Latin Networks Take Charge
Historic Growth Leads Latin Networks’ Charge
Marketers and advertisers take note and act on 2010 Census data
By Laura Martinez — Broadcasting & Cable, 5/9/2011 12:01:00 AM
RELATED: Spanish-Language Networks Not Breaking From Status Quo
Attendees of the May 18 upfront presentation of Discovery en Español at New York City’s Four Seasons Hotel will not only be welcomed by the top executives in charge of sales and programming for the Spanish-language network. For the first time, they will also be greeted by David Zaslav, president and CEO of Discovery Communications
The fact that Zaslav will take time from his busy schedule—he often jokes about spending more time on a plane than at home—to open the Discovery en Español upfront speaks volumes about the increasing role U.S. Hispanic audiences play in the expansion plans of the company. Discovery’s U.S. Hispanic division reported its strongest primetime year in 2010, with double-digit growth among key demos and households, compared to the year before.
“In 1998 we transformed the Hispanic pay-TV landscape by creating Discovery en Español to provide Hispanic audiences with the best content from Discovery,” says Zaslav. “Now the network showcases the most popular programs from our portfolio including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, ID and Science as well as original productions like our acclaimed Rescued: The Chilean Miner’s Story.” Zaslav plans to offer up his vision for the continued growth of the division at the upfront.
Discovery en Español is one of many Hispanic TV programmers returning this year to New York City after a few years in hiatus to tout their new programming and start nailing down some advertising dollars in an upfront estimated at around $2.2 billion.
The mood is festive. Most broadcasters, cable programmers and media buyers interviewed by B&Care bullish about this upfront season and anticipate a windfall of advertising money. The industry is coming out of a strong 2010, in which ad spend for both Spanish-language broadcast TV and cable reportedly grew at a higher rate than the so-called general market.
“The market is hot—there’s no denying that,” says Steven Wolfe Pereira, executive VP/managing director at Publicis Groupe’s Mediavest, one of the largest media buyers.
While advertising expenditures grew 6.5 percent in 2010 to $131 billion, ad spend in Spanish-language television grew a healthy 10.7 percent, according to Kantar Media. Still, there is plenty of room for additional growth: Although U.S. Hispanics account for 16% of the U.S. population and 22% of people ages 18-49, Spanishlanguage TV drew only 9% of television ad spending in 2010—$5.3 billion versus the general market’s $58.7 billion, according to Kantar. [Several sales executives interviewed by B&C expressed caution at these figures, saying they might be in" ated.] Still, optimism remains.
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