New Focus on TV Stations’ Foreign Ownership

Mexican media giant Grupo Televisa’s purchase of a minority interest in the largest U.S. Spanish-language television network has focused attention on an aspect of the talks concerning a North American free trade agreement that until now largely had been overlooked: TV station ownership.

Since the possibility of a trade agreement was first discussed, Televisa Chairman Emilio Azcarraga has been pressuring for changes in the U.S. law that restricts foreigners to a 25% stake in companies that own television stations and a 20% interest in individual stations.

Most notably, he brought up the subject in a meeting among Mexican businessmen and then-U.S. Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher two years ago. At that time, Mosbacher linked the opening to foreigners of TV station ownership in the United States to a similar opening of bank ownership in Mexico.

Latino media groups worry that Televisa--which already supplies the bulk of the network’s programming--will end up controlling the stations as part of an investor group’s $550-million purchase of Hallmark Cards’ nine Spanish-language stations and Univision network.

Azcarraga was forced to sell the properties four years ago when the Federal Communications Commission found that he had concealed his ownership.

Televisa and Venezuela’s Venevision each are buying 12.5% of the TV station operation and 25% of the Univision network. (Foreign ownership of networks is not restricted.) Los Angeles investor A. Jerrold Perenchio is buying the balance, subject to regulatory approval.

U.S. and Mexican negotiators have not taken public positions on television station ownership and, through spokesmen, they refused to clarify their stances Thursday. The third party in the talks, the Canadians, regard media ownership as a cultural issue and openly favor continued restrictions on foreign ownership.