Lack of Latino Representation in Media is Causing Billions to Be Lost

Although Latinos make up about 20% of the country’s population, they are still underrepresented in many types of media, which is a serious economic loss.

The Latino Donor Collaborative’s Latinos in Media 2024 report found that the entertainment industry could generate an additional $12 to $18 billion annually if it achieved adequate Latino representation in television and film productions.

According to the report, films featuring Latinos in above-the-line positions from 2013 to 2022 outperformed those without by 58 percent at the global box office. Latinos account for 24 percent of movie ticket sales. Their significant influence is underscored by their presence in record-breaking blockbusters such as Inside Out 2in which they represented 40 percent of the spectators, and The Super Mario Bros. Movieand, which had a 41 percent Latino audience.

In big-screen projects, Latino representation in front of the camera is 8 percent, according to the report, and consists of just 2 percent of lead roles, 1 percent of supporting roles, and 5 percent of ensemble roles. Behind the camera, Latino directors make up just 8 percent and writers 4 percent.

Among streaming films, Latino talent was the least represented of all groups in the report, which also looked at Black and Asian actors, at 6 percent. Prime Video stood out for its representation, with 30 percent of its overall main cast being Latino. Latinos saw increases in directors for streaming films, rising to 10 percent from 5.6 percent last year. Latino screenwriters also saw some improvement, rising to 8 percent from 6.9 percent.

For TV programming, the LDC report looked at scripted and unscripted programming, as well as streaming and broadcast programming. In scripted programming, Latino actors made up 9.8 percent of the main cast in leading, supporting, and ensemble roles.

Of the 198 scripted programs analyzed in the results, only 11 of them had a Latino actor in a leading role. The broadcast revealed further disparities on television, with Latinos making up just 13 percent of the total main cast.

Streaming was no different. In fact, it was even worse. Latino actors accounted for 10 percent of lead roles and 7 percent of lead roles. Apple TV+ had 17 percent Latino representation in lead roles, while Disney+ had zero Latino representation in a show’s main cast and Netflix had just 7 percent.

On unscripted television, Latinos held only 5 percent of host/presenter/narrator roles, 5 percent of panelist/contributor roles, and 6 percent of judge/expert roles.

According to the report, achieving market parity would require tripling the number of Latino actors in scripted programming and significantly increasing their presence behind the camera and in executive positions.

Similar to the LDC’s 2023 report, this year’s findings focused more on Latino youth, who make up 25 percent of the country’s youth population, and who are abandoning traditional media in favor of social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok, where they find authentic representation.

This group of people actively choose not to support companies that don’t put a focus on their community: 63 percent say they don’t feel authentically represented in the current media landscape.

Read the full report, complete with calls to action, here at 4 a.m. Pacific Time.

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