What you need to know about Hispanic radio

By Court Stroud

This is one in a number of stories on radio in Media Life’s ongoing series “The new face of radio in America,” examining all the changes taking place in the medium. Click here for earlier stories.

Sometimes I wonder if he’s stalking me.

When I go for a haircut around the corner, I hear his booming voice. My barber, Noriberto, and the other Puerto Rican guys like having him around. He tells the best stories.

He sings, too.

My old co-worker Gladys loves it when he warbles a classic bachata from the Dominican Republic.

One time, in Chicago, I heard him croon a Mexican balada. Damn, he’s good. The song was so heart-wrenching I had to run out of the gas station so no one would see me cry.

He-this voice I sometimes think is stalking me-is the voice of Hispanic radio.

All the research says say U.S. Latinos listen to radio more and longer than other ethnic groups.

No surprise. You can hardly escape it. You hear it in homes and workplaces everywhere. It is the sound of family, connecting Hispanics to homeland and culture. It allows them to escape from the English language, which can seem cold to their ears.

Hispanic radio has been around a long time. In the 1920s, Spanish-language broadcasts began in the United States with brokered programming blocks, primarily in the Southwest. In 1945, San Antonio’s KCOR-AM launched, the first full-time radio station owned by a Mexican-American.

Since then, the U.S. Latino population has skyrocketed, more than doubling since the turn of the century. Hispanic radio has boomed too. Today, the voice of Hispanic radio has truly become ubiquitous: over 500 radio stations in the United States broadcast in Spanish.

Here are five things you should know about Hispanic radio:

1.    Hispanics do indeed love their radio

Hispanic-Americans are avid listeners, with 97 percent reaching for the radio dial each week, versus 91 percent for all U.S. radio listeners.

In the past five years alone, audiences are up 11 percent, growing from 36.5 to 40.4 million, according to Nielsen.

Credit: Nielsen

Credit: Nielsen

Credit: Nielsen

2. Hispanic radio is hyper-local

If all radio is local, then Hispanic radio is hyperlocal. While the term “Hispanic” lumps together people with varying countries of origin, language preferences and musical tastes, all U.S. Latinos are not the same.

Each market’s mix is distinct, with the numbers varying city by city.

The Miami Spanish-language radio market serves a community made up of 75 percent foreign-born Latinos. In San Antonio, almost 85 percent of Hispanics were born in the U.S.

Hispanics in McAllen, Tex., are almost exclusively Mexican-American.

Go to Orlando and you’ll find that 51 percent of its Hispanic community is of Puerto Rican descent.

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Credit: Nielsen

Top 20 Hispanic Markets

3. Popular Formats Vary By Market

Hispanic radio comes in lots of flavors: from News/Talk to Tropical to Spanish-language Christian. No one set of rules applies across the country. For example, the most popular format, Mexican Regional, has little ratings traction in New York City. Many Latinos even prefer English-language radio.

Credit: Nielsen

4. Language Preference Matters

Language preference influences radio usage. For example, Spanish-dominant listeners spend 13 hours and 12 minutes each week with radio, compared with 11 hours and 48 minutes for English-dominant Latinos.

Younger audiences are becoming more bicultural, resulting in a declining share among Hispanics 18-49 for the Regional Mexican format. However, Pop Contemporary Hit Radio (CHR) and Hot Adult Contemporary (AC) have seen a corresponding increase.

Yet, it would be incorrect to assume the newer generation Latinos are all abandoning Spanish in favor of English.

Some English-dominant Latinos are embracing their roots. In a process known as “retro-acculturation,” they study the Spanish language and begin listening to Spanish-language radio when they realize the inherent value – even hipness — of being Latin.

Credit: Nielsen

5. Hispanic music is family music.

In rock and roll every generation rejects the previous generation’s musical tastes.

Latin music, like country, is a family affair, where fans idolize the cultural icons of the past. It’s a reflection of the nature of the Hispanic family, which often has multi-generational households and a tradition of respect for elders.

Case in point: Juan Gabriel, a 66-year old icon, ranked No. 1 in last year’s Billboard Top Latin Albums. A compilation of his greatest hits ranked No. 5. Ricky Martin, who’s been in the public eye since 1984, was No. 3. Mexican rock band Mana, together nearly 30 years, was No. 4. The only new face is Romeo Santos, who began his solo career in 2011.

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Court Stroud is a writer and a longtime media executive who has worked for companies such as Univisión, Telemundo and several digital startups. He most recently served as Azteca América’s EVP of network sales and digital. Stroud holds degrees from UT-Austin and the Harvard Business School. Follow him on Twitter: @CourtStroudNYC