NEW YORK (FORTUNE) - On 52 nights last season, the most watched television network among 18- to 34-year-olds was not ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, or even youth-oriented outlets like the WB and UPN. It was Univision (Research), the Spanish-language stalwart.

As its English-language rivals bleed viewers, Univision's audience is actually growing: Today about two million homes tune into its primetime programming, up 67 percent from a decade ago. Its formula for attracting viewers is refreshingly retro: no reality shows or stunt casting, just a nightly mélange of telenovelas (like soaps, but even frothier) and variety shows, Latino pop culture and sex appeal.

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Now Univision is strutting its stuff for suitors. In early February, executives said they would consider selling the $2-billion-a-year Los Angeles–based company. Potential buyers include private-equity investors and major media companies such as CBS (Research), News Corp (Research)., Disney (Research), Time Warner (Research) (parent of CNNMoney.com and FORTUNE's publisher), and Grupo Televisa, the Mexican television company that owns 11 percent of Univision and provides it with most of its telenovelas.

That Univision is in play is hardly surprising: With its two television networks (Univision and Telefutura), a cable channel, a 73-station radio business, a music-recording unit and an online property, Univision is simply the most effective and powerful way to reach America's fast-growing Hispanic population.

Its television networks command 80 percent of the U.S. Hispanic TV market; rival Telemundo, owned by NBC Universal, boasts just 20 percent. "Univision is the Hispanic equivalent of CBS, ABC, Clear Channel and AOL bundled into one company," says Gary Bassell, CEO of The Bravo Group, an ad agency specializing in Hispanic marketing. An exclusive deal to broadcast World Cup soccer games in Spanish promises to draw even more viewers and advertisers.

The $35 stock trades at more than 40 times trailing earnings, and people close to Univision say the company is looking to sell for north of $40 a share. At such a price, CEO A. Jerrold Perenchio, who owns 11 percent of the company, would take home a tidy $1.5 billion.

Univision would also benefit from teaming up with a big U.S. media company that has relationships with major advertisers. Despite its ratings prowess, only about half of the 300 biggest companies advertise on Univision, and its primetime inventory sells for 25 percent to 30 percent less than that of its mainstream counterparts.

Advertisers may need Univision to reach Hispanic audiences, but not every company thinks it needs to market specifically to Hispanics. So Univision has had to sell not just itself but the Hispanic marketplace too.

Many analysts think Televisa may be the most likely acquirer of Univision. U.S. law prohibits foreign companies from owning U.S. media properties, but Televisa could team up with a private-equity company to gain control of its sometime partner. Televisa's CEO Emilio Azcárraga Jean has made no secret of his ambition to expand the Televisa empire north of the border.

Influential Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Cohen predicts that Disney and Time Warner ultimately won't make runs at Univision; Disney is focused on a content strategy, and Time Warner is busy settling its differences with investor Carl Icahn.

CBS and News Corp. would need to shed properties if they did a deal with Univision, to avoid running afoul of federal station-ownership rules. But there's little question both companies are interested. CBS CEO Les Moonves is on record as coveting Univision ("They know what they're doing," he told FORTUNE. "They are an extremely well-run organization"), and News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch told investors on a recent conference call that his company would take a closer look.

The upshot could be a bona fide bidding war with as many twists and turns as a telenovela, as would-be buyers try to figure out ways to structure deals and outmaneuver the competition -- and Univision and its executives are forced onto center stage. To read the entire article click here.