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Univision, Telemundo Upfronts Spur Spanish-Language Ad Spending

Dramatic changes in Spanish-language television have media buyers reevaluating these networks, but the bright outlook for ad spending at the upfront remains constant, writes Media Life.

Following last week’s upfront presentations given by Spanish-language networks Univision and Telemundo, many media buyers and forecasters predict that ad spending will increase about 10 percent over last year, to some $1.4 billion, with a big slice going to Univision, TeleFutura and cable outlet Galavision. The new advertisers are pushing spending increases above those for English-language TV.

With just under one half of the top 300 advertisers still not using Spanish-language TV, inventory on these networks is somewhat easier find than on other broadcasters, which holds down prices an average 20 percent to 30 percent lower than rates charged by English-language networks. Networks are looking to see incremental bumps in revenue by basing rates on the new Spanish-language ratings from Nielsen Media Research’s National People Meter instead of the Nielsen Hispanic Television Index, which separates these networks from English-language broadcasters.

“You now have the comparison of Univision to ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, which has really opened the eyes of a lot of people,” said Rosa Serrano, senior vp and group account director of the multicultural division at Initiative. “When you compare this audience to the total market and see they can be No. 1 in adults 18-34 and have a lot of strength in 18-49s, it’s really impressive.”