NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and Univision? Believe it or not, the Spanish-language broadcaster in 1999 overcame mainstream networks like WB and UPN to become the fifth-largest network in the United States. Now, Asian-American TV stations are poised to pool their resources to create a national network for the country's second fastest-growing ethnic group.

The Bay area's KTSF and Southern California's KSCI are two of the major players in the race to bring Asian-American programming to a national audience.

'TV is the most important medium because it is truly mass media. Ninety-nine percent of all households in the U.S. have TV sets,' said Jon Yasuda, president of the Los Angeles-based KSCI. 'Stations like KSCI and KTSF are terrestrial, anyone can receive them without cable. The reach is phenomenal.'

In May, the International Channel, carried on cable in many metropolitan areas, began airing "China Crosstalk," a Chinese-language live call-in show produced by KTSF.

'I don't doubt it'll happen, but it's not going to be a network in the traditional sense,' said Mike Sherman, general manager of KTSF, headquartered in Brisbane, Calif. 'Univision puts out one signal and shows the same thing at the same time. That won't work here.'

What works in primetime in San Francisco may not work in Los Angeles because the makeup of the ethnic communities is different, Sherman said.

'But I think you can get the efficiencies of a network by buying programming together, pooling resources to do research and doing marketing together,' he said. 'We're already working together to produce national shows.'

Creating a network could happen within the next year, Sherman said, but there are several obstacles to overcome, including language. For example, KSCI's news, sports and entertainment programs are aired in 14 different languages.

Yasuda said he doesn't see the plethora of languages spoken in the Asian-American community as a problem, though.

'It definitely is something we'll have to address, but it's really similar to what we have to do now. Because of different languages spoken in this area, we program our station in ways that will provide language-specific programming to several different Asian groups,' Yasuda said.

Digital TV could tear down some language barriers. All broadcasters were required by the Federal Communications Commission to begin broadcasting at digital bandwith in May. Although High Definition TV hasn't caught on as quickly as predicted, the extra bandwith could be used to send out four different signals to TV sets with digital converter boxes. Chinese Americans could tune into a Chinese-language show on channel 27a while Filipinos watch a Tagalog program on 27b.

'The technology is there, but most people aren't ready for it. Digital reaches a relatively small portion of Asian households,' Sherman said.


Attracting Dollars For Growth

Advertising is the key to the success of any media venture. Asian Americans have long been ignored by the major players in the marketing game, but they've come around since the 2000 census, Yasuda said.

'We're already starting to see a change,' he said. 'There's more activity in new business clients and more activity at the research level. They're trying to obtain as much information about these communities as possible. What's the best way to reach them and deliver the corporate message?'

It's not hard to see why advertisers have focused their efforts on other minorities; there are three times as many African Americans as Asians. On top of that, the African-American community is united by a common language. Although many Latinos don't speak English, Spanish is by far the dominant native language among that group.

Companies brave enough to target Asian Americans often have to go after sub-segments, such as Koreans or Mandarin-speaking Chinese.

'We talk about Asian broadcasting, but it's a misnomer. For one part of the night KTSF is a Chinese broadcaster, then we're a Filipino broadcaster, then we're a Korean broadcaster,' Sherman said.

Despite the language barriers, however, Asian Americans aren't as different as advertisers think, Sherman said. Some organizations, such as KTSF, are creating their own research programs to try to dispel stereotypes advertisers have about the market.

'Consumers everywhere are after convenience, pricing, value and service,' he said. 'That being said, the approach has to be different, it's not one size fits all in terms of an ad.'

The past year saw virtually ever broadcaster lose advertising dollars, but KTSF increased its business from the previous year, Sherman said.

'The only stations that came out better last year were a couple of Asian broadcasters and the Hispanic market,' he said. 'A lot of marketers are focusing shrinking ad dollars on growing minority communities.'

And the Asian-American community certainly is growing. Compared to African Americans and Latinos, the country's 12 million Asian Americans are a relatively small segment, but they outpace all other races when it comes to education and income levels. The group spends a whopping $254 billion a year in goods and services, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth.

'It is becoming critical for corporate America to deliver its messages to Asian-American communities,' Yasuda said. 'TV is the best way to do that.'