Yahoo, Telemundo to merge Spanish-language sites

update Yahoo and Telemundo Network Group plan to merge their U.S. Spanish language Web sites to try to expand their reach into the growing Hispanic market and bolster their presence among advertisers, the companies said Wednesday.

The Yahoo en Espanol and Telemundo.com Web sites will feature the Yahoo Telemundo branding but over time will be integrated into one Yahoo Telemundo Web site. The move comes as an increasing number of Internet companies and their advertisers are searching for ways to tap into the expanding U.S. Hispanic market.

The combined Yahoo Telemundo site will include Telemundo's shows, sports and message boards, along with Yahoo's search engine, e-mail services, instant messenger and Yahoo Music. Telemundo, a U.S. Spanish-language television network, is wholly owned by General Electric's NBC Universal.

Under the agreement, Yahoo en Espanol and Telemundo will merge their staff and share the advertising revenue.

"Yahoo Telemundo will provide the kind of cross-media interaction that will deliver an integrated and immersive media experience for both users and advertisers," Jose Rivera Font, Yahoo North Latin America general manager, said in a statement.

Currently, Yahoo Telemundo offers advertising technologies, such as Web analytics and ad-serving capabilities, with sports and movie content to soon follow, said Alfredo Richard, a spokesman for Telemundo.com.

The second phase, which is expected in the next 30 to 60 days, will migrate Telemundo's prime-time soap operas and other shows to the Yahoo Telemundo site, he said. And in the third or fourth quarter, the new site will add the blogs and message boards.

The new venture is aiming to reach first-, second- and third-generation U.S. Hispanics, and it will feature content in both Spanish and English.

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