NBC Universal’s Spanish-language Telemundo television network and Mexican broadcasting powerhouse Grupo Televisa are expected to announce a programming sharing agreement today that could lead to a closer alliance between the two, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Televisa would be allowed to run Telemundo programs on one of its broadcast networks in Mexico as well as a separate cable channel, according to people familiar with the deal. That would give NBC Universal an important distribution outlet for its programs and a potentially lucrative source of new revenue. It also would help expose Telemundo’s shows to Mexican viewers, some of whom might eventually migrate to the U.S. and become a part of Telemundo’s audience here.

Televisa cannot sell its programming to NBC Universal or its Telemundo subsidiary because of an exclusive distribution agreement with Univision Communications, the dominant Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S. and Telemundo’s chief rival.

However, Televisa and Univision are engaged in a legal dispute about the contract and expect to face off in a Los Angeles courtroom next month. Televisa is seeking to void the Univision contract which would allow it to sell programs to Telemundo and other competitors in the U.S.

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