Lawrence.com

CBS is taking a bold step that many see as a beautiful way to increase ratings. The network is about to become the first American television network to simulcast one of its daily daytime dramas in English and Spanish.

Beginning Monday, "The Bold and the Beautiful," the second-highest-rated daytime drama in this country and arguably the world's most popular soap with a daily audience of more than 450 million, will be available in Spanish by activating the Secondary Audio Program (SAP) feature on TV sets.

The show in Spanish will be called "Belleza Y Poder," which translates as "Beauty and Power."

The move is an obvious attempt to take advantage of one of the fastest-growing markets in the country, one served only by Spanish-language networks such as Univision and Telemundo.

"What we're doing is certainly driven by ratings," said Bradley Bell, the show's executive producer and head writer, "but it also is driven by a desire to reach out to another culture."

The Hispanic population in the United States has grown to about 35 million people.

"It's certainly not diversity for diversity's sake," said Lucy Johnson, CBS head of daytime programming. "This is a growing audience to which attention must be paid. It's a win-win situation for everybody � the network and the Hispanic community."

"The Bold and the Beautiful" centers on two competing families, both involved in the Los Angeles fashion industry. There are the rich and powerful Forresters, who swirl in a world of high fashion and even higher drama; and the scrappy, struggling Spectra family, whose members spend much of their time consumed with jealousy and plotting to get even with their nemesis.

Into this intense rivalry comes the dashing fashion designer Antonio Dominguez and his business partner, the beautiful model Sofia Alonso, who join the Spectra team in their quest to uproot the mighty Forresters. Antonio also gets romantically involved with one of the Forrester daughters. But it wouldn't be a soap if he didn't, would it?