| 2001 News & Magazine
Articles
Census
to change TV ratings: Nielsens will reflect more Hispanic
viewers.
By
Sabrina Jones
Washington Post Staff Writer
07/15/2001
The Washington Post
The
decennial census will soon provide Spanish-language
broadcasting something it craves: fatter ratings points
and respect.
The
2000 census found that there are 35.3 million Hispanics
in the United States, giving them the numerical celebrity
that may translate into more money for the nation's
Spanish-language broadcasters.
Based
on the census, Nielsen Media Research Inc., the nation's
premier calculator of viewership, will change the
way it measures the number of Hispanic households
watching television.
The
ratings determine how much advertisers pay for commercials.
Nielsen
is expected to increase the number of Hispanic households
in a single rating point by about 14 percent in September.
Right
now, New York-based Nielsen says, there are 8.94 million
Hispanic households in one rating point. Univision
Communications Inc., the largest Spanish-language
network in the United States, and advertising executives
say they expect that to increase to 10.2 million Hispanic
households.
A
Nielsen spokeswoman said the company is not ready
to give precise numbers yet, but she did not dispute
the industry calculations.
Likewise,
by January, Arbitron Inc., the leading barometer of
radio listeners, will recalculate its system, giving
more weight to Hispanics.
Arbitron
measures listeners by individuals, rather than households.
"With
the census figures out, it is like the overnight sensation
that has taken 30 years," joked Jack Hobbs, vice
president and general manager of the radio network
for Hispanic Broadcasting Corp.
"Every
share point represents significant dollars,"
says Victor Ornelas, owner of Ornelas & Associates,
a Dallas advertising agency.
About
$180 billion to $200 billion is spent on all forms
of advertising in the United States.
Hispanic
Business magazine of Santa Barbara, Calif., estimates
that less than 2 percent, or $2.38 billion, is targeted
at Latinos exclusively.
Even
so, it's a chunk of change worth scrambling for and
one expected to grow. And that scramble for the market
is one more measure of Latino influence in the United
States.
Losing
ratings points
The
reformulation of the Nielsen ratings system is likely
to irritate the top three English-language networks,
who began losing ratings points dramatically in the
'90s with the rise of the Fox network and the penetration
of cable television into two-thirds of U.S. households.
In
the new millennium, some believe that it could very
well be Spanish-language television chewing into the
English market, especially with adults over 25.
Some
say that has already been happening. That's fueled
squabbles in different markets about whether the steady
rise in Hispanic households should be folded into
a general market index of Nielsen or in a Hispanic
market index that targets the Spanish speaking.
"It
is a major issue and it is coming to a full boil,"
Mr. Ornelas said.
Viewing
habits are measured through a broad system of diaries
filled out by families. That is augmented with a smaller
system of TV meters that more accurately measures
what's being watched. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area,
the general market gets diaries and meters; Hispanics
get only diaries.
Some
Hispanics in some markets get both diaries and meters.
With
a single rating point soon to represent more viewership,
the natural conclusion would be that advertising rates
will go up.
But
Jim Irvine, the media buyer for Ornelas & Associates,
believes that any price surge will be tempered by
competition.
"Increased
competition will breed more competition to drive prices
down," Mr. Irvine said.
Univision
of Los Angeles, which owns two television stations
in Dallas, said that it booked about $501 million
in ad sales from 92 advertisers last year and that
it expects to go higher in 2001.
Spanish
formats
Hispanic
Broadcasting operates the nation's largest chain of
Latino-focused radio stations and is planning to grow
in a radio market that's already experienced significant
switches to Spanish-language formats.
To
get its brand and the census data known, it trekked
to New York last month with a "guerrilla marketing"
strategy timed for the annual programming debut dominated
by television networks.
The
Dallas company placed mobile billboards in front of
a debut for Telemundo, a Spanish-language network,
at the Ziegfield Theater. The billboards were festooned
with chile peppers and a phone number and read: "Rated
Extra Hot. Hispanic Broadcasting Corp."
There
will be much more refined census data on the Latino
market coming out next year. Particularly important
will be details on language preferences.
The
language data should feed the debate over what the
lingua franca is for Latinos.
Many
insist, especially in the Spanish-language media and
among Spanish-language marketers, that it is overwhelmingly
Spanish. They offer industry-paid studies that say
Spanish is preferred by 70 percent of Latino households.
In
the Dallas market, Nielsen estimates that 60 percent
of the Hispanic households speak only or mostly Spanish.
That is the second-highest concentration after Miami
in the top 16 local markets, Nielsen says.
Nielsen
statistics have been questioned. Much of the skepticism
centers on measuring young Latinos, especially those
under 18.
Isabel
Valdes of Santiago-Valdes Solutions, a marketing
firm based in Newport Beach, Calif., calls the issue
a "very sore spot." Ms. Valdes says that
"the level of bilingualism is fantastic."
Both
Univision and Hispanic Broadcasting have seen their
stock prices rise more than 10 percent this year.
The pop is noteworthy because the broadcast sector
as a whole has been hit hard by the downturn in the
economy and cuts in advertising spending.
Tuesday
on Wall Street, Univision's stock closed up 83 cents
at $45.70 and Hispanic Broadcasting closed up $1.61
at $26.86.
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