Beatriz Acevedo, president of Latino youth-oriented, multi-channel YouTube network Mitú, saw a niche to be filled when she and co-founders Doug Greiff (Acevedo’s husband) and Roy Burstin, all TV industry veterans, launched the company in Santa Monica in May, 2012. Burstin resigned as Mitú’s chief executive in September, replaced by longtime media executive Herb Scannell. The company moved to downtown’s Row DTLA complex about four months ago.
Acevedo said company founders recognized early on that “niche” was the wrong word for its target audience: multicultural American youth, with Latino Americans being the fastest-growing subset of the group.
“When you think about Gen Z, the youngest generation, it’s already 55 percent multicultural, so that’s the new majority,” Acevedo said. “I don’t understand how other companies think they are going to thrive and survive in the very near future, when they don’t understand who the new majority is. Every other media company was not getting that there was this huge opportunity.”
Acevedo compared multicultural departments at studios, networks and other entertainment companies to the former “digital departments” at the same institutions. “Everything is digital,” she said. “The same with multiculturalism. Why can’t they include them at the main table?”
Acevedo, who grew up in Mexico City, said Mitú’s digital content addresses the dual identity of today’s Latino American youth, aged 18-34, with Mitú’s sweet spot being 18-24. She said many in that group were born in the U.S. They maintain pride in their Latino heritage but are not interested in the old-school telenovelas watched by their parents and grandparents. And, because Mitú programming is in English, they are able to share their culture with non-Spanish-speaking peers.
“The comment we get on our social feed is, where have you been all my life?” Acevedo said. “My ultimate goal is to be the voice for this generation.”
Acevedo’s personal style reflects the blending of Latin and U.S. mainstream culture.
“I always try to add a Latin flavor to what I wear,” she said.
She supports Latino designers, if possible, but mixes it up in terms of fashion.
Her choices also reflect her preference for a flowing, Bohemian look, favoring dresses or an oversized shirt and jeans over tailored business attire. “This is very business-y for me,” she said with a laugh.
– Diane Haithman
