Comcast South Florida will offer up to 65 Hispanic channels when their migration to digital is complete

(Maribel Ramos-Weiner). With the digital migration project currently under way and scheduled to be completed by 2011, Comcast South Florida will be in a position to offer its subscribers 65 Spanish-language channels and five music channels.Filemón López, Regional Senior VP of Comcast South Florida, said to PRODU that the Hispanic market in South Florida is very fertile and has a great appetite for more Spanish-language programming. He pointed out one of the main challenges is the region’s ethnic diversity within the Hispanic population, as opposed to the rest of the nation which is predominantly of Mexican origin. “This represents a challenge to find programming that is relevant to the demographic we serve,” said López.He emphasized that when it comes to adding new Latin channels to its lineup, Comcast considers all alternatives: client requests, programming, and even looks at Latin American channels that have no distribution in the U.S. Logically, the final decision depends on whether the relationship with the channel is financially viable and whether the subscribers are willing to pay for it.To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Comcast South Florida launched a locally-produced VOD package featuring Hispanic personalities such as Miami City Mayor, Tomás Regalado; Jorge Plasencia, Chairman and CEO of República; artist Carlos A Navarro; María Elvira Salazar, Anchor at Mega TV; and Jackie Nespral of NBC 6.Comcast is also offering nationwide a VOD package of 65 movies that represent several eras of Latin film.