FCC To Study Hispanic TV Viewing, Ownership

As part of its long-standing examination of broadcast diversity issues, the FCC today announced it will conduct a study of the relationships among Hispanic television station ownership, Hispanic-oriented programming and Hispanic television viewing.  According to 2012 Census data, 17% of the total U.S. population — or 53 million people — are of Hispanic origin, representing the largest ethnic/racial minority in the country.

The commission said the study will be its first systematic examination of the Hispanic television market and will be one of the first that will incorporate comprehensive data from the FCC’s recently improved 323 ownership form.

With today’s announcement, the FCC said it is “further demonstrating its commitment to gather data and fund research and analysis to understand better how the commission’s policies promote the public interest. The commission has long understood that diverse participation in the broadcast industry and access to diverse sources of information are vital to a robust democracy.”

To examine characteristics of television viewing by this growing population segment, and to ensure it has better data to inform its policies, the FCC will study, among other things:

• The impact of Hispanic-owned television stations on Hispanic-oriented programming and Hispanic viewership in selected local television markets.

• The extent of Hispanic-oriented programming on U.S. broadcast television.

• The role of digital multicasting in increasing the amount of Hispanic-oriented programming.

Additionally, the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) has taken the next step in its Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs. Incorporating feedback received from its draft Research Design Model released in May, this next phase will field test in a single market the model that could be later applied to markets nationwide in determining whether the critical information needs are being met.