For the next several years, local Spanish-language television and radio stations look for healthy growth until at least 2010. Revenue is projected to grow much faster in this sector than in other general-market stations, based upon data from Kagan Research.
Kagan forecasts that ad revenue for TV stations targeting Spanish-speaking Latinos will increase by a 6.5% compounded annual basis until 2010. Next year it's projected to increase by 5 percent, 8 percent in 2008, 4 percent in 2009 and finish up with 9 percent in 2010, when the estimated overall spend will be over $1.9 billion.
By 2010 it is thought that the Hispanic disposable income in the U.S. will reach $1 trillion.
Kagan senior analyst Deana Myers says "Advertisers are definitely going to spend more money in the Hispanic market as they realize the spending power is so huge."
Other analysts have disagreed with this assessment saying that Hispanics are growing in their use of the English language and as a result the Spanish-language market may in reality cool down.
There is something to that as the English speaking Hispanic population in the U.S. in higher educated, makes more money and has more disposable income. The question is more whether they still tune in to Hispanic media in their native tongue, or have gravitated toward English-language stations.
My guess is that the demographic is in flux and so will probably grow together for a time, and eventually the English speaking Hispanic population will emerge as the key demographic to market to. It probably will be some time before that totally happens.
Comment Preview