L.A. Latinos Watch More TV, Study Finds

Latinos in Los Angeles are watching considerably more television than the general population, according to a new study by the A. C. Nielsen Co.

The study, based on people meters in 200 Latino households throughout Southern California, was designed as a pilot for Nielsen’s new 800-household National Hispanic Television Service, which the firm plans to launch early next year to measure the viewing habits of Latino households throughout the country. The service will be independent of the better-known 4,000-household Nielsen service that reports overall national TV ratings. (About 8% of the national sample is Latino.)

According to the new Nielsen study, conducted between June 14 and July 11, 61% of Latino households had televisions on during the 8 to 11 p.m., Monday-through-Sunday prime-time period, compared to 54% for the general population. Daytime television was watched by 44.5% of Latino households compared to 31.3% for the Los Angeles market. In addition, the study showed 71% of Latino households own a VCR, and 29.6% subscribe to cable television.

Nielsen estimates that there are 1,125,910 Latino households with television in the Los Angeles area. The company puts the national Latino figure at 6,108,450.