By saying bye-bye to buy-throughs, offering more channel choices, and becoming smarter marketers, MSOs are reaping the benefits of the Latino market and gaining on a satellite stronghold.
By Simon Applebaum
In a sense, cable's experience with the Latino market illustrates perfectly the value of lessons learned at CTAM: Know your customer and examine your marketing and pricing strategies.
It's well known that cable operators fell behind DBS by failing to provide Latinos with a digital assortment of Spanish-language channels. While satellite began a Latino digital tier strategy in 1999, cable did the same just two years ago. But give MSOs credit--they've learned from their mistakes and this knowledge has helped make Latino tiers an industry success story.
Comcast and Cox estimate their national Latino digital subscriber bases have more than doubled in the two years since they've introduced Latino digital tiers. Cox's San Diego system, one of the company's largest, has posted 100% growth in Latino digital customers since 2003, multicultural marketing director Cesar Cruz says. "Nuestros Canales," the Spanish tier created in 2003, has vaulted Bright House Networks' Latino digital subs in Orlando and nearby central Florida communities.
The gains are occurring despite what MSOs acknowledge was a huge mistake early on--insisting Latino subs take most or all of a system's digital lineup to get the Spanish channels. This tactic, known as "buy-through," discouraged many Latinos, especially Spanish-speaking customers. …
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