''República Deportiva'' was an American sports news television program that aired weekly on the Spanish-language American television network
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...
. The show ran continuously on Sundays for nearly 25 years.
History
''República Deportiva'' was initially hosted by
Fernando Fiore,
Rosana Franco, and Jorge Gómez in 1999. Gómez left the show in 2004 and was replaced by
Félix Fernández, a former professional
goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
for the
Mexico national football team
The Mexico national football team () represents Mexico in men's international association football, football and is governed by the Mexican Football Federation, Federación Mexicana de Fútbol (). It has been a member of FIFA since 1929 and c ...
. Franco was dismissed from the show in 2012, and Fiore's departure followed in 2014. In that same year,
Lindsay Casinelli and
Adriana Monsalve
Adriana Monsalve (born July 27, 1977) is a Venezuelan sportscaster, journalist who formerly worked for TUDN.
Career
Monsalve became famous as the lead singer in the girl band "Chikas" and in the pop bands "Tartara" in Venezuela, and "Latin Fiest ...
officially joined the program to fill the vacant positions.
Julián Gil
Julián Elías Gil Beltrán (born 13 June 1970) is an Argentine actor, model, businessman and TV host based in Puerto Rico.
Personal life
Although Julián Gil was born in Argentina, he lived some time in Venezuela as well. He grew up in Puerto ...
officially replaced Fiore as the show's main host in 2015. In October 2016
Mané de la Parra joined as the show's host on occasions when Gil cannot appear.
On January 17, 2024, it was reported that the program had been cancelled.
Content
''República Deportiva'' primarily covers sports favored by the predominantly Hispanic audience, though it also dedicates segments to sports and events outside the liking of the target demographic.
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
is heavily covered and analyzed, highlighting matches from leagues in Europe and the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
such as the
Premier League
The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...
,
Liga MX
Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...
,
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
, and
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
. Focus is also placed on popular sports like
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
(
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
),
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world.
In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
, and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
. There is also some time dedicated to other sports popular solely in North America such as
and
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
racing. Usually notable sportspeople and coaches/managers from past and present are interviewed and even invited to the show.
The show features many segments including the popular "Pregúntale a Felix" (or "Ask Felix"), where fans send in football-related questions. Contests are also a large part of the program such as "Miss República Deportiva" and "El Sabio de la República." The ''Senadoras'', scantily-clad television presenters, are hugely popular. Notable "Senadoras" include
Alba Galindo and
Natalia Saenz, both of whom departed from the show in 2015 after long tenures.
Awards
For ''República Deportiva's'' 20th Anniversary in 2019,
Broadcasting & Cable
''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and ...
and
Multichannel News
''Multichannel News'' was a magazine and website published by Future US covering multichannel television and communications providers, such as cable operators, satellite television firms and telephone companies, as well as emerging Internet ...
presented ''República Deportiva'' with the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television Programming at the 17th Annual
Hispanic Television Summit, produced by Schramm Marketing Group.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Republica Deportiva
Univision original programming
1999 American television series debuts
2023 American television series endings
1990s American sports television series
2000s American sports television series
2010s American sports television series
2020s American sports television series