• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, July 24, 2004

According Horowitz Associates latest study on the U.S. urban Latino market for cable programming and new media services, Internet broadband services is lower among Hispanics overall than among the average urban consumer, but interest in these technologies is high-- especially among specific subgroups of urban Latinos.

The study highlights distinctions among urban Latinos by language usage. English-oriented Latinos closely mirror the penetration patterns and attitudes of their other urban counterparts. Seven of ten (67%) Latinos who say they speak English only or mostly English with some Spanish in the home own a PC, on par with penetration in the urban market overall.

On the other hand, penetration is much lower among Spanish-dominant Latinos (those who speak Spanish only or mostly Spanish with some English), only 37% of whom report having a PC in the home.

Three fifths (58%) of English-oriented Latinos have Internet access at home, with three in ten (32%) enjoying broadband Internet access. On the other hand, Internet access is only in one quarter (26%) of Spanish dominant Latino households, and broadband penetration in those homes is at a mere 11%. Half (50%) of the bilingual Latinos surveyed say they have access to the Internet-- 23% reporting an HSI connection.

"The Latino market is very complex, and requires a sophisticated approach when it comes to marketing advanced services," says Howard Horowitz, President, Horowitz Associates, Inc., "Narrow approaches that only target Spanish-dominant Latinos may not be effective in reaching the whole or even most of the market." Adriana Waterston, Director of Marketing for the company, adds.

Across all Latinos surveyed, 20% say they plan to subscribe to High Speed Internet in the near future. While currently High Speed Internet provided by the cable company enjoys greater penetration than DSL among urban Latinos, the survey data indicate that those likely to subscribe to HSI services in the near future prefer DSL 3 to 1 over cable modems.