The Atlanta Braves will be able to reach an entirely new audience this season, and it’s not just with star players like Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuna, Jr. Ozzie Albies, and Marcell Ozuna, for example.
Television play-by-play veteran Francisco X. Rivera is the team’s new Spanish language announcer for television partner FanDuel Sports Network. Rivera sat down with The Atlanta Voice during media day to speak about his journey from his native Mexico City to calling Braves games for a huge audience of baseball fans.
Georgia has a Hispanic population of over 1.1 million, according to data from the United States Census Bureau.
Rivera, his wife Ailed, and their cat Stewie are getting settled in Atlanta as the season has just begun and Rivera is in his first week at work. The Riveras moved to Atlanta from Los Angeles and Francisco’s working for the Atlanta Braves and FanDuel Sports Network has been a full-circle moment in many ways.
Rivera first visited Atlanta while working as a sideline reporter during the 2013 Gold Cup. Atlanta was one of the 13 host cities for the tournament and the Georgia Dome was where the matches were played. During time off from work, Rivera remembers walking around the city and enjoying his visit.
Little did he know he would be back sooner than he ever could have imagined.
“The city grew on me,” he said. “I remember saying I wanted to come back.”
In 2019, Rivera was back in Atlanta, this time to cover the Super Bowl as a broadcaster. He remembers seeing the site that would be home to the current site for one-half of the 2026 FIFA World Cup semifinals and the 2028 Super Bowl, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It was a special time,” he said of that Super Bowl week. “That was the foundation.”
Fast forward six years and Atlanta is now home.
“I want to be here for the long haul,” Rivera said.
Despite broadcasting baseball being his job and primary professional responsibility, Rivera is a versatile broadcaster who previously called Los Angeles Clippers (NBA), Los Angeles Kings (NHL), Major League Soccer, and National Football League games.
