Multichannel News contributor Laura Martínez runs down 10 key issues and developments that are likely to impact Hispanic-targeted media in 2009.

1. Univision vs. Televisa - The nation’s largest Spanish-language media company is scheduled to face its programming partner and supplier Grupo Televisa in court on Jan. 6. The outcome of the trial, which has already been postponed several times this year, could strip Univision of its steady supply of primetime programming — specifically its telenovelas, which account for the network’s impressive ratings growth and a good deal of its advertising revenue.

2. The Digital Switch - Univision and Telemundo kicked off their Feb. 17, 2009, digital television transition with messages urging Latinos to prepare for the switch to DTV. So far, the messages seem to be working: According to a November survey conducted by the National Association of Broadcasters.

3. FIFA 2010 World Cup Spanish Media - Next year will see the beginning of major advertising deals surrounding the 2010 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, by far the biggest sports event among Latin Americans. The event, to be held in South Africa, is an important revenue source for Univision, the sole Spanish-language rights holder in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. If previous years are any indication, the World Cup should draw massive audiences: The 2006 tournament in Germany drew a record-breaking 50 million viewers for Univision networks.

4. Spanish Mobile Content - Cell phone text and video offerings are far from overtaking carriage fees or advertising sales yet, but they have increasingly become an additional revenue source for Hispanic networks.

The market is too large to ignore. According to Simmons Research, there are over 18 million Hispanic wireless subscribers, and recent data compiled by Ping Mobile shows 66% of Hispanics use text messaging on a daily basis, compared to 36% of the general market.

5. Made-for-Advertiser Fare - Product placement has been a fixture of Hispanic television for decades, but content tailored specifically for advertisers is a relatively new phenomenon that is expected to take off in the years ahead.

6. Multicasting - The switch to digital television will lead multicast channels to gain full distribution in their respective DMAs and this is no exception in the Hispanic market, where two relatively new entrants rapidly gained national distribution: LATV and V-me.

7. Spanish Video On Demand - Early next year, Univision will join the ranks of Spanish-language content providers offering programming on demand when it will make available more than 1,000 hours of programming including the FIFA World Cup and other sports from its Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision networks.

8. Programming Tiers - While most cable operators are sticking with separate Hispanic programming tiers, Comcast this year moved 10 Spanish-language networks from a tier to digital basic in its Miami market. The operator has signaled it will make similar moves in 2009 in major markets, including Chicago, Houston and San Francisco.

9. Low-Power Stations - Low-power stations are expected to step up pressure on the incoming Obama administration to consider a proposal to allow Class A television stations a chance to apply to earn full-power TV status.

10. Spanish Syndication - Syndication is virtually nonexistent in the Hispanic market, but its double-digit growth in the general market (ad revenue for syndicated television grew 10% in the first half of 2008), is expected to compel more players to get in the game. So far, the biggest step this year was taken by LATV, which acquired AIM TV, the producer of syndicated shows American Latino and LatiNation that target bicultural and bilingual Latinos, for an undisclosed amount.