Foreign Ownership Restrictions Apply to Media Services

1. The Restrictions for the Company Structures

Certain restrictions regarding foreign ownership have been stipulated under Law no. 6112 on "Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and their Media Services".

• Company Type. Broadcasting licenses are only given to “Joint Stock Companies” established in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code for the sole purpose of providing radio, television, and on-demand broadcasting services. The same company may only offer one radio, one television and one broadcast-on-demand service.
• Type of Company Shares. The shares of media service providers must be “registered”. Usufruct stock cannot be created in favor of any person.
• Foreign Shareholding. The total foreign direct capital share in a media service provider cannot exceed “fifty percent (50%)” of the paid-in capital.

It should also be noted that the 50% shareholding threshold does not apply to indirect foreign ownership. Notwithstanding this, in the event the Turkish licensee company of the foreign satellite broadcaster has indirect foreign ownership, then the chairman, the vice chairman and the majority of the board of directors and the general manager must be Turkish citizens and the majority of the voting rights in the general assembly must belong to real persons or legal entities having Turkish citizenship.

• Information on Shareholders. A natural or legal person may directly or indirectly become a partner in a maximum of four (4) media service providers holding a terrestrial broadcasting license. A foreign natural or legal person can be a direct partner of at most (2) two media service providers.
• Management. In the event that foreign real or legal persons participate in companies that are partners of media service providers and become indirect partners in broadcasting organizations, the chairman of the board of directors, the vice chairman, the majority of the board of directors and the general manager of the broadcasting organizations must be citizens of Turkey, and also the majority of the votes in the general meetings of the broadcasting organizations must be held in Turkey.
• Capital of Companies. The requirement to comply with the amount of paid-in capital of media service providers that apply for a broadcast license in order to provide radio, television and on-demand broadcasting services cannot be less than the following amounts:

• National Terrestrial Television: 8.320.000 TL
• Regional Terrestrial Television: 1.385.000 TL
• Local Terrestrial Television: 250.000 TL
• Cable Television: 275.000 TL
• Satellite Television: 275.000 TL
• For On-Demand Broadcasting Service: 100.000 TL

In case radio, television and on-demand broadcasting activities are carried out together, the minimum paid-in capital must be equal to the sum of the amounts written above.

2. Regulations Subjected to the Foreigners Being a Top Manager and/or Chief Editor

According to By-Law on “Administrative and Financial Conditions which Media Service Providers and Platform and Infrastructure Operators” are required to comply with “Media Service Provider Organizations” have a board of directors consisting of one (1) or more people. At least one (1) representative member must have a place of residence in Turkey and be a Turkish citizen.

A shareholding real person shall be elected as the chairman and a member of the board of executives. Any legal entity shall not be a member of the board of executives. Only a real person who is a representative of a legal entity shall be appointed to the membership of the board of executives. If the legal person is a member of the board of directors, the real person representing the legal person reported to the board of RTÜK.

Media service providers, with the decision of the board of directors, appoints a general director. The general directors of the media service provider organizations providing national and regional broadcasting from terrestrial media, and satellite broadcasting from cable media to many cities, a graduate of education, their settlement in Turkey and not being convicted of disgraceful crimes are must.

Media service provider organizations, responsibility with the decision of the board of directors, appoints one (1) or more manager in charge, provided that the area of responsibility of the manager in charge has been clearly defined. The manager in charge of a media service provider providing national and regional broadcasts through terrestrial networks, cable broadcast services though cable networks targeting at more than one province and satellite broadcast services, must be at least a graduate of a higher education institution and any person who will be appointed to this position must; be a Turkish citizen, be domiciled in Turkey, not be convicted of disgraceful crimes.

Besides, each media service provider for the purpose of formulation of a co-regulatory and a self-regulatory mechanism, evaluation of the complaints received from viewers and listeners, presentation of the evaluations to its broadcasting board and the follow-up of their results shall appoint a viewer’s representative at least with a ten years’ professional experience.

Becoming a responsible manager which may be defined as “Top Manager and/or Chief Editor”;

a. to have completed the age of eighteen,

b. owning a place of residence and permanent residence in Turkey,

c. to graduate from at least secondary education or an equivalent educational institution,

d. not to be restricted or prohibited from public services,

e. not to be convicted of disgraceful crimes,

f. for non-Turkish citizens, it is necessary to seek reciprocity.

Apart from this information, the sample platform you sent to us also publishes printed newspapers and is subject to the provisions of periodicals within the scope of the Press Law No. 5187. For this reason, for the establishment of the sample platform, there must be a printed newspaper publication and the "periodical publication" conditions described above must be fulfilled.

News agency publications are periodical publications within the scope of Press Law No.5187. For this reason, the publications of news agencies are also subject to most regulations related to periodicals, especially the regulations on responsible managers in Press Law.

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