Rising Ratings for Spanish-Language TV Encourage Florida Broadcasters

<a href=www.hispanicbusiness.com>HISPANIC BUSINESS June 4, 2003 Susan T. Port

Things weren't so good in the first quarter of this year for television advertising. That is, unless your shows were in Spanish. According to ratings firm Nielsen Media Research, ad spending on Spanish-language TV was up 15 percent nationwide in the first quarter of 2003, the highest increase of all media forms. Network and cable television recorded overall declines of 5 percent in the quarter. Figures like that are spurring local broadcasters to cater to the exploding Hispanic population by launching weekly Spanish-language entertainment, political and news programs. "It's not just a niche market," said Jatni Blandon, a partner in Lake Worth's Extra Hispano Productions. "It's a big piece of the pie." The first such local show was launched this year by WPTV-Channel 5, the local NBC affiliate. Hablando con la Comunidad features a weekly news roundup, interviews with community leaders and politicians, and commercials -- all in Spanish. Even with a difficult time slot -- 5 a.m. Sundays -- the show, which debuted in January, has been able to garner a strong following, said Bill Peterson, WPTV's general manager. He admits it's not the best time for the show, but it is rebroadcast on the Palm Beach County and West Palm Beach government stations throughout the week. "We were approached by the Spanish community, saying there really was no outlet for them," Peterson said. "They asked us if we would produce a program. We really wanted to find a way to serve the audience, but we didn't know how to do it. "A Spanish-language program on an English-language station doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense. But this works." So well, it seems, that WPTV now finds itself with some company. Riviera Beach-based WBWP-Channel 57, an independent station that debuted May 19, inaugurated a Spanish-language program on May 24. La Vida en Florida is a two-hour show airing at 2 p.m. Saturdays that focuses on entertainment, style, religious, personal finance and other issues affecting the local Hispanic community, said Nicole Teufel, spokeswoman and account executive for the station. "They cover a little bit of everything," Teufel said. The show is hosted by Daisy Cedeno (a morning radio host on Radio Fiesta WWRF-AM 1380's Buena Onda) and Jose Uzal, editor of El Latino Semanal. And in April, WWHB-Channel 48 of Stuart began airing Que Pasa? Palm Beach, a weekly show hosted by Dayana Rooks that focuses on area cultural happenings. Rooks, whose father was a radio personality in her native Venezuela, has been doing a gossip show on WPSP-1190 AM for four years. "There was no Spanish television in Palm Beach County or the Treasure Coast," Rooks said. "And there is a growing community here." Later this month, WWHB, an affiliate of Azteca America, the U.S. division of Mexico's TV Azteca, will begin airing Recetas de Mi Tierra, a cooking, health and exercise program. Blandon, whose Extra Hispano Productions is producing the show, said a local news program also is in the works. WWHB station owner Bill Brothers said he is aiming to air 12 hours of original Spanish-language programming by the end of the year, which Adelphia Communications Corp., the major cable provider in the area, has said it plans to carry once it finds space. Experts say it shouldn't be a surprise that media outlets are adding more Spanish programming. "It's a recognition of the growing Hispanic marketplace," said Mark Fratrik, vice president of BIA Financial Network, a Chantilly, Va.-based media consulting firm. "Advertisers are particularly interested in it. Hispanic incomes are going up." Fratrik said the future of Spanish television is bright, citing as evidence NBC's buyout of Telemundo, and that Univision is the highest-rated TV station in the Miami market. Also, the 2000 Census numbers were a wake-up call for area broadcasters, who didn't realize the Hispanic community had grown so much, he said. The census showed 140,675 Hispanics in Palm Beach County, with Mexicans and Cubans at the top of the list. The tally was 9,506 and 15,733 Hispanics in Martin and St. Lucie counties, respectively. So far, WPTV's Hablando con la Comunidad hasn't been a big moneymaker, though it has gotten advertising from area heavyweights like Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust. "We don't have delusions of grandeur," Peterson said. "We're not offering 24 hours a day of Spanish-language programming. We are offering one half-hour a week.… For those involved, it's a labor of love. People who are involved do other things; they just made the time in their weekly schedules to make this program happen." WPTV's half-hour program has three community hosts, including Helman Ruiz, news director at Radio Fiesta; Ricardo Casas, editor of El Mambi; and Mirta Luaces of Florida Pennysaver. The Florida Pennysaver is owned by Palm Beach Newspapers Inc., the parent of The Palm Beach Post. At WPTV, Lourdes Carrera is producing the show, Tony Araujo is handling interviews and Tania Rogers is doing Spanish news roundups. WPTV News Director Peter Roghaar said the show focuses on issues from schools to health insurance to community integration. "It's a wide-ranging spectrum, and it's all done in Spanish," he said. "As the demographic continues to change here in Palm Beach County, we are trying to reach out to it." Roghaar said at some point down the road the station might reevaluate the show's time slot. Ruiz, a community host, said the show is a necessity. "We need more local programs on TV in Spanish," Ruiz said. "Nobody takes care of the local community like people involved in the community." Rogers, an anchor and reporter for WPTV, said her mother, Diana, a native of Panama, doesn't mind waking up early to watch the program and tells all her Spanish-speaking friends to do so, too. "She said she watched it and loved it," said Rogers, who is bilingual. "The Hispanic community is growing very quickly. (The show) is something positive. It's something that reaches out to them."

Source: (c) 2003, The Palm Beach Post, Fla. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.