U.S. Latinos Who Speak English Turn to Spanish Radio

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, August 12, 2010

An AP-Univision poll finds many U.S. Hispanics who speak mainly English are turning to Spanish-language radio and TV, especially for sports and entertainment. The poll found U.S. Hispanics spent at least some time each day, and in many cases, several hours, consuming Spanish-language media. Almost 90% of Hispanics watch TV and 75% listen to Spanish radio.

Among Latinos who spoke mostly English, about 4 in 10 said they turned to either Spanish TV or Spanish radio for programs such as news or entertainment and sports, which recently included the World Cup soccer championships.

About 35% said English media portrayed Hispanics mostly in a negative way, while 50% of Hispanics said English-language media was neutral.

Hispanics now represent 16% of the total U.S. population, a number that is projected to grow to about 30% by 2050. The Census Bureau estimates roughly 3 out of 4 U.S. Latinos speak some Spanish at home.

The poll also found that English-dominant Latinos often favor English media when making big decisions, such as news about a disaster or information on major purchases of appliances or electronics. Less than one-third of English-dominant Hispanics reported spending any time going to Spanish-language Internet sites. Almost half of Spanish-dominant Hispanics said they spent time on English-language websites.