Bicultural Latinos: A Cultural and Economic Force, Under iHeart’s Spotlight

By Adam Jacobson

Fresh off of Bad Bunny’s appearance as the Super Bowl LX Halftime Show performer, his Grammy-honored song “Debí Tirar Más Fotos” can be heard on such radio stations as WVAQ-FM in Morgantown, W. Va. — not exactly a Hispanic population hub.

Yet, thanks to the University of West Virginia and migration patterns seen across the last three decades, U.S. Hispanics are far and wide. And their offspring represents what iHeartMedia is championing as a “cultural and economic force” worthy of advertiser consideration.

That said, the timing of the study comes just days after the company moved a high-profile audio brand targeting bilingual, bicultural Latinos off a 100kw signal in Tampa-St. Petersburg to a pair of FM translators despite ranking No. 1 in the latest ratings.

“New American Consumer: Bicultural Latinos,” a report developed by iHeartMedia in partnership with Collage Group, “dispels outdated myths” and finds that this socioeconomic consumer group represents “a powerful economic force led by a culture-first, identity‑driven audience that is shaping the next era of American growth.”

In fact, bilingual, bicultural Hispanics now comprise 40% of all U.S. Latinos.

With iHeartMedia heavily invested in its iHeartLatino initiative, with veteran air talent Enrique Santos its biggest radio personality, the company continues to battle some of U.S. Hispanic media’s biggest forces, including Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), TelevisaUnivision’s Uforia, MediaCo’s Estrella Media, Lotus Communications, Entravision Communications, Norsan Media and Lazer Broadcasting, among others with a strong Spanish-language media presence in select markets, such as Audacy.

This has seen iHeartMedia take a renewed stab at Hispanic-centric content in markets such as Philadelphia and Boston. However, the U.S. Hispanic market — due to a variety of factors seen since January 2025 — suffered a dramatic year-over-year revenue decline entering 2026. According to sources close to the matter, TelevisaUnivision’s Los Angeles cluster alone experienced an extremely severe ad revenue dip in 2025 as advertisers cut back.

Now comes iHeartMedia, which has chosen to champion the segment of Hispanic consumers perhaps most advertiser-friendly as they “do not choose between the two worlds they bridge,” and instead create “a new culture driven by curiosity, connection and cultural confidence.”

To conduct the study, Collage conducted a 10-to-15 minute online survey in English and Spanish, reaching 2,000 weekly audio listeners aged 18 and older. Within that sample size are 1,200 Hispanic adults that include “Bicultural, Heritage-Leaning, and U.S.-leaning Latino populations.” The study included respondents of diverse generation groups, gender identity, region, education, and income.

The study also shares that two‑thirds of Bicultural Latinos say they identify as equally Hispanic and American and feel more cultural pride than ever, with 78% saying they feel more connected to their heritage today than they did just one year ago.

“This rising cultural confidence coincides with economic momentum as U.S. Latino purchasing power — backed by a population of nearly 70 million that is a leading ethnicity in growth — has now reached $4.1 trillion and continues to grow more than twice as fast as that of non‑Latinos,” iHeartMedia shares. “The impact of this can only be measured in global scale: If isolated, the GDP of current U.S. Latinos would rank fifth in the world, having surged from $2.2 trillion in 2015 to $4 trillion.”

“Bicultural Latinos are not just an audience — they are a cultural vanguard, driving tastes, trends and conversations across every platform while powering one of the fastest‑growing segments of the U.S. economy and redefining what it means to be American,” said Santos, who serves as President/Chief Creative Officer of iHeartLatino when not hosting his WZTU-FM in Miami-based syndicated radio show. “For brands, the takeaway is clear: culture is the strategy — language is the tactic. Those who lead with cultural intelligence, not just translation, earn more than attention, they earn long-term loyalty and trust.”

Among the study’s key findings:

Language Doesn’t Define Connection: While language remains an important expression of identity, the study shows that language alone does not dictate how Bicultural Latinos engage with the content they consume. Nearly 90 percent typically consume audio content in English, even as one in three prefer Spanish for music or radio — an indication that language serves as a cultural connector rather than the sole mode of communication. Advertising language preferences reflect this nuance: almost a third want ads to match the language of the content they’re consuming, another third prefer English outright and the remaining segment is flexible. These findings reinforce that while language remains a powerful expression of identity, it is culture, shared values, context and lived experience, that ultimately drives connection and influence.

Audio Is an Important Part of Culture: This new study also underscores the central role audio plays in the lives of Bicultural Latinos. Broadcast reaches 9 in 10 Latinos monthly, according to Nielsen, and this new research shows that Bicultural Latino radio listening is diverse – 92 percent listen in English, 78 percent listen in Spanish — and 65 percent of Bicultural Latinos prefer listening to radio/music/podcasts equally in Spanish and English. Additionally, the research shows that 98 percent are listening to music weekly, 63 percent tune into podcasts weekly and 69 percent engage with live sports through audio. For Latinos, audio content is not just for entertainment — it is a cultural ritual and a communal experience. Many listen with children or family members, and more than six in ten share their listening experiences with others. And connection is key, as 96 percent say they are looking for human-led content.
Curiosity Is Their Superpower: 73 percent of Bicultural Latinos say they are open to trying new brands and tend to reward those who invest in them: Bicultural Latinos are 60 percent more likely to purchase from brands that reflect them and 61 percent are willing to pay more for brands that do so, while 69 percent appreciate when brands show up during cultural moments. Additionally, bicultural Latinos are 22 percent more likely than general population to have made a purchase after hearing the brand advertise on the radio. As the most open of all ethnic groups when it comes to exploring genres, content, trends, platforms, creators and more, this curiosity makes them reachable and translates into loyalty when brands connect with them authentically.

“As the report makes clear, there is a significant opportunity for brands to deepen their connection with this audience but only if they move beyond assumed shortcuts and transactional messages,” says Lainie Fertick, President of iHeartMedia Insights. “Reaching Bicultural Latinos requires leading with culturally aligned creators and trusted voices to capture attention, build credibility and drive action. For marketers, audio and collaboration with Latino influencers across broadcast radio and podcasts can serve as the key entry point of connection: audio is the space where culture happens, it is intimate, emotional, human and deeply tied to how Bicultural Latinos stay connected to their communities and their identities.”

Editor’s Note: Adam R Jacobson is a U.S. Hispanic marketing and advertising industry veteran who is the former editor of Arbitron’s Hispanic Radio Today. He has independently produced the Hispanic Market Overview reports distributed by HispanicAd.com since 2010.