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Frontier Foreign Ownership Petition Granted

The FCC Media Bureau granted a request from Australian-owned Frontier Media to be allowed to increase its ownership of 29 Alaska and Texas radio stations to 100 percent, said an order and ruling in Friday's Daily Digest. Australians Richard and…

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Sharon Burns owned 20 percent of the stations, but the deal approved Thursday allows them to own 100 percent. Frontier’s request was unopposed, and the bureau found it to be in the public interest. Granting the petition would “increase the likelihood of continued service to small communities by authorizing investment by individuals who are ready, willing, and able to operate the stations,” and “facilitate foreign investment in the U.S. broadcast radio market” among other positives, the order said. It requires Frontier obtain prior commission approval for any change in its ownership “before any individual foreign investor" or “group that is not specifically approved by this Declaratory Ruling acquires a direct or indirect voting or equity interest in Frontier.”