Brands chasing Hispanic consumers have a double bonus on Spanish-language radio: reach and culture. A new Katz Radio Group study finds listeners see their favorite stations as cultural anchors, a connection that makes them more receptive to the advertisers there.
The findings come from a custom online survey of 584 US Hispanic AM/FM listeners, conducted in June and September.
More than eight in ten engage with radio at least several days a week, and 87% tune in from the car, compared with 85% of all adults 18+. Smartphones (34%), home radios or stereos (26%), smart speakers (18%), and computers (12%) trail well behind, each running one or two points ahead of the all-adult figures.
72% of Katz respondents have listened to their favorite station for six years or more, and nearly one in five have stayed with it for more than 20 years. Hispanic listeners are more likely than all adults to fall in the one-to-five-year range at 26% versus 21% and less likely to reach the 20-year mark, where all adults sit at 25%.
Music stations account for 85% of favorites, and 76% of Hispanic listeners regularly tune to no more than three stations, a pattern Katz says narrows the competition to a short list of trusted presets.
As in the general market, DJs and personalities are very or extremely important to station enjoyment for 64% of Hispanic listeners, and 58% can name a favorite personality from their preferred station. Katz’s recent general-market survey of 1,600 US adults put those figures at nearly two-thirds and 57%, respectively.
A DJ endorsement makes 65% of Hispanic listeners more likely to consider a brand, compared with six in ten in the general-market study. Against a standard ad, 40% say endorsements get more attention, 40% say they feel more personal or authentic, and 27% say they feel more trustworthy. Among all listeners, 37% said personality-driven spots drew more attention.
In 2025, Harker Bos Group’s Crowd React Media data found 38% of Hispanic adults had made a purchase based on something they heard on the radio, with AM/FM personalities outpacing digital influencers in trust. Nielsen’s January report found Hispanic listeners 76% more likely than the general population to make a purchase after hearing a radio ad.
Spanish-language radio adds its own commercial pathway, with 65% saying they are more likely to buy or use brands that advertise there and no respondents disagreeing. Katz cautions that conversion is not automatic, and the payoff goes to advertisers whose messaging fits the station’s cultural role rather than simply appearing on the buy.
Cultural connection is the clearest point of separation from the general market, which the June survey did not measure. Almost all respondents (96%) agree their favorite station connects them to their culture, including 65% who strongly agree, and none disagree. Katz frames that result as a sign these stations function as cultural anchors, making on-air identity, community voice, and culturally relevant content core value drivers rather than extras.
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