MANO-A-MANO POR LOS DOLARES GRANDES (Mano-A-Mano For Those Grand Dollars)

Amid the competition among broadcast and cable channels for chunks of an estimated $10 billion-plus in Upfront spending, there's an equally fierce romp for another formidable pot of money underway. Just like the broadcast and cable nets, the big players in this episode made their best pitch to the ad community this past week at public Upfront events in New York.

We refer to some $1.5 billion in Upfront cash set aside for Spanish, bilingual and English-language networks targeting U.S. Latinos. As we prepare to find out from the 2010 Census whether the nation's Latino population is 50 million or more, en route to double that count within the next 20-30 years, Univision (together with sister nets Telefutura and Galavision) and Telemundo remain top rating thoroughbreds on this track, surrounded by an ever-wider assortment of competitors at their sides, just in Spanish-language TV alone from players old (Azteca America, Sorpresa, Discovery en Espanol, etc.) and new (Estrella TV, WAPA America, etc.) alike.

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On the bilingual/English-language flank, Telemundo has mun2 in business; Univision has no sister channel to root for, and both face such worthy rivals as SiTV, LATV, V-me and the net formerly known as MTV Tr3s morphing into Tr3s: MTV, Musica y Mas. Quite a scorecard to deal with.

In the face of all these players, Univision and Telemundo used their presentations to drive a few Upfront-scoring points home. First, both continue to have the lion's share of Spanish-language viewing. Second, both have the production capability (Telemundo through facilities in Miami up for second years; Univision through a new Miami studio complex organized over the last six months) to give advertisers more of what they want--original productions full of product integration opportunities. "You have to be more than spots (as in 30-second) and dots (think billboards) these days," one advertiser rep said minutes after leaving, and liking, Univision's Upfront showcase from Jazz at Lincoln Center.

And third, once those U.S. Census numbers come out, there's going to be a gold rush among advertisers previously absent on Latino networks to spend, and there's no better place to spend than on the channels reaching more Latinos regularly, Telemundo and Univision executives declare in their presentations.

The big fall season primetime program strategy at Telemundo: go whole hog on telenovelas. Except the channel isn't waiting for fall to do that. As of this week, Telemundo now matches Univision in the nightly 7 to 10 p.m. original telenovela block. Moreover, Telemundo continues its telenovela parade through to 11 p.m., while Univision reverts to its long-standing checkerboard hour of newsmagazine, talk/variety and entertainment originals. A Corazon Abierto (An Open Door), a Spanish-language version of Grey's Anatomy, launched on Telemundo last week, it's first 7 p.m. novela hour in several years. Coming up later this next season: La Reina del Sur (Queen Of The South), featuring acclaimed actress Kate del Castillo.

Eva Luna (Eva Moon) represents Univision's first self-generated novela from its new studio facilities, about an advertising executive dealing with love lost and found. (How timely to announce that at an Upfront?) More Univision Studios novelas will hit primetime this fall and winter, alongside presentations from long-running Mexico program supplier Televisa.

Another big push at Univision will be more original U.S. programs on Sunday nights, heretofore for the most part Televisa-supplied talent competition series and movies. Two shows drew notable applause from the Jazz at Lincoln Center crowd: Mira Quien Baile (Look Who's Dancing), similar in format to Dancing With The Stars, and El Gran Show (The Big Show) a mix of brain and brawn games for big cash and prizes. Telemundo has some original weekend series in development, but for now, the channel will stick with its combo of largely soccer and movies for that daypart, says programming executive vice-president Adriana Ibanez.

You can take away one point for sure as the ad community chooses their Latino Upfront budget recipients. Latino viewers will have a wider variety of original U.S. content to choose from, and that's a promising road to more contented, as well as more Latino viewership in TV's future.

***Sorry, but no 3D Spanish-language World Cup Soccer coverage on Univision's part for cable/satellite distribution next month, as ESPN will do with DirecTV, Comcast and others with its live English presentation. "Personally speaking, everyone here is enthusiastic about 3D," declares Univision president/CEO Joe Uva. (Similar belief with Telemundo president Don Browne. "There's just too few TV sets that can take 3D." Wait for 2014.

***Two new series on tap this fall at mun2: paranormal-minded From Beyond and Chiquis and Raq-C, featuring the daughter of Latina music star Jenni Rivera and her friendship with Los Angeles radio DJ Raq-C. For those outside LA, Raq-C draws a growing audience with her bilingual banter with callers. This show may expand that crowd considerably, as in: Can you say her own TV series down the road? Meantime, Telefutura is taking a page from ABC Family's playbook with Deciembre Magicas (Magical December), a 25-day seasonal celebration with movies and first-run specials, while Galavision tries the science-is-fun-in-primetime approach with Detras del Saber (The Science Of Knowledge), a nightly look at how things we take for granted work. ***One thing Upfront audiences missed when Univision went on hiatus with its event last spring was the surprise musical guest, closing the show and bringing the house down with it. Think Shakira in 2008; Marc Anthony in 2007. The surprise performer for Univision's comeback to Upfronts: Ricky Martin, who alerted his Twitter fans about the gig seconds before taking the stage. Martin let his singing, dance moves and hot band speak volumes with a sensational mini-series, wrapping up with--you guess good--La Copa de la Vida (The Cup Of Life). As good as Katy Perry was hours earlier at The CW's Madison Square Garden showcase, Martin takes the prize as best musical performer of this 2010 Upfront week. Ole, ole, ole.