Having established itself in the general market, local cable television is pecking at niche markets, trying to lure viewers and advertising dollars away from big-city broadcast stations that thrive on ethnic audiences. Getting a slice of a slice won't be easy. Of primary interest are Hispanics in such markets as Los Angeles and Miami, and Asians in other top metropolitan areas. But while cable systems, rep firms and interconnects (which allow advertisers to put their local spots on several area cable systems) are actively touting cable's geographic targeting and ethnic tiers, it will take a long time for local cable to pose a threat to ethnic-targeted broadcast stations. The number of ethnic-targeted cable networks has skyrocketed in the past few years, from two—Gala-vision and BET—to more than 100. But the vast majority of these networks still don't have large enough audiences in the local markets to attract much attention from advertisers.
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