The evolution of the Hispanic marketplace, combined with our own experience, research and the 2010 Census, convinced us that the time was right to develop a more inclusive brand and programming approach, which will attract a wider audience of U.S. Hispanics. nuvoTV will of course remain dedicated to serving our core audience of Bicultural Latinos, the driving force behind Hispanic growth in America.

 

 

Cable operators want to serve the Hispanic audience but are driven by a predominantly cost management approach, as reflected by a focus on Spanish and hybrid (English/Spanish) tiers. These packages are not attractive to the majority of Hispanic homes, as shown by the low number of subscribers to such packages and years of anemic growth despite huge marketing efforts by distributors.

 

 

Viewing patterns among U.S. Latinos tell the story. For Bicultural Latinos (65% to 70% of all U.S. Latinos) television is overwhelmingly viewed in English. Among Spanish dominant Latinos, almost 90% of all television viewing hours are delivered by broadcast networks, like Univision and Telemundo. A Hispanic tier with 30 or 40 Spanish language cable networks for roughly 10% of a consumer's viewing isn't such a great value.

 

 

Our audience of Bicultural Latinos has certain basic characteristics that appeal to distributors and advertisers, which include higher levels of income, education and home ownership. Because our original content is created specifically for an American Latino audience, not imported from Latin America or translated from English, it's more culturally relevant and reflective of our viewers' lives, creating a deeper connection with our brand and content.

 

 

Just as cable operators made the early commitment to reach out to African-American and female consumers with targeted networks like BET and Lifetime, distributors can only reap the full benefit of the burgeoning Latino population when they incorporate into programming packages and marketing plans the unique tastes and English language viewing habits of Bicultural Latinos, the consumer segment responsible for approximately 80% of the growth of the overall U.S. Hispanic marketplace.

(Please join CableFAX for our Webinar this Wed, Apr 27, on how cable can capitalize on the growing Latino market. Schwimmer will be among several expert speakers).