Meet the first Hispanic Majority Team Owner in the History of the NBA

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Update: Alex Meruelo terminates plan to buy NBA's Atlanta Hawks

When the reports that Alex Meruelo was purchasing the Atlanta Hawks hit the newswires on Aug. 7 last summer, a reader named Steve Brown posted this comment under a story about the prospective owner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "My boycott is over."

Brown's comment was typical. Atlanta fans are clearly dissatisfied with the current ownership of the Hawks, and many likely will embrace the transaction for two reasons: 1) Meruelo said with sincerity in the interview that he wants "to bring a championship to the city of Atlanta;" and 2) Meruelo is part of a new, pioneering era of ownership in professional sports.

In case you missed it: Meruelo is about to become the first Hispanic majority team owner in the history of the NBA. And the only thing missing on the back end of his comment about wanting to "bring a championship to Atlanta" that could have sold Atlanta fans further on him might be the tag line made infamous by Malcolm X: "By any means necessary."

In a 2004 BusinessWeek cover story headlined "Hispanic Nation," Brian Grow wrote: "It boils down to this: How much will Hispanics change America, and how much will America change them?"

Meruelo is stuck right in the center of that question.

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Soccer...Bigger than the Beijing Olympics?

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The World Cup is just around the corner. If you think soccer is past its prime and takes a back seat to some other sport. Think again. Futbol and the excitement that follows when your team scores a goal is hard to match. The upcoming World Cup in South Africa is a unique sports event.

One in every two people in the world is expected to watch the cup on television. Nike, McDonald's, and Coca-Cola—American brands all—see it as a much bigger deal than the Beijing Olympics, two years ago. Major sponsors are paying as much as $40-million for the privilege of associating with the event. Coke's biggest promotion ever includes a deal with YouTube whereby viewers from around the world will post their goal celebrations. Anheuser-Busch and Visa, too, are heavily involved: The Visa Match Planner is a cellphone application that provides scores, retail information, and opportunities to chat about the tournament.

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Soccer Attracts Scores of Hispanic Television Viewers

Hispanic Market Weekly

There was a lot of soccer on Spanish-language television last week.

For marketers, the opportunities to reach a fervent group of sports fans and translate their passion for a team to brand passion included broadcasts on TeleFutura, Univision and ESPN Deportes.

Based on the Nielsen ratings results, advertisers should be very pleased with the big audiences seen practically across the board for soccer.

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