More at Stake in Hispanic Upfront

NEW YORK The major Spanish-language broadcasters were in New York this week, showing off their new programming to the ad buying community during upfront presentations.Given the increase in attention—and ad budgets—being devoted to the Hispanic market, broadcasters were going all-out to promote and compete for advertisers. Hispanic ad market spending was $3 billion in 2002, a 10 percent rise over the previous year, according to the Association of Hispanic Ad Agencies. That figure is expected to rise at least another 10 percent in 2003, broadcasters said during this week's upfront.Last year, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the U.S. Hispanic population has grown 61 percent over the last decade to top 35 million. Given the timing of the census data, media buyers were unable to react in time for last year's upfront buying season. This year, however, buyers are prepared to be more aggressive.Univision, along with its Telefutura network and Galavision cable product, remains the Goliath of the Hispanic television market. GE/NBC-owned Telemundo is trying to grab a bigger piece of Latino ad revenue, while relative newcomer, Mexico's TV Azteca, is playing a David-like role trying to grow its brand stateside. There is little doubt about Univision's continued market dominance. If anything, the company's upfront reflected to advertisers its deep production pockets and ability to churn out as much new product as necessary to remain dominant—some 85 percent market share, according to Univision executives citing Nielsen Media Research's February sweeps figures. Highlights of Univision's presentation included an interactive novella, Rebeca, where viewers will decide how the love story ends; Amor Real (True Love), an epic period drama; and Al Filo de la Ley (At the Edge of the Law), based on real-life immigration cases handled by a Hispanic law firm in Los Angeles. The series will be produced and shot entirely in L.A. Those shows were coupled with a slew of new daytime programming, variety series and other novelas. Telemundo presented several new novelas: Amores de Mercado (Barrio Love), a tale of mistaken identity, which is filmed on location in Houston; La Ley del Silencio (The Vow of Silence), about a young priest in a Latino community; Medico de Familia (Family Doctor), a story about a recently widowed family doctor with three children; Alma Herida (Wounded Soul), about a family separated by the Mexican-U.S. frontier; and Siete Mujeres (Seven Women), an epic revolving around seven Brazilian women during the revolutionary war of 1835.Telemundo also presented one new reality show, La Cenicienta, in which a young Latino woman is pursued by 20 suitors while family members offer their opinions. The network concluded its presentation with an appearance by Jennifer Lopez, who was present with creative partner Benny Medina to announce a deal between her production company, Nuyorican, and Telemundo. Their first project will tell the not unfamiliar story of a girl from the barrio who dreams of becoming a star. The Telemundo-Nuyorican announcement did not concern Univision president Ray Rodriguez, who said, "I didn't lose one minute of sleep [over it]. Jennifer Lopez is very talented, but I'd like to see what she actually produces for them." In its first-ever upfront presentation, TV Azteca introduced four new telenovelas: Enamorate, La Calle de las Novias, Por Ti and Subete a Mi Moto. The network used the occasion to discuss its growing distribution capabilities. In the past, TV Azteca has had trouble attracting big advertising commitments due to its limited reach in the U.S.The network recently added four new affiliates in key Hispanic markets—San Diego and Monterey-Salinas, Calif., Oklahoma City and Naples-Fort Myers, Fla.—increasing its coverage to 60 percent of the U.S. Latino population. This past year TV Azteca also prevailed in a lawsuit against Echostar, which will now allow the company to pursue deals with other cable system operators.

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More at Stake in Hispanic Upfront

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