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Broadcasting, pay TV and media in Brazil: the 30 percent foreign cap, cross ownership limits and local content quotas

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Newspapers and free to air radio and TV must be at least 70 percent owned, directly or indirectly, by Brazilians, with editorial control reserved to Brazilians, and broadcast licences need Congress approval. Pay TV distribution is open to any Brazilian incorporated company under Anatel, but programmers and packagers register with Ancine, keep editorial management with Brazilians and meet Brazilian content quotas that now run to 31 December 2038. Cross ownership rules stop telecom operators holding more than 30 percent of broadcasters, programmers and producers.

Key facts

Minimum Brazilian ownership of newspapers and broadcasters (total and voting capital)	70 %Constitution art. 222 § 1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum stake of a telecom provider in a broadcaster, programmer or producer	30 %Lei nº 12.485 art. 5 § 1, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum stake of a broadcaster, programmer or producer in a telecom provider	50 %Lei nº 12.485 art. 5, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Term of a TV broadcasting concession	15 yearsConstitution art. 223 § 5, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Term of a radio broadcasting concession	10 yearsConstitution art. 223 § 5, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
End date of pay TV content quotas	2038-12-31 dateLei nº 12.485 art. 41, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. Ownership of newspapers and of radio and TV broadcasters is reserved to native Brazilians, Brazilians naturalized for more than ten years, or companies incorporated under Brazilian law with head office in Brazil. At least 70 percent of total and voting capital must belong, directly or indirectly, to such Brazilians, who must manage the business and set programming. Editorial responsibility and programming selection in any social communication medium are reserved to them. Changes of control must be reported to Congress.Constitution of Brazil, Art. 222 caput and §§ 1, 2 and 5, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. The Executive grants and renews radio and TV concessions, permissions and authorizations, but the act takes effect only after Congress deliberates on it. Non renewal requires approval of at least two fifths of Congress in a roll call vote, and cancellation before term requires a court decision. Terms are ten years for radio and fifteen for television.Constitution of Brazil, Art. 223 caput and §§ 1 to 5, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Pay TV distribution (conditional access service) is open to companies incorporated under Brazilian law with head office and management in Brazil and is regulated by Anatel. Programming and packaging require accreditation with Ancine.Lei nº 12.485 (pay TV law), Arts. 12 and 29, 2011-09-12 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. Management, editorial responsibility and selection and direction of programming and packaging are reserved to native Brazilians or those naturalized for more than ten years. Programmers and packagers must file and keep updated with Ancine the identity of those professionals and their corporate documents, including the persons in their control chain.Lei nº 12.485, Art. 10 caput and § 1, 2011-09-12 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Telecom providers of collective interest services may not hold control or more than 30 percent of the total and voting capital of broadcasters, or of programmers and producers based in Brazil, nor provide those services directly. Broadcasters, programmers and producers may not hold control or more than 50 percent of telecom providers of collective interest services.Lei nº 12.485, Art. 5 caput and § 1, 2011-09-12 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Telecom providers and their group companies may not acquire or finance rights to images of events of national interest, or hire Brazilian artistic talent, to produce content for pay TV or broadcasting, except for advertising.Lei nº 12.485, Art. 6, 2011-09-12 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. Qualified space channels must show at least 3 hours 30 minutes a week of Brazilian qualified content in prime time, half of it from independent Brazilian producers. In every package, at least one in every three qualified space channels must be a Brazilian qualified space channel, up to 12 channels, with at least one third of them programmed by independent Brazilian programmers. These quota rules (arts. 16 to 23) apply until 31 December 2038.Lei nº 12.485, art. 41 as worded by Lei nº 14.815 of 15 January 2024, Arts. 16, 17 caput and §§ 1 and 2, and 41, 2024-01-15 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Lei nº 14.815 of 15 January 2024 extended the content quotas, which were due to lapse, to 31 December 2038.

8. Pay TV distributors must carry, at no extra cost to subscribers, must carry channels including local free to air broadcasters in their coverage area and channels reserved for the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Supreme Court and federal public and official broadcasting.Lei nº 12.485, Art. 32 I to VII, 2011-09-12 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Activity	Who may own it	Regulator and approval
Free to air radio and TV, newspapers	At least 70 percent Brazilian owned, Brazilian management	Executive grant, effective after Congress deliberation
Pay TV distribution	Any company incorporated in Brazil	Anatel
Pay TV programming and packaging	Brazilian incorporated, Brazilian editorial management	Ancine accreditation
Telecom group stake in broadcasters, programmers, producers	Up to 30 percent	Lei nº 12.485 art. 5

Foreign investment entry points in media (Constitution arts. 222 and 223; Lei nº 12.485).

Worked example

A foreign streaming and media group wants a Brazilian free to air TV station: it can hold at most 30 percent of the total and voting capital, directly or indirectly, with Brazilians managing and programming (Constitution art. 222 § 1). If the same group also controls a Brazilian telecom operator, the 30 percent cap in Lei nº 12.485 art. 5 § 1 applies as well, and the operator may not buy national interest event rights to feed that content (art. 6).

Step by step

1. Map the activity: broadcasting, pay TV distribution, programming, packaging or production.
2. For broadcasting, structure Brazilian control of at least 70 percent and Brazilian management; plan for Congress deliberation on any grant or transfer.
3. For pay TV, obtain Anatel authorization to distribute and Ancine accreditation to program or package.
4. File the managers and control chain with Ancine and keep it updated.
5. Check cross ownership limits whenever a telecom group invests in content or the reverse.

Common traps

Indirect holdings count toward the 70 percent Brazilian ownership test.
Control changes of broadcasters must be reported to Congress.
Content quotas were extended to 2038; models assuming their lapse in 2023 are out of date.
Telecom groups face both the 30 percent cap and the ban on buying event rights and hiring national talent for content.

Sources

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