History
Golden West Broadcasting was founded as Southern Manitoba Broadcasting (SMB) on March 13, 1957 when CFAM signed on in Altona with eleven employees. [2]
The company opened its first FM station in 1962 to serve the Winnipeg area, known as CFMW, but the station was later sold to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1965.
Despite losing money in the Winnipeg market, SMB began to expand its AM coverage in rural areas, starting with CHSM in Steinbach in 1964. The new station initially simulcast from CFAM, launching its own programming ten years later.
In 1974, the company adopted the Golden West Broadcasting name after acquiring Frontier City Broadcasting and its stations in Swift Current and Shaunavon, marking the company's first expansion outside of Manitoba.
Golden West re-entered the FM market in 1998 with CILT-FM in Steinbach. [3]
Other operations
On October 28, 2004, Canadian Satellite Radio announced a partnership with both Golden West Broadcasting and Rawlco Communications that would give the two broadcasting companies the option to acquire an ownership interest in CSR should its satellite radio application be approved by the CRTC.
In a press release for the announcement, Elmer Hildebrand, CEO of Golden West Broadcasting, stated:
- "Satellite radio has the potential to deliver enormous positive impact to Canadians at all levels of this industry - musicians, artists, and listeners alike. I am happy to participate in this application which I believe will have a positive impact on commercial radio, and given this technological development, it is important to license and regulate it in Canada expeditiously." [6]
CSR's application and two others were approved on June 16, 2005; CSR's service, XM Radio Canada, launched on December 1, 2005.
Hildebrand owns three radio stations in the city of Saskatoon through Saskatoon Media Group —which are separate from Golden West. [7]
In February 2021, the company acquired the Steinbach-based Summit Organizational Development. [8]
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