Abogados

Last year's Hispanic upfront took in about $1 billion of the $3 billion overall Spanish-language television marketplace, further evidence of the explosive growth of Hispanics in the United States and the television networks that serve them. Most experts don't think the growth will slow down in 2004-05, as more networks come into the market, both on broadcast and cable.

"I think we're all expecting a healthy upfront," said Ingrid Otero-Smart, president of WPP's Mendoza-Dillon & Asociados in Irvine, Calif., and a former president of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies.

The marketplace has grown in recent years. While it's still dominated by Univision with its phenomenally popular prime time novellas and other ratings winners, the Spanish-language powerhouse is no longer the only game in town.

Telemundo has been taking on Univision with prime time novellas of its own and heavier investments made since NBC purchased the network a few years ago. And a big-time broadcast network in Mexico, Azteca America, has been making inroads in the United States, although observers say it's still got a ways to go.

Telefutura (another broadcast network owned by Univision) and Mun2 (owned by Telemundo) are also becoming forces in the marketplace. This year, there's also competition in the sports arena between Fox Sports en Espanol and newcomer ESPN Desportes. And for the first time, there will also be two networks targeting young Hispanic males who prefer at least some of their programming in English: SiTV and Voy Network.