The Bears and Univision Local Media announced a new multiyear Spanish-language radio partnership Monday that will provide simulcast coverage of all Bears preseason, regular season and playoff games on WVIV-FM Latino Mix 93.5/103.1FM and WRTO-AM Univision America 1200AM, kicking off with the 2015 NFL season.
WVIV-FM Latino Mix 93.5/103.1FM and WRTO-AM Univision America 1200AM will become the new Spanish-language home of the Chicago Bears with the on-air team of Hector Lozano and Omar Ramos. A native of Chicago, Lozano is Univision Chicago's sports director and host of the weekly television sports show, Acción Deportiva. He started with the Univision Chicago team in 1995 as a play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Bulls.
Ramos is a popular on-air personality for WVIV-FM Latino Mix 93.5/103.1FM and the current voice of the Chicago Cubs (since 2010) and Chicago Bulls (since 2011), while also spending three years (2009-11) as the voice of the White Sox. The Spanish language play-by-play broadcasts are the centerpiece of a multi-platform promotional effort designed to drive increased engagement between its audiences and the Chicago Bears. TV, radio, and digital assets are being woven together into a cohesive plan that will strengthen the bond between the Chicago Bears and the large Hispanic fan base that Univision serves.
"Chicagoland's Hispanic population continues to be a major focus for us," said Chris Hibbs, Bears vice president of sales and marketing. "We're committed to creating more and better content that speaks to them in their language and fits their lifestyle. We want to be an active member in the Hispanic community. It is important for us to create a connection at an early age and grow the relationship. This partnership with Univision not only strengthens our audio platform across their broadcasts, but in Univision we have a terrific community partner that can help us engage across multiple channels and touch points. We're really enthusiastic about our future with them."
"Working together with the talented group at the Chicago Bears allows us to continue to innovate ways to create exciting content for our audiences and effective ways for our advertisers to connect with the large number of Hispanic consumers," said Doug Levy, senior vice president/general manager, Univision Local Media Chicago. "We couldn't be more excited about our new partnership."
WVIV-FM Latino Mix 93.5/103.1FM and WRTO-AM Univision America 1200AM will also have a significant presence inside Soldier Field on game days, at team events throughout the year and on ChicagoBears.com.
The Bears first implemented a Spanish-language radio broadcast partnership in 2012, with the launch of their Hispanic platform, ¡Vamos Bears!. In addition to participating in various community events and league-wide initiatives, such as Hispanic Heritage Month, the Bears also host an annual "Vamos Bears Day" at Training Camp. The partnership will support these key initiatives and others within the ¡Vamos Bears! platform.
