. the World Cup final:
Audience Composition for A12+ by Language & Country of Origin for the Super Bowl & World Cup of 2010
English Spanish Spanish/ South Central
Sporting Event Hispanic Mexican Caribbean
Dom Dom English American American
Super Bowl XLIV 2010 37% 11% 17% 21% 19% 22% 27% 12%
*World Cup 2010 4% 15% 11% 11% 11% 6% 17% 16%
World Cup 2010 UNI 3% 29% 20% 19% 20% 9% 27% 31%
World Cup 2010 ABC 5% 1% 3% 3% 2% 3% 8% 2%
Super Bowl XLVII 2013 38% 12% 23% 25% 22% 27% 23% 19%
World Cup for combined telecast by Univision & ABC
Read as: 37% of the Hispanics that speak mostly or only English tuned in to Super Bowl XLIV in 2010
Language spoken and country of origin continue to be compelling factors: Hispanics of South or Central
America watched the Super Bowls, but preferred the World Cup finale, for its own. Caribbean Hispanics
overwhelmingly prefer the Super Bowl, while Mexican Americans viewing was almost identical to each.
Language drives what is watched, as well as where it is watched and for fútbol, Latino viewers say: “En español
por favor”.
Copyright © 2013 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved.
www.Nielsen.com
4Fútbol, remains culturally relevant
The key question is whether football had replaced fútbol as the king of sports among Hispanics. If at first blush
it seems as if the NFL has successfully courted the lucrative Hispanic market, capitalizing on English speaking
Hispanics, the NFL still has opportunities with the Spanish speaking or bilingual Latinos. As this group
acculturates, we expect they will watch more American football.
Fútbol has a similar relationship with Spanish speaking and bilingual Hispanics, but the affinity for the sport is
strongest with national team play. A national game featuring Mexico is one of the hottest sports properties;
considering 73 percent of Mexican Americans speak mostly Spanish or are bilingual, these games are a sure bet
to draw huge audiences, thus emphasizing the combined influence of language and country of origin.
Has the NFL edged out fútbol? It could be a matter of passion, but the truth is that while the NFL has certainly
made in-roads, and in small segments it is more popular than fútbol, it still appears to be a work in progress.
It’s 4th and Goal. Reach and Resonate With Hispanic Consumers
The NFL, The Mexican National soccer games and other National soccer tournaments are some of the most
effective ways to market to Hispanics. With over 52 million consumers, it is critical for companies to reach and
resonate with Hispanics. Communicating and marketing to the Hispanic consumer requires relevant messages
delivered in cultural contexts that will resonate.
Based on a Nielsen/E-Poll analysis of sports celebrities conducted among Hispanic consumers in 2012, Peyton
Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning all received “Hall of Fame” scores meaning they represent the top
football personalities to resonate with Hispanic consumers. In addition, a Nielsen’s analysis of over 7000
multicultural ads, shows that the most effective English language ads for Hispanic consumers where those
featuring families.
These insights will help marketers tee up the best messaging and advertising to reach and resonate with
Hispanic consumers who increasingly enjoy American football.
Has the NFL edged out fútbol? It could be a matter of acculturation, but the truth is that while the NFL has
certainly made in-roads, and in small segments it is more popular, soccer still dominates. Both football and
soccer matter to American Hispanics, and those that watch it prefer fútbol in Spanish. While the share is
dominated by Mexican American Hispanics, there is a healthy share of Hispanics of South and Central American
origin, to which different messaging is required.
___________________
For further information and insights, please contact: Trini Monistere, Sr. Research Coordinator, Nielsen
Maria.monistere@nielsen.com
Copyright © 2013 The Nielsen Company. All rights reserved.
www.Nielsen.com
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