Recently, I traveled to New York to participate in the Spanish TV "Upfront" presentations. What I found might not be huge discoveries for most, but I thought they were worth recounting for those who did not attend. The general state of Spanish TV appears to be stronger than ever, and I expect it to continue to expand. In fact, I expect the number of advertisers who will have participated in this "Upfront" to increase to somewhere around 100, with total dollars in play growing by about 25 percent.
The Spanish TV "Upfront" presentations demonstrated that there are strong alliances for programming products. In addition, there are several new shows that expand programming fare and keep and draw a variety of audiences. New shows include new novelas (with everyone looking for the blockbuster) and reality-based shows (including Telemundo’s version of Temptation Island). Animation and game shows are new to the lineup. Blockbuster movies and a focus on news and sports will continue.
The Spanish networks indicated that they would push cross-platform deals (this was obviously prescient, in light of Univision’s acquisition of Hispanic Broadcasting Corp.) and focus on share of budget, rather than merely a dollar figure. They will also push for a 12-15 percent increase in CPM, but will probably end up at 10 percent.
Univision continues as a powerhouse in ratings, in both share of audience and programming. Telemundo’s alliance with NBC was evident by the introduction of key NBC people in attendance. NBC stated that Telemundo would benefit from NBC’s research and marketing departments. It seems to me that NBC is not getting heavily involved in Telemundo’s programming (at least for now). Plus, Telemundo will benefit from NBC’s rights to the Olympics and the Golden Globe Awards this coming broadcast year.
One of the items at the Spanish TV "Upfront" presentations that I found most exciting was that the new Nielsen NTI (network) methodology is finally coming. It will reflect a truer, clearer picture of Hispanic and total market viewership. Hopefully, it will demonstrate the strength of Spanish TV to "non-believers"—those who still refuse to acknowledge how many active consumers they can reach through the power of Spanish TV. The new reports will be issued initially in Q4. Both the current and new reports will be issued for one year prior to 100 percent implementation.
I also attended the General Market Upfront Summit. The big talk there was the impact of consolidations on the media side and the impact of consolidations at agencies and buying services, including the growing influence and strength of buying services. Again, it was interesting to explore these topics with colleagues, especially now that we have witnessed Univision’s merger with Hispanic Broadcasting Corp. With so many powerful consolidations, marketers will be challenged with producing effective integrated plans as never before.
The lack of a big prime-time "hit" was also covered, as was the continued fragmentation of audiences; the growing viewership of cable; and the acceptance, then refusal, of NBC to accept spirits advertising.
Overall, I am enthusiastic about the growing interest in our industry on the part of advertisers, as well as Wall Street and the business world. As media gets more targeted and prolific, marketers must continue to get smarter and smarter about how it is used. This is a great responsibility, but very exciting.
