Soap operas, known in Spanish as telenovelas, are immensely popular on Latin American TV stations, and they dominate the prime-time programming of the United States' largest Spanish-language cable TV network, Univision. Those facts have hardly gone unnoticed by the U.S. TV network CBS, which on May 28 adds a Spanish-language soundtrack to what it calls the word's most popular soap, The Bold and the Beautiful.

CBS initially is offering the Spanish-language soundtrack — which won't interfere with English-language soundtrack — in about 40 markets, including some of those with large Spanish-speaking populations such as Miami, Los Angeles, New York and Dallas. As CBS is the first major network to add a Spanish soundtrack to a regular daytime serial, how successful the network is at drawing more viewers to the show is lik. And the show's ratings can be expected to influence decisions on adding Spanish soundtracks to other shows. ABC already provides Spanish soundtracks to its nightly news show and some football games.

CBS is going all out in its efforts to draw U.S. Hispanics to the show. It addition to adding the soundtrack, it is introducing two Latino characters: Paulo Benedeti, a native Colombian who plays the role of a Antonio Dominguez, a designer who is an expert on the growing Hispanic market; and Sandra Vidal, a native of Argentina, who plays Sofia Alonso, a fashion model. Additionally, the show in June will feature guest appearances by Latino singers who are likely to be known by viewers of Univision. A Latin-themed beach club set also is being added.

CBS has good reason to believe its move will be a success. The network says that The Bold and the Beautiful, known in Spanish as Belleza y poder (literally, "Beauty and Power"), is already popular in Spain and Latin America. In Uruguay, according to CBS, it grabs a 17 market share (meaning 17 percent of those watching at the time it's on), even though it's broadcast in English with Spanish subtitles.

CBS is far from the first network to realize that there's money to be made from targeting the Hispanic market. Earlier this month, Univision announced that it will be adding a second Spanish-language network to its lineup. Univision hasn't announced the details of its programming lineup, but it likely will feature a schedule designed to complement rather than compete with its current programs.

This growing interest in the Hispanic market has been piqued in part by recently released figures from the U.S. Census, which show that 32.8 million Latinos, or about 12 percent of the total population, live in the United States. The new figures don't indicate how many of them speak Spanish as a first language; that statistic is expected to be released next year.