Hispanic Viewers Difficult to Attract By English-Language Networks; New MundoFOX to Bridge Viewership Gap

The growing Latino population is not resonating with the number of viewers watching English-language television, according to an article from The New York Times.

One of the most recognizable Hispanic actresses on English-language television is Sofia Vergara from ABC's Modern Family. Despite her character's popularity, the show is only pulling in 798,000 Hispanic viewers out of the overall viewership of 12.9 million.

Two and a Half Men on CBS, which averages 14.6 million viewers, only manages to attract 611,000 Hispanic viewers.

The company responsible in measuring television ratings, Nielson, accounts 48 million television viewers to be Hispanic.

Those numbers are troubling for network executives, according to The Times. Executives want to attract advertisers to the Hispanic population and have even devoted presentations at the recent Upfronts meetings that network executives hold to sell advertising airtime. The number of presentations is higher compared to last year's five presentations aimed at creating content for Hispanic viewers.

The numbers however are big for Spanish-language networks. Univision's La Que No Podia Amar was seen by 5.2 million viewers.

Speaking in regards to the latest partnership with ABC News in creating a new English-language news channel, Univision's President Randy Falco said, "We're part of the fastest-growing demographic in the country."

According to The Times, ABC Entertainment Group President Paul Lee said his network is "committed" to diversity, "because it's critical to creating relevant stories that resonate in today's America."

The statement might be mixed to some of the Hispanic community who watches Modern Family as Sofia's character, Gloria, is portrayed as naive.

News Corporation's Fox broadcasting is hoping to bridge the gap in Hispanic viewership by starting their new Spanish-language channel MundoFOX, in collaboration with Colombia's RCN Television, which officially launches on Aug. 13.

RCN Television is responsible in creating the Betty La Fea franchise, which included the American adaptation Ugly Betty on ABC. RCN Television previously helped Telefutura with programming but ceased partnership for MundoFOX.

"Demographics are shifting," said Fox International Channels' Chief Executive Hernan Lopez. "The advertising pie still has room for growth."

The new channel will compete against established Spanish-language networks Univision, Telefutura, Telemundo, and Azteca America.