Latino Networks Univision, Telemundo To Compete For Hispanic Market, Advertising Dollars

Having beaten out one of the top networks in the nation in the ratings this past February, Univision is looking to further tighten its grasp as the top Hispanic media outlet in the country as they seek to attract more advertisers to their expanding business.

As the New York Times reports, Univision touted their powerful hold on Hispanic viewers during a presentation to advertisers this week. Univision finished a landmark February sweeps where they beat NBC in numbers, particularly in the 18-to-49 year-old adult demographics; Univision finished fourth while NBC finished fifth.

Reinvigorated by those numbers, the Spanish-language network is not focusing so much on their fellow Hispanic network competition, but are looking to gain a foothold on network and cable television rivals.

"Our country is changing. In fact, it has already changed," Steve Mandala, Univision's executive vice president of advertising sales, said at the meeting. "We are the power behind the opening weekend of many movies ... and if you are trying to sell autos you cannot succeed without the Hispanic audience."

As part of that push, Univision announced that they would partner with the El Rey Network cable channel, an English language channel with a Latino focus which launches in 2014. The partnership is in the hopes that Univision can target younger viewers with appetites for programming that incluses sports, music, reality shows, and scripted television.

"El Rey Network will serve as a launching pad to satisfy the tastes of young adults looking for exciting, cinematic, action-packed content," filmmaker Robert Rodriguez said, as noted by the Huffington Post.

Univision has expanded into several new networks, including "Fusion," an English-language network in partnership with ABC geared towards Latinos.

However, Telemundo isn't the only network looking to get a slice of advertising dollars. Telemundo, which has enjoyed some recent success due to the popularity of its telenovela hit, "La Reina Del Sur," had a meeting of their own this week, where they touted their own season lineups to advertisers.

With Hispanics growing in numbers and influence around the country, advertisers are beginning to reach out more to the Hispanic market in the hopes of getting the spending dollars that demographic has to offer.

"The Spanish-speaking market in the U.S. is an emerging market, and it is right here in the advertisers' backyards," Emilio Romano, president of Telemundo Media, said in an interview with the L.A. Times.