• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, April 11, 2011

The MTV bilingual network that was recently rebranded as Tr3s said it posted record ratings during the first quarter as prime time rose 30%. On weekdays, the network has begun airing back-to-back episodes of "The George Lopez Show," followed by novela "Niñas Mal," which have helped. 

Targeting a 12-to-34 demo, Tr3s also said its total day ratings were up 19% and 47% in late-night, where several nights a week it airs mixed martial arts Bellator Fighting Championships. Tr3 also airs MTV's "16 & Pregnant" as it looks to take advantage of its link with MTV Networks.

Tr3 also said unique visitors and online video streams on its Web site jumped by large margins.

Officially, the network goes by "Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más (Music and More)." Over the summer, it launched a campaign with an "I Feel Tr3s" tagline.

The network is in 35 million homes and reaches about half of U.S. Hispanic homes. The network says its theme embraces a blend of a trio of cultures that works out as American + Latin American = U.S. Latino.

Like all Spanish-language media, it should benefit from recent U.S. Census results showing Hispanics now make up 16% of the population and have grown by 40% over the past 10 years. Hispanics are also a young population.

NBCUniversal and Fox have recently taken steps to offer new opportunities for advertisers targeting Hispanics.