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Austin
The Texas capital's rapid growth has been attributed to a Latino population explosion
December 01, 2005
By Eileen Davis Hudson
Austin, Texas, may not be as flamboyant as its brethren cities Dallas and Houston, but it is every bit of a draw to both tourists and newcomers.
Nicknamed "The Live Music Capital of the World," Austin is jumping with more than 150 venues where revelers can enjoy an array of musical genres, including country, blues, Western swing, hip-hop, Tejano and Latin jazz. Add the city's rich arts and cultural fabric a low unemployment rate, steady growth, a relatively modest cost of living and booming construction, and it's little wonder the city is routinely cited as one of the best places to live in America.
Austin's growth is largely attributable to its Hispanic population explosion. As such, the local media landscape has drastically changed during the past three years, with many new players having entered the market.
"Austin is a growing metropolis," says Manny Flores, CEO and managing partner of Austin-based LatinWorks Marketing, whose clients include Gillette, U.S. Cellular and ESPN Deportes. He says the new outlets targeting Hispanics have filled a void. "I don't believe it's oversaturated. I believe these people are thirsting for news in their native language."
Houston-based Border Media Partners is one of several recent entrants into Austin's Hispanic media scene. The company purchased three Austin radio stations in December 2004: KHHL-FM 98.9, KXXS-FM 104.9 and KOKE-AM 1600, along with several stations in other Texas markets from Amigo Broadcasting in a $70 million deal.
In August, BMP closed on its $19 million purchase of four additional Austin stations: KELG-AM 1440, KTXZ-AM 1560, KFON-AM 1490 and KKLB-FM 92.5 from Austin-based Dynamic Radio Broadcasting Corp. Dynamic was founded in 1985 by local broadcasting pioneer Jose Jaime Garcia.
Seemingly within a blink of an eye, BMP has gobbled up the lion's share of the 11 percent of Austin's radio dollars targeting Hispanic listeners. Austin is the country's 42nd-ranked Hispanic radio market, according to Arbitron. "We're very aggressive," says Pedro Gasc, vice president/market manager of BMP-Austin. "Our goal is to lead the market in Spanish programming."
BMP now claims ownership of Austin's number-one Spanish radio station. Its younger-skewing Mexican pop KHHL "La Ley" dethroned reigning leader Univision Communications' regional Mexican KINV-FM 107.7.
BMP has flipped formats on all of its Austin acquisitions. On Oct. 13, the company began simulcasting a new "música del recuerdo" (Mexican oldies) on KKLB and KTXZ. With the move, BMP stopped programming Super Tejano, which had been on KTXZ. KKLB was simulcast with KFON playing norteño music.
Univision officials say KINV, which launched in April 2003 as "La Invasora," remains a force in the market. It is recognized for its sponsorship of local events, including Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day.
"[KINV] is a station that tries to appeal to a broader range of tastes," says David Flynn, managing director of Austin-based media buying firm Amistad Media. "In a competitive market such as this, you can't be all things to all people."
Mainstream companies also have carved out a slice of Austin's Hispanic market, in both print and television.
On Aug. 19, 2004, Cox Enterprises, owner of the Austin American-Statesman, launched ¡Ahora Si!, a Spanish-language weekly.
The tabloid-size paper, which targets first-generation Latinos, has increased circulation from 20,000, to its current print run of 30,000 to 35,000, says editor Omar Gallaga. Its coverage area includes all of Austin, which is in Travis County, and Williamson and Hayes counties, neighboring counties to the immediate north and south. It is distributed free via racks, in-store and newspaper boxes.
About 10 percent to 15 percent of the articles in ¡Ahora Si! are Spanish translations of Statesman stories, Gallaga says. However, ¡Ahora Si! has a separate editorial staff of five and its own sales staff.
On Nov. 22, 2004, Meximerica Media launched Rumbo de Austin, the city's first and only Spanish-language daily newspaper and the final paper in the four-newspaper Texas chain. Rumbo is distributed through 550 coin boxes at 25 cents a copy, "from Georgetown down through Austin and all the way into San Marcos," says Andrew Olivera, managing director. The paper has a mixed distribution, with 12,000 of its 17,000 circ being delivered for free to homes in key Hispanic areas.
The full-color tab averages 32 to 44 pages daily, with its Friday weekend issue being the biggest, Olivera says. "People were initially feeling us out. [But] we have started to gain traction. We are starting to pick up new advertisers every week. We have probably a three-year window to reach profitability."
"Rumbo is more breaking-news focused," says Gallaga of ¡Ahora Si! "We're more community focused. Our local coverage is much more comprehensive. We're not trying to be a statewide paper."
Austin's weekly broadsheet El Mundo, launched in 1990, has a 20,000 circ and is well regarded in the market. The weekly La Prensa, founded in 1986, bills itself as "Austin's oldest bilingual newspaper."
Although Austin is the nation's 53rd-largest DMA with 589,360 TV households, it is the 21st-largest Hispanic market with 104,040 Hispanic TV homes, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Univision Communications' owned and operated KAKW became the market's first full-power Spanish station when it debuted in October 2002. KAKW, licensed out of Killeen, Texas, is Austin's leading Spanish-language television station. It produces the market's only local Spanish-language newscasts at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Shaffer Communications Group owns the market's Azteca America affiliate KADF. Austin's primary cable provider, Time Warner Cable, added the low-power station to its lineup last spring. In a market as heavily dependent on cable as Austin, where 63.5 percent of homes are cable subscribers, obtaining cable carriage is critical.
LIN Television owns the local TeleFutura affiliate KBVO, a Class A low-power station. (LIN also owns Austin's NBC affiliate KXAN-TV and operates WB affiliate KNVA under a local marketing agreement).
The Telemundo Network does not have a local affiliate in Austin. However, its national programs, including its novelas and network news, are carried on all the local cable operators, including Time Warner Cable.
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