Wednesday, August 08, 2012

Networks Struggle to Appeal to Hispanics Without Using Stereotypes - NYTimes.com

Networks Struggle to Appeal to Hispanics Without Using Stereotypes - NYTimes.com: ...The numbers encapsulate the problem facing English-language television executives and advertisers: they desperately want to appeal to the more than 50 million Latinos in the United States (about three-quarters speak Spanish), especially those who are young, bilingual and bicultural, but those viewers seem to want very little to do with American English-language television.

They do, however, continue to watch Spanish-language networks in huge numbers. In May, on the final night of the most recent season of “Modern Family,” far more Hispanic viewers were watching the top Spanish language show that week, the telenovela “La Que No Podia Amar,” on Univision, which attracted 5.2 million viewers.

“We’re part of the fastest-growing demographic in the country,” said Randy Falco, the president and chief of Univision. The company recently entered into a partnership with ABC News, which is owned by the Walt Disney Company, to create a 24-hour news channel to serve Hispanic viewers.