Right audience and more of it for Latin Grammys

Presented for the first time on Spanish-language broadcaster Univision, the sixth annual Latin Grammys on Thursday delivered 5.1 million total viewers, the network said.

The three-hour awards ceremony honoring a broad array of popular Latin musical styles improved dramatically compared with last year’s performance on CBS (3.3 million viewers). The telecast also hit its highest-ever ratings among young adults in the crucial 18 to 34 demographic. But it didn’t get as big a total audience as for the program’s inaugural telecast on CBS in 2000, when 7.5 million viewers tuned in, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.

Perhaps most significant, in Los Angeles the program was No. 1 among all broadcasters in its time period (8 to 11 p.m.) in the key 18 to 49 demographic -- the category most closely watched by advertisers. Thursday was the first night of the November “sweep” rating periods, which many stations use to help set local advertising rates.

The Latin Grammys were broadcast live to many markets from the Shrine Auditorium near downtown Los Angeles.

The ratings on Univision -- the nation’s No. 1 Spanish-language broadcaster -- were a test of how well the program could tap into the core audience for Latin artists such as Alejandro Fernandez, Juanes and the Spanish singer Bebe. On CBS, the program was broadcast almost entirely in English, which may have broadened the crossover appeal of some artists but also effectively shut out non-English-speaking fans. The Univision telecast was in Spanish, with closed-captioning in English.

“We were extremely pleased when the Latin Grammys found its new home on Univision,” Alina Falcon, executive vice president and operating manager for the Univision Television Network, said in a statement.

“We’re especially thrilled that Univision successfully delivered record-breaking audience levels as well.”