Spanish-Language Radio Rises In Popularity.

The number of Spanish-language radio stations in the country are at an all-time high, according to Hispanic Radio Today: How America Listens to Radio 2005 Edition by Arbitron Inc.

The study shows that while the number of Hispanics living in the U.S. is rapidly growing, now representing 14 percent of the population, accordingly so is the number of Spanish-language radio stations, which is at 678 – the highest to date. Among these stations, the most popular radio formats among Hispanics are Mexican Regional (17.9 percent), followed by Spanish Contemporary (11.3 percent) and Spanish Tropical (7.9 percent).

“In the country’s largest cities, some of the top radio stations are Spanish-language, not just among Hispanics, but among everyone,” said Stacie de Armas, Director Hispanic Services, Arbitron. “We invest a great deal of time, money and effort to gather the information on how the Hispanic segment contributes to the overall marketing mix. Advertisers, agencies and broadcasters should pay close attention to how this segment listens to radio in correlation to their consumer purchasing habits.”

The study highlights Hispanic consumer behavior activities in connection to the type of radio format listened to, including:

• Personal assets – Households that are more likely to have a money market or mutual fund account.
• Electronics purchasing plans – MP3players and Wireless/cellular phones.
• Sports and leisure interests – snow skiing, tennis, golf, team sports attending movies and visiting restaurants.

To view report CLICK below (Adobe Acrobat Reader required):

http://www.arbitron.com/downloads/hispanicradiotoday05.pdf