KMEX, 12 Other Stations Will Lose Licenses

Licenses to operate 13 Spanish-language television stations serving some of the nation’s largest cities, including KMEX in Los Angeles, will not be renewed or granted, a federal law judge said today, because the stations are illegally controlled by foreigners.

KMEX, Channel 34, is the oldest and most widely viewed Spanish-language station in the Los Angeles area. Until recently, when Spanish-language station KVEA, Channel 52, began broadcasting out of Los Angeles, it was the only all-Spanish station in the area.

No comment was available from KMEX representatives in Los Angeles. Callers to the station were referred to the Washington law firm representing the corporation that owns the station.

Federal Communications Commission law judge John H. Conlin ruled in Washington that Emilio Azcarraga, described as the owner of a Mexican media empire, provided money to American citizens who acted as his agents in buying the stations.

Can’t Exceed 20%

Foreign ownership in an American broadcasting station cannot exceed 20%.

Although on paper Azcarraga does not exceed that percentage, Conlin found that “the groundwork had been laid for an enterprise that would be receptive to, and indeed dependent on, influence and direction from non-U.S. citizens and foreign corporations under their control.”

The stations for the most part broadcast Spanish-language programming.

Conlin ruled that the stations’ corporate owners, Spanish International Communications Corp., Bahia de San Francisco Television Co. and Seven Hills Television Co., “as presently constituted, are not qualified to remain commission licensees.”

Appeals Possible

The initial decision can be appealed by the stations and their owners. Conlin noted that “any party seeking a less drastic remedial solution, such as a corporate restructuring, may raise the matter in seeking review.”

If there is no appeal to the FCC Review Board or the full commission, the decision becomes effective in 50 days.

Besides KMEX, those denied TV license applications were:

KWEX, San Antonio, Tex.; WXTV, Paterson, N.J.; WLTV, Miami; KFTV, Fresno, Calif.; KDTV, San Francisco, and KTVW, Phoenix, along with repeater stations in Philadelphia, Hartford, Conn., and Bakersfield, Calif., plus low-power stations in Austin, Tex., Denver and Tucson.

Janet Zevallos, an aide to Reynold V. Anselmo, a principal owner of all three corporations, said Anselmo was in Miami and would have no comment until he had seen the documents issued by the FCC in Washington.