Francisco X. Rivera

Francisco X. Rivera
Born Francisco Xavier Rivera
Mexico City, Mexico

Sports commentary career

Genre(s) Play-by-play
Sports Major League Baseball
National Basketball Association
Mixed Martial Arts

Francisco X. Rivera is a bilingual sportscaster who specializes in mixed martial arts, soccer and baseball. He started his on-air career in 2005 as a host, play-by-play announcer and reporter, and still remains one of the youngest talents in American television. The Long Beach State graduate can be seen and heard on Fox Deportes, Azteca America and DirecTV, among other outlets in the United States and Latin America.[1]

He will be making his debut on network television as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports during the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup.[2]

Rivera was recently recognized as "Sports Knight" by The Hollywood Reporter in their September 2012 feature "Young Latinos in Entertainment: On-Air Talent to Watch". [3]

Biography

Francisco X. Rivera has been Fox Deportes's Major League Baseball announcer since 2006.[3] He also calls soccer games in English through the network's Secondary Audio Program (SAP). In 2012, he joined the College Football on Fox Deportes broadcast team.[4]

He will serve as a sideline reporter and correspondent for the Mexico National Team coverage on Fox Sports and Fox Soccer Channel during the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. [5]

Rivera joined the Time Warner Cable Deportes broadcast team in 2013 as the studio host of the Los Angeles Sparks game coverage, as well as other shows within the network.

He made his debut as the Los Angeles Clippers' Spanish TV analyst during the 2011–2012 NBA season on games broadcast on Time Warner Cable's Channel 858.[6] He performed the same role for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2010–2011 season.[7]

A veteran of mixed martial arts Spanish broadcasts, Francisco is currently working for King of the Cage as the host of "Guerreros Hispanos" a weekly show on Azteca America.[8] He had previously spent three years as the Spanish host and play-by-play announcer of the Zuffa-owned company World Extreme Cagefighting, calling all WEC live events in the United States on Versus, as well as in Mexico on Cadena Tres.[9]

He is also entering his fourth year as a play-by-play announcer and on-air talent for DirecTV Latin America, broadcasting international matches including Spain's La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, as well as MLB and NBA.[1]

During 2007 and 2008, he was the host of "Los Angels en Accion", the weekly Spanish TV show of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on KWHY-22. He also worked for the L.A. station as the host of "El Show de Los Lakers" during the 2007–08 NBA season. Starting 2009, Francisco calls the action for the L.A. Angels of Anaheim on selected games broadcast on ESPN Deportes Radio.

Adding to his soccer experience, he became the Spanish voice of the two-time Major League Soccer Champion Los Angeles Galaxy in its historical 2007 season featuring David Beckham.[10]

In 2006, he hosted "Vamos Dodgers", the team's Spanish-language TV show on KJLA-57.[11]

Since his tenure with Fox and the Dodgers in 2006, Francisco still remains as one of the youngest sports broadcasters in the United States.[10]

His resume also includes covering MLB's All-Star Game, Playoffs, World Series and the World Baseball Classic, as well and international soccer tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League, Interliga, Copa Sudamericana, Copa Libertadores, and the NBA Finals.

Francisco has a Bachelor's Degree in Broadcast Journalism from Long Beach State University.

External links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://fxrivera.com
  2. ↑ http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom//binary/2013/07/02/CONCACAF_Gold_Cup_Announcers+Schedule1372791406626.pdf
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/Satcha-Pretto-Enrique-Acevedo-Pamela-Silva-Conde-371388
  4. ↑ http://www.kstatesports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/090512aaa.html
  5. ↑ http://static.foxsports.com/content/fscom//binary/2013/07/02/CONCACAF_Gold_Cup_Announcers+Schedule1372791406626.pdf
  6. ↑ http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/archives/2012/01/twc-about-to-go.html
  7. ↑ http://www.pitchengine.com/timewarnercablewestregion/timewarnercableofferingnearly40nbagamesinspanishtocustomersinlosangeles
  8. ↑ http://www.adcombat.com/azteca-america-to-air-guerreros-hispanos-the-only-mixed-martial-arts-show-featuring-hispanic-fighters
  9. ↑ http://www.ufcespanol.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=13808
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 http://web.mlsnet.com/t106/es/load.jsp?section=about&content=radio
  11. ↑ http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060322&content_id=1358958&vkey=pr_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la