• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 1, 2009

Time Warner Cable has renewed a deal with Univision that gives them the right to distribute content from broadcast stations owned by Univision, a Spanish-language network, as well as cable and network feeds for Galavision, Univision and TeleFutura.

As part of the new agreement, Time Warner will expand its cooperation with Univision, helping the latter introduce a number of new video services for customers, including video-on-demand and broadband content.

One of Univision's most important offerings for Hispanic audiences is its local programming, according to Melinda Witmer, executive vice president and chief programming officer for Time Warner Cable. This includes local Spanish-language news shows produced by Univision's network of 26 stations and TeleFutura's network of 33 stations in key Hispanic markets, like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, the Bay Area, Phoenix and Sacramento.

Univision claims to be the fifth-largest TV network in the country, regardless of language, and boasts of achieving saturation in 15 markets where Univision and TeleFutura stations form a duopoly.

Among the new services that Time Warner Cable will help Univision introduce are StartOver, which allows viewers to restart a show already in progress, and LookBack, which lets them see a show after it has aired. (Neither feature gives viewers the ability to skip ads.)

TV targeting Hispanics was one of the few media to see advertising revenues increase in 2008, although the growth was limited to cable television, which grew 9.6% in comparison to 2007. By contrast, Spanish radio and magazines slipped in 2008.

Spanish Broadcasting System said its revenue fell 19% in the fourth quarter of 2008 and 14% for the full year. Ad pages at Spanish-language magazines fell 17.2% in the first two months of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008, according to a report from Media Economics Group.