TOONING IN TO LATIN AMERICA; STUDIOS MAKE PLANS IN LAND WHERE KIDS' TV RULES.

Byline: Anne Moncreiff Arrarte The Miami Herald

Movies, news and sports long have been staples of U.S. cable systems, but in Latin America, kids are the growing frontier.

In the last year, more cable programmers, including Fox and Discovery, have entered Latin America with cable channels for children.

Walt Disney Co. just announced it will launch a 24-hour Disney cartoon network to compete with the 6-year-old Cartoon Network Latin America. The Burbank-based company also is testing Spanish-language children's fare with a weekend programming package on the Galaxy satellite service.

And Nickelodeon en Espanol recently celebrated its first anniversary by signing its 5 millionth subscriber, more than any other cable channel has ever amassed in such a short time.

``In terms of ratings in Latin America, it's movies No. 1 and kids No. 2,'' said Karen Davis, a Miami-based channel development consultant. ``The viewers are there, and increasingly the advertisers are there. As long as people in the region keep having children, the demand will be there.''

In fact, population growth among young viewers in the Latin American market is booming. More than 50 percent of the Latin American consumer market is younger than 26, and about 30 percent is under 15.

That growth is awakening the interest of international advertisers.

In the last year, 25 major advertisers including Mattel, Hasbro, Buena Vista and 20th Century Fox have started advertising on kids' channels in Latin America.

Miami-based Burger King, another newcomer in the Latin American cable market, says the boom in options is providing a forum to reach its core family market. The company has become a regular advertiser on the Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon Latin America.

``In general, the kids and family market makes up one-third of all our business. More importantly, our youngest customer today is our buyer of tomorrow,'' said Burger King spokeswoman Kim Miller.

Despite advertiser enthusiasm, analysts say the Latin American boom in children's programming won't last forever. With more than eight channels competing now throughout much of the region, experts say a shakeout is imminent. Already Rocket, an Argentine children's channel that began last April, has shut down.

``Can eight kids' channels exist on every cable system? I don't think so,'' said consultant Davis. ``To really reach kids in Latin America today, you have to know exactly what you're doing in terms of branding, positioning and understanding your market.''