The Future of Hispanic Media Consumption - What’s Changing in 2026
Introduction
Trends in streaming, social platforms, language usage, and cultural influencers
Hispanic audiences have never been “one channel.” But in 2026, the way U.S. Latinos discover content, decide what to watch, and share what they love is becoming even more dynamic for brands.
The shift is bigger than “more streaming” or “more social.” It’s a change in how culture moves: faster, more creator-led, more bilingual, and increasingly powered by connected TV (CTV), short-form video, and community-first platforms. If you market to Hispanic consumers (or want to), understanding these patterns is no longer a niche skill. It’s a growth requirement.
Below are the biggest shifts shaping Hispanic media consumption in 2026—and what they mean for marketers building campaigns that actually land.
Streaming is now the default—and Hispanics are leading the pace
If you’re still planning media as if “TV” means “linear,” you’re behind. Nielsen reported in 2025 that streaming accounted for 55.8% of total TV time for Hispanic viewers, compared with 46% for total U.S. audiences. That over-index matters because it signals two things at once:
Hispanic audiences are adopting new viewing behaviors quickly.
A growing share of Hispanic reach is happening in environments where targeting, creative formats, and measurement work differently than traditional TV.
This also changes how attention is won. In streaming, viewers are less tolerant of repetitive creative, more likely to skip, and more influenced by what’s trending in their social feeds. Campaigns that connect CTV exposure to social reinforcement (and vice versa) tend to outperform “one-and-done” buys.
What to do in 2026: Treat CTV as a core channel for Hispanic reach, not a “test.” Build creative with multiple cuts, not one hero spot. Plan for frequency management across platforms that don’t always share clean measurement.
Spanish-language streaming keeps growing—and distribution is getting easier
Spanish-language streaming isn’t a side category anymore; it’s becoming a major pillar of how Spanish-dominant and bilingual households watch entertainment and sports.
ViX (TelevisaUnivision) is a good example of where the market is going: hybrid models that combine free tiers, ad-supported tiers, and premium subscriptions. Analysts have projected ViX as one of the fastest-growing major streamers in the Americas (notably on the back of a “freemium” model).
At the same time, distribution is becoming more integrated into the streaming bundles people already use. TelevisaUnivision’s content returning to YouTube TV and ViX showing up in Primetime Channels is part of that bigger story: Spanish-language content is being embedded in mainstream streaming ecosystems, not kept separate.
What to do in 2026: Don’t treat Spanish-language streaming as “only for Spanish-dominant.” Many bilingual households fluidly choose Spanish for entertainment and English for other contexts. Plan creative and placements for that reality—especially around sports, family viewing, and cultural tentpoles.
Social is still the discovery engine—especially for news and culture
Social hasn’t stopped being important; it has become the top-of-funnel engine that shapes what gets watched elsewhere.
Pew Research found in 2024 that about 21% of Hispanic adults prefer social media for getting news, higher than Black and White adults in the same study. That preference isn’t just about news. It signals how often social is the first place people encounter narratives, creators, trends, and “what everyone’s talking about.”
In 2026, this makes social platforms functionally similar to search: people go there to discover, validate, and decide.
What to do in 2026: Build campaigns where social content isn’t a “trailer” for the real campaign—it is the campaign. Use short-form as the first touch, then retarget on CTV and YouTube with longer storytelling once interest is established.
Language usage is more fluid—bilingual is the norm, but context still matters
One of the most common mistakes brands make is assuming language preference is fixed. It isn’t.
Pew’s 2024 research on Latino news consumption found 54% get news mostly in English, 21% mostly in Spanish, and 23% in both languages about equally. That “both languages” segment is not a small niche—it’s a massive reality of how many Hispanic consumers live.
Meanwhile, Pew’s 2025 Latino facts highlight that English proficiency continues to rise among U.S. Latinos. This reinforces a key point for 2026: bilingual audiences are growing, but that doesn’t mean Spanish becomes irrelevant. It means Spanish becomes strategic—used where it signals belonging, warmth, humor, trust, family, and cultural specificity.
What to do in 2026:
Stop thinking “English vs. Spanish.” Think “which moments deserve Spanish?”
Use bilingual creative intentionally: Spanish for emotional resonance and cultural cues; English for speed, clarity, and broader shareability—depending on the message.
Avoid direct translation. Build parallel creative that feels native in each language.
CTV discovery is shifting—and the “TV home screen” matters more than you think
As streaming becomes central, discovery shifts from networks to interfaces: home screens, tiles, algorithmic suggestions, and “up next” modules.
A 2025 study focused on Hispanic CTV usage reported that 41% of Hispanic CTV viewers find new content on the TV home screen, slightly ahead of social media in that research. Even if you take any single study with healthy caution, the directional trend is clear: CTV is becoming a discovery environment, not just a viewing environment.
What to do in 2026: When planning video, think beyond “where will my ad run?” Ask: “How does this platform help viewers discover content—and how does my brand show up inside that experience?” Sponsorships, contextual adjacency, sports programming, and high-frequency short video units all play bigger roles.
Cultural influencers are maturing from creators to community leaders
In 2026, influencers aren’t just “content partners.” Many are community anchors who shape identity, humor, politics, beauty standards, and brand trust.
Nielsen’s 2025 Hispanic-focused reporting emphasizes growing scrutiny around trust and authenticity, with audiences evaluating brands and creators more carefully. For marketers, that means influencer work can’t be a quick transactional buy. It needs to look like a relationship and feel like a fit.
What to do in 2026:
Choose creators for credibility in specific cultural lanes (Mexican-American, Central American, Caribbean, regional Texas Latino culture, bilingual Gen Z, etc.).
Co-create, don’t script. Let creators translate your value into their voice.
Build series content, not one-offs—audiences reward consistency.
What this means for brands in 2026
The biggest strategic shift is this: Hispanic media consumption is increasingly cross-platform and creator-influenced, with streaming at the center and social as the ignition.
Winning strategies in 2026 will:
Link social discovery → streaming reinforcement → conversion paths
Treat language as contextual (not binary)
Use cultural insight as a creative advantage (not a checkbox)
Build influencer partnerships that feel real
Measure outcomes with multi-touch thinking, not last-click shortcuts
Conclusion
At Big Bite Marketers, this is exactly where we focus: helping brands connect with Hispanic audiences through culturally intelligent creative, smart channel strategy, and bilingual messaging that feels native—not translated. Our goal is to make your media plan match how people actually watch, scroll, share, and decide in 2026.