MediaBuyerPlanner: Univision and Telemundo are expected to see substantial gains in this year's upfront over last year, with Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen predicting that Univision will do some $1.11 billion in ad sales for an increase of 10 percent and that Telemundo will pull in $330 million for an increase of 25 percent, Media Life reports. Overall, the upfront should see a 12.5 percent increase in the Spanish-language upfront, to just under $1.45 billion, according to Cohen.

David Joyce, analyst with Miller Tabak, projects only a 10 percent increase, to $1.4 billion.

The past year has seen dramatic changes in Spanish-language television, with nearly half of the 300 top advertisers buying into the space and with audience share increasing. "You now have the comparison of Univision to ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, which has really opened the eyes of a lot of people," said Rosa Serrano, senior vp and group account director of the multicultural division at Initiative, in May. "When you compare this audience to the total market and see they can be No. 1 in adults 18-34 and have a lot of strength in 18-49s, it's really impressive."

Meanwhile, in other upfront news, media buyers are reporting that cable and syndication upfronts are still slow moving, but that several more deals will be locked in by the July 4 weekend.