|
|
The new big thing
in cable: Asians
New channels are launching to serve a population
By Kevin Downey
Among the U.S.'s ethnic groups, Asians have
long held a low media profile relative to Hispanics and African Americans.
But that is quickly changing with the emergence of new Asian cable
channels in recent months.
The most recent
is MTV Desi, an English-language network targeting South-Asian Americans
that launched last Tuesday on DirecTV.
More will come, as the Cabletelevision Advertising Bureau
underscores in a multicultural report released last week.
“Multiculturalism is
a continuing evolution, and I think this is the next phase in that
evolution,” says Cynthia Perkins-Roberts, associate vice president of
multicultural marketing and advertising services at the CAB.
No surprise, most
of the new Asian channels are concentrated in areas like San
Francisco with large Asian populations.
The former International Channel, which had programming in
Asian, Middle Eastern and European languages, re-launched in March. Now,
as AZN, the network strictly targets Asians with in-language and
English-language programs. AZN is in about 14 million homes through cable
systems such as Comcast, which owns the network, as well as Adelphia and
Time Warner Cable.
ImaginAsian TV is geared toward Asians, mostly with
English-language programs. The network has built its distribution to 2
million homes since launching last August.
MTV Desi targets young South Asians, such as Indians and
Pakistanis, with music videos and pop culture programs. Parent company
Viacom also plans to launch two other Asian-focused networks within a
year, MTV Chi, targeting Chinese Americans, and MTV K, focusing on Korean
Americans.
“What we
found in our research is that most young Asian Americans did not see their
lifestyle reflected on television,” says Nusrat Durrani, general manager
and senior vice president of MTV World.
“They did not see their stories being told, and they definitely
felt there was a need for a television platform that did those things.”
Meanwhile, media buying agency Magna Global in May
reported that there are about 131 media outlets targeting Asians,
including 75 cable channels and nine broadcast stations. That compares to
roughly 1,100 outlets for African Americans and 985 geared to Hispanics.
The CAB’s Perkins-Roberts says the emergence of Asian
cable networks reflects media companies taking note of recent population
figures. But also of note is their wealth.
“Advertisers
can get a great return on their investment in this marketplace because
Asians have an income higher than even the general market,” she says.
Asians have a median household income of $55,700, according
to the CAB, or about $9,000 higher than the median for non-Hispanic
whites.
The Asian population is also the second-fastest-growing
ethnic group, close behind Hispanics. As of last July there were 12.3
million Asians in this country, according to the Census Bureau, compared
to 41.3 million Hispanics and 37.5 million African Americans.
The Asian population is expected to grow 68 percent from 2000
to 2020, when it will reach 18 million people.
The Asian media market is on the low end of the growth curve,
but that will continue to change as more media usage data come out.
Nielsen Media Research, for example, is in negotiations with
agencies to begin measuring Asian audiences.
While Asians are an attractive demographic for advertisers,
another stumbling block has been the diversity of the population, with
dozens of languages.
Networks like MTV Desi are cutting through the confusion by
primarily programming in English. The CAB reports that 34 percent of
Asians prefer watching TV in English while another 39 percent prefer
watching in both their native language and English.
“The English language is definitely a connection and a
meeting place,” says MTV’s Durrani.
|
July 19, 2005
©
2005
Media Life
- Kevin Downey is a staff writer
for Media Life.
|
|
|
|
