Craig Wireless

Last updated

Craig Wireless Systems, Ltd. (initially Western Manitoba Broadcasters Ltd., then Craig Broadcast Systems, Inc., & next Craig Media, Inc. before its current branding) is a Canadian company which offers Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service in Manitoba and British Columbia.

Contents

In 2004, the company's media assets (its TV stations & A-Channel TV network) were acquired by CHUM Limited. [1]

History

The company has its roots in Western Manitoba Broadcasters, a company John Craig founded alongside Dr. H.O. McDiarmid, Alexander Boyd, Edmund, Fotheringham, Harold Smith, James Rust and M.W. Kerr in 1948.

In the mid-1940s, Craig had bought radio station CKX-FM from the Manitoba Government Telephone System upon its relinquishment of its two licenses for CKX-TV & CKY-FM.

By 1955, John's son, Stuart Craig, had succeeded his father as President and General Manager of CKX-TV (which brought television to Brandon, Manitoba) & CKX-FM (which followed in 1963). Craig took it upon himself to expand the operations of both CKX stations; those expansion operations resulted in the launch of the broadcast company.

The company was based in Brandon, Manitoba, then later in Calgary, Alberta with Drew Craig, John's grandson & Stuart's son, as its CEO.

In 1991, Western Manitoba Broadcasters changed its name to Craig Broadcast Systems.

Craig Broadcast Systems was the owner of the original A-Channel system; CKX, a CBC affiliate, in Brandon, Manitoba; Toronto 1, local television station in located in Toronto; and three digital television specialty channels: MTV Canada (now MTV2), MTV2 (now Stingray Juicebox) and TV Land Canada (later replaced by Comedy Gold, now decommissioned). For a time in the 1980s and 1990s, the company also produced a local newscast in Dauphin, Manitoba; however, the company did not operate a full television station in that city, but had a contract with CBC Television to run the newscast as a local insertion on the city's CBWT retransmitter. [2]

Eventually, the company was also operating in the telecommunications industry, offering wireless cable television and high-speed Internet services.

In 2003, after securing financing in the area of $145 million ($110 million from Providence Equity Partners & a $35 million line of credit from RBC Capital Markets and BMO Nesbitt Burns), the company reorganized its conventional and specialty television operations, with the conventional TV operations (A-Channel & its stations) under the Craig Media branding, while the specialty television channels were placed within Craig Media under Craig Specialty.

In 2004, the company's TV broadcasting operations (A-Channel & its stations) were acquired by CHUM Limited [1] for CA$265 million ($197.8 million) in cash. [3] CHUM did not acquire the company's telecommunications operations, which remain in operation under the Craig Wireless name, which the company took on after CHUM's acquisition of its television broadcasting assets. Upon the name change, another of John's grandsons, Boyd, took over the company.

Former assets

Local stations

Digital television stations under Craig Specialty

Proposed, but never launched

  • A-Channel News Now (24 hr. news)
  • Action Channel (action-oriented programming)
  • Jazz & Blues TV
  • PATV (Pets & Animals)
  • The MET (music and entertainment television dedicated to the presentation and promotion of emerging Canadian artists in the rock genre)
  • Stampede (western-themed programming)
  • Click TV (programs about the Internet, computers and e-business)
  • Style TV (devoted to programming about fashion, design and architecture)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citytv</span> Canadian television network owned by Rogers Communications

Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consists of six owned-and-operated (O&O) television stations located in the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, a cable-only service that serves the province of Saskatchewan, and three independently owned affiliates serving smaller cities in Alberta and British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHUM Limited</span> Defunct Canadian media company

CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHUM had expanded to and owned 33 radio stations across Canada under its CHUM Radio Network division and also owned other radio stations.

CKVR-DT is a television station in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Toronto-based CTV flagship CFTO-DT, channel 9 ; it is also sister to 24-hour regional news channel CP24. CKVR-DT's studios and transmitter are co-located at 33 Beacon Road in Barrie.

CFPL-DT is a television station in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Kitchener-based CTV station CKCO-DT, although the two stations maintain separate operations. CFPL-DT's studios and local transmitter are located on Communications Road on the southwestern side of London, and its Wingham-area rebroadcast transmitter is located on Tower Road in South Bruce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell Media</span> Canadian media company

Bell Media Inc. is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc.. Its operations include national television broadcasting and production, radio broadcasting, digital media and Internet properties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKXT-DT</span> Former TV station in Toronto

CKXT-DT was a broadcast television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which broadcast to much of southern and eastern Ontario. It was owned by Quebecor Media through its Groupe TVA unit. Although beginning as a general interest independent station carrying a typical schedule of entertainment and information programming, by the time of the station's closure on November 1, 2011, the station had been converted into an over-the-air simulcast of Quebecor's cable news channel, Sun News Network. The station transmitted on channel 52 in Toronto.

CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cable television channels, one in Atlantic Canada and the other in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKNX-TV</span> Former TV station in Wingham, Ontario, Canada

CKNX-TV was a television station owned by CTVglobemedia which served mid-western Ontario, Canada. It was part of the A television system. The station's offices, studios, and transmission facilities were located at Carling Terrace corner John Street in Wingham. A bureau in Owen Sound closed down in late 2004.

CHWI-DT is a television station licensed to Wheatley, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting CTV 2 programming to the Windsor area. Owned and operated by Bell Media, the station has studios at the Bell Canada Building in downtown Windsor with a secondary office in Chatham; its transmitter is located on Zion Road in Chatham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHMI-DT</span> Citytv station in Portage la Prairie/Winnipeg, Manitoba

CHMI-DT is a television station licensed to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, broadcasting the Citytv network to the Winnipeg area. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media, the station has studios at 8 Forks Market Road in downtown Winnipeg, and its transmitter is located adjacent to Bohn Road in Cartier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKX-TV</span> Defunct TV station in Brandon, Manitoba

CKX-TV was a television station in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, which served as a private affiliate of CBC Television. Owned by CTVglobemedia, it was the first privately owned television station in Manitoba. It shared its call letters with its former sister station, CKX-FM, owned by Astral Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKEM-DT</span> TV station in Edmonton

CKEM-DT is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, part of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television station CJEO-DT. The two stations share studios with Rogers's local radio stations on Gateway Boulevard in Edmonton; CKEM-DT's transmitter is located near Yellowhead Highway/Highway 16A. The station also operates a rebroadcast transmitter in Red Deer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKAL-DT</span> Citytv station in Calgary

CKAL-DT is a television station in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, part of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television station CJCO-DT. The two stations share studios at 7 Avenue and 5 Street Southwest in Downtown Calgary; CKAL-DT's transmitter is located near Old Banff Coach Road/Highway 563.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaw Communications</span> Former Canadian communications company

Shaw Communications Inc. was a Canadian telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Television Company, Ltd. by JR Shaw in Edmonton. The company was acquired by and amalgamated into Rogers Communications in 2023; most operations were rebranded to the Rogers brand beginning in July of that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oprah Winfrey Network (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian TV channel

Oprah Winfrey Network, more commonly shortened to OWN, is a Canadian English language discretionary service channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel was launched in September 1, 1999 as Canadian Learning Television (CLT) by Learning and Skills Television of Alberta, Ltd., then held by CHUM Limited. The network's owner, Corus Entertainment, licenses the OWN brand and its American programming from Warner Bros. Discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTV2 (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian television channel

MTV2 was a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel focused on lifestyle and general entertainment programming aimed at youth and teen audiences. The channel was owned by Bell Media subsidiary of BCE, Inc., with the MTV2 name and branding used under an agreement with the Paramount Networks Americas division of Paramount Global.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stingray Juicebox</span> Canadian television channel

Stingray Juicebox is a Canadian discretionary music specialty channel owned by Stingray Group. It is a commercial-free channel that broadcasts music and music videos aimed towards children and teens.

CTV 2 Alberta is a Canadian English language entertainment and former educational television channel in the province of Alberta. Owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc., it operates as a de facto owned-and-operated station of its secondary CTV 2 television system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A-Channel</span> Canadian television system

A-Channel was a Canadian television system initially owned by Craig Media from September 1997 to 2004, then by CHUM Limited from 2004 to 2005 through A-Channel, Inc. It consisted of Craig's television stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton and was the company's unsuccessful attempt to build a national network.

In 2007, significant ownership changes occurred in Canada's broadcast television industry, involving nearly every private English-language network and television system. In addition to the shuffling of network affiliations and mergers involving various networks, several new television stations and rebroadcast transmitters also signed on the air.

References

  1. 1 2 "CHUM purchases Craig Media, adds to western TV holdings" . Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  2. ↑ "CRTC Decision 89-114". April 6, 1989.
  3. ↑ "Canada's CHUM To Acquire Broadcaster Craig Media". Billboard. 2004-04-12. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.