Ready To See More Latinos On TV?

Television networks and cable channels are seeing green and there’s only one thing they can do — get more Latinos on TV. As Latinos continue to grow as a population, that’s beginning to translate into economic power, and media companies do not want to be left behind. Consequently, The New York Times reports that these companies are beginning to diversity their programming and talent:

Media and marketers are demonstrating increased interest in Hispanic consumers because of the results of the 2010 census, which showed strong continued growth among the Spanish-speaking population…

“One out of every five sports fans is Hispanic,” Jorge Ramos, a host on the ESPN Deportes channel, said during the ESPN presentation.

Of the 28.5 million Hispanics who watch ESPN, he added, 5.4 million watch ESPN Deportes exclusively.

What’s more, several channels and networks have either Spanish language programming, new shows featuring Latino actors or revamped networks catering to a Latino audience. I would probably be more excited if I had a television set or cable, but the good news is that for those of us who do, it’s more probable that, the next time we switch on the tube, we might find a little bit of ourselves on TV.

Follow Sara Inés Calderón on Twitter @SaraChicaD