Importance Of Spanish & English TV In The Programming Mix.

Urban Hispanics An Untapped Digital Cable Market: Market Potential For Digital Cable Especially High Among English-Oriented Urban Hispanics

English-language television programming is also important to urban Hispanics. Four out of ten (40%) urban Hispanics surveyed say they prefer watching TV in English (27% have no preference, and 33% say they prefer to watch TV in Spanish). Among Spanish-dominant consumers, one out of five (20%) prefer to watch TV in English, (47% prefer watching TV in Spanish, 33% have no preference).

Cultural anthropologist Alisse Waterston, President of Surveys Unlimited division of Horowitz Associates, Inc. elaborates on the relevance of these findings. “Oftentimes, language has less to do with competency and more to do with the cultural meanings people attach to language. For Latinos in the U.S., Spanish is a key marker of personal, social and political identity. As a result, Spanish-language TV remains important for even those who are fluent English speakers and who regularly watch English-language TV. It’s not an ‘either/or’ but a matter of carefully integrating both languages to best communicate with the Latino consumer in the U.S.”

Market Potential for Digital Service: The report also finds that urban Hispanic consumers are a largely untapped market for digital cable service. Sixteen percent 16% of urban Hispanic households report subscribing to digital cable service (21% urban total). A closer look at Hispanic subgroups reveals important differences between those who are English versus Spanish-language dominant. At 33%, digital penetration among English-oriented urban Hispanic households is well over the urban average of 21%; at 10%, digital penetration among Spanish-dominant urban Hispanic households is well below the urban average. Data from the survey show that market potential for digital cable among urban Hispanic households could soon rise to 28%. Among English-oriented consumers, market potential for digital cable rises to a full 50%, compared to 34% among total urban households.

Awareness of digital cable overall is low among Spanish-dominant urban Hispanics who are less likely to be aware that their cable service provider offers the service. Only 23% of these consumers could name, unaided, a service or feature of digital cable (compared to 63% among English-oriented Hispanics; 47% urban total).

“It is becoming increasingly important for MSO’s, broadband providers and media brands to design marketing and programming strategies appealing to the various subgroups of urban Hispanic consumers in order to capture this emerging market” says Howard Horowitz, president of Horowitz Associates, Inc. Mr. Horowitz refers to recent census data that show Hispanics now comprise at over 12% of the total US population. “Hispanic population growth is expected to continue, with census projections indicating they will represent 18% of the total U.S. population by 2025. Without successful marketing to Hispanics, a real opportunity for digital and broadband services will be lost.”

For more information at http://www.horowitzassociates.com