The Federal Communications Commission has slowly opened the door
to indirect parent entity foreign ownership of broadcast station
licenses. This gradual relaxation of longstanding U.S. federal
policy has continued to the point where overseas communications and
media companies may consider ownership of U.S. media facilities as
a legitimate business opportunity.
The governing U.S. law, Section 310 of the Communications Act of
1934, as amended, prohibits foreign individuals, governments and
corporations from directly owning more than 20 percent of the
capital stock of a broadcast station licensee. This same law places
a 25 percent benchmark for indirect non-U.S. stock ownership in a
parent entity in U.S.-organized broadcast station entities. How is
increased indirect foreign ownership of up to 100 percent now
allowed?
