Spanish-language media company looks to grow
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the associated press
RALEIGH, N.C.
Spanish-language media company Que Pasa is negotiating a partnership with a larger unnamed media company and bidding to buy two radio stations in North Carolina, a fast-growing Hispanic market.
The company, which already has seven radio stations and three weekly newspapers in the state, also is spending $1.25 million on a continuous improvement of its statewide operations.
"The bottom line is, the opportunity in this market continues to be very large, but it isn't going to be large forever," said Jose Isasi, CEO of Que Pasa's corporate parent, Latino Communications of Winston-Salem. "We want to be a very serious player in this market."
The moves come as Que Pasa faces new competition after a local affiliate of Telemundo started broadcasting, though the new station is not carried by the Triangle's dominant cable TV provider, Time Warner Cable.
"(We're) trying to do everything we can to get on Time Warner Cable," said Jayme Ribeiro, Channel 44's general manager.
The interest for Telemundo and other companies is the state's reputation as the nation's fastest-growing Hispanic market. The disposable income of North Carolina Hispanics rose faster than in any other state from 1990 through 2004, said Jeffrey Humphreys, director of the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth.
Que Pasa has met its companywide target of 30 percent annual revenue growth over the past four years, but its operations in the Triangle haven't matched that growth and competition is a factor, Isasi said.
When Que Pasa entered the broadcasting market in the Triangle in 2001, its competition came only from a low-power station, Zebulon's La Super Mexicana at 540 AM, which recently changed its name to La Regia. In 2003, La Ley, a 100,000-watt FM station owned by Raleigh's Curtis Media, and a local affiliate of Univision entered the market.
Isasi said revenue at its Triangle radio operations declined in 2003, but have since recovered.
Que Pasa's planned changes also come after the recent departure of Federico Van Gelderen, who ran Que Pasa's Triangle operations and who is well-known in the Hispanic community.
One Que Pasa competitor sees Van Gelderen's resignation as a chance to make inroads with Que Pasa advertisers.
Van Gelderen said he resigned over a business agreement, but would not give details. He said he believes Que Pasa's Triangle business is well positioned for growth.
"The challenge for Que Pasa is to go from a family company to a real company," he said.
