NEW YORK (Map) - NEW YORK, May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Fueled by the unstoppable growth of Hispanics 12-34, the insights of a panel of Latino youth trendsetters and the youth expertise of the MTV brand, MTV Tr3s announced today that it has doubled its distribution in the less than two years since it launched, doubled its Hispanic TV viewing shares among persons 12-24 since it became Nielsen rated last October, and doubled its ratings and impressions among persons 12-24, also since last October.

The bilingual network's momentum has given it widespread distribution of 6.3 million Hispanic TV households and 33.3 million total households and the highest concentration of Hispanics 12-34 (67.5% according to Nielsen), making MTV Tr3s a dominant, multiplatform brand that is an integral part of young Latinos' unique lifestyle.

Advertisers gathered at the MTV Tr3s upfront held in New York City to learn more about tapping into the growing and increasingly influential Latino youth segment by learning how to "speak Tr3s," the language of young Latinos that is very different from their non-Latino counterparts.

"Latino youth are leading Hispanic and overall 12-34 growth while the general market is shrinking," said

The MTV Tr3s Cooltura panelists are a group of Latino trendsetters and trendspreaders in key U.S. markets. MTV Tr3s taps into the Cooltura panel regularly to help the network stay ahead of cultural trends so that it can immediately respond with the right content for its audience.

Jesus Lara, Senior Vice President of Music and Talent, MTV Tr3s and MTV/VH1 Latin America, said Cooltura has been influential in refining the channel's three music pillars: to bring viewers the biggest names in music, provide an opportunity for viewers to participate in the channel's music programming process and offer a continuous music discovery experience.

"Cooltura helped us understand that although our audience is curious about general market pop artists, they turn to MTV Tr3s to showcase the Latin artists that define their identity and that they won't find anywhere else," Lara explained. "Therefore, the majority of our music mix is Latin, irrespective of language, with artists such as Don Omar, Camila, and Belinda, and includes some of the general market hitmakers they are interested in, artists such as Justin Timberlake, Fergie, and Usher."

Also in response to audience feedback, Lara announced the launch of Fresh Music Mondays, a new music block that gives young Latinos the bragging rights they crave by being the first to know about a hot new video or a cool new artists.

Music My Guey, where fans can go online, create their own playlist, post a few photos and potentially be selected to air will return for a second season, said Lara. "The show has been a hit, with over 10,000 registered users and 8,500 playlists submitted in a short four months," he said.

Music discovery is also a top priority for young Latinos and is therefore woven within the fabric of the MTV Tr3s brand. Lara also announced that the network's marquee multiplatform music discovery initiative, Descubre & Download, will return in 2009. The program not only profiles new artists in innovative ways through on-air vignettes and branded video rotation, but also offers exclusive free music downloads of the artist from the mtvtres.com site. It has been hailed by music label executives as "critical" to new artist development. Last year MTV Tr3s was the first to showcase some of the hottest new Latin artists, including Jesse and Joy, a brother and sister duo from Mexico, who went on to win a Latin Grammy award for Best New Artist; Kat de Luna, who has since sold over 500,000 downloads of her Descubre & Download single "Whine Up"; and Colby O'Donis who recorded a Spanish-language version of his hit single "What You Got" especially for the Descubre & Download campaign.

MTV Tr3s will take the music discovery process to a whole new level as it seeks the best unsigned Latino artist in Dame Un Break, set to launch on June 3rd.

MTV Tr3s programming also reflects the world of young Latinos in a way that no mainstream media can. As explained by Lily Neumeyer, MTV Tr3s Vice President of Programming and Production, "MTV Tr3s is the one place where young Latino viewers don't have to choose between their two identities or compromise their cultural values. They can, and do, invest their whole selves in our shows' mind, heart and spirit."

Among the returning programs MTV Tr3s viewers can expect channel defining shows such as Mi TRL, Karlifornia, Sucker Free Latino, and Pimpeando, along with new comers Bust-a-Ritmo and Rock Dinner.

Neumeyer announced that the third season of Quiero Mis Quinces, the hugely popular series that celebrates the Latina rite of passage into adulthood, quinceaneras, will expand production into U.S. Hispanic communities starting in 2009. A companion Quiero Mis Quinces digital extension of the series simultaneously will capture all the new social behavior around the show's content.

Neumeyer also announced an expanded slate of MTV Tr3s Weekend Stunts, designed to capitalize on the network's popularity among young Latinos during the weekends. MTV Tr3s Weekend Stunts will be programmed around events and holidays such as Father's Day, MTV Movie Awards, National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Fashion Weekend, Mexican Independence, Dia de Los Muertos, and Thanksgiving, amongst others.

MTV Tr3s will add its first short-form animation series, Lugar Heights, as part of its 2009 upfront offerings. The series follows the adventures of a number of friends living in Lugar Heights, USA. Combining satire, dark humor, and pop culture in a parody of mass entertainment, the show is refreshingly innovative in its style, subject matter, and language, making it a milestone of urban entertainment.

The network will continue addressing the issues that are dear to young Latinos in a new production, The Yearbook Chronicles, a documentary project about the challenges that some Latinos face to graduate from high school.

"Their size, fast growth, influence and age make young Latinos a must for any marketer looking to establish brand loyalties and grow their business. To emotionally connect brands to them and engage them with messages, content and experiences that are authentic and resonate with them, advertisers need to have a deep understanding of the hot, cultural passion points that shape their identity. We call that Speaking Tr3s," concluded Ballas-Traynor.

MTV Tr3s (http://www.mtvtr3s.com) is the most widely-distributed TV network dedicated to superserving today's bicultural Latino youth and is currently seen in 6.3 million Hispanic TV households and 33.3 million total TV households. Music programming is at the core of MTV Tr3s and the channel features hitmakers, emerging artists and new sounds that resonate with young U.S. Latinos and celebrate their hybrid identity and culture. In addition to music programming, the MTV Tr3s programming slate features lifestyle series, news, documentaries and other long-form programs.