KMEX Appeals to FCC in Bid to Keep License : Sale of Spanish-Language TV Stations Put on Hold

The owners of Los Angeles television station KMEX and several other Spanish-language outlets on Thursday appealed an administrative judge’s recommendation that their station licenses be revoked.

The appeals, which go before a review board at the Federal Communications Commission, place on hold behind-the-scenes negotiations to sell the stations to one or more bidders, including one group that involves departing U.S. Ambassador to Mexico John Gavin.

In January, FCC Judge John H. Conlin ruled that 13 Spanish-language television stations in the United States were secretly controlled by Emilio Azcarraga, the owner of a Mexican media conglomerate. U.S. law prohibits foreign nationals from owning more than 20% of an American television station.

The stations include five owned by Spanish International Communications Corp.--among them KMEX-Channel 34 and stations in Fresno, Miami, Paterson, N.J., and San Antonio.

Negotiations Break Down

In their appeal to the FCC review board, attorneys for SICC and the other companies said, “The record does not contain a shred of evidence that Mexicans--either the Azcarragas or (his company) Televisa--ever intended to use (or) actually used” American representatives to control the stations, as the FCC ruling has alleged.

The appeals came after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between station officials and the FCC last week broke down. Those negotiations, insiders said, were over guidelines by which the stations could be sold, an auction that would place up for grabs a large share of the burgeoning Spanish-language television market in the United States.

Rene Anselmo, president of SIN and SICC, said in an interview this week that “many groups” have either made inquiries about or made offers for the stations.

One of those interested, Anselmo said, is Gavin, who last week announced his resignation as ambassador to Mexico.

Gavin has twice denied to The Times being part of any group trying to buy the stations. But Anselmo and others involved with the stations confirmed that Gavin’s group had met with Los Angeles businessman Frank Fouce, a minority shareholder in the company that owns KMEX, and also with Azcarraga in Mexico.

Among others rumored to have expressed interest in the stations, said sources following the situation, are MCA, Paramount, Lorimar Productions and 20th Century Fox.

Spokesmen for the four companies said they knew nothing about such rumors or whether their companies were interested in the stations.

Times staff writer George Ramos contributed to this story.