The FCC's Media Bureau can't say for sure whether Hispanic ownership leads to more Hispanic programming or viewership.
That is according to a just-released study of the impact of Hispanic TV station ownership on a station's programming decisions and popularity with a Hispanic audience.
"While we find suggestive evidence, we cannot draw strong conclusions with regard to the viewing of Hispanic-owned stations," the report concluded.
But it did find that Hispanics favor the major Spanish-Language networks, particularly Univision, which is not Hispanic-owned, watch more Spanish-language news than English-language news, and like telenovelas.
The FCC said one of the reasons it was hard to draw conclusions from the study was the small sample size—only 23 TV stations.
Ultimately, said the FCC, "this study cannot establish whether viewers respond to a change in ownership by adjusting their viewing habits, or whether a change in ownership corresponds to a change in the program lineup of a station that may, in turn, affect viewing decisions."
