Special Report: The Current State of Latino Viewership and Representation in Television
Siri Stafford
Though Latino inclusion in American media has been historically underrepresented, recent years have seen a notable increase in diversity that invites viewers to continue pushing for Latino-led and focused representation in entertainment. The American entertainment industry has seen skyrocketing growth in Hispanic recognition, with Encanto winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and Bad Bunny winning the VMA’s Artist of the Year award. The growth of Hispanic recognition on-screen invites questions about the current state of Latino-led media viewing and content creation.
To better illustrate the current state of Latino television viewing, Nielsen released a report in September 2022 titled “Latino-led Content and Viewers: The building blocks for streaming success”. This report is a part of their Diverse Intelligence Series and was produced in conjunction with the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC). In line with the Nielsen report and US Census guidelines, this article will use the terms Latino and Hispanic interchangeably. However, it is also important to acknowledge that there is an ongoing and changing conversation on these terms, marking the differences between Latinos (those descended from Latin America) and Hispanics (those descended from Spanish-speaking countries).
The report notes that in the United States, Latinos currently make up 19% of the total population and hold a buying power of $1.9 trillion, a number that is larger than in certain countries. A notable trait of the Hispanic population is their skew towards younger ages. Fifty-eight percent of Hispanics in the US are under the age of thirty-four, a much larger percentage of the population than other demographics. In comparison, only 42% of non-Hispanic whites are under 34 years old. The combination of younger age demographics in a technologically forward-moving entertainment industry means that Latino households are important players in the evolution of streaming television.
Nielsen reports that Hispanic households have a stronger preference for streaming compared to other demographics. In 2021, Latinos were reported to stream 44% of their media. This is almost ten percentage points higher than the general US population, which only streams about 35% of its media content. This sizable percentage of media viewing is also paired with high satisfaction rates, as 78% of Hispanics surveyed on their experience with streaming services chose the highest-rated option for their satisfaction; this was the highest among all demographic groups.
Latino Television Viewing Times
The Nielsen report takes focus to note the benefits of increased Hispanic representation for both the viewers and for the producers of television. Looking at advertisement numbers, nearly half of the Hispanic viewers stated they are more likely to buy from brands that featured inclusive content. Given the greater percentage of Hispanics using streaming services, advertisers on ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) services would benefit the most from increasing their diversity in commercials. AVOD services are predicted to bring in nearly $19 billion in revenue by the end of 2022, a large portion of which would be from Latino populations. In fact, the viewership on AVOD streaming by Hispanic viewers has seen as 24% increase, which is on pace with their numbers on subscription on-demand services. This makes the Latino population a prime demographic for inclusivity-focused advertising
However, despite this economic value, the state of Latino representation in television is still under what proper parity should be. For reference, accurate representation of the entire US population would mean that Hispanics should have roughly 19% of the share of screen in television. The three genres where Hispanics have the largest share of screen are still under this benchmark: Crime/Crime Drama (16%), Mystery (13%), and Thriller (11%). The two genres where Latinos have the lowest share of screen are criminally low: Educational (1%) and Reality (3%). Though the Latino population in the US skews younger than other demographics, they are scarcely represented in educational television media.
Hispanic Share of Screen by Genre
Behind the screen, there is also a gap in Hispanic representation. Of the top 530 streamed programs, the report found that 92% (464) did not have any Hispanic representation in key roles of production, such as executive producer, writer, director, creator, or showrunner. Only sixty-six shows had Hispanic inclusion in these important roles. This is further reflected in reports that show Hispanic inclusion in the media industry is lower than in any other field. Only an estimated 12% of workers in the entertainment industry are Hispanic, compared to 18% in other industries.
Though this report shows how there is a lack of Hispanic representation on and off-screen now, it also highlights several examples that show the importance and profitability of greater diversity. Over half of the Hispanics surveyed stated they are more likely to continue watching content if it features someone from their identity group (56%). Furthermore, 41% of Hispanics expressed the belief that there is not enough content that accurately represents them.
When looking at television content, there is a stark increase in viewership of shows that feature Hispanic representation at the parity level of the United States or higher (19% share of the screen). When there is no on-camera Hispanic representation on screen, Hispanic audiences only account for 15-16% of the viewership. When there is 19% or greater Hispanic representation (at parity levels), the number jumps to 34-37% Hispanic viewership. Interestingly, these numbers are similar for programs that have strong Hispanic representation on and off-screen.
Hispanic Share of Audience
Hispanic Share of Audience
Though this report focused on television and streaming, it also looked at other media released on streaming services that have also been positive for both viewers and producers. HBO Max released the third film version of The Father of The Bride in June 2022. This was the third iteration of this story based on a 1949 novel, but the first to feature a Hispanic cast. Though the story had previously been centered around a white family, this version had its focus on a Cuban American family. The film featured notable Hispanic actors such as Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan, as well as younger and upcoming players like Isabela Merced. The feature attracted 448,000 new viewers who had previously not watched content on HBO Max but stayed subscribed to the service after watching the film. Of these new viewers, half (216,000) of them were Hispanic. With a single Hispanic-focused film, HBO Max gained several hundred thousand new subscribers who would otherwise have not joined the streaming service.
This Nielsen report highlights the importance and value of increased Hispanic representation in media, especially on streaming services. The greater Latino inclusion on-screen, the greater the viewership numbers and profitability from Latino audiences. With a demographic skewed to a younger and more technologically savvy age, Latino audiences should be one of the foremost priorities of streaming services and show producers looking to create shows for these platforms.
