• by Karla Fernandez Parker , Columnist, Yesterday

Marketers who want a share of the Hispanic market, which is one-fifth of the U.S. population with about $4 trillion in buying power, take notice of the latest Nielsen Report.  New data from the report show that streaming represents 55.8% of total TV time for Hispanic viewers, versus 46% for the general U.S. Other key findings show that Hispanics overindex on viewership of YouTube, Netflix and Disney.

Hispanics are still drawn to broadcast programming, along with cable shows focused on experiences and variety entertainment, which are mainstays of Spanish and general broadcasters. There is also a telling datapoint that Hispanics in general want to be represented in what they’re watching -- 56% agreed with this, a stat that’s even higher for Spanish speakers at 63%.

According to the report, YouTube is getting the lion’s share of marketers’ spend, with 96% of Spanish-language online spend going to that platform -- despite the fact it only captures around 21% of the overall TV time of Spanish-speaking audiences.

This is a huge opportunity gap for other worthy platforms that are getting Hispanic viewership.

“Brands that want to succeed in this environment must understand that Hispanic audiences are not waiting to be represented,” Nielsen senior vice president of inclusive insights, Stacie de Armas, said. “They are building their own platforms, amplifying their culture and demanding authenticity.”

Are marketers just checking the Hispanic box and defaulting to YouTube? What a miss that other streaming platforms offering strong Hispanic viewership are left out! 

We know that the Hispanic market is very diverse, not just by language but by country of origin, geography, income, lifestyle, and household composition. Time and time again we see this lack of advertising spending, when this is clearly the growth segment of NOW and not just the growth segment of tomorrow. In the age of analytics and ease of digital targeting, this truly makes no sense.