MediaCo Announces Historic Audience Growth for EstrellaTV in 2025
Rhea-AI Impact
(Moderate)
Rhea-AI Sentiment
(Very Positive)
Tags
Key Terms
p18–49technical
p18–49 denotes the demographic group of people aged 18 through 49, commonly used to measure audience size and appeal for media and advertising. Investors watch this group because advertisers often pay more to reach these viewers, so a larger or growing p18–49 audience can translate into higher ad revenue and stronger financial performance for companies that rely on advertising, similar to how a store values foot traffic among shoppers most likely to buy.
prime timetechnical
Prime time is the block of hours when the largest number of people are expected to watch broadcast or streaming content, typically in the evening; think of it as a store’s busiest shopping hour. It matters to investors because audience size during prime time determines advertising rates, subscription value and content pricing, so stronger performance in that window can directly boost a media company’s revenue and profit potential.
panel only datatechnical
Data collected exclusively from a pre-recruited group of individuals or sources — a “panel” — rather than from a random or full population. Investors care because panel-only data can reveal quick, cost-effective trends (like customer behavior or early safety signals) but may not represent the broader market; think of it as reading a neighborhood’s opinions versus polling an entire city, useful for signals but risky to treat as definitive.
big data plus paneltechnical
Big data plus panel is the combination of large, often automated datasets (like transaction records, web activity, or sensor feeds) with a curated group of recurring respondents or customers who are tracked over time. Think of it as pairing a city-wide traffic camera network with a neighborhood of tagged drivers: the broad data shows overall patterns while the panel explains who is driving the changes. For investors this improves reliability of demand, usage and trend signals, making forecasts and competitive analysis more accurate.
nielsen national tv view program reporttechnical
A Nielsen national TV view program report is a standardized summary of how many people watched specific television programs across an entire country, measured by a common system. Like a traffic counter for TV shows, it shows audience size and demographics that drive advertising rates, sponsorships and programming decisions, so investors use it to judge a broadcaster’s revenue potential and competitive strength.
daypartstechnical
Dayparts are the standard divisions of a broadcast or streaming day—such as morning, afternoon, prime time and late night—used to schedule content and sell advertising. Like slicing a day into meal times for different crowds, each daypart attracts different audiences and commands different ad rates, so changes in viewership or content performance for a given daypart directly affect a media company's advertising revenue and investor outlook.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
MediaCo Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: MDIA) today announced that EstrellaTV delivered historic audience growth in 2025, marking a major inflection point for the network and its strongest performance in more than a decade among Adults 18–49 in prime time.
In 2025, EstrellaTV posted a +14% year-over-year increase in P18–49 Mon–Sun prime, representing the network’s first annual prime-time growth since 2018. Based on Panel Only Data across 16 years of January–December tracking (since 2011), this performance more than doubles the network’s previous record annual gain of +6%, making 2025 the strongest growth year in EstrellaTV’s history.
“This is a true turning point for EstrellaTV,” said Albert Rodriguez, CEO of MediaCo Holding Inc. “We made a deliberate commitment to invest in the content, talent, and strategy needed to better serve today’s U.S. Hispanic audience and the results speak for themselves. 2025 proved that when you deliver culturally relevant, high-impact programming, audiences respond.”
The network’s breakout year was fueled by sustained momentum throughout the year, with three consecutive quarterly year-over-year increases among P18–49 in Mon–Sun prime:
2Q25: +23% vs. 2Q24
3Q25: +0.3% vs. 3Q24
4Q25: +57% vs. 4Q24 - the largest quarterly YoY gain in network history
EstrellaTV’s growth has also been reflected in consistent monthly performance, delivering year-over-year gains in 9 of the last 13 months among P18–49 in Mon–Sun prime. December has been particularly strong, with the network posting year-over-year growth for two consecutive Decembers.
Late-night programming further accelerated the momentum in December. EstrellaTV’s flagship evening newscast, Noticiero Cierre de Edición(10:00 p.m.), delivered its highest P18–49 monthly average of the quarter (35.2k). The network also achieved its strongest monthly P18–49 delivery of the quarter in late fringe (11:00 p.m.–1:00 a.m.), led by Alarma TV and Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento.
“What we’re seeing is a powerful validation of both the product and the strategy,” said Brian Fisher, Chief Revenue Officer of MediaCo Holding Inc. “EstrellaTV is building real, sustainable momentum with younger adult audiences, and that’s exactly what advertisers are looking for. This kind of growth—especially at this scale—changes the conversation in the marketplace.”
With historic gains across quarters, months, and key dayparts, EstrellaTV enters 2026 with strong momentum and a clear runway for continued growth.
Source: Nielsen National TV View Program Report; National Sample; NTI Calendar for Annual, Quarterly and Monthly YoY comparisons; P18-49 AA (units) Program Based Dayparts (Strict Daypart) Mon-Sun 7p-11p (span). Updated Big Data Plus Panel data source was used for monthly comparisons beginning with Sep 2025 and for quarterly beginning with 4Q25; for all other monthly and quarterly YoY comparisons as well as annual comparisons the data source is Panel Only.
About MediaCo
MediaCo Holding Inc. (Nasdaq: MDIA) is a diverse-owned, multi-platform media company serving multicultural audiences nationwide. Its powerhouse brands—including HOT 97, WBLS, EstrellaTV, Estrella News, Que Buena Los Angeles, and the Don Cheto Radio Network—reach more than 20 million people each month across television, radio, digital, and streaming platforms. Learn more at https://mediaco.now.
