TVOT SF 2025: The Rise of Multicultural Streaming

The growth of multicultural streaming services, particularly services targeting the Black and Hispanic communities, is arguably not surprising. While those communities are more likely to subscribe to and watch streaming TV than is the population at large (per Nielsen, Hispanics spend 27.3% more time with CTV than does the general population and, per Horowitz Research, 52% of Black viewers accessed a FAST service every month in 2023, compared to just 45% of viewers in general), they are also more likely to feel under-represented on the TV screen: according to data from Gracenote, Hispanics, for example, who make up nearly 20% of the US population, had only 8.5% of screen time on streaming services in 2023.

This session, featuring representatives of some of the services that have emerged to address such under-representation, will provide insights into the current state and future prospects of the multicultural streaming space. Panelists will examine such issues as how to carve out and maintain an audience in a sea of streaming competitors; emerging programming and monetization strategies; and the extent to which multicultural streaming services—many of which are upstarts in a media environment dominated by large conglomerates—may need to work together to attract viewers and advertisers. Panelists include:

• Clayton Banks, CEO, Silicon Harlem (Moderator)
• Dorina Amina Abubakar, Program Specialist, African Creative TV Initiative, USC School of Cinematic Arts
• Jennifer Turner, CEO, Mad Cool Media
• Micha Cooper-Edwards, CEO, Soleil Space
• Rashaun Hall, VP of Streaming and Partnerships, Fuse Media