MIAMI — ESPN has tapped Lino Garcia general manager of ESPN Deportes, its planned 24-hour U.S. Spanish-lingo sports net.
Currently, ESPN Deportes is distributed to 13 million subscribers nationwide as a Sunday night programming block. The 24-hour channel is expected to bow by year’s end, with a mix of national and international sports, news and an original production of the signature show “Sports Center.”
Most recently, Garcia served as vice president, affiliate marketing and local ad sales, for Universal Television. Prior to U, he was VP-general manager for Latin American feevee Sony Entertainment Television.
He will be responsible for ESPN Deportes’ day-to-day operations, overseeing programming, production, affiliate sales, advertising sales and marketing.
Garcia will be based in ESPN’s offices in New York and report directly to Russell Wolff, senior vice president and managing director, ESPN Intl.