Advocacy groups also need to hold media companies accountable through federal laws and policy, said Torres, who is senior director at the national media reform and public interest group Free Press.

Government policy "determines who are the corporate gatekeepers, who owns media outlets under mergers, and whether the Internet will continue to remain a communications network for people to express themselves," Torres said.

The El Rey network would be "the biggest opportunity, the biggest bellwether trend, for opening mainstream media to Latinos," Torres said.

"It's one of the biggest opportunities to come around in a while for Latinos, to have a presence in cable television," Torres said. "It's going to be an opportunity for jobs and producing content."