The network is so anxious to ensure that its audience is accounted for that it even worked the census into the plot of one of its prime-time telenovelas.
The melodrama "Mas Sabe el Diablo" (The Devil Knows Best) features the character Perla Beltran, a young woman who gets a job working for the Census Bureau in New York. As she works through various traumatic events in her life, she talks to friends and family about the census and its social and political implications.
Telemundo hopes the show encourages more Hispanic participation in the census, since research indicates that Spanish-speaking populations were undercounted in past years, said Alfredo Richard, a senior vice president at the network. While Hispanics account for 8% of U.S. viewers, only about 3% of ad dollars are targeted to the market, he said.
"We hope that gap will close, and census data will help increase awareness of the opportunity the Hispanic market represents," Richard said. "This is going to be an 'aha!' moment for a lot of people in the business community."
NEXT: Where you shop -- Kroger
