MLB Network bought the exclusive U.S. rights to broadcast the 2013 World Baseball Classic, but those rights do not extend beyond the English language. Lacking alternatives on a slow Sunday, ESPN elected to use its loophole in owning Spanish-language rights to simulcast its ESPN Deportes feed. They aired the Dominican Republic-Puerto Rico game on the ESPN flagship station in Spanish, an unusual move that incurred surprising backlash. Any time ESPN introduces a new audience to content usually found on another station, people tend react poorly … and clearly this was no exception . The Internet was quickly inundated with comments to the effect of “Is It Me Or Has ESPN Been Taken Over By Wetbacks?” and much worse still. There were plenty of more harmless comments as well, i.e. “This sounds like a soccer match!” or “Anyone make the mistake that Mexico took us over?!” Still, it’s amazing the things that will fire people up these days on a Sunday evening if they can’t watch the Worldwide Leader in Sports in English.
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ESPN Deportes Feed of WBC Angers Racist Viewers, Comments Flood Internet
