The executives at Comcast can certainly read a demographic forecast, and are well aware that the Hispanic population in the United States is already large and growing fact. The company also has a strong cable presence in four very large Hispanic DMAs. So they are taking steps to maximize their Hispanic subscribership.
A large potential audience may be interested in Comcast’s offering – according to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Comcast has access to some 5M Hispanic households. Many of those households are in large-market Comcast strongholds such as Miami, Chicago, Houston, and Philadelphia, all markets with large Hispanic populations.
Comcast has just put a new offering on the table in Philadelphia – an 85-channel package that costs just under $30 a month, and includes 60 Hispanic channels. Among the channels being offered are CNN en Español, Discovery en Español, Discovery Familia, ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes, Galavision, mun2, Telefutura, Telemundo, and Univision.
For an additional monthly investment Hispanic subscribers can take their channel lineup to a total of 178. This deal includes the same 60 Hispanic channels along with more mainstream offerings and costs just under $77 a month.
The multimedia giant will also offer Hispanics an internet destination: XfinityTV.com/latinoTV.
Comcast recently upped its stake in the Hispanic market when it closed on its joint venture with General Electric/NBC Universal, which brought NBC’s Telemundo package under the Comcast umbrella.
RBR-TVBR observation: In the recent discussions of the retransmission consent issue, it is often noted that Hispanics are among the communities that tend to rely on over-the-air television more than most. Comcast’s low price point for entry into the world of MVPD subscribership may go a long way toward chipping away at that percentage. Once they get them in the door, the opportunity for an upsell is there. Hard to argue with this strategy.
