NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises has named Joaquin Duro executive vice president of sports. Duro, who will report directly to the division’s chairman, Luis Fernandez, succeeds Eli Velazquez, who is leaving the company at the end of the month.
An accomplished media executive with extensive experience in sports and digital media, Duro will lead Telemundo Deportes, the network’s award-winning sports division, with oversight of sports production, programming, acquisitions, operations, and multiplatform content.
He is also responsible for the management and execution of major Spanish-language event coverage, including FIFA World Cup properties, the Olympic Games, NFL Sunday Night Football, U.S. Soccer Federation matches, Premier League and Liga MX’s Chivas de Guadalajara, working closely with NBC Sports and Peacock.
“Joaquin has been a pioneer in the growth and development of digital sports content in Hispanic media for over two decades,” said Fernandez in a statement. “He is the right person to lead our sports division at a time when sports content is key to our future multiplatform growth. With Joaquin’s extensive expertise and leadership, we are strengthening our sports business for the future as Hispanic audiences increasingly evolve their media consumption habits across linear and streaming.”
Most recently, Duro was senior vice president of AVOD streaming and digital for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, where he managed all aspects of digital productions, monetization and operations for AVOD streaming content across all owned and operated platforms.
In his new role, Duro returns to the sports team where he previously played a key part in Telemundo’s groundbreaking multiplatform coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Having joined Telemundo in 2014, Duro has been a key figure in shaping Telemundo’s digital strategy for major events including the Olympic games, U.S. presidential elections, NFL Super Bowls and Billboard Latin Music Awards. “I am thrilled to have the privilege to lead such a great team of professionals at Telemundo Deportes,” said Duro. “They have consistently delivered world-class sports content to Latinos for years. I look forward to working with the team to build on this great body of work and position us for the future, as we continue to produce and distribute the biggest sporting events in the world to millions of fans across linear and streaming.”
Before joining Telemundo, Duro held several leadership positions at Univision Communications Inc. where he spearheaded the production and broadcast of entertainment and sports events. Duro is a distinguished recipient of three Emmy Awards and has been honored with the Cynopsis Media award eight times.
Velazquez played an integral role in helping build Telemundo Deportes into a world-class sports content organization across linear and all platforms. Throughout his long career at Telemundo, he was an important member of the sports team and, most recently, led the award-winning sports division through the record breaking 2023 Women’s World Cup and the most comprehensive coverage of an Olympics in Spanish language media this summer in Paris.
He also lead Telemundo’s coverage of the FIFA World Cup tournaments since Telemundo acquired the exclusive broadcast rights in 2011 as well as the network’s coverage of NFL Sunday Night Football, U.S. Soccer Federation matches, Premier League and Liga MX’s Chivas de Guadalajara.
Under his leadership, Telemundo partnered with the U.S. Soccer Federation to become the exclusive Spanish-language home of U.S. National Teams last year. He was also instrumental in delivering the first-ever Super Bowl to air on a Spanish language broadcast network in 2022.