Spanish-speaking Treasure Valley residents who enjoy watching television about daily life in Mexico now have a new source.

KIVI-Channel 6, which is ABC's Boise affiliate, has launched a new Spanish-language channel at digital 6.2.

The channel is Mexicanal, which features news, information and programs from central and southern Mexico, including the states of Jalisco, Hidalgo, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi and Oaxaca.

That's exciting news for Mexican-American residents in the Valley, many of whom have family in Jalisco, said Juan J. Saldana.

Saldana is a community resource development specialist at the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs.

Idaho and Jalisco are sister states and each summer "Jalisco week" is celebrated in the Valley, Saldana said.

On Friday, he had not yet heard about Mexicanal, which began airing in mid-December.

Jim Thomas, Milwaukee, Wis.-based spokesman for Journal Broadcast Group, said plans to promote KIVI's new channel were delayed until after the company talks with Cable One about carrying Mexicanal on cable.

"It will eventually be on cable. We feel like that will be the time to make an announcement," Thomas said.

Journal Broadcast, which owns stations in 12 markets nationwide, including KIVI in Boise, struck a deal this past spring to carry Mexicanal in four of its markets: Boise, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Calif., and Tuscon, Ariz. Thomas said Las Vegas and Tuscon are among the top 25 markets for Hispanic viewers.

The Boise market's Hispanic population is comparatively small, but it is growing.

According to U.S. Census data, Hispanics make up nearly 10 percent of Idaho's roughly 1.5 million residents.

The number of Hispanics in Idaho grew from 113,025 in 2002 to 147,426 in 2007. That's a 30 percent increase.

"What we always look at, whether in Boise or any other city, is how do you serve part of the audience that isn't being served?" Thomas said.

Thomas wasn't aware that KBCI-Channel 2, the CBS affiliate in Boise, pulled Spanish-language programming by Telefutura off Channel 35 in December.

"The audience for Telefutura is so small that it doesn't show up in the rating," KBCI general manager Larry Roberts said. "We wanted to take actions to develop another channel for a larger audience."

Roberts declined to say what the channel will become, though he said it wouldn't be a Spanish-language channel. KBCI is currently rebroadcasting CBS shows on Channel 35, Roberts said.

Other Spanish-language channels are available to TV viewers in the Valley, including Telemundo and Azteca America. Both are available over-the-air and on cable. The most widely viewed Spanish-language channel in the United States -Univision - is also available on cable.

Saldana, who watches Telemundo, Azteca America and Univision, said those channels feature a lot of "telenovelas" (soap operas), game shows, talk shows ("El Show de Cristina," is as popular as Oprah in Latin America) and international news from all over Latin America. Mexicanal's niche is that it's generated and focuses on life and news from central and southern Mexico.

Celynda Roach, general manager at Cable One in Boise, said she's meeting with KIVI's general manager next week to discuss adding Mexicanal to the cable company's offerings.

She said there's a strong market for Spanish-language channels in the Boise area, and that's why three of 28 customer service representatives at Cable One and 11 of 58 technicians are Spanish speakers.

"We want to be able to communicate with our customers who call us," Roach said.

Cable One subscribers in the Boise market get three Spanish-language channels (Telemundo, Azteca America and Univision) when they subscribe to the basic package (normally $20 a month, not including fees and taxes, but now on special to new customers for $10 a month for the first six months).

With expanded cable, subscribers can pick up an additional 11 Spanish-language channels, Roach said.

Katy Moeller: 377-6413