Broadcasters: Raise Foreign Ownership Cap

A coalition of broadcasters is calling on the FCC to signal that it would allow foreign ownership in excess of 25% in TV and radio stations.

If the FCC simply said it would consider higher levels on a case-by-case basis, the Coalition for Broadcast Investment says in a petition, it “would send a positive and powerful message to the industry, the capital markets, viewers, listeners and advertisers alike, that in the appropriate circumstances U.S. broadcasters may be afforded access to new sources of capital.

“It would incent entry into the broadcast sector, including by minority and women-owned businesses. It would facilitate investment in new services and infrastructure, create jobs and, ultimately, enhance service to local communities and their viewers and listeners.

The Coalition, represented by the Washington office of Covington & Burling, says the ownership cap is set by law, but maintains that the FCC has authority to let a broadcast licensee go beyond it if the licensee make a strong case for it.

“Absent a clear statement from the commission, the marketplace will continue to assume that proposals for above-benchmark foreign investment in broadcasters will not even be considered regardless of the facts and circumstances presented or the merits of a particular proposal,” the Coalition says.

“As a result, transactions that the commission may have found to enhance local broadcast service will continue never to see the light of day ― an outcome that surely would disserve the public interest.”

The Coalition comprises 28 radio and TV station groups and African-American and Hispanic advocacy groups.

Participating broadcasters include Adelante Media, Bonten Media, CBS, Clear Channel Communications, Emmis Communications, Entravision, Hearst Television, Ion Media Networks, LIN Media, Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Schurz Communications, Una Vez Mas Television Group, Univision and the Walt Disney Co.