RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil's pay TV industry association is gearing up to petition Brazil's congress to ease restrictions on foreign ownership.
Present laws cap ownership at 49%. But members of the Brazilian Pay TV and Telecommunications Assn. (ABTA), covering cable operators, programmers and suppliers, want to change that.
The industry org has long debated the issue, but media giant Globo's opposition to the changes prevented any action. Globo-controlled MSOs have 62% of Brazil's pay TV homes, but those MSOs are a minority within ABTA.
Globo opposed
All 24 Globo-backed members in ABTA voted against the decision to begin formal lobbying, but they were defeated by 62 operators, programmers and suppliers.
"The restriction is a major obstacle to foreign investments in cable in Brazil," said Alexandre Annenberg, ABTA board prexy and director of infrastructure and technology at No. 2 MSO TVA. He noted that the restrictions do not apply to pay TV operators using either MMDS or DTH technologies.
The ABTA hopes to find a congressman or senator to sponsor a new cable law, but Brazil's congress is notoriously slow, and the process may take up to a year, sources warned.
Eying amendment
The issue of foreign investment in cable is being raised as Brazil's congress considers a constitutional amendment to allow foreign companies to purchase a 30% stake in broadcast TV, radio and print media companies.
The constitution limits the ownership of media companies to Brazilian individuals. Congress has been debating the proposal for more than a year, and is expected to vote on the issue in 2001.
Contact the Variety newsroom at
news@variety.com