José E. Vélez-Silva, VP, Multicultural Strategy, Operations ＆ Community Engagement at Comcast
One aspect that excites José E. Vélez-Silva, VP of Multicultural Strategy, Operations & Community Engagement at Comcast, about the Hispanic market is its diversity, which is multilingual and multicultural, enjoying an even wider array of genres than the general market.
Regarding Hispanic audience preferences, Vélez notes that the top genres are dramas, comedies, sports, and news. However, within these categories, there is a wide demand for various sub-genres of content.
For example, superhero shows are extremely popular, as are fantasy and horror themes. “We also still consume our telenovelas and Super Series from Telemundo. In sports, bilingual, bicultural Hispanics are as passionate about American football as they are about soccer, and we tend to over-index on several other sports as well. Even in the news category, we need a diverse offering. Hispanics consume local news on mainstream channels, but also local news in Spanish to get content relevant to their communities. Last but not least, the reality show phenomenon that Telemundo has developed and perfected, making them the #1 in primetime with properties like La Casa de los Famosos, Top Chef VIP, Exatlón, and the latest La Isla: Desafío Extremo,” he stated.
La Isla: Desafío Extremo
He explains that due to this diversity of tastes, Comcast developed and launched NOW TV Latino, “so customers can enjoy blockbuster movies, novelas, sports, and live news from 25+ live streaming and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels.”
NOW TV Latino users also have access to Peacock Premium at no additional cost, which includes a great collection of hit movies. With Peacock Premium, customers can also watch live sports, including Premier League soccer, Team USA Men and Women’s soccer, Chivas Liga MX home matches, select NFL games, WWE, the Paris 2024 Olympics, and FIFA World Cup 2026.
Vélez notes that Hispanics have always been at the forefront of adopting new technologies, and streaming is no different. “However, due to the need for Spanish-language broadcast content, Hispanics have maintained their pay TV while also exploring and adopting streaming services that provide both new and different content than they were used to,” he mentions.
He adds that it took streaming a while to offer a good variety of Spanish content, so you still needed cable to get quality Spanish-language TV. Additionally, Hispanic households still need access to live, linear TV for news, sports, and other content that needs to be watched in real-time.
He notes that Hispanic MVPD subscribers tend to be slightly older, particularly compared with vMVPD subscribers, while younger Hispanics are still getting cable/satellite content through their parents (as they might still be living at home).
Regarding subscriptions, Vélez points out that currently, over 6 in 10 Hispanics subscribe to at least one subscription streaming service, while about 4 in 10 subscribe to cable or satellite. “We have also seen FAST adoption on the rise, with about 7 in 10 Hispanics using FAST services at least once a month,” he added.
Regarding the importance of Spanish for this market, Vélez indicates that the language has been a connector with culture and heritage for decades. “Now more than ever, maintaining and preserving our language is of utmost importance and will always be a differentiator. Linear Spanish-language broadcast is significant for multigenerational homes, homes with Spanish-dominant or Spanish-only speakers, homes with family members who are seniors who might be less tech-savvy and prefer not to stream, and those who have close family living in their home countries,” he emphasizes.
Asked about the channels that generate the most traction, Vélez noted that the major Spanish networks, Telemundo and Univision, still dominate in the linear space. However, several cable networks also enjoy strong loyalty even if they don’t generate the same hours of viewership as broadcast networks. These include Discovery’s Spanish-language networks, ESPN Deportes, UNIMÁS, and channels offering local news and content from various Latin American countries, among others.
Beyond Spanish-language networks, overall, as in the total market, “we still see strong viewership for other broadcast networks. Other pay TV brands that resonate with Hispanic audiences include Discovery, ESPN and other sports networks, Bravo, TLC, FX, and AMC.”
He cited that when looking at the NBCU portfolio of brands/channels, it reaches over 93% of all Hispanic households. “No other media company delivers this reach.”
He added that the availability of Spanish-language content via streaming services has led to a migration among Hispanics to streaming.
“While with MVPD services, Spanish-language content was siloed into Spanish-language packages, with streaming, Spanish and English-language content play in the same sandbox, fulfilling the varied needs of Hispanic households, where often there is interest in both – content in English and content in Spanish to serve the needs of several generations (and acculturation levels) in the home. A package like NOW TV Latino provides great Spanish-language and English-language content at an affordable price for Hispanic viewers with a wide variety of tastes and interests, which is perfect for multi-generational households,” he points out.
