LATV Shifts to 24-Hour Schedule

A Los Angeles-based television channel targeting young Latinos expands to 24 hours a day of programming today as part of its business plan to eventually reach a national audience.

The privately owned network LATV, which until now has offered shows for only four hours a day, is available in more than 3 million homes in Southern California through its over-the-air station KJLA-TV Channel 47 and on several cable and satellite systems.

The venture was launched in January 2001 by Walter Ulloa, chief executive of Entravision Communications Corp., a Santa Monica-based Spanish-language billboard, TV and radio station company.

Unlike most other Latino-oriented networks, LATV’s primary language is English. That’s because the channel is targeting Latinos ages 12 to 34, and nearly 80% in that demographic are bilingual or speak English, said Daniel Crowe, LATV president.

“This market has evolved over the years. It is the mainstream,” Crowe said.

He declined to provide financial information about the network, whose advertisers include AT&T; Corp., Ford Motor Co., TJ Maxx, Jack in the Box Inc., Universal Pictures and Wells Fargo & Co.

The channel plans to offer 20 hours of original programming each week, with an emphasis on music and live performances before a studio audience.

-- Meg James