Local News’ One-Two Punch

Across the country, Spanish-language TV stations are heating up — and not just in their own niche. Consider this: In the nation’s largest market, in August, Univision’s New York station, WXTV, reigned as the top-ranked TV station in primetime, and it was second in early evening news in the key 18-to-49 demographic, according to Nielsen Media Research data.

The same month in Miami, Univision station WLTV creamed the competition in early and late news and primetime, while Telemundo outlet WSCV followed as a close second among 18-to-49 viewers. And in Los Angeles, Univision’s KMEX won the 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. news among 18-to-49s and topped primetime for both that demo and total households.

The successes reflect an overall surge in the U.S. Hispanic market. The Hispanic population is growing five times faster than non-Hispanics, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2010, 48 million Hispanics will make up 15% of the country’s total population. About half of all U.S. Hispanics live in eight cities (see chart, page 26A).

The country’s two largest Spanish-language programmers, Univision and Telemundo, command the bulk of the audience. To keep pace with the growing population, more than ever, both Univision and Telemundo are focusing on their local news and community ties.

Univision owns and operates 62 Univision and Telefutura-affiliated stations and operates duopolies in 15 markets. All of Univision’s full-power stations broadcast local news twice nightly, and many offer weekend news. Telefutura stations do not have news, but air some local community programming.

NBC Universal’s Telemundo group includes 15 owned-and-operated stations and one independent, KWHY Los Angeles. All but two of its Telemundo stations broadcast local news, and many are expanding into new dayparts, such as early mornings and weekends.

“We’ll build out our news as the audience and revenues increase,” says Jay Ireland, president of the NBC Universal TV station group. That growth is crucial, as Telemundo trails Univision substantially in total viewers.

Univision created a second network, Telefutura, to counter-program its own channel and keep viewers in the Univision family. The company owns 17 Telefutura affiliates, although they do not program local news.

But general-market broadcasters are also looking for ways to tap into the burgeoning Hispanic audience. As of the start of the current season, ABC is now offering its entire primetime lineup in

Spanish —either closed captioned or dubbed. And local English-language stations are chasing Spanish speakers for their newscasts. About a dozen stations, including WABC New York and WCVB Boston, offer their news with Spanish captions, and UPN station KMAX Sacramento even has a crew of translators on its morning show.

So far, Spanish-language broadcasters have the advantage. More than ever, U.S. Hispanics are tuning in Spanish-language TV. Since Nielsen started measuring Hispanics separately in 1992, Spanish-language usage has grown while English-language viewership has decreased, according to Univision.

In 1992, 38% of Hispanics’ viewing was Spanish-language TV, while English-language networks grabbed 62%. By last season, however, Spanish-language TV surged to 55% of viewing, while English-language TV slipped to 45%. “The success of Spanish-language TV has been a major contributor to the declining audiences of English-language broadcast networks in the country,” said Univision director of communications Diane Vesga at a recent Bank of America investors conference. Univision might be even more successful, as a business and a station group, if it made its executives available to the press. It rarely, if ever, does.

English-language TV stations typically get a heavier older adult demographic watching the news, even as NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox chase the 18-to-49 demo for primetime programming. But because the Spanish population demographically is so young, Latino stations get younger viewers in primetime and for newscasts, too. At English-language stations the target audience for news is the 25-to-54 demographic.

But their needs seem to be about the same, regardless of age or ethnicity. “The Spanish-language news consumer is looking for information to better their lifestyle, such as finance, health, child care, education,” says Ibra Morales, president of the NBC Universal-owned Telemundo stations.

Unlike viewers of English-language television, Morales points out, “They are also interested in what is happening in their home country.”

Locally, some Univision stations are rivaling — and in markets such as Miami and Los Angeles, even beating — general-market outlets. Telemundo affiliates are steadily growing. Obviously, Spanish-language TV performs best in the largest Hispanic markets, including New York, Los Angeles and Miami, but successes also can be found in emerging markets.

In Houston, according to an Arbitron study of its new Portable People Meter ratings system, Univision affiliate KXLN ranked second in the market, trailing ABC affiliate KTRK. In Las Vegas, Univision’s KINC tied ABC affiliate KTNV in August ratings for the 6:00 p.m. and late news. And in New York, Telemundo is also having success, with WNJU’s ratings growing 35% in August over the previous month.

NBC Universal owns both a Telemundo and a NBC station in six markets – New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Miami. The duopolies give the Telemundo stations extra heft in ad sales and news gathering. In Los Angeles, for instance, Telemundo outlet KVEA and sister independent KWHY share a newsroom with English-language powerhouse KNBC. The stations collaborate on stories and often pool video. KVEA and KWHY also have access to KNBC’s helicopter, a news luxury that a Spanish-language station likely couldn’t afford on its own.

The synergies can pay off in the ratings. Both KVEA and KWHY post strong Nielsen marks in Los Angeles. In September, for example, KVEA’s 6:00 p.m. averaged a 0.6 rating/3 share in adults 18 to 49, according to NSI Nielsen ratings, and KWHY’s 7:00 p.m. newscast posted a 0.5/2. Late-news marks were even better, with KVEA notching a 0.7/3 in the demo for 11:00 p.m. news and KHWY tallying a 1.0/3 for its 10:00 p.m. telecast.

In Los Angeles, the largest Hispanic market, the local Univision station KMEX typically posts ratings that dwarf English-language stations in 18-to-49s. For its 6:00 p.m. news, KMEX posted a 1.3/6 in the demo, placing second behind only KABC’s 1.4/7. At 11:00 p.m., KMEX posted the highest ratings in the market in 18-to-49s with a 1.9/8. It won primetime, too, with a 4.6/13, more than doubling the nearest competitor, KABC’s 2.2/6.

In Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, the third largest Hispanic region, Univision and Telemundo are dominant. In August, Univision-owned WLTV was top-rated in early evening news, primetime and late news. The 6:00 p.m. newscast posted an impressive 8.8 household rating/16 share and the 11:00 p.m. news nabbed an 8.0/13 in household ratings.

In primetime, WLTV averaged a stellar 10.1/15. Telemundo owned-and-operated WSCV placed second in each time slot. Its 6:00 p.m. news averaged a 5.9/10 and 11:00 p.m. news posted a 6.2/10. In prime, WSCV scored a 5.8/8. The closest English-language competitors were CBS-owned WFOR and Fox affiliate WSVN, but both trailed the Spanish-language rivals by more than at least a ratings point.

In addition to its successes in 18-to-49s, Univision delivers solidly with even younger demos. Univision says early newscasts in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas and Fresno, Calif., are top-rated in their markets among viewers 18-to-34 years old.

Despite Univision’s overwhelming dominance in the Hispanic TV market, Wall Street analysts are unimpressed by its financial performance. The station group’s revenues were down 2% last quarter and below analysts’ projections. Guzman & Co. media analyst Phil Remek said, “One of the problems with Univision has been converting its strong and growing ratings into revenue.”

Telemundo, meanwhile, continues to struggle to catch up to its rival Univision. Along with expanding local news, its stations are taking a more active role in their communities, sponsoring major events, such as the Mexican Independence Day and Puerto Rican Day parades and Calle Ocho in several markets. The goal is to increase awareness for the stations. It also needs to ward off competition from growing Telefutura.