MundoFox , the new Spanish-lingo network from Fox Intl. Channels and Colombian broadcaster RCN, set to debut in the fall, has secured affiliates in 40% of U.S. Hispanic households.

The aggressive push into the burgeoning Spanish-language market Stateside is starting to gain traction.

“We now expect to exceed our original goal of securing distribution in 75% of U.S. Hispanic households by launch,” said Hernan Lopez , FIC prexy and CEO. “In the last 20 years, no U.S. broadcast network has secured such a large footprint so quickly without assistance from O&O stations,” he added.

The initial affiliate list includes flagship station KWHY (Channel 22) in Los Angeles, owned by the Meruelo Group and WJAN (Channel 41) in Miami, owned by America CV Group. “Both have a long tradition of broadcasting in Spanish,” said Lopez. “We’ll broadcast strictly in Spanish at the onset but we have ample time to consider including subtitles and bilingual programming in the future.”

Lopez expects MundoFox’s full programming lineup to be unveiled in the May upfronts.

“Fox already captures a big portion of the English-speaking Latino viewers in the U.S.,” he said.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s talent competish “Q’Viva! The Chosen” debuted on Fox on Saturday, nabbing an average 2.2 million viewers, coming in fourth in the 8 p.m. to 10 p.m slot.

The bilingual show, which has English subtitles for its Fox screening, previously bowed Jan. 28 on Univision, where it also lured an aud of 2.2 million, a 37% increase for the timeslot, per Nielsen estimates.

Some 30 million TV viewers in 21 countries across the Americas are now watching the show, created by Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment and co-produced by Endemol.

The roster of MundoFox’s current affiliates also includes stations in San Antonio, San Francisco, Phoenix, Sacramento, Fresno, Tampa, Las Vegas, West Palm Beach, Bakersfield, Monterey, Fort Myers, Palm Springs, Odessa, Santa Barbara, Lubbock, Boise, Abilene and San Angelo. All affiliates in the top 10 markets are full power stations or are fully distributed in cable and satellite.