Hispanic Media Disconnect

Spanish-language broadcasters raked in a record $2.15 billion in 2011-12 upfront commitments, but executives at Univision and Telemundo believe that many marketers are still guilty of undervaluing the Hispanic TV marketplace.

Despite earning bragging rights as the only broadcasters to post ratings gains this year, the two rivals are all but segregated from the English-language broadcasters. Not only are Univision and Telemundo’s respective upfront presentations pushed to the margins of the mid-May schedule, but both nets are obliged to wait for the Big Five to wrap up their business before they can begin engaging with buyers. (The Hispanic nets nailed down the last of their upfront deals in late July, a good seven weeks after ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW finished writing deals.) Univision hauled in $1.75 billion in early commitments for the upcoming TV season, and while that’s nothing to sneeze at -- to put the number in perspective, it’s more or less the same amount NBC took in during its upfront sellathon -- media spend on Hispanic TV remains disproportionately slight.