Owners Seeking to Settle Spanish TV Outlets Fight

Intensive bargaining among the squabbling owners of Los Angeles television station KMEX and four other Spanish-language outlets across the country began under the watchful eye of a federal judge Thursday in an effort to end a dispute over company profits and policies.

By settling the 10-year battle, the principals hope to resolve the objections of a federal administrative law judge who stripped the stations of their broadcasting licenses in a January order, according to both sides.

The key figures in the dispute--Reynold (Rene) Anselmo, the dominant figure in Spanish-language television in the United States for the last 25 years, and Los Angeles businessman Frank Fouce--and others shuttled back and forth between conference rooms and the chambers of U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer in search of an agreement.

At times, the opposing sides passed each other in the hallways, hardly acknowledging the other’s presence.

‘Some’ Progress

After nearly eight hours of talking, “some” progress was made, according to one source close to the talks. Pfaelzer has threatened to place the stations in the hands of a court-appointed manager unless both sides can reach a settlement.

Although no one would comment publicly on the talks, there are several possible solutions under consideration. One would be a purchase of Anselmo’s 24% interest in the five stations. Another would be the sale of the 20% interest in the stations owned by the family of Mexican media baron Emilio Azcarraga, who is being represented in the talks by business associates.

The discussions were the first face-to-face meetings among the warring partners of the Spanish International Communications Corp., owners of KMEX; KFTV-TV, Fresno; WLTV-TV, Miami; WXTV-TV, Patterson, N.J., and KWEX-TV, San Antonio, Tex.

In a lawsuit filed in 1976, Fouce and other minority stockholders in Spanish International Communications Corp. accused Anselmo and Azcarraga of fraudulently making deals in which they profited through the Spanish International Network--a U.S. programming company owned entirely by Anselmo and Azcarraga--at the expense of the corporation’s shareholders.

Example Cited

As an example, the plaintiffs charge that a Spanish International Network affiliate in Sacramento allegedly received Mexican programming from a Spanish International Communications station without paying the corporation for it.

Pfaelzer issued a preliminary ruling last August that sustained many of the charges against Anselmo and Azcarraga.

“She is applying some pressure,” one observer said of her role this week.

Although not directly related to the owners’ squabble, the Jan. 8 ruling by Judge John H. Conlin of the Federal Communications Commission has significance for all of the Spanish International Communications Corp. stockholders.

In his ruling, Conlin said Azcarraga and his family had created an “abnormal relationship” that made the Spanish-language stations in the United States dependent on their influence and direction. The relationship, according to Conlin, stemmed from the long association between the Azcarraga family, which controls the giant Televisa TV network in Mexico, and Anselmo, a U.S. citizen who was export division manager for Azcarraga’s company in the early 1960s.

Conlin’s ruling is under appeal.