Is Spanish Language Media Sustainable?

The U.S. Hispanic market is the fastest growing segment of the US population and has currently surpassed 15% of the entire population, about 49 MM. The Hispanic population is projected to reach 29% by 2050, or 127MM. If we set aside the advent of new media, is Spanish language media a sustainable media for our market?

For decades, the growth of the Hispanic market was heavily driven by immigration. Almost one-third of the Hispanic population growth was propelled by immigration. This immigration pattern perpetuated the popularity of Spanish-language media. But after 2001, Hispanic immigration took a dive and dropped 24%. This trend will continue with the new political hype on immigration, which will make it even more difficult for Hispanic immigrants to enter the US.

Though Hispanic immigration declined, Hispanic population keeps growing–mainly because of Hispanic birth rates. The average US woman has 1.9 children, but broken down by ethnicity, the numbers are 1.7 for Asian Americans, 1.8 for non-Hispanic whites, 2.0 for blacks and 2.3 for Hispanics–the highest.

In fact, Hispanic teens represent 20% of the total US teen population. Hispanic kids are growing up in the US–defining the emerging Hispanic market in the US as bilingual and bicultural. But what media are they consuming? Does a 10-year old Hispanic in the US watch Univisión or Telemundo? Or do they watch Cartoon Network? Will they continue to watch Spanish channels as they grow up? Or will they just reminisce about these stations every now and then?

I checked the Saturday morning program lineup for Univisión, Telefutura and Galavisión to see how they are addressing our kids. I was surprised to see that Galavisión had no kids programming at all, just infomercials; Univisión broadcasted Planeta U and Inspector Gadget; and Telefutura broadcasted Plaza Sesamo. Between the three channels, there was a total of three shows broadcasted for kids on Saturday morning; half as many shows broadcasted by NBC’s Saturday morning lineup, which consisted of six shows. It's a start, but more shows in Spanish need to be made for kids.

As a Hispanic marketer, I often wonder about the sustainability of Spanish language media, especially if the growth of Hispanics in the US is no longer immigration, but actual birth rates. What is going to happen to Spanish Language media when our kids grow up–in English? Will our kids watch Univision or Telemundo when they are teens? Do these stations address the changing needs of the Hispanic market?

What do you think? How should we, as Hispanic marketers, address this issue? Join the discussion. Thanks!

Fausto Gortaire
Account Director
HeadQuareters Advertising Inc.