Broadcasting & Cable Magazine

“Talkback”

When KWEX San Antonio became Univision’s first U.S. outlet in 1961, the media industry got its first inkling of the strength of the Spanish-speaking market. And now, with Hispanics representing more than 14% of the total U.S. population and nearly $1 trillion in buying power, the audience is more alluring than ever.

However, in figuring out how best to reach that audience, marketers are aiming at a rapidly moving target.

“The dynamics that are driving the changes within the Hispanic community have to do with immigration and the amount of time a Hispanic family or individual has been in this country,” says Scott Schroeder, president/CEO of Cohorts, a Denver marketing-information company that specializes in reaching the demographic. In short, the second-generation Hispanic teenager doesn’t have much in common with the laborer who just arrived.

The competition of several networks and a new measurement of Hispanic audiences due later this year from Nielsen Media mean that this market is in for big changes. Here are five major shifts to watch for.
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