HispanicTrending

January 31, 2007
Source: HispanicBusiness.com

Watching America’s pop star hopefuls either soar or crash and burn during their weekly auditions enthralled Hispanic viewing audiences last week, according to figures released by the Nielsen Media Group for the week of Jan. 22-28.

Fox’s "American Idol" occupied the top two spots in the Hispanic TV ratings for English-language programs last week, while "Fea Mas Bella" was the top choice among Spanish-language shows. Wednesday night’s "American Idol" broadcast led the way with a 10.6 rating, the equivalent of more than 1.2 million households of viewers, and its Tuesday show followed in second place with a 10.3.

"Grey’s Anatomy," the hit hospital drama from ABC, earned a 7.3 rating for third place. It was followed by ABC’s "Ugly Betty" (5.3) and CW’s "Friday Night Smackdown" (5.2), an offering from World Wrestling Entertainment.

The top three shows in the Hispanic TV ratings mirrored Nielsen’s national TV results with Wednesday’s American Idol pulling in an chart-topping 18.9. The Tuesday show brought in an 18.0 rating and "Grey’s Anatomy" earned a 14.0.

Nearly 3.2 million households tuned in to see "Fea Mas Bella," Univision’s top telenovela, on Tuesday night. That show alone produced a 27.2 rating. The series finished the week with a 25.6 rating for its five-night average.

"Duelo de Pasiones" won the battle for second-best Univision telenovela last week by leapfrogging "Mundo de Fieras." The former jumped from fourth to second place with a 17.2 rating to edge the latter’s 16.9 mark.

Nielsen’s figures, however, have their detractors. One group has started a petition, hoping Nielsen Media Group will change the way it samples the U.S. Hispanic population in its English and Spanish TV ratings. The Help Change TV group, which has a petition at www.HelpChangeTV.com, claims that Nielsen does not include enough U.S.-born Hispanics in its audience sample, leading to the impression that a vast majority of Hispanics watch Spanish-language TV.

The following lists are TV ratings based on Hispanic viewership. Nielsen’s ratings include viewers who watched the program while it aired and others who viewed the shows via digital video recorder within 24 hours of their airing. The group says that the Hispanic TV audience represents more than 11.63 million television households in the United States. The rating is equivalent to the percentage of households or persons watching a TV program during the average minute.

Top 10 English-language shows (Jan. 22-28)
1. American Idol – Wednesday (Fox), 10.6
2. American Idol – Tuesday (Fox), 10.3
3. Grey’s Anatomy (ABC), 7.3
4. Ugly Betty (ABC), 5.3
5. Friday Night Smackdown (CW), 5.2
6. Heroes (NBC), 4.6
7. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (ABC), 4.5
8. Family Guy (Fox), 4.3
9. CSI: Miami (CBS), 4.1
9. American Dad (Fox), 4.1

Top 10 Spanish-language shows (Jan. 22-28)
1. Fea Mas Bella – weekday avg. (Univision), 25.6
2. Duelo de Pasiones – weekday avg. (Univision), 17.2
3. Mundo de Fieras – weekday avg. (Univision), 16.9
4. Don Francisco Presenta (Univision), 15.1
5. Cristina (Univision), 14.8
6. Aqui y Ahora (Univision), 14.6
7. Bailando Boda Suenos (Univision), 14.5
8. Sabado Gigante (Univision), 11.6
8. Casos Vida Especial (Univision), 11.6
10. Casos Familia Especial (Univision), 11.2

Station Syndicated Programs Key in Latino Markets 

January 30th, 2007
Via AIM TV

WWOR-TV/ My9 is working with AIM Tell-A-Vision Group (AIM TV) to raise the bar with diverse programming and reach the key Latino market.   Last fall, My9 picked up the one hour block of programs from AIM TV, the producers of English language, Latino themed programs American Latino TV and LatiNation as a tool in an initiative to garner an unclaimed audience, ( U.S. born Latinos) in the nation’s largest DMA.

The initiative began when My9 Vice President & General Manager, Lew Leone saw a need and scheduled the programs in a weekend early fringe timeslot (Sundays @ 4PM). The timeslot gave AIM TV the traction they needed to execute several Hispanic marketing and promotional outreach initiatives in conjunction with  the station, helping expand its appeal to young Hispanics (one out of four 18-34 year olds in New York is Latino,  most of them are U.S. Born).   

The AIM Tell-A-Vision Marketing and Promotions team began an aggressive slate of over 20 Latino themed area promotions and events. The outreach simultaneously promoted the shows and their new affiliate My9, which was launching a new network, MyNetworkTV. The events ranged in size from a few thousand to over 1 million people. AIM TV also integrated My9 into its marketing materials including their promotional Volkswagen Touareg, banners, postcards, flyers, radio ads (WKTU-103.5), and print ads (Hoy Newspaper). 

My9 continues its successful Hispanic outreach. The station secured rights to air the 2006 Puerto Rican Day Parade as well as the New York Hispanic Day Parade which featured prominent on air appearances by American Latino & LatiNation talent. The station also featured AIM TV executives and talent on public affairs programs, My9’s “Real Talk” and WNYW- Fox 5’s “Good Day Street Talk” discussing the image of Latinos in the media. The stations also integrated AIM TV talent into Hispanic Heritage month PSAs in October and integrated show content into its web casting initiative Digital Lounge, giving the shows much needed promotional exposure. 

“The level of collaboration with My9 staffers on our promotional initiatives is unprecedented and represents a model for how all of our affiliates can get a competitive advantage, especially in the top markets” says Robert G. Rose, CEO of AIM Tell-A-Vision. “My hat’s off to the My9 for recognizing our shows as a key component in helping their station reach an untapped market.” 

WWOR-TV Vice President and General Manager Lew Leone said, “Robert Rose and AIM Tell-A-Vision Group are great partners for WWOR-TV/My9.  Their programming is the right fit for our viewers and their understanding of the key Hispanic market is a great resource for us.”

Behind the scenes footage of several of AIM TV’s marketing and promotional efforts are regularly posted at the company’s website video sections at www.AmericanLatinoUncut.com and www.LNMas.com .

AIM Tell-A-Vision (AIM TV) is a vertically integrated company that produces and distributes high-quality, award-winning original content focusing on underserved demographics and is the largest television syndication company in the world targeting Latinos with culturally relevant, English language television programming and media. AIM TV’s programming includes AMERICAN LATINO TV, LATINATION, the SONIDOS Music Specials and the AMERICAN LATINO PRESENTS. Find more information at www.AIMTVGroup.com.

WWOR-TV My9 and WNYW FOX 5 are owned-and-operated by the FOX Television Stations, one of the nation’s largest owned-and-operated network broadcast groups, comprising 35 stations in 26 markets, covering nearly 45% of U.S. television homes.  This includes six duopolies in the top 10 markets: New York , Los Angeles , Chicago, Dallas , Washington D.C. and Houston ; as well as duopolies in Minneapolis , Phoenix and Orlando .

January 24, 2007
By Robert W. Butler

Comedy rarely gets Oscar respect.

Neither do Hispanic actors and filmmakers.

But Tuesday both scored big time when this year’s Oscar nominations were announced.

The comedy is "Little Miss Sunshine," about a dysfunctional family on a road trip to a children’s beauty pageant. Last year’s Sundance hit pulled in noms — for best picture, original screenplay, supporting actor (Alan Arkin) and supporting actress (10-year-old Abigail Breslin).

Meanwhile Spanish-speaking actors and films from Mexican directors generated a mini-landslide of nominations.

# Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s "Babel," a sprawling story of interconnected lives on three continents told in several languages, was nominated for best film, director (Inarritu) and original screenplay. Two of its performers — Mexico’s Adriana Barraza and Japan’s Rinko Kikuchi — were nominated as supporting actresses.

# Spain’s Penelope Cruz received a best actress nod (her first) for Pedro Almodovar’s "Volver," although the failure of that film to get a nomination in the foreign language film category left plenty of industry watchers scratching their heads.

# "Pan’s Labyrinth," a grim fantasy from Mexico’s Guillermo del Toro, was nominated for best foreign language film, original screenplay, art direction, makeup, original score and cinematography.

# Yet another Mexican auteur, Alfonso Cuaron, was nominated for a best screenplay adaptation for "Children of Men," which also won a place in the cinematography and film editing categories.

"There are so many Mexicans!" Mexican actress Salma Hayek giddily exclaimed to a TV reporter after reading off the names of the nominees at an early-morning press conference in Los Angeles.

Future Academy Award historians may come to regard this year’s edition as the "minority Oscars." Besides Cruz’s best actress nod, most acting categories include more than one nonwhite nominee: best actor (Will Smith for "The Pursuit of Happyness" and Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland"); supporting actor (Eddie Murphy for "Dreamgirls" and Djimon Hounsou for "Blood Diamond"); and supporting actress (Jennifer Hudson for "Dreamgirls" and "Babel’s" Barraza and Kikuchi).

In addition to "Sunshine" and "Babel," the best picture race includes Clint Eastwood’s Japanese-language "Letters From Iwo Jima," "The Queen" and "The Departed." Of these only "The Departed," Martin Scorsese’s knotty crime drama, qualifies as a true studio film.

Moreover, the inclusion of two mostly subtitled films in the best picture category further emphasizes the idea that if you’re looking for cinematic art, don’t expect to find it in mainstream Hollywood.

Expect cries of elitism from meat-and-potatoes moviegoers. The overwhelming majority of this year’s nominations are virtually unknown to the mass of moviegoers.

Films like "Half Nelson" (for which Ryan Gosling won an actor nomination), "Little Children," "Letters From Iwo Jima," "Venus" (an actor nod for Peter O’Toole), "The Last King of Scotland" and "Notes on a Scandal" (which earned an actress nomination for Judi Dench, a supporting actress nom for Cate Blanchett, as well as nominations for original score and screenplay adaptation) either opened in theaters only in recent weeks or resided in the art house ghetto.

This year’s slate of nominees is heavy on quality. Popularity, though, is an altogether different thing.

More thoughts on this year’s Oscar race:

# The morning’s biggest surprise was the failure of "Dreamgirls" to get nominations for best picture and best director. A big winner at the Golden Globes earlier this month, the musical was widely considered the movie to beat.

Nevertheless, "Dreamgirls" still got eight nominations, more than any other movie. Three of those nominations are in the same category: best original song.

# "Letters From Iwo Jima," portraying the WWII battle from the Japanese perspective, was a small-budget afterthought made after Clint Eastwood already had shot "Flags of Our Fathers." It cleaned up big with nominations for picture, directing (Eastwood), sound editing and original screenplay.

# Comeback of the year: Jackie Earle Haley, who as a child actor became a household name for his work in the "Bad News Bears" movies, then dropped out of acting for two decades before coming back to movies this year with roles in "All the King’s Men" and "Little Children." He received a supporting actor nomination for his performance as a pedophile in "Little Children." That movie also scored an actress nomination for Kate Winslet and a nomination for best adapted screenplay.

# To nobody’s surprise, Helen Mirren is an actress nominee for "The Queen," in which she portrays Elizabeth II confronting the death of Princess Di. She is the only sure thing in this year’s race.

The movie was also nominated for picture, direction (Stephen Frears), costumes, score and original screenplay.

# "The Departed" was middling Martin Scorsese, but the failure of the academy to honor America’s greatest living director puts Oscar voters under renewed pressure. Scorsese has had six winless trips to the Oscars as a directing nominee. He could be this year’s Al Pacino.

Source: The Kansas City Star via HispanicBusiness.com

AIM TV Marks First Anniversary of Industry Campaign with Consumer Media & Grassroots Blitz to Convince Nielsen to Finally Address Misleading Ratings Reports

New York, NY – Frustrated with the lack of response and progress from Nielsen Media Research after over a year of a trade and industry outreach program entitled “Change The Sample”, AIM Tell-A-Vision® Group (AIM TV) announces it is now launching a second front – a major consumer targeted campaign to further build awareness and visibility.   

AIM TV, pioneering producers and distributors of English language programming for the U.S. Latino market, launched the “Change the Sample” campaign in November, 2005 as an industry targeted initiative.  “Change the Sample” is intended to convince Nielsen Media Research, Inc. to change its language preference method of monitoring U.S. Hispanic TV viewing to a more accurate measurement based on nativity (U.S. Born / Foreign-Born).  The trade campaign netted over 3,000 petitions from various individuals in the television and media industries and also provided much needed awareness and discourse.

Now AIM TV has added fuel to the fire by launching “HELP! Change TV” (HCTV), a consumer targeted, multi-tiered consumer media blitz and a grassroots initiative that educates everyday viewers about the impact of Nielsen’s flawed methodology. The campaign features an interactive website (www.HelpChangeTV.com), a short video presentation that is available to the public at www.HelpChangeTVVideo.com and at various video sharing sites all supported by a heavy consumer multi-media advertising campaign in major Hispanic markets (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Orlando, San Antonio, Dallas and more).

AIM TV contends that the impact on viewers’ lives includes an under-representation of Latinos on English language television resulting in skewed stereotypes that tend to mislead many non Latinos that Latinos are recent or “illegal” immigrants who do not speak English and are not a valuable part of mainstream, U.S. society.

The campaign is the result of a 2006 summer long focus group analysis that determined Latinos and viewers overall are very concerned about stereotyping and a general lack of representation on TV and showed a surprising awareness of the ratings process and eagerness to foster change. 

“We attended several Latin-themed events all summer speaking directly to the viewers most impacted by the erroneous ratings system. I was surprised by how fed up people are with stereotyping and the injustice this issue can have as a social issue. I was heartened to learn the average viewer understands that the current status quo is about protecting the interest of a few in the Hispanic Media Industry with complete disregard for accuracy and the needs of the mainstream industry and MOST IMPORTANTLY the viewers.” states Robert G. Rose, CEO of AIM Tell-A-Vision and founder of the initiative.

“This serious issue impacts our society negatively as displayed in the recent immigration debate. Most Latinos are U.S. born. We are scholars, athletes, doctors, lawyers and we contribute greatly to U.S. society. It is time to enlist the viewers who live with the consequences daily and are most affected by this injustice.” states Renzo Devia, President of AIM TV’s Maximas.

More information can be found at www.HelpChangeTV.com and www.ChangeTheSample.com.