Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) announced some findings from its newly commissioned research study conducted by Nielsen, titled, "Los Fanáticos: The Passion and Power of the Hispanic Sports Fan."

The study confirms that while sports fans in general are valuable consumers, Hispanic sports fans are the gold standard.

Among the many findings, Nielsen found that:

- Hispanics consume more sports, spending 20 hours weekly across TV, video and radio (compared to 12 hours for non-Hispanics).

- 83% of bilingual sports fanáticos prefer to view soccer in Spanish versus English.

- Hispanic sports fans are 33% more likely to say they buy products they see advertised during sports programming.

"As the leading media company serving Hispanic America, UCI commissioned this study to help marketers understand the attributes that make the Hispanic sports fan such an integral part of any winning marketing strategy," said Jed Meyer, executive vice president, Corporate Research, Univision.

"Hispanics' unparalleled passion for sports, particularly soccer, proves how much of a major influencer this audience is, making them powerful consumers and brand loyalists."

The custom research by Nielsen commissioned by UCI looked at more than 1,500 Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals who consider themselves avid sports fans. Research found Hispanic sports fan viewership has grown over the last five years by more than 25 percent, while in the same period, non-Hispanic viewership has declined.