Televisa-Univision court clash could alter landscape of Spanish-language TV

The civil trial will pit two titans against each other and bring to the witness stand key executives who are accustomed to controlling the media behind the scenes rather than fighting over it in open court. At stake is the future of the widely popular telenovelas, a steamy mix of sex, romance and family intrigue that has made the Spanish-language shows among the most popular and profitable on American airwaves.

How the two adversaries -- Grupo Televisa of Mexico and Univision Communications Inc. of New York -- got to this point is a telenovela in itself. After years of squabbling, Televisa, the world's largest producer of telenovelas, four years ago sued longtime partner Univision for breach of contract, alleging it had been cheated out of more than $100 million in royalties.

More significantly, Televisa is seeking to terminate a 25-year programming contract with Univision. The 1992 compact between the two companies requires that Televisa, which is controlled by Mexico's 40-year-old media scion Emilio Azcarraga Jean, provide its shows exclusively to Univision through 2017.

Those prime-time dramas, which hook viewers with ageless themes of love and betrayal, have helped establish Univision as the dominant Spanish-language television company in the U.S., crushing rivals in the ratings. "Televisa has the monopoly on producing the programming that Hispanics prefer, and Univision has the monopoly on running that programming," Hector Orci, chief executive of the advertising agency La Agencia de Orci, said Monday. "But if that deal falls apart, the nature of Spanish programming in the United States could change."

Should its pipeline of Televisa programs run dry, Univision would be forced to develop new and probably more costly shows to air on its networks and Galavision cable channel. Such an undertaking would be difficult for Univision's owners.

A group of private investors, including Los Angeles billionaire Haim Saban, acquired Univision two years ago in a $12.3-billion leveraged buyout that left the company under a mountain of debt. The new owners have been banking on continued profits from Televisa's shows.

Advertising from Televisa programming generates about 35% of Univision's $1.6 billion in television revenue, according to media consultant Julio Rumbaut.