Univision and Hispanic assimilation: a market test

When Univision [the major Spanish-language TV station] put itself on the auction block earlier this year, it was widely seen as an effort…to capitalize on the surging interest in the fast-growing Hispanic media sector.  Univision signaled early on that it was seeking $40 a share, or more than #13 billion, and was confident it would attract interest from both major media companies and private-equity investors.

But big media…never emerged as serious bidders.

Some of the issues were the general decline in television advertising and regulatory constraints on cross-ownership.  The article continues:

And then there is the demograhic issue: New Hispanic immigrants to the U.S. frequently are drawn to Univision and its popular telenovelas — essentially Spanish-language soap operas  But their children eventually become more mainstream media consumers, after immersing themselves in English-language programming.

That is from The Wall Street Journal, 23 June 2006.  The share price has been falling. 

If you disagree with me on immigration and assimilation, as I know a few of you do, I urge you to buy stock in Univision.