At long last, after decades of calls to launch Spanish-language content, it is finally happening: Fox News is launching original Spanish-language news programming, and a Spanish-language version of its website.
Per Axios:
Fox News Media will launch a daily Spanish-language news show called "Fox Noticias" that will air on Fox Corp.'s Spanish-language sports cable network Fox Deportes, executives told Axios. Ahead of the debut next week, Fox News will also unveil a Spanish-language version of its website.
Why it matters: 50% of the increase in new eligible voters over the past four years has been Hispanic, representing one of the fastest-growing voting blocks in the country, per Pew. But traditional television and newspaper outlets catering to that group have experienced declines.
To be clear, the traditional TV outlets experiencing declines are Univision and Telemundo. It’s been that way for decades. And where, you may ask yourself, are those audiences going? Per Fox’s press release heralding the launch:
FOX News ranks as the top destination in cable news among Hispanic viewers with the most politically diverse audience in cable news, according to Nielsen Media Research. Notably, FOX News was the number one cable network with Hispanic viewers on a total day 24-hour basis as well as during primetime during the third quarter of 2024. Overall, the network delivers 36% of the Hispanic cable news total viewing share and 45% of the 25-54 demographic. The network also showed the most growth in Hispanic viewership for the most recent quarter, up 65% in total day viewers and 114% in the demographic.
In making the announcement, Sylvester said, “As the leading cable news provider among Hispanic viewers with one of the most diverse audiences in cable news, we are proud to deliver new headline-driven content that focuses on the issues impacting the Hispanic community.”
With the numbers being what they are, it seemed to be a no-brainer for Fox to launch Noticias. Rather than take a “build it and they will come” approach, Fox looked at historic data and determined “Because they came, we will build it.”
The launch is modest and scalable, starting with a Spanish-language version of the Fox News website and an afternoon newscast, hosted by Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy, which will air on Fox Deportes and across the network’s digital properties as well as on its social media.
To be clear, Fox Noticias is the network’s first full foray into Spanish-language programming.
What about MundoFox, you might ask?
That doesn’t count.
MundoFox, a joint venture between NewsCorp and Colombia’s RCN, positioned itself as a full broadcast network with entertainment, soap operas, and a newscast that was indistinguishable from what you might see on Univision or Telemundo, and quickly faded away.
Like Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker, MundoFox is absolutely non-canon.
If you had a nickel for every time I ended one of my MRC Latino items with “the market cries out for an alternative”, you’d have a lot of nickels. After years of asking Fox News to step up into the Spanish-language marketplace, they’ve finally done so. Expect the left, which feels entitled to control the flow of Spanish-language information, to explode.
