New York -- Independent networks navigating the increasingly fragmented TV market need to differentiate themselves beyond just better pricing and more choice to be successful, they also need to take a stand, Fuse TV CEO Michael Schwimmer told a packed audience at the Multichannel News/B&C Hispanic TV Summit Thursday.

Schwimmer told Multichannel News and B&C managing director of content Mark Robichaux that with so many ways for consumers to access content -- including Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and a growing number of virtual MVPDs -- independent networks have to offer something truly different.

"To have any success with platforms, be they pay platforms or other platforms, you need to be highly differentiated," Schwimmer said. "You need to give them something they otherwise don't have readily available in a cost effective manner."

For Fuse, that means targeting a young Latino and multicultural audience with content that resonates with them -- shows that feature Latinos in lead roles and that depict the Latino community as a part of mainstream society.

"I don't think television reflects that yet," Schwimmer said. "When you deliver that to viewers in a non-preachy way, it's just fun, it's entertainment, but you see somebody on screen who looks like you and maybe like your neighbor or like your cousin, it's going to feel good."

But just reflecting the community isn't enough. Schwimmer added that network brands need to stand for something other than just "big tent" entertainment.

"It's very hard to be a legacy general entertainment network," Schwimmer said. "The 'Big Tent' today is Instagram, Facebook, HBO, Netflix. Once get to come down 10,000 feet, you need to stand for something specific. The question is, what does your brand stand for? HBO has done a great job of doing that. In our case, it's very clear -- it's Latino, it's multicultural, it's young, there's a music filter to it. It's non-scripted, so if you're looking for a great drama, don't come to us. we're very specific about what we offer and who we offer it to. Which means we're not going to appeal to everybody, but we're going to appeal to some people. Hopefully they'll be passionate about what we do."

He added that viewers, especially young viewers, show more allegiance to shows where they feel a connection, where buying into the brand means something. He mentioned Toms Shoes, which gives a free pair of shoes to a needy child for every pair it sells. 

"As a network you're an environment and you're environment needs to mean something and stand for something broader than any individual show," Schwimmer said.

The television and film industries have begun to recognize the value and appeal of Hispanic television, but executives speaking at the Hispanic TV Summit say that there needs to be a greater Hispanic presence both in front of and behind the camera.

“When I go into a room and hear people talk about diversity, I’m not interested in it being some kind of pro-social [effort]; it makes total business sense,” said Ben DeJesus, president of production company NGL Studios, speaking at Thursday's Hispanic TV Summit. “I think we are the mainstream at this point, but we just want to play in the big arena.”

Jaime Davila, president and co-founder of Campanario Entertainment, said that the industry is actively looking for stories featuring Latino images, but it’s still an uphill battle to get such stories greenlit to series and on the air.

“The broadcast networks actually want to tell those stories,” he said. “It’s still really hard to sell these shows … but I will say that they do care about diverse storylines.”

Even with the unprecedented number of scripted programming offered on broadcast and cable networks, there’s still a dearth of Hispanic-themed content available for Hispanic viewers, which make up a significant part of the total viewing audience, according to Davila.

“Everybody in Hollywood talks about peak TV and there’s too much TV, but for all of those thousands of shows, I can count on my hand how many are Hispanic shows," including Starz's Vida and Netflix's One Day At A Time, he said.

In order to alter the dynamics of what is developed and distributed across the television landscape, Noticias Telemundo senior vice president of digital Romina Rosado believes that there needs to be more Hispanic executives in decision-making positions.

“Right now the decision makers are mostly middle-aged white guys, so there needs to be  more diversity behind the camera where the power is … that’s where we need to focus on,” she said.

Added La Calle TV CEO Jorge Viera: “Everybody has a story of success in the Hispanic community so we have to address … how to get those stories out.” 

New York -- While advertisers may focus on digital content to attract younger viewers, a panel of top executives claimed that for the Hispanic market, traditional TV still has a big impact.

At a panel session entitled, "New Directions in Media, Placement and Research," at the Multichannel News/B&C Hispanic TV Summit here, Univision president of advertising sales and marketing Steve Mandala said that too often, networks get bogged down in trying to cater to cater to individual tastes.

"Everyone is different," Mandala said. "Ironically, most of us are involved in mass media. We're our own worst enemies. It's still about getting the largest audience possible."

He pointed out that the average age of the Hispanic TV audience is 36 years old, compared to 58 years old for the top English language broadcaster.

"You can target younger viewers through Spanish language TV," Mandala said. "This is not CBS."

Data obviously is playing a key role in how advertisers target audiences, and Horizon SVP Multicultural Karina Dobarro said that for those looking to capture younger viewers, digital content is still the first stop. But she added that content has to be reflective of who those viewers are.

"We're not looking at daypart planning, but content planning,” Dobarro said, adding that there is still room for TV, but lower ratings and viewership can't be ignored.

"Everything we do is informed by data," she said. "How the audience relates to a brand rating, that data will drive how the dollars are going toward or away from Hispanic TV."

Group M Multicultural president Gonzalo Del Fa said while digital is important to finding younger audience, he agreed that a multi-pronged strategy using several types of media, including Spanish language TV, Facebook, Google or Pandora to reach audiences is best. He added that what we call traditional TV today can take many forms.

"What we used to call TV, it's a device that we may or may not watch, the content it produces lives in different places," Del Fa said. "It doesn't mean it has to be on a TV set, it might be on an iPad or a phone. I think we are moving away from, 'Do you buy TV,' to 'What kind of TV do you buy.'"

Mandala added that Univision uses data to track consumer behaviors, but added that most important is that all participants are on the same page when they are talking about targeted advertising and the information behind it. That is one of the reasons Univision joined industry consortium OpenAP, he said. 

"Everyone talks about data and what do, but the challenge is we don't have common vernacular," Mandala said. "Every company talks about it in different way. We will not be able to do this on mass level unless have common vernacular.”