Foreign Ownership

[Santa fe]

If I read correctly, a Canadian Radio group wants to buy an upstate New York border station that already has part ownership by Canadian Rogers Communications and has been beaming to the Kingston, Ontario market.

Did I miss the FCC allowing foreign ownership of U.S. stations? When did this occur and how many stations or chains have foreign owners or shareholders? Who are they? And where are they from?

Another question along this line: CKLW used to trumpet the fact they were a Bell Media station but now they ID as an IHeart station. Did IHeart buy Bell Media? What is their relationship to Bell Media? I thought the CRTC was dead set against foreign owners in Canada. Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[TheBigA]

Did I miss the FCC allowing foreign ownership of U.S. stations?

It happened about 5 years ago. The FCC still wants the chance to approve or reject, depending on circumstances. They aren't going to let China buy US stations.

FCC Approves For the First Time 100% Foreign Ownership of US Broadcast Stations

The FCC yesterday released its first decision approving 100% foreign ownership of a group of US broadcast stations. This comes after significant

www.broadcastlawblog.com

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

If I read correctly, a Canadian Radio group wants to buy an upstate New York border station that already has part ownership by Canadian Rogers Communications and has been beaming to the Kingston, Ontario market.

Did I miss the FCC allowing foreign ownership of U.S. stations? When did this occur and how many stations or chains have foreign owners or shareholders? Who are they? And where are they from?

Another question along this line: CKLW used to trumpet the fact they were a Bell Media station but now they ID as an IHeart station. Did IHeart buy Bell Media? What is their relationship to Bell Media? I thought the CRTC was dead set against foreign owners in Canada. Inquiring minds want to know!

A Juneau, AK and TExarkana, TX Cluster were just sold that were owned by an australian husband and wife.

 

[davideduardo]

A Juneau, AK and TExarkana, TX Cluster were just sold that were owned by an australian husband and wife.

There are several Mexico-US border stations owned by Mexican citizens.

... and then there is TelevisaUnivision, owned by a group of US investment banks and Televisa, a Mexican company.

 

[gr8oldies]

If I read correctly, a Canadian Radio group wants to buy an upstate New York border station that already has part ownership by Canadian Rogers Communications and has been beaming to the Kingston, Ontario market.

Did I miss the FCC allowing foreign ownership of U.S. stations? When did this occur and how many stations or chains have foreign owners or shareholders? Who are they? And where are they from?

Another question along this line: CKLW used to trumpet the fact they were a Bell Media station but now they ID as an IHeart station. Did IHeart buy Bell Media? What is their relationship to Bell Media? I thought the CRTC was dead set against foreign owners in Canada. Inquiring minds want to know!

CKLW and its sister stations are still owned by Bell. Bell has a contract to have its stations on the Canadian iHeart app and promote the app. iHeart does not own or operate the stations, and cannot by law.

You may recall that RKO was forced to sell CKLW in 1970, and it's possible it could have left the air.

 

[Marcos_C]

What a minute! Isn't CKLW a lot closer to Detroit than it is to Cleveland?

 

[Yabadabado1]

What a minute! Isn't CKLW a lot closer to Detroit than it is to Cleveland?

Yes, and the CRTC was pissed that they were programming and targeting Detroit and other American cities more than the Canadian citizens they were supposed to be serving.

TVO Today | Current Affairs Journalism, Documentaries and Podcasts

www.tvo.org

 

[Santa fe]

So, it's okey doke for a Canadian company to buy a U.S. federally licensed radio station and hijack its signal to serve a Canadian market thereby circumventing Canadian rules on ownership, Canadian content, public service and local origination and ignore the U.S. city of license and market BUT it is forbidden for a Canadian station to market even a portion of their programming and sales in a larger, more prosperous American market that might be right next door.
Seems to me that lawmakers in both countries were asleep at the switch when all this came about. Or that much more wealthy.

 

[TheBigA]

BUT it is forbidden for a Canadian station to market even a portion of their programming and sales in a larger, more prosperous American market that might be right next door.

I think it's about percentages. Because we know a US station and ad agency owner in Buffalo who sells spots on Canadian stations.

Last I checked, the Canadian content law is about 30%.

 

[davideduardo]

So, it's okey doke for a Canadian company to buy a U.S. federally licensed radio station and hijack its signal to serve a Canadian market thereby circumventing Canadian rules on ownership, Canadian content, public service and local origination and ignore the U.S. city of license and market BUT it is forbidden for a Canadian station to market even a portion of their programming and sales in a larger, more prosperous American market that might be right next door.

But Canadian businesses can't "expense" any money spent on advertising on non-Canadian stations. That pretty much eliminates Canadian businesses spending on ads on US stations.

And each country in the world has rules about who can own radio and TV properties. In some nations, like Mexico, up to 49.999999% can be foreign owned. In the US, when it exceeds a certain amount, approval must be requested of the FCC. There are US licenses owned 100% by non-citizens.

There are countries that allow 100% foreign ownership (I owned over a dozen licenses in Ecuador that way) and other that allow no foreign ownership at all.

Seems to me that lawmakers in both countries were asleep at the switch when all this came about. Or that much more wealthy.

This kind of legislation is not coordinated between countries. US tax law permits all advertising to be expensed and that is why many US businesses on the Mexican border advertise on Mexican stations that serve their area. Similarly, Mexican businesses can advertise on US stations if they wish to and expense it.

As to ownership, each nation makes laws on their own as to who can own electronic media. They don't coordinate with neighbor nations in any case I know of, and I have owned, managed or programmed stations in over 20 countries.

 

[davideduardo]

I think it's about percentages. Because we know a US station and ad agency owner in Buffalo who sells spots on Canadian stations.

Yes, a US business can buy ads on a Canadian or Mexican station and "expense" the cost. Canadian businesses can not "expense" ads bought on a US station.

Last I checked, the Canadian content law is about 30%.

CanCon is about music content, not about the sources of advertising revenue. Monsieur Fybush can, no doubt, add some more specific data on restrictions that apply to Canada.

Interestingly, back in the 80's, Alvin Korngold, a broadcaster who ran Spanish language stations in the Southwest, bought licenses for three or four FM stations in the British Virgin Islands and built directional 100,000 watt stations serving the U.S. Virgins. Totally legal, but the USVI is such a horrible radio market that the project only lasted a few years.

Reference: Caribbean Broadcast Systems Ltd. Chairman stations ZHIT-FM, ZWAVE-FM, ZGOLD-FM, Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Alvin Leonard Korngold

 

[gr8oldies]

So, it's okey doke for a Canadian company to buy a U.S. federally licensed radio station and hijack its signal to serve a Canadian market thereby circumventing Canadian rules on ownership, Canadian content, public service and local origination and ignore the U.S. city of license and market BUT it is forbidden for a Canadian station to market even a portion of their programming and sales in a larger, more prosperous American market that might be right next door.
Seems to me that lawmakers in both countries were asleep at the switch when all this came about. Or that much more wealthy.

It's not forbidden. Bell Media had a sales office in Detroit until a few years ago IIRC. It's just discouraged.

CKLW did not ignore the Canadian side. They still covered news in Canada to some degree, and as Grant Hudson once said, if you were listening to CKLW on the U.S. side, you knew that Canada had a Prime Minister and Ontario had a Premier. CKLW gave a lot of free publicity to Canada.
The most "border blaster" thing I remember them doing is broadcasting the Michigan and Ohio Lottery numbers before it was legal to do so on the U.S. side

 

[Santa fe]

Just last month, the CRTC actually toughened the so-called CanCon rules on music content that demand songs be performed by Canadian born musicians or writers or producers, while slightly loosening ownership rules. And don't even get into the English/French content rules where it is illegal to speak French on an English licensed station or speak English on a French licensed station!
Canadian rules are much stricter than ours, a station can't even change format without CRTC approval and must source at least 50% of its programming from a local, city of license studio. Despite that, American style consolidation is rampant with chains using the other 50% for national and regional programs, cutting local staffs and automating and voice tracking just like they do here. As with our radio, their uniqueness is slowly disappearing, bowing to the borderless internet and social media culture.

 

[davideduardo]

What a minute! Isn't CKLW a lot closer to Detroit than it is to Cleveland?

Yes! You just passed the Radio Discussions Geography and Radio 101 final exam.

Seriously, we have a policy on this site to let threads wander a bit, as some of the most interesting content comes from such excursions outside the original topic header. Frank and I will create a new thread if the subject takes on a significant life of its own... and this one is likely a candidate.

 

[TheBigA]

Canadian rules are much stricter than ours, a station can't even change format without CRTC approval and must source at least 50% of its programming from a local, city of license studio.

Does that rule also apply to the CBC? Seems to me they run almost total national formats on their owned stations.

 

[davideduardo]

Does that rule also apply to the CBC? Seems to me they run almost total national formats on their owned stations.

Good question. I had never thought about whether the CBC French and English services had a different set of rules.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Despite that, American style consolidation is rampant with chains using the other 50% for national and regional programs, cutting local staffs and automating and voice tracking just like they do here. As with our radio, their uniqueness is slowly disappearing, bowing to the borderless internet and social media culture.

I have driven through parts of Canada where you can hear Bell stations from 2-3 different markets at once playing the same songs in the same order just a few minutes apart, with different jock breaks dropped in to satisfy the "local" rule.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

An australian company, resonate broadcasting, owns stations in Hawaii.

20 (or is it 25? I forget) of a wyoming company that owns about a dozen stations is owned in part by someone from the isle of man.

 

[gr8oldies]

Just last month, the CRTC actually toughened the so-called CanCon rules on music content that demand songs be performed by Canadian born musicians or writers or producers, while slightly loosening ownership rules. And don't even get into the English/French content rules where it is illegal to speak French on an English licensed station or speak English on a French licensed station!
Canadian rules are much stricter than ours, a station can't even change format without CRTC approval and must source at least 50% of its programming from a local, city of license studio. Despite that, American style consolidation is rampant with chains using the other 50% for national and regional programs, cutting local staffs and automating and voice tracking just like they do here. As with our radio, their uniqueness is slowly disappearing, bowing to the borderless internet and social media culture.

That was nuts. Marc Denis would do bilingual shows, sometimes switching in mid-sentence. The CRTC said there will be no more of that,

I'm assuming as long as the automation system is physically in the COL, that counts?

 

[Yabadabado1]

So if Canadian business' can't "expense" ads on American stations why don't they just set up a U.S. "corporation" and just advertise on U.S. stations that way. I'm sure Canadian authorities might frown on it but I don't see that they'd be able to do anything about it unless they have laws on their books about "fudging" the issue.