ABC News and Univision announced on Monday plans to create an English-language, 24/7 cable network for Hispanics.
It’s a savvy move to target the United States’ growing Hispanic population. By 2050, Hispanics are expected to represent 30 percent of the U.S. population.
Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC Television Group, in a statement acknowledged the demographic opportunity. “Our powerful premier news brand, combined with the world’s leading Hispanic media company, will create the nation’s first news and lifestyle channel targeted to this quickly expanding and important community,” she said.
The network’s management team — along with its website — are expected to be formed over the summer. ABC News and Univision will share newsgathering and production resources, according to the release, and will have journalists in major American cities.
The television network itself will debut sometime next year, ABC News spokesperson Julie Townsend told TPM. It’s currently unnamed.
“There’s quite simply nothing like” the Hispanic population in the U.S., Townsend added. They have “tremendous purchasing power” — to the tune of about $1 trillion today and $1.5 trillion by 2015, Townsend said.
“This alliance combines the expertise and brand strength of Univision News with ABC News’ leadership and is another example of Univision’s commitment to serving and empowering Hispanic America while connecting all audiences to Latino issues,” said Cesar Conde, president of Univision Networks, in the release.
Monday’s announcement is bound to make some NBC executives nervous. That network’s spanish-language network, Telemundo, distantly trails Univision’s ratings.
