The NFL's growth in both the U.S. and abroad relies heavily on the Latino audience.

• The NFL aims to expand its viewership and is targeting the Latino community as a potential new audience.
• The company is increasing its Spanish-language games and expanding its reach to non-Spanish-speaking Latino audiences by hosting a game in Brazil for the first time.
• According to Marissa Solis, the senior vice president of brand and consumer marketing at the NFL, it is mathematically impossible for the league to expand without Latinos.

A renowned musician attended a Kansas City Chiefs game this month as the NFL tries to attract a fresh fan base.

Travis Kelce's performance at Kansas City games was boosted by Taylor Swift cheering him on.

Daddy Yankee, a renowned Puerto Rican rapper, was spotted at an Arrowhead Stadium Monday Night Football game. He spent time with Isiah Pacheco, a running back for the Chiefs, who is also of Puerto Rican descent. Earlier in the day, Pacheco allowed Daddy Yankee to try on his two Super Bowl rings.

The "Por La Cultura" campaign, in its fourth year, is a crucial component of the NFL's initiative to expand its Latino and Spanish-speaking viewership.

Football was the driving force behind ratings in September, according to a report from Nielsen.

The league is still eager to expand, both domestically and internationally, with Hispanic viewership being a crucial factor in achieving this growth, according to league and media officials.

When you have a successful product, you are somewhat tied to your success, correct? There is limited growth that the NFL can achieve within the English-speaking population in the United States, as stated by Olek Loewenstein, the global president of sports at TelevisaUnivision.

The Hispanic population is one of the largest and youngest growing demographics in the U.S., according to him.

Critical audience

Marissa Solis, the senior vice president of global brand and consumer marketing at the NFL, stated that she joined the league three years ago to boost the growth of its audiences. Specifically, she identified three key groups for the NFL: viewers aged 35 and younger, a majority of whom are Latino; women; and Latinos.

""The league's growth is mathematically impossible without Latinos, as this audience is crucial for our expansion and global growth due to cross-border connections and pride, with the fandom extending beyond borders," Solis stated."

In the U.S., soccer is the most popular sport among Hispanic audiences, followed by baseball and boxing, according to Loewenstein. Meanwhile, the NFL is still striving to establish its presence in the global market, which is currently dominated by soccer and other sports.

Loewenstein believes that the NFL is poised for significant growth and expansion among Hispanics.

The NFL has expanded its reach to non-Spanish-speaking Latino audiences by hosting a game in Brazil for the first time, bringing more matchups to international locations. The game was exclusively streamed on 's Peacock and was the second-most watched live event for the streaming platform after a NFL postseason game earlier this year.

Four years ago, when the Por La Cultura effort began, 31 million Latinos in the U.S. identified as NFL fans. Since then, this number has grown to 40 million.

TV en Español

Solis stated that expanding broadcasts into Spanish language has been a significant aid in the campaign's success.

This season, the NFL offers over 75 Spanish-language broadcasts, the league announced.

She stated that the significant increase in fandom was a result of all those efforts.

This year's Super Bowl, featuring the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, was aired by CBS. However, since the network lacks a Spanish equivalent, it licensed the rights in both the U.S. and Mexico to TelevisaUnivision.

The Super Bowl on TelevisaUnivision's over-the-air broadcast network attracted a record audience of 2.3 million viewers across all platforms, making it the largest Spanish language broadcast of the Super Bowl.

Despite being a small part of the 123.4 million viewers of the 2024 Super Bowl, the contribution was still significant.

According to TelevisaUnivision's Lowenstein, seventy percent of the individuals who viewed the Super Bowl did not watch any other playoff games that year.

In 2015, the first Super Bowl to be aired in Spanish was on Fox Deportes, while in 2022, Telemundo aired the Super Bowl for the first time on an over-the-air broadcast network in Spanish.

The NFL's priority is to expand availability by having a Spanish-language Super Bowl broadcast, although it is not part of their media rights deals.

In February, Fox Deportes and Telemundo will provide the broadest Spanish-language distribution of the Super Bowl in the U.S. history, with separate broadcasts.

Joaquin Duro, executive vice president of sports at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, stated that Telemundo has experienced "significant growth in our viewership" of the NFL since the 2022 Super Bowl broadcast.

On Sundays, Telemundo airs "Sunday Night Football" in Spanish on both TV and Peacock. Duro pointed out that although the primary audience continues to tune in on traditional TV, streaming is gaining significance. He added, "This is helping us draw in younger, more tech-savvy viewers."

Telemundo Deportes, like the NFL, focuses on the narratives of Hispanic athletes. The network has increased its coverage of NFL events, with an on-site presence at games and a larger selection of interviews, as stated by Duro.

"Rolando Cantú, a former NFL player and analyst on "TNF en Espanol" and Telemundo Deportes' broadcast of "Sunday Night Football," expressed his love for the change, evolution, and expansion of the NFL."

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.