While last year’s upfront season was unprecedented because of its virtual format and pandemic-induced cancellations, this year’s virtual media buying frenzy is notable for a different reason: It is the first since brands and TV networks have taken heed of the ongoing social justice movement in the U.S. and positioned themselves as champions of racial equality like never before.

With that renewed focus on diversity—sparked by George Floyd’s murder at the hands of police one year ago this month—media buyers have come to pay special attention to Black, Latinx and Asian audiences. These consumers, long regarded as afterthoughts by ad strategists or believed to have been represented in general buys, are now being seen for what they are: a large and growing portion of the American population with trillions in buying power who deserve tailor-made attention from brands.

Smaller networks that target specific communities are commanding a louder voice than ever during the 2021 upfront season. Here are five multicultural networks looking to take a bigger slice of the $20 billion in upfront ad commitments:

Estrella Media

Estrella Media, one of the country’s leading broadcasters dedicated to Spanish-speaking Latinos, is bringing its new community-centric mission to the marketplace. 

“This is the first chance to show advertisers what the new Estrella is about,” says CEO Peter Markham, who has been at the helm of Estrella since late 2019, following the network’s reorganization after the bankruptcy of its predecessor, LBI Media.

The company is leaning heavily into streaming, with the launch of a new free, ad-supported streaming game network, Estrella Games. The channel joined EstrellaTV and Estrella News, which are on Pluto TV, among others. The EstrellaTV app will be available on Roku later this month. The company plans to have five AVOD channels by the end of the year. 

The California-based media company stresses the need for American Hispanics to see themselves reflected in the characters and stories on its channels, with a special emphasis on Mexican talent due to Estrella’s audience skew, Markham adds. “This is the most important consumer segment in the U.S., full stop. It’s a massive consumer base,” he says, adding that media investments in young Hispanic audiences “will pay huge dividends” to advertisers.

Despite this, there are just 780 brands advertising on Spanish-language TV in the U.S., compared to approximately 2,000 on English-language TV, says Jason Hall, VP, ad sales.

BNC

The Black News Channel, or BNC, launched last year as the first 24/7 news network of its kind: one dedicated to Black communities in America and the issues that matter to them. 

“If you were drawing it up on a playbook, you probably wouldn’t launch a new news network at the start of a pandemic,” says Princell Hair, CEO of Tallahassee-based BNC, which had its inaugural broadcast in February 2020. But since the onset of COVID-19, the channel—available in 52 million homes via linear and millions more on internet-connected devices—has seen evidence of a robust and engaged audience. Hair, a former CNN executive, attributes this early success to two central factors: the fact that many Americans were “holed up” at home last year, and the explosion of news that’s important to Black communities, from the growth of Black Lives Matter to the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted in the death of Floyd. 

BNC's coverage goes beyond social justice stories, Hair says, including travel, cooking, entertainment and Black hair care. “What we do here at BNC is not just limited to the hard news,” he adds.

The network expanded its content earlier in the year with a new morning show hosted by Mike Hill and Sharon Reed, as part of its efforts to provide more commentary and analysis. 

BNC also rolled out a new primetime lineup last month with shows like "Black News Tonight," hosted by Marc Lamont Hill; "Making the Case with Yodit," starring Yodit Tewolde; and "Prime with Charles Blow." 

And in an effort to woo more national advertisers, BNC struck a deal with CBS Media Ventures to expand its sales capabilities. 

“More Black people prefer to get their news from TV than anywhere else,” Hair says, which may fuel future growth as BNC looks to become Nielsen rated and expand its presence internationally in Africa, Europe and the Caribbean.

Fuse Media

In its first upfront since being acquired by a Latino-led management group last year, Fuse Media defined its focus with a slate of new brands and a foray into streaming that’s all focused on young, multicultural viewers—a demographic that the company calls “Blended America.”

By throwing its hat into the streaming wars, Fuse melds its over-the-top, social and digital assets with existing Fuse.tv. It's adding two new free ad-supported streaming brands to the mix: Fuse Backstage, emphasizing musical performances and related shows; and Fuse Sweat, an exercise-focused property that will lean into at-home fitness.

“Because we are able to turn on a dime to take advantage of the rapidly changing media marketplace, we have been able to expand the Fuse Media brand to everywhere audiences want to view our content, including the rapidly growing streaming universe,” says CEO Miguel “Mike” Roggero, who led the purchase of a controlling stake in the company following its 2019 bankruptcy. “As a Latino-owned and operated company, Fuse Media is keenly positioned to serve our audience, because unlike others, we are this audience,” he says.

In addition to announcing the renewal of "Be Change," a year-round series of pro-social call-to-action campaigns, Fuse also highlighted a new initiative supporting small, diversity-led businesses by providing them with free social media promotion and 30-second streaming and TV spots. Fuse has also committed to featuring women and minority-owned businesses in its original content.

Fuse also announced new partnerships on the branded content and events side with beauty brand Ipsy and Sofar Sounds to create content around their virtual events. 

“The benefit for advertisers and agencies is that Fuse authentically connects with the diverse audience they seek to engage,” says Fuse Media’s head of ad sales Fernando Romero.

TV One

In the pursuit of attracting engaged Black audiences, TV One is ramping up its original content production as it looks to continue its growth trajectory. 

According to the Urban One-owned network, TV One was the only network in its competitive set to see an uptick in African American viewers aged 25-54 in 2020. 

New original programming includes the health and wellness series "Minding Your Body and Soul"; true-crime series "Sins of the City," which will explore the darker side of ZIP codes; and "Coins Forever," the third installment of its "Coins" movie franchise. 

Cleo TV, a female-focused channel that launched in 2019, also has a lengthy agenda for this year’s season: culture program “Cleo Speaks”; renewed interior design show “Living by Design”; and multiple cooking shows including “New Soul Kitchen” and “Food of the Diaspora” are in the works.

TV One also brings a cross-platform marketing team called One Solution to the table, built to entice advertisers and brand partners with integrated marketing opportunities, strategic partnerships and in-house production capabilities, says Rahsan-Rahsan Linsday, the network’s exec VP of ad sales and marketing.

Canela.TV

At its first-ever upfront next week, ad-supported video-on-demand newcomer Canela.TV is planning to not only announce its upcoming slate of programming for 2021, but also make its case for advertisers as one of the first platforms of its kind that is dedicated to U.S. Hispanics. 

“We are tremendously excited to be joining the virtual upfront stage this year for the first time to showcase our approach to Hispanic-focused streaming,” says Isabella Rafferty, CEO and founder of parent company Canela Media, which bills itself as the only female- and minority-owned company in its competitive set. 

Launched in May 2020 with more than 8,000 hours of both English and Spanish content, Canela.TV has moved swiftly to expand its audience with relevant content and has been exploring avenues to enlarge its footprint, such as launching "Canela News" earlier this year in a bid to engage cord-cutting Hispanics. Centered on a 30-minute newscast, the program is available on Canela’s website and app, Apple TV, Roku and smart TVs.

“Canela.TV has been growing at a phenomenal pace, thanks to our focus on a demographic that has been undervalued in the past by most major streamers,” Rafferty says.

Canela Media, promoted as being “for Latinos by Latinos,” is the fourth-largest Hispanic-oriented company of its type in the U.S. Its content library offers programming from throughout Latin America including Argentinian drama “Argentina, Tierra de Amor y Venganza”; Puerto Rican music series “Underground: La Historia del Reggaeton”; and award-winning Colombian film “Todos tus Muertos.”

How is the TV industry responding to the streaming wars? On May 24 and May 25 hear from ad sales leaders, agency executives and top brands on the state of the TV ad marketplace and how streaming is poised to reinvent the $20 billion upfront marketplace. RSVP here.