ABC has announced that it is to offer its entire primetime lineup in Spanish, using a combination of closed-captioning and dubbing, in the hope of luring more Hispanic viewers.

The network said Desperate Housewives, Lost, George Lopez and newcomer Freddie will all be dubbed in Spanish. The alternative audio is then available via the SAP (Second Audio Program) on the viewer's TV. Shows not being dubbed will offer Spanish subtitles.

"We wanted to move beyond toe-dipping and really dive in," ABC entertainment president Stephen McPherson said. "Almost half of the 41 million Hispanics in this country watch only or mostly Spanish language television, and we want to bring that audience to ABC."

The Spanish language initiative won't be just be for TV series. ABC's upcoming telemovie Have No Fear: the Life of John Paul II will be dubbed, and the network will continue to major theatricals with Spanish via SAP.

Voice casting is now underway for the dubbed shows such as Desperate Housewives. The network has said that all programming will have a Spanish language option starting September 19th, so presumably the Desperate Housewives season two premiere on September 25th will have the SAP option.

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