One crude measure of the power and reach of the growing U.S. Hispanic marketplace is that five years ago seven of the dozen Spanish and bilingual TV networks mounting upfront presentations this month didn't even exist.

Three of the upstart networks -- LATV, Spanish Broadcasting System's Mega TV and V-me -- all launched nationally in the past year and are hosting presentations for advertisers for the first time. The others, including industry leaders Univision and Telemundo, are sharing a widening marketplace that includes startups turned emerging network players: Azteca America, ESPN Deportes, Fox Sports en Espanol, GolTV, MTV Tr3s, Discovery en Espanol, SiTV and Sorpresa!.

But there's another factor leading to the proliferation of new networks: a vastly splintered media marketplace that bears little resemblance to one even five years ago. That means these new networks, just like their brethren in the general market, are fighting not only for ad dollars for TV programming, but for programming that appears on the Web and on mobile phones.

"Established marketers who have an understanding of the Hispanic market recognize that a video strategy versus a TV-centric plan is a way to serve the consumer who is now consuming media differently than in the past," said Ken Cervantes, vp, activation director, MediaVest 42 Degrees, the multicultural unit of Starcom MediaVest Group. "While they may not be where the general market is, as far as fragmentation is concerned, they still are on broadband and very dependent on mobile. It's trying to incorporate these new emerging media into a mix that is going to be effective."

New networks have more competition on various fronts, but they soon will have reams of data at their disposal. Upstarts including MTV Tr3s and GolTV are expected to announce agreements to report program ratings via measurement services such as Nielsen Media Research (which, like Adweek Media and the Hispanic Marketing Report, is owned by the Nielsen Co.).

Hispanic cable channel ESPN Deportes also announced April 24 that its programming will be measured and reported as part of the Nielsen Homevideo Index Hispanic (NHIH) Service beginning April 28.

"Advertisers want to be able to gauge the impact and effectiveness of their measurement so that they can know how valuable it is," said Rachel Mueller-Lust, evp of networks at IAG Research, New York. "Bravo to the networks for actually stepping up to the plate and getting the research to do that."

As in the general market, the move by Hispanic networks to report program ratings is a necessary next step to become competitive in the marketplace, and snag even a fraction of the ad dollars pulled in by ratings juggernaut Univision. (Getting rated is an important rite of passage for a new network. To do so, they need to have national distribution in place, among other factors.) Media buying agencies such as MediaVest's 42 Degrees increasingly are expecting networks to demonstrate they can deliver an audience and ROI. "Ideas are great and networks can get very creative, but the biggest thing that we owe our clients is an ROI analysis that shows what exactly these things are delivering," said Cervantes.

As a result, for the first time, Univision, which dominates the Hispanic media market, will face some new energized competition. "The buzz you're hearing is about the networks coming to market with news that they will be measured," Cervantes said. "A lot of people have not been willing to pull the trigger because investing $100,000 in a network that isn't measured is a gut call. Now, you can at least say: If it's got a .5 rating, somebody is watching it."



Great news for media buyers. For the networks themselves, not so much. With a general (but slow) move away from network TV and a recession taking hold, the goal for 2009 is to maintain growth from ad revenues, albeit at a slower pace, but with the expectation that new business opportunities may emerge as marketers venture into the Hispanic space for the first time.

Nielsen Media Research reported last month that ad spending in domestic Spanish-language TV increased 1.5 percent in 2007, falling the same percentage for network TV in English. Overall, ad spend was up by a mere 0.6 percent last year with the top 10 advertisers spending $17.9 billion in measured media in 2007. Against that backdrop, Hispanic networks big and small are heading into the upfronts this month. Here's a snapshot of what the Hispanic networks say they have in store for marketers and media buyers. (For more, visit marketingymedios.com.)

UNIVISION
Univision is positioning itself as the starting point for advertisers wading into the Hispanic media waters for the first time and as a guide for established advertising clients who want to experiment with new media platforms such as online, radio, mobile and spot TV, and step up their ad spending in 2009.

"We're on a mission to make sure every marketer realizes the seismic opportunity and power of the Hispanic consumer to grow their business and we're bringing English-language advertisers over," said David Lawenda, president of sales and marketing at Univision Communications, hinting that negotiations for some major cross-platform deals are already under way. Lawenda said this is part of the network's new "go-to-market" strategy that coincides with the recent reorganization of the sales department. "Our new strategy isn't necessarily focused on the 80 share that we have, which is the way we went to market in the past. We led by: 'We're No. 1. Look at our strong ratings, which are undeniable.' But the real story is: look at the power of this consumer segment."

Lawenda argues that Univision can best reach that segment not only with its huge share of the marketplace but with its reach, which extends to various media: "We have network advertisers now who are realizing that with one conversation they are able to do a spot radio or spot TV overlay to really activate consumers on a local level, bringing in radio, local TV and mobile."

To newbies to the market, Lawenda unloads the data on the growing demo, in particular the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth's projection that the spending power of Hispanics will jump from $900 million to $1.2 billion in the next two years.

On the metrics front, Univision goes into the upfronts armed with fused proprietary and Nielsen data on TV viewing and purchasing information that will give marketers a tool for accurately measuring and targeting Hispanic consumers as well as demonstrating ROI, said Ceril Shagrin, evp of Univision's corporate research unit.

Shagrin discussed the idea with the Nielsen Co. of merging the data gathered by Nielsen Homescan and Nielsen Media Research. For the former, consumer panels in various cities log in purchases they make via the bar codes on a home scanner. The product-specific purchasing data that this process produces can then be broken out by consumer and demo. People Meter TV viewing data from Nielsen Media Research in that same market can also be gathered by demos, which can then be matched-or fused-with people of similar demos in the market based on their TV viewing patterns.

Advertisers can then, in theory, see what TV audience can best be used to reach the viewers they want their product to target, and if their current marketing plan is getting good or bad ROI. Univision said it will use fusion data only from Los Angeles during the upcoming upfront because it is the only market in which Nielsen Homescan has a representative number of Hispanics on its panel. Market data from Los Angeles could be used to sell advertising nationally because the panel's sample reflects the Hispanic population nationwide, Shagrin said. Though the network has been tracking viewership for years, this new measurement system gives Univision a useful method "for helping marketers to more accurately maximize their investment and deliver growth."



TELEMUNDO
Univision's got the monster share, but No. 2 Telemundo has its own weapon: Control of content. Unlike Univision, which gets the bulk of its programming from outside sources, Telemundo is able to include product pitches in story lines and develop content based on business opportunities. Execs from the NBC Universal unit hit the road in March to make that pitch to various clients.

"We learned so much about what we can do to incorporate these different brands into our products from listening to the client and to the agency," said Don Browne, president, Telemundo Communications Group. "It was a dialogue and because we had our creative people and the company's top decision-makers sitting in a room with the client and the agency, it was amazing to see the creative team come face-to-face with the information and the passion points that they share with the client." The media platform and content that can be created to integrate marketers' brands are wide open for Telemundo creatives, who will be able to draw on the network's vast multimedia properties. Marketers can expect the network to develop customized multimedia programming, including branded entertainment TV, Webisodes, mobisodes, or a contemporary telenovela such as the popular Victoria, which can be produced to air domestically and in Mexico via the network's partnership with Televisa.

"What we know is that we can no longer produce Spanish-language content that isn't as good as what can be seen on U.S. television networks," Browne said. "People expect a variety of programming and they want diversity."

The personal setting of a one-on-one meeting let the network showcase top personnel from the digital/broadband Internet group, the bilingual youth network mun2 and programming execs such as Patricio Wills, who oversees Telemundo's studio productions in Miami, Los Angeles, Mexico and Colombia. The idea is to let clients have some input into content before it is created, said Browne.

"We got a lot of feedback that everyone is trying to evolve the process and do it different than it's been done traditionally," Browne said. "That creativity and that connection of the product to what they call fusion, and seamlessly working it into the products/content that we produce, is a little bit like going back into the future."

The experience is similar to the early days of local TV when innovative selling and relationships were key in establishing long term partnerships in the same way that consumer products giants such as Procter & Gamble helped the creative community to build and create programming by sponsoring entire shows and retaining creative control, said Browne, who said the one-to-one meeting strategy has been successful.

"We're feeling very good," Browne said, acknowledging, "It's a tough time of economics [in this country]. But when you can sit down at a table, discuss creating a future together, and both teams get to know each other better, and find ways to incorporate products and businesses, it's a great thing." Telemundo's one-on-one confabs have been key in establishing a mutual understanding of the marketer's strategic goals and needs for reaching Hispanic consumers. "We cater to them as opposed to standing in front of them and saying, 'This is our programming, buy a 30-second unit.' It's really programming a la carte," said Mike Rodriguez, Telemundo's network
sales vp.

Hearing the stories that clients and agencies have to share has invigorated the Telemundo creative team to begin working on content and programs that will fit the needs and interests of clients. Said Browne: "This is priceless."

To drive home the power of its vast multimedia resources, Telemundo is mounting a research initiative that includes nationwide engagement and ad performance metrics via a partnership with IAG Research and a deal with the Nielsen Co. to conduct digital/online survey data collection and focus group testing.



Clients next will hear from the network's parent in a presentation dubbed the NBC Universal Experience in New York.  The network's approach to the upfront is viewed as a savvy move among media buyers and other network execs opting to do business directly with clients and forgo lavish gatherings.

Meetings with clients have made it possible for network execs to really talk with the agencies and clients and understand what it is they need, especially in an uncertain economic climate.  "That kind of discussion is very difficult to have in a big room full of people; the meetings allow for some great brainstorming on ideas that can benefit the client," Cervantes said.

V-ME
An upstart in the market like V-me's best option for competing with the likes of Univision and Telemundo is to position itself as something new. So execs from the company will tout programming the others lack, like adult lifestyle, entertainment and public affairs programs as well as an extensive lineup of Spanish and bilingual children's programming-a surprisingly new category in Hispanic TV.

"What we bring to the table is additional options for viewers," said Frank Donaldson, V-me's svp, director of sales, who recently joined the network from Univision. "We're going to be in a great position to compete from a reach and a quality programming standpoint to eventually compete with the big three as we're calibrated and our ratings begin to show up." V-me expects to begin reporting its programming ratings via Nielsen as early as the fourth quarter, Donaldson said. "If we're really going to be a big time player with the big three, then we absolutely need to be there." V-me also is experiencing growing pains -- "but the good kind," said Carmen DiRienzo, president of V-me Media, as the network awaits validation of V-me's increasing household numbers.

Launched a year ago, a deal with Dish satellite network catapulted V-me from a presence in 20 percent of Hispanic households to nearly 50 percent today. Those numbers are expected to widen to nearly 80 percent of all Hispanic homes when the digital transition occurs in February