The Melting Blog

While I Was Gone Part II... Rise of American Desi's

Early last year, I wrote that 2004 would go down "as the year ethnic media began to redefine itself". I'm not generally prone to hyperbole (I'm a researcher afterall), but here's a blogger's confession: I didn't really believe it. The article was something I rattled off in a pinch to characterize the emerging brigade of young ethnic media upstarts who challenged the old ethnic media's hegemony. However, I knew the cards were stacked against their favor -- despite how much I might personally root for them.

As it turns out, I may still actually be proved right in the long term. While it's still too early to tell what the future holds for networks like SiTV, ImaginAsian, VOY and their ilk, things appear on the upswing for this new ethnic media cadre. ImaginAsian recently secured coverage in Los Angeles -- perhaps their most strategically important market. Meanwhile, SiTV has recently armed itself with new research data supporting their claim that a greater proportion of its 18-34 year target demographic is centered around English-dominant Latinos.

Furthermore, the end of 2004 witnessed the conspicuous announcement of a few more new kids on the block -- this time targeting South Asian Americans. I'm talking specifically about the New Jersey-based American Desi and MTV Desi. For the latter, MTV will also be inaugurating networks to reach Chinese- and Korean-Americans before the end of this year. According to MTV's representatives:

"We recognize that many young people are bicultural," said Nusrat Durrani, general manager of MTV World. "Many kids have a transcontinental view of life, but they live in the United States. And not only are these channels going to connect with those young people, but they also are going to shine a light on their culture and the artists from these communities."

"It looks very different," said Durrani. "It's very exciting and very fresh. [MTV Desi] will be music-driven, but it takes the best of our international programming while doing a lot of programming locally. We'll have veejays who are hired locally that speak the language. We're really tapping into the subcultures in the U.S. rather than just repurposing what we already have."

The channel's first language will be English, said Durrani. "There will be a lot of video product," he said. "But as we evolve, we'll stay true to [MTV's] mission, to be a pop-culture destination."

Yes, dear friends, if you're in the ethnic marketing industry then you can feel the sands shifting beneath your feet. Read the press releases for both networks. I'll be tracking their progress with tremendous curiosity and will be cheering them on this upcoming year.

Posted by thomas at February 5, 2005 10:47 AM