• by David Goetzl , May 12, 2008

Univision will debut a soccer reality competition series this fall, looking for a new avenue to quench its audience's thirst for the sport.

"El Juego Supremo" (The Ultimate Match) will feature five soccer luminaries from Mexico and five from the U.S. and elsewhere in the Americas who will train teams of inexperienced players to compete. Each episode will end with teams eliminated after matches.

The series will have five one-hour episodes, with a live finale from a U.S. stadium. Other aspects will be shot in both Mexico City and Miami.

In another high-profile move, Univision sister cable network Galavisión has launched a weekly Saturday prime-time series with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). "El Octágono del UFC" (The UFC's Octagon) offers highlights of the top UFC fights.

The "El Juego Supremo" soccer series is a co-venture with Hispanic marketing agency the Vidal Partnership and other partners. It has signed Nissan and Sprint as exclusive sponsors, where each will have branded-entertainment opportunities.

Univision's sales head David Lawenda said the venture is an example of the company's "commitment to delivering our viewers exciting, quality programming that allows our marketing and advertising partners to connect with our viewers in a meaningful way."

Nissan will use the series to highlight its Titan truck and Rogue crossover vehicle. Sprint will plug a walkie-talkie device and a Samsung phone it markets exclusively.

Ben Poore, vice president of marketing communications at Nissan North America, said his company has a large number of Hispanic vehicle owners, and this "unique property allows us to continue to engage with the Hispanic community through their passion points."

Univision, which holds its upfront this week, carries the World Cup every four years. Its family of networks offers a slew of popular soccer coverage most of the time.