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See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
October 24, 2013 Janice Wise (202) 418-8165 
Email:  janice.wise@fcc.gov
FCC ANNOUNCES NEW STUDY EXAMINING HISPANIC TELEVISION VIEWING 
AS PART OF COMMITMENT TO ENCOURAGE BROADCAST DIVERSITY 
FCC also Announces Next Step in the Critical Information Needs Study
Washington, D.C. – As part of its long-standing examination of broadcast diversity issues, the Federal 
Communications Commission today announced it will conduct a study of the relationships among 
Hispanic television station ownership, Hispanic-oriented programming, and Hispanic television viewing.  
According to 2012 Census data, 17 percent of the total US population – or 53 million people – are of 
Hispanic origin, representing the largest ethnic/racial minority in the country.  
The study will be the Commission’s first systematic examination of the Hispanic television market and 
will be one of the first that will incorporate comprehensive data from the FCC’s recently improved 323 
ownership form.
With today’s announcement, the FCC is further demonstrating its commitment to gather data and fund 
research and analysis to understand better how the Commission's policies promote the public interest. 
The Commission has long understood that diverse participation in the broadcast industry and access to 
diverse sources of information are vital to a robust democracy.
To examine characteristics of television viewing by this important and growing population segment, and 
to ensure it has better data to inform its policies, the Commission will study, among other things:
- The impact of Hispanic-owned television stations on Hispanic-oriented programming and 
Hispanic viewership in selected local television markets;
- The extent of Hispanic-oriented programming on US broadcast television; and
- The role of digital multicasting in increasing the amount of Hispanic-oriented programming.
Additionally, the FCC’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) has taken the next 
step in its Multi-Market Study of Critical Information Needs. Incorporating feedback received from its 
draft Research Design Model released in May 2013, this next phase will field test in a single market the 
model that could be later applied to markets nationwide in determining whether the critical information 
needs are being met.
-FCC-
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