Market Rank: No. 12 (Arbitron)
No. 17 (Nielsen DMA)
12+ population: 3,505,100
African-American: 701,400 (20%)
Hispanic: 1,578,700 (45%)

Rep. Tom Tancredo in November 2006 ignited a firestorm when he referred to Miami as a "third-world country." Perhaps a more accurate choice of words for the Colorado congressman would have been "Gateway to Latin America," or "America's future."

Where Miami goes may be representative of where the U.S. goes, at least from the broad perspective of ethnic trends and population shifts. Based on current population projections, America's ethnic composition could very well be similar to that seen in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties today by the year 2050.

That being said, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale are unlike any other metropolitan area in the U.S. when it comes to measuring Hispanics and blacks. Cubans are the dominant segment of the Hispanic population, but that's slowly changing, as Colombians, Nicaraguans, Dominicans, Venezuelans and others from throughout Latin America - including Mexico - have settled in the region.

In addition to African-Americans, the metropolitan area's black population includes Bahamians, Haitians, Jamaicans and those from other Caribbean nations - each with their own tastes, cultural traditions and consumer habits. This explains why WHQT-FM "Hot 105," an urban adult contemporary radio station, airs a highly popular reggae show on Saturday nights, rather than a classic R&B dance-oriented program.

Furthermore, Geoscape American Marketscape DataStream data show 70,500 Brazilians in the DMA - the majority of which reside within Miami-Dade County.

Numbers and Origins.- As previously stated, Cubans comprise the majority of the region's Hispanic population. But in the last several years, "pan-Latin" has become the new phrasology for describing the melting pot of Hispanic immigrants to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.

Cuban-Americans still predominantly live in central and western Miami-Dade County, as the traditional Calle Ocho and Little Havana communities have spread to areas including Westchester, Doral and South Miami. Cuban-Americans have also settled in southwestern Broward County - a population shift that began with Hurricane Andrew in August 1992.

Nearly 880,000 Cubans reside in the Miami DMA. The next-largest group of Latinos in the market - numbering 196,000 - are of Colombian origin, with most living in western Miami-Dade County and in south-central Broward County. Other large population groups include Puerto Ricans, who can mostly be found in southern Broward, and Nicaraguans, most of whom have settled in western Miami-Dade.

While Dominicans, Venezuelans and Argentines each boast populations greater than 40,000, it is the Mexican population that savvy marketers and advertisers are looking at. In a marketplace best-known for salsa as a form of music and not as a condiment, things have changed fast in rural Homestead and Florida City. Where country and western music was once heard, one can now hear regional Mexican music, find pollo en mole poblano and horchata on a restaurant menu and order freshly made tortillas at a number of markets specializing in Mexican products.

Media Offerings: Television.- Television programming geared toward Spanish-speaking Latinos in South Florida saw its origins in late 1967, when the predecessor to WLTV-Channel 23 signed on the air with a mix of English-language and Spanish-language shows. Today WLTV is one of the integral O&Os for Univision Communications and its flagship Univision network. According to Nielsen, WLTV is the most-watched Spanish-language television station in the Miami DMA.

Telemundo's owned-and-operated WSCV-Channel 51 has proven to be a worthy competitor to Channel 23 since spring 1985, when it positioned itself as the local Miami-targeted alternative to a station that was then part of Spanish International Network. Twenty years ago, WSCV joined television stations in New York, Los Angeles and Puerto Rico in launching Telemundo.

For years the two channels attracted the vast majority of television viewing by Spanish-dominant Latinos in Miami. The local landscape would change dramatically in the last five years, as no less than three new independent entries and the arrival of TeleFutura in Miami sought to spice up the market's program offerings.

TeleFutura's debut in South Florida came in January 2002, with WAMI-Channel 69 serving as the network's local home. Of the three indies, WJAN-Channel 41, known as "América Te Ve," has seen the most success in the ratings - in particular with its prime-time lineup of variety programs and news magazines. WSBS-Channel 22, SBS's "Mega TV," recently refocused its programming by gearing toward an older audience after one year on the air. WGEN-Channel 8, Caracol Television's "Gen TV," has seen rapid growth since its launch in fall 2006.

Finally, Azteca América has gained entry into South Florida by way of WPMF-Channel 38, which began broadcasting programming geared toward Mexicans in the U.S. in November 2002.

Media Offerings: Radio.- It wasn't so long ago when just a handful of AM and FM radio stations targeted a mainly Cuban-American audience in Miami. Today, a wide array of stations serving a pan-Latin audience makes the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market one of America's most successful when it comes to billing power and ratings.

SBS, which is based in Miami, operates Spanish-language Oldies station WCMQ-FM "Clásica 92.3," Tropical WXDJ-FM "El Zol 95.7" and contemporary pop WRMA-FM "Romance 106.7," which simulcasts on WZMQ-FM 106.3 in Key Largo.

SBS's stations are home to some high-profile personalities. Helming El Zol's "El Vacilón de la Mañana" are Enrique Santos and Joe Ferrero. Over on Romance, Ileana Garcia hosts "La Alfombra Roja" in middays. Clásica's shows include the popular "Zona Cero" morning program and "Saturday Night Fever," hosted by veteran host Mike In The Night.

Univision Radio is the other big player in the Miami market, with contemporary pop WAMR-FM 107.5 "Amor" dominating in the ratings - thanks to its long-running "Desayuno Músical" and popular host Javier Romero. WRTO-FM 98.3, which has seen many incarnations during its time as a Spanish-language station, is presently "La Kalle," focusing on salsa hits from the 1980s and 1990s. On the AM side are two legendary Talk stations - WAQI-AM 710 "Radio Mambí" and WQBA-AM 1140.

Clear Channel's WMGE-FM 94.9 "Mega" - until recently a Latin Urban station offering a mix of reggaetón, English-language dance music and Spanish pop - is now offering a mix of Spanish pop and Tropical music while still branding itself "Mega 94-9, Latino and Proud." A change in program directors took place in mid-April 2007 with the exit of veteran Miami radio executive Frank Walsh.

WSUA-AM 1260 "Caracol" - operated by Grupo Latino de Radio - has successfully rebranded itself as a Talk station for all Latinos in South Florida after initially focusing on the market's Colombian audience.

Fenix Broadcasting, a local operation, owns News/Talk WWFE-AM 670 "La Poderosa" and WRHC-AM 1550 "Cadena Azul," a station that offers a variety of classic music and talk programs. Independence Media's WOCN-AM 1450 "Ocean Radio" has evolved in recent years to feature a mix of programming targeting Dominicans, Central Americans and Haitians with Spanish-language and Creole shows.

Other rated stations include Radio Peace Catholic's religious-themed WACC-AM 670 "Radio Paz," home of popular afternoon host Padre Alberto Cutié. Arthur Liu's Multicultural Radio Broadcasting operates WNMA-AM 1210 - once Radio Unica's flagship station - as a brokered Spanish-language talk station that in recent months has aired programming from Venezuela's Unión Radio.

Media Offerings: Print.- In March 2006, Sacramento-based McClatchy Co. agreed to purchase Knight-Ridder - the nation's second-largest newspaper company - for $4.5 billion. The transaction gave McClatchy control of El Nuevo Herald in Miami, which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary as a daily newspaper.

Prior to its launch as a stand-alone newspaper, a couple of pages inside the Miami Herald, el Herald, served Spanish-speaking readers.

According to ABC estimates, El Nuevo Herald boasts a circulation of 179,942. By comparison, daily competitor Diario Las Américas has a circulation of 50,566, according to EMPG. Diario Las Américas is the oldest daily newspaper in Miami serving Spanish-speaking residents.

Tribune Co. weekly El Sentinel, launched in October 2002, focuses on Broward County, where nearly 71,000 copies are distributed. El Popular, with a controlled distribution of 60,000 biweekly issues, bills itself as "Miami's Alternative Hispanic newspaper."

Additionally, fifteen weeklies targeting Hispanic readers of specific nationalities can be found throughout South Florida. Among the bigger publications are El Colombiano, El Venezolano, La Estrella de Nicaragua and Triunfo.

Market Profile

Source: Geoscape® American Marketscape DataStream™: 2007 Series; http://www.geoscape.com.

Complete market profile for Miami-Ft. Lauderdale.

Media Directory-Top Performers

Click here for a comprehensive guide to Spanish-language media outlets in South Florida in Hispanic Market Weekly's media directory.