|
Census to change TV ratings Nielsens will reflect more Hispanic viewers 06/06/2001 By Dianne Solís / The Dallas Morning News
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. Univisión 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 it is not ready to give precise
numbers yet but 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. It's 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.
Univisión 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 chili 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 Valdés of Santiago-Valdés Solutions, a marketing firm based in
Newport Beach, Calif., calls the issue a "very sore spot." Ms. Valdés
says that "the level of bilingualism is fantastic."
Both Univisión 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 hard-hit by the downturn in the
economy and cuts in advertising spending.
Tuesday on Wall Street, Univisión's stock closed up 83 cents at $45.70
and Hispanic Broadcasting closed up $1.61 at $26.86.
|
