Mario Baeza saw a need for Spanish-language programming that was more instructive, like public television is, and wasn't simply another offering of telenovelas and Sábado Gigante. Like the way public television is currently trending, V-me will apparently be underwritten and sponsored, rather than offer outright commercial airtime.

He says of V-me:

"Of course, kids like to spend a lot of time in front of the television, watching shows like 'Barney,' 'Sesame Street' -- and I remember distinctly that there was nothing like that you [could] find in the Spanish language 10 years ago. In the back of my mind, I thought, there's a need for better quality programming in Spanish."

"The big Spanish media is more focused on where you came from," he says, whereas V-me will focus more on the "new separate and distinct culture" Latinos are creating in America as they enter the melting pot. It also will play to their commonality.

SPEAKING KIDS' LANGUAGE

More info about Spanish-language kids' shows in the U.S. No info in this article about V-me.

Univisión airs shows including Ultrachamos, a children's magazine show, and La Niña de la Mochila Azul, a kids' telenovela. The complaint from the United Church of Christ that led to the possible FCC fine was filed over Complices al Rescate, a novela centering on 11-year-old identical twin girls who swapped identities after disocvering they had been separated at birth.

Telemundo's offerings include animated shows Dragón, 3-2-1 Penguins and Veggie Tales.

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Federico Subervi, who heads the Latinos and the Media Project at Texas State University, said the networks are doing themselves a disservice by not providing more kids' fare en español.

''It may not be as profitable,'' he said. ``But they're not developing their next generation of viewers.''