MUMBAI: Yahoo Inc. has partnered with Telemundo to form a co-branded web site, Yahoo Telemundo. Its content primarily targets the growing U.S. Hispanic audience. This new website, will replace Spanish-language internet portals previously operated by both companies.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will merge staff and share advertising revenue, but neither will make any equity investment in the other. However, the details of the profit split were not disclosed.

According to NBC Universal COO Randy Falco, "This merger provides us with an excellent platform to position Telemundo for the future."

Yahoo Telemundo will include content from Telemundo programming including sports, music and entertainment, directed towards Hispanics through Spanish-language, bilingual and English-language content sections.

The companies are banking on higher advertising revenue from the merger to allow advertisers to extend their reach to the estimated 11.5 million Hispanic population in the United States.

However, Spanish-language versions of Yahoo's online service that cater to international markets will not be cobranded, Yahoo said.

"This partnership is a natural evolution of the larger strategy Telemundo and its digital media team have been developing during the last eight months, a strategy that is strongly anchored on providing relevant original programming to the U.S. Hispanic consumers through multiple platforms," said Telemundo president Don Browne. "We looked for a partner with superior audience reach, a respected brand, excellent technology and a shared vision of where the business is going. Yahoo! definitely represents all these."

A unit of NBC Universal Television Group, Telemundo Communications Group Inc. is a Spanish-language television network that reaches 93 percent of U.S. Hispanic households in 142 markets through its 16 owned-and-operated stations, 36 broadcast affiliates and nearly 684 cable affiliates.