Azteca's
lineup aims closer to 'home'
Azteca América announces
a new strategy to win over Mexican-American viewers and to strengthen
its connection with viewers who have recently arrived in the United
States from Mexico and Latin America.
BY CHRISTINA HOAG
Published: May 17, 2005
Miami Herald
Azteca América, the newest broadcast
network in the contest to capture the hearts and eyes of U.S.
Hispanics, is trying a daring programming strategy next season:
launching new telenovelas simultaneously in Mexico and the United
States.
It's also got a headliner sports show on the
slate: a boxing series presented and narrated by Julio César
Chávez. One of the fights features none other than his
son, Julio Jr.
And it plans to get more mileage out of the
''fifth generation'' of its most popular show: reality star search
La Academia USA. After the show ends, contestants will give concerts
in the country's major Hispanic cities.
''Azteca definitely has the product -- it's
the No. 2 network in Mexico,'' said Jorge Percovich, executive
vice president and managing director of media buyer MPG Diversity.
``The problem is distribution -- they've got a lot of small stations.''
Four-year-old Azteca was slated to be the first
Spanish-language broadcaster to unveil its programming lineup
for the 2005-06 season Monday night as ''upfront'' week got underway
in New York.
This is the crucial week when TV networks present
their schedules to advertisers with the aim of selling about 75
percent of their commercial time before the season starts. Networks
reserve the rest to sell closer to the airing date.
In the Spanish-language niche, Telemundo's
presentation is set for today and Univisión's on Wednesday.
Various Hispanic cable networks are also holding upfronts.
A subsidiary of Mexico's TV Azteca, Azteca
América expects a big lift in advertising sales this year
-- the second upfront it has held.
The network has signed up enough TV stations,
including WPMF 38 in Miami and WWHB 48 in West Palm Beach, as
well as major satellite and cable systems, to reach 78 percent
of U.S. Hispanic households, it said.
That's a critical number in order to curry
interest from national advertisers, especially those who want
to tap the market of recent immigrants from Mexico.
''It's small and under the radar but Azteca
is low cost, a good buy,'' said David Flynn Huerta, managing director
of Amistad Media Group.
It also offers some innovative types of ads,
such as virtual product integration, where a product is electronically
superimposed into the screen image, making it look like part of
the set, and electronic ads, which superimpose the screen image,
the network's website said.
Advertisers can also buy time in which a product
is discussed on a show, the website said.
Azteca's audience share is still low -- about
4 percent weekdays, but that jumps to 10 percent on Saturdays
and 16 percent on Sundays, propelled by Mexican soccer matches.
The network aims to reach a 15 percent share in the next four
years, it said.
Observers said Azteca is well on its way.
''Azteca has amazed us all in the industry,''
said Carlos Santiago, chief executive of Santiago Solutions Group,
a Hispanic-market researcher. ``It really has the finger on the
pulse of Mexican-American viewers.''
Azteca is aiming directly at that market with
its plan to debut novelas in Mexico and the United States at the
same time -- a chancy strategy that is sure to be closely watched
by other Hispanic networks. Their common practice is to cherry-pick
the best programs from Latin America after first seeing if they're
hits or flops at home.
Huerta said the risk of a failure may not be
worth the move. ''Except in some border areas, there's no advantage
to the strategy,'' he said.
But it could help Azteca viewers, who tend
to be recent arrivals from Mexico, feel more connected to home
and subsequently that Azteca is their channel, Santiago noted.
''There's a lot of movement between the
two countries,'' he said. ``The Azteca viewer is in constant communication
with their homeland so they're hearing and talking about the novelas
at home.''
