For years, stations in upstate New York have looked at the possibility of securing Canadian investment. However, federal law generally capped foreign investment at 25%. Of course, this was never a hard statutory cap. The FCC has the authority to waive the requirement.
Last week, the Media Bureau paved the way for foreign investment by allowing a Canadian company to own up to 100% equity and/or voting interests in the parent company of a Seattle Radio station.
“In this Declaratory Ruling (Declaratory Ruling), the Media Bureau (Bureau) grants a petition for a declaratory ruling (Petition) filed by BAAZ Broadcasting Corporation (BAAZ or Petitioner). BAAZ is the licensee of KNTS(AM), Seattle, Washington (Facility ID No. 87153). The Petition asks the Commission to exercise its discretion to permit indirect foreign ownership of Amar Broadcasting, Inc. (Amar Broadcasting), the proposed controlling U.S. parent of BAAZ, to exceed the 25% benchmarks established in section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, (the Act) and sections 1.5000 et seq. of the Commission’s rules. As discussed below, the Petition seeks authority for up to 100% aggregate foreign investment (voting and equity) in Amar Broadcasting, the proposed controlling U.S. parent of BAAZ and specific approval for Sukhdev S. Dhillon, a citizen of Canada, to hold 100% of the equity and voting ownership in Amar Broadcasting.... No comments or oppositions were filed in response to the Petition. As discussed below, and consistent with the input received from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on behalf of the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector (Committee), we find that it will serve the public interest to grant the Petition, subject to the conditions specified below.”
As noted in the decision, there are some compliance requirements. Also, the multilevel review takes a considerable amount of time to process. Nonetheless, the decision is a positive step for New York stations looking to obtain investments from Canadian investors.
You can see the Media Bureau’s Declaratory ruling here.