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Cable firms woo HispanicsMarket share growing rapidlyBy RICK BENTLEY )Californian staff writer jTHE NUMBERS tell the story.Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment of the population in Kem County, according to the last census figures. Nationwide, Hispanics are growing at a rate that should reach 22 million by 1990, or about 10 percent of the population.Cable companies are recognizing the fact that they represent a large percentage of the TV viewers and making changes. Pete Leveroni of Warner Cable company is one of those who could not ignore the numbers.“Almost 30 percent of our subscribers are Hispanic,” said the manager of the local cable cable company. “A lot of them didn’t believe it was worth $18 a month for one Spanish-language station.”In an effort to respond to the large block of cable subscribers, the number of Spanish-language cable channels offered by Warner Cable here has been doubled. On Aug. 1, the cable company began offering two Spanish-language channels as Telemundo joined Univision on the lineup.Univision — which is carried by KFTV-TV in Fresno — appears on Warner Cable channel 21 while Telemundo was added to cable channel 49. KFTV-TV is Cox Cable Bakersfield channel 12.“We are very pleased with Telemundo because it offers a wider selection of programming and is geared for the young viewer,” Leveroni said. “The network also has a very sharp technical look.” Currently, Telemundo is carried on more than 150 cable television systems and has a network of 20 broadcast television stations and has been on the air for .two years. Broadcasting 18 hours a day (10 a.m. to 4 a.m.), the service reaches more than 70 percent of the Hispanic households in the country.Basically, that means concentrating on the New York, Florida, Texas and California markets.“We are very pleased with the response to being the alternative Spanish-language station,” Donald G. Raider, chief operating officer of Telemundo, said during a telephone interview from the company’s New York office. “Univision is a very capable company, but we believe Please turn to HISPANIC / F13TELEMUNDOTelemundo provides special news programming like Cara A Cara (Face to Face) hosted by Maria Lara, above, and Nobciero Telemundo — CNN, co-anchored by Maria Elvira Salazar and Jorge Gestoso Telemundo, carried on more than 150 cable television systems, broadcasts in Bakersfield on Warner Cable channel 49. Cox Cable is negotiating to add the network to its Bakersfield system.
Newspaper Details
Bakersfield Californian
Bakersfield, California, US
Fri, Aug 25, 1989
Page 67
Full Page
Clipped by
Sammi B.
NA 15 Apr 2024
Other Publications Near Bakersfield, California
The Berkshire County Eagle
Southern Californian and Kern Weekly Courier
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Kern County Californian
Daily Californian
