culture

Why Univision Dropping Miss USA is a Big Deal

Through the years, I've learned to dismiss older folks when they make racist comments, thinking they were just a product of their time. I figured if I'd wait it out long enough, all those comments would go away. Unfortunately, that's no longer the case as those negative voices are getting much louder. Last week, Donald Trump announced his bid as candidate for the 2016 presidential election. Normally I'd just ignore him like I do every angry white man, but Trump just started spouting the worst kinds of things.

Along with his stances on gay marriage, health care, and ISIS, he had this to say about immigration laws:

The US has become a dumping ground for everybody else's problems...When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re sending people that have lots of problems. And they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people...It's coming from all over South and Latin America and it's coming, probably, probably from the Middle East.

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Univision (one of the largest Spanish language television networks), rightfully angry at his comments, refused to air the upcoming Spanish translated broadcast of the Miss USA Pageant and will no longer have anything to do with Miss Universe, which Trump partly owns:

Today the entertainment division of Univision Communications Inc. announced that it is ending the Company’s business relationship with the Miss Universe Organization, which is part-owned by Donald J. Trump, based on his recent, insulting remarks about Mexican immigrants. At Univision we see first-hand the work ethic, love for family, strong religious values and the important role Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans have had and will continue to have in building the future of our country. We will not be airing the Miss USA pageant on July 12^th or working on any other projects tied to the Trump Organization.

While Trump blames the Mexican government (thinking they put some kind of pressure on Univision to break their $10 million contract due to trade deals or something), he doesn't seem to grasp how big of a move this is for Univision, and how much more it's going to hurt him in the long run. You see, as much as he wants to build a wall to keep Mexican immigrants out, traditional Mexican families make up a huge chunk of the television watching audience. As big networks are finding out, immigrants are one of the few demographics left that subscribe to event television like big pageant shows (basically stuff that you have to watch live to get the full experience instead of on Hulu later). That's why you've seen a greater amount of Latino representation lately (and why pandering programs like Cristela and Devious Maids exist, or in Cristela's case, existed) as those Mexican families increasingly use television to connect with the American lifestyle.

This is going to deal major damage to Trump's television shows, and it's only the start of the landslide. Roselyn Sanchez (who was brought on to co-host the Spanish simulcast of the Miss USA pageant and serendipitously stars on Devious Maids), has left the broadcast, NBC (the network which hosts the brunt of his programming like his numerous Apprentice shows) has separated itself from his comments, ending their business relationship with him earlier today.

As Trump vies for the presidency, he claims he cares less about his precious money. Hopefully he understands how much of that he's going to lose here. As the Spanish speaking audience increases, so does their buying power. Eventually that buying power is going to ring louder than any thoughtless rant from a slowly aging man. Good luck getting that presidential nomination, Trump.

by Nick Valdez