Freddy Rolón named VP and general manager of ESPN Deportes

ESPN has appointed Freddy Rolón VP and general manager of ESPN Deportes. He will report to Russell Wolff, executive vice president and managing director of ESPN International, who is responsible for all of ESPN’s international businesses and for ESPN’s U.S. Hispanic efforts. In his new role, Rolón will oversee all aspects of the ESPN Deportes business including ESPN Deportes television. He will work closely with Traug Keller, senior vice president of ESPN Audio, on the ESPN Deportes Radio business currently available in the top 10 U.S. Hispanic radio markets and also distributed on Sirius Satellite Radio. Rolón and the ESPN Deportes team will also work closely with ESPN’s programming, production, audio, digital and print media teams, to maximize the relevance and appeal of ESPN’s English-language products to U.S. Hispanic fans. In order to leverage ESPN’s multi-country capabilities, including its new Mexico City studios, and maximize the engagement of Mexican and U.S. Hispanic sports fans, Rolón will also work closely with Gerardo Casanova, vice president and general manager, ESPN Latin America North (Mexico and Central America). The two will collaborate on key areas of the business including audience and content development. “ESPN is perfectly poised to serve the growing U.S. Hispanic audience in both Spanish and English. We have tremendous expertise within the ESPN Deportes team, in addition to company-wide support for our efforts. I’m excited to work with this talented team of professionals to develop ESPN’s English, Spanish and bi-lingual strategies, and to identify new opportunities to propel our business forward,” Rolón said. “Freddy brings an expert blend of market intelligence, content know-how, brand knowledge and leadership to his new role. The collaboration between Freddy and Gerardo will also help us find creative and innovative ways to best serve U.S. Hispanic fans on all of ESPN’s platforms,” said Wolff.