by Tomás Custer on February 5th, 2012 -  (Copyright ©2012 however please feel free to reprint as long as byline/attribution is included)

UPDATE: One day after writing this post WSJ reported: Disney’s ABC, Univision Mull News-Channel Launch – in talks to create a new 24-hour cable-news channel that will broadcast in English, in an effort to keep pace with changing demographics among U.S. Hispanics – I feel almost prophetic. Also see video about this below

UPDATE 2: On May 7th, 2012 it became official. Here is the press release: ABC News and Univision News Plan to Join Forces to Create Pioneering Joint Venture – Multiplatform News and Information Service for U.S. Hispanics – {en Español también}

30+ million = $600,000,000,000!
39+ million = $780,000,000,000!

UPDATE: According to the 2010 Census the numbers are even bigger: 78% (39+ million) of Latinos in the US are either English dominant or bilingual. (statistics info). I had previously stated that it was roughly two-thirds. Census data shows that I underestimated. If all the 50+ million Hispanics have about $1 trillion ($1,000,000,000,000) in spending power then the 39 million must have somewhere around $780 billion ($780,000,000,000) in spending power.

With the recent announcement that another Spanish-language TV network is launching (MundoFox). I thought it pertinent to take a look at the other side of the coin, the seemingly forgotten English-language Latino media.

In case you didn’t know, the English-language Hispanic media arena has heated up a lot. New media sites and many independent ventures have entered the field in just the last 20 months. However, I am not talking about just any media companies jumping in. I am, in fact, talking about some of the largest media companies in our country.

NBC, the HuffingtonPost, FOX and Univision (and possibly ABC) don’t spend resources entering a market because they think it isn’t attractive. They know, what I hope is not a secret to you, that English-language Latinos represent a large market that is growing fast. In other words, they know what they are getting into and competing for, a big slice of the future pie.

Now: 25% or 1 out of every 4 children is Latino in the US

Can you imagine a demographic tsunami? It can’t be stopped and it is coming straight at you and your organization. That is exactly what our country is experiencing right now and in the future.

Hispanic are only becoming a larger slice of this future pie. Over 1 million Hispanics are being born in the US every year. The Latino population is predicted to rise to 128 million in 2050 accounting for 29% of the US population. That is one big slice of pie.

These big media companies aren’t alone. At least six other independent sites have joined in to cater to this growing and previously ignored demographic and that is only if you don’t count the social media movement called Latism. These independents include HispanicallySpeakingNews, Being Latino, NewsTaco, Latino Rebels, Pocho and Voxxi. (If I forgot anyone let me know.)

Of course, let us not forget the pioneers in the field of English-language Hispanic news. HispanicTips (my site) is still here and evolving now with over 95,000 posts (the world’s largest archive of Hispanic news). Latina Lista has recently redesigned and as always is producing great relevant content. (Again, if I forgot anyone let me know.)

All of these sites are competing for eyeballs. All have approached the market in slightly different ways. I have my own opinions about each but one cannot deny they are here, just as one cannot deny why. The numbers don’t lie. So while there are days when it can feel like an echo chamber because of all the duplication, I am very happy that a lot of good relevant content is being produced everyday.

When I began HispanicTips over six years ago, I really had to search long and hard to find much relevant news. It was spread out across the web and not always easy to find. That is why I started HispanicTips. Fast forward to today and there is a lot more relevant news. Now instead of scarcity the opposite is the problem. There is now so much news, how can anyone know what to read or who to trust? Luckily for you and me, the art of digital curation evolved to address this exact problem. With my expertise and experience in both curation and Latino news, HispanicTips continues to be a premier news service. It is trusted and comprehensive. But I am not really here to talk about myself or this site.

I really just want to highlight how far we have come in the English-language Hispanic news genre. The market is huge and I want everyone to know how big it is and that there is a lot of money associated with the demographic. I want every business and organization to realize how much is at stake and that if you don’t have plans on how to cater to this market then you had better start.

Thoughts, Questions, Advice: Email Me

What happens to companies who don’t get into this market early enough or who don’t approach it with quality? These are the big questions but if you look at the numbers and what entities have already entered the field then you really should open your eyes, gauge the impact this will have on your organization and then perhaps even take action.

Also useful and related:

More Info

From: hispaniconlinemarketing.com – “the competition to reach online Hispanics in English will heat up as a result of the following market dynamics.

  • There are not that many players
  • There is no clear leader
  • Low barriers to entry provided by social media” – (I am not so sure I agree with this one. NBCLatino has 8 people working on their site. That isn’t cheap.)
  • “The ad dollars associated with the upcoming election” – (as one of the few Hispanic news website in English back in 2008 I can tell you I saw only a small spike in ad revenue – most of the money went to Spanish-language media)
  • The importance of the Latino vote“

DL Podcast: Q&A with Chris Peña, Executive Editor of NBC Latino – Is an interesting interview

My Advice

If you want to approach the English-language Hispanic market in even the smallest way or need help with something bigger I can’t help but suggest checking out the About page as well as the Hispanic Content Service I recently started.

Statistics Reference

I say ‘roughly’ for a reason. Here are language preferences for Latinos from Ad Age’s Hispanic Fact Pack 2011

  • English Only 19%
  • Mostly English, but some Spanish 31%
  • Mostly Spanish, but some English 25%
  • Spanish Only 25%

These numbers really change by generation as would be expected with acculturation (check out the link above to see). You can do the math although coming up with an exact number using this statistics is hard as they split bilinguals up into the 2 parts. This is why I say “roughly 2/3rds” for it lies somewhere between 75%  and 50% depending on how you want to look at it.

According to the 2010 Census: 78% (39+ million) of US Hispanic are English dominant or bilingual

  • NUMBER OF HISPANICS IN U.S. POPULATION: 50.5 million
  • WHAT PORTION OF HISPANICS IN U.S. IS ENGLISH-SPEAKING ONLY? 24%
  • WHAT PORTION IS BILINGUAL? 54% (speak Spanish and English “very well” or “well”)
  • WHAT PORTION IS SPANISH-SPEAKING ONLY? 22% (speak English “not well” or “not at all”)
  • The buying power of Hispanics will rise from $1 trillion in 2010 to $1.5 trillion in 2015, accounting for nearly 11% of the nation’s total buying power.:(Source: Despite Recession, Hispanic And Asian Buying Power Expected to Surge In U.S., According to Annual UGA Selig Center Multicultural Economy Study – 4 November 2010)
  • 78% * $1 trillion = $780 billion or $780,000,000,000!