According to Jennifer McBride-Castro, Marketing, US Affiliate Distribution at Condista, the response of Hispanics to the arrival of AVOD platforms has been “outstandingly positive.” Castro highlights that Hispanics are more inclined to try free streaming services than their mass-market counterparts (80% vs. 67%). According to Horowitz, an estimated 80% of Hispanics in 2024 have utilized a free streaming service, up from just 14% in 2019.
“Not surprising for those who have observed tech adoption rates within this community over time, though incredible growth over the past five years in any TV sector is surprising on some level. At Condista, we have seen the greatest success with platforms focused on the general market that also have a robust Hispanic offering. This is likely due in part to the strength of those brands, but also the demand from this audience for good quality content regardless of language.”
Castro notes that US Hispanics have always been early adopters of technology, and Spanish-language content has always been and continues to be critical to connecting US Hispanics with their roots, culture, sports, news, and home country. “As Spanish-language AVOD offerings have grown, so have their Hispanic viewers. Hispanics have trailed the general market in churn rates because of the lack of quality alternative options. But as AVOD content has increased and improved (because quality always matters) for Hispanic consumers, so has Hispanic consumption of AVOD,” she emphasizes.
GOOD CONTENT IS WHAT’S MOST POPULAR
For the executive, good content is what always remains popular. She mentions that, like others, they have experimented with different content and genres to determine what works best in FAST and AVOD.
“We’re all learning, and the rich data available from many platforms allows us to be more informed than ever before. Initially, we dug into content libraries and pulled in content with available rights without many filters. We learned that this approach doesn’t work. Hispanic viewers are demanding top-quality content, reflected in hours viewed and revenue. Many platforms are establishing stringent performance benchmarks. Good content—whether it be news, entertainment, novelas, movies, sports, cultural programs, or cooking shows—is what works best and is most popular in AVOD and FAST today.”
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BANDWIDTH AND PRIORITIZATION OF RESOURCES AMONG THE CHALLENGES
For Condista, the biggest obstacle they have encountered has been bandwidth and prioritization of resources and dollars within the platforms/companies themselves towards the Hispanic market.
“We’ve received feedback directly from AVOD and OTT platforms that they ‘get it’—they see the value of the Hispanic market and the opportunity to grow/increase relevance, but it’s not an immediate priority given the sea of other ‘low-hanging fruit’ growth opportunities and business priorities. That’s not the case for all, but we have surprisingly encountered this situation more often than expected,” Castro comments.
In terms of the strategy to attract and retain this audience, Castro mentions that they see major platforms placing greater weight on retention/engagement efforts than acquisition. “The basis for this may be budget, as retention efforts typically utilize owned (free) marketing tactics. Most promotional opportunities live on-platform or in newsletters to customers, driving awareness and tune-in to content, largely focused around thematic windows and events. A significant amount of content promotion is viewer and algorithm-focused, with each platform serving up content similar to what was previously viewed,” she pointed out.
ADVERTISERS ARE EMBRACING OTT AND CTV PLATFORMS
The executive mentions that one of the biggest topics here is less about advertisers responding, but rather whether platforms can scale and sell their AVOD offer for Hispanic viewers to advertisers.
“Advertisers are embracing OTT and CTV platforms, with year-over-year increases in investment. However, with increasing platforms and new channels comes increased fragmentation. Few FAST and AVOD platforms have sufficient scale of Hispanic viewers today. Of those that do, there are a number that: 1) do not have the resources to focus on sales of their Hispanic-focused offering, and 2) are focused on their own content or channels with higher margins,” she mentions.
