Leonard Asper

Last updated
Leonard Asper
Born (1964-05-31) May 31, 1964 (age 59)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Occupation(s) Anthem Sports & Entertainment Inc. (CEO)
Sygnus Corp. (President)
Joshua Foundation (President)
Asper Foundation (Vice Chairman)
Creswin Properties (Shareholder)
Parent(s) Izzy Asper
Babs Asper

Leonard Asper (born May 31, 1964) is a Canadian businessperson, entrepreneur and lawyer. He is a graduate of Brandeis University and the University of Toronto Law School, and is a member of the Ontario Bar Association and The Law Society of Upper Canada.

Contents

Biography

Leonard Asper is the son of the late Izzy Asper, founder of CanWest Global Communications Corp. He is the younger brother of Gail Asper and David Asper. He is currently the CEO of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp.

Asper has over 20 years of broadcast and media experience, including 10 years as president and CEO of CanWest Global Communications Corp.

Asper is one of the founders of Canterbury Park Capital, a private equity fund, and holds a significant interest in Creswin Properties, a real estate development company. [1] He was a 2002 recipient of the "Top 40 Under 40," a business award recognizing achievement in Canada by individuals less than 40 years of age. Additionally, Asper was named "CEO of the Year" by Playback , a media industry publication for the Canadian television and film production community. [2]

Asper served on the Board of Trustees of Brandeis University for five years, during which time he founded the Asper Center for Global Entrepreneurship atBrandeis International Business School. He currently serves on the board of overseers of Brandeis IBS. Asper also served for five years on the board of the University of Winnipeg Foundation and holds an honorary doctorate in laws from that institution. [3]

Asper is the vice chair of the Asper Foundation and a member of the board of governors of the Saul and Claribel Simkin Center, a seniors' housing complex in Winnipeg. [4]

Asper and his wife Susan founded the Joshua Foundation, which contributes to the arts, health care and general community services, primarily in Winnipeg. The Joshua Foundation also serves as the sponsor for the Joshua Project, which focuses on addressing inner city issues in Winnipeg, including refugees, victims of abuse, adult education, youth and recreation, and support for aboriginal services.

History

Canwest

Asper was the president and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian media company, CanWest Global Communications Corp, a position he held for 10 years.

Asper began his career in 1991 as Associate General Counsel at Canada's leading private television network, Global. In 1994, Asper took over the role of corporate development for Canwest. [3]

In this role, Asper was responsible for a number of acquisitions and launches, including, amongst others: [3]

Asper also led several investigations into additional acquisitions in a variety of areas around the world, including South America and Eastern Europe.

In 1999, Asper became CEO of Canwest while leading the acquisition of Canada's third largest broadcaster, publicly traded WIC, in an $800 million transaction. Soon afterward, Canwest acquired most of the Hollinger newspapers in Canada in a $3.2 billion transaction. [6]

During his tenure as CEO at Canwest, the company also expanded its international television operations further by launching TV4 in New Zealand as a sister station to its existing channel TV3. Canwest also acquired five radio stations in Turkey and the U.K., [7] and formed Eye Corp., an outdoor advertising company operating in the U.S. and several countries in Australasia. Eye Corp. was formed by acquiring and integrating three separate out-of-home advertising companies based in Australia. [5]

Recognizing that future expansion opportunities existed in the cable channel business, Canwest launched five digital cable channels in 2002, including Mystery, Men TV, Deja View, Fox Sportsworld and Xtreme Sports Network. In 2006, Asper negotiated a partnership with Goldman Sachs to acquire 13 cable/thematic channels owned by Alliance Atlantis, including Home & Garden TV, Food Network, History Channel, National Geographic, BBC Canada, BBC Kids, among others. The acquisition was valued at $2.3 billion, and also identified and implemented more than $50 million in synergies. [8]

During Asper's tenure as CEO, Canwest grew to be Canada's largest media company, operating 20 television channels, including the national Global Television Network and 18 specialty channels. Canwest was also Canada's largest publisher of paid English-language daily newspapers and operated one of the largest digital portals in the country, Canada.com and its group of 80 associated websites. Internationally, Canwest owned, operated and held substantial interests in TV, out-of-home advertising, websites, radio stations and networks in New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S. Canwest's revenues nearly quadrupled between 1999 and 2008 to total $3.2 billion, while operating profit grew at annual rate of 8.5% between 1999 and 2008 to total $551 million. [9]

Canwest also positioned itself at the forefront of the upcoming changes and integration in the media industry. Canwest received a number of awards for its success in creating sales and marketing groups that crossed platforms, media sectors and geographies. Canwest received the award as "Media Player of the Year" in 2007 from the leading Canadian marketing industry organization, [10] and Canwest received the Broadcast Engineering Magazine's "Broadcast Engineering Excellence Award" from the U.S.-based National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in 2009. The award recognized news studio technology for technical innovation, quality design and construction. [11]

During the financial crisis that enveloped the global economy in 2008-2009, Canwest's debt load resulted in breaches of certain covenants in its loan documents and led to a filing under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in September 2009. As part of that filing, the Asper family and bondholder group announced a plan whereby the Asper family would reinvest in a restructured company. Shaw Communications subsequently bid $2 billion for the broadcasting assets. The Canwest newspaper group was sold to a group led by GoldenTree Asset Management. [12]

Asper stepped down as Canwest CEO on March 3, 2010 to participate in a competing bid in partnership with Goldman Sachs and Catalyst Partners, which was ultimately rejected by the court, paving the way for Shaw to acquire the broadcast assets. [13]

In September 2010, Asper formed Sygnus Ventures, established to invest in and nurture digital media companies. [14]

Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp.

On December 8, 2010, Asper's Sygnus Corp. acquired a "significant ownership stake" in Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of Fight Network and several other sports-oriented specialty channels. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Television Network</span> Canadian broadcast TV network

The Global Television Network is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after CTV, and has fifteen owned-and-operated stations throughout the country. Global is owned by Corus Entertainment — the media holdings of JR Shaw and other members of his family.

Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper was a Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate. He was the founder and owner of the now-defunct TV and media company CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and President Leonard Asper, former director and corporate secretary Gail Asper, as well as former Executive Vice President David Asper. He was also the leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party from 1970 to 1975 and is credited with the idea and vision to establish the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

<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.

Lifetime is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Showcase Television Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Based on the U.S. cable network of the same name, Lifetime broadcasts films, television series, and reality series aimed at women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKND-DT</span> Global TV station in Winnipeg

CKND-DT is a television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, with studios on the 30th floor of 201 Portage in downtown Winnipeg, and transmitter atop the building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canwest</span> Former Canadian media company

Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting, and publishing assets in several countries, primarily in Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corus Entertainment</span> Canadian media/broadcasting company

Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio, Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. Corus is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-Treme Sports</span> Television channel

X-Treme Sports was a Canadian English language category 2 television channel owned by Canwest Media Inc., a division of Canwest Global Communications. X-Treme Sports aired a variety of programming primarily related to extreme sports.

<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">Western International Communications</span> Former Canadian media company

WIC Western International Communications Ltd. was a Canadian media company that operated from 1982 to 2000, with operations including broadcast and specialty television, radio, and satellite distribution via a majority interest in Canadian Satellite Communications.

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

Slice is a Canadian English language discretionary service channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts reality shows targeting young adult women, typically dealing in subjects such as fashion and lifestyles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CoolTV</span> Television channel

CoolTV was a Canadian English language category 2 digital cable specialty channel dedicated to the musical genres of jazz, blues and world music; including music videos, movies, concerts, and television series. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CoolTV was owned by Canwest Media, a division of Canwest Global Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IFC (Canadian TV channel)</span> Canadian TV channel (2001–2019)

IFC was a Canadian English language specialty channel. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel broadcast independent films, documentaries, and television series. Its name was licensed from the American company AMC Networks, the owner of IFC. The channel ceased operations on September 30, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BNN Bloomberg</span> Canadian specialty TV channel

BNN Bloomberg is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Bell Media. It broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. The channel is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in Downtown Toronto.

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.

In 2001, the Vancouver/Victoria, British Columbia, television market saw a major shuffling of network affiliations, involving nearly all of the area's broadcast television stations. This was one of the largest single-market affiliation realignments in the history of North American television, and had a number of significant effects on television broadcasting across Canada and into the United States.

Dusk was a Canadian English language specialty channel. Dusk broadcast programming consisting of films, television dramas, and reality TV, and documentary-style television series from the thriller, suspense and supernatural genres.

Shaw Media, Inc. was the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. It owned the Global Television Network, which broadcasts nationally via 13 television stations, as well as 19 specialty channels including Slice, HGTV Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, and History. Shaw Media consisted of the broadcasting assets of the former Canwest. Shaw Media properties were acquired in April 2016 by sister company Corus Entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthem Sports & Entertainment</span> Broadcasting and production company based in Toronto, Ontario

Anthem Sports & Entertainment is a Canadian multinational media company based in Toronto, Ontario and founded by Leonard Asper.

References

  1. ↑ "Fighting back". Macleans.ca. 2011-01-13. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  2. ↑ "Playback Person of the Year: Leonard Asper » Playback". Playbackonline.ca. 2001-11-26. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  3. 1 2 3 Brandeis; Review of Journalism, Summer 2001, Master plan
  4. ↑ "Leonard Asper, Vice-Chair and Trustee". The Asper Foundation. Archived from the original on September 22, 2014. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Asper & Canwest Global: landmarks". Ketupa.net. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  6. ↑ "CanWest buys Hollinger » Playback". Playbackonline.ca. 2000-08-07. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  7. ↑ "Canadian news, entertainment, television, newspapers, free email and more". canada.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  8. ↑ "CanWest's new Alliance". Canada.com. 2007-01-11. Archived from the original on 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  9. ↑ "Some broadcasters are more equal than others". Macleans.ca. 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  10. ↑ "GREAT ASPER-ATIONS". archive.is. 2013-02-17. Archived from the original on 2013-02-17. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  11. ↑ "UW-News Release - Leonard Asper Named Media Player of the Year". Uwinnipeg.ca. 2008-01-09. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  12. ↑ "New CanWest owners share Sun connection | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. 2010-05-12. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  13. ↑ "Leonard Asper quits as Canwest CEO | Toronto Star". Thestar.com. 2010-03-04. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  14. ↑ "About Us". Sygnusventures.com. Archived from the original on 2018-10-24. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  15. ↑ "Leonard Asper Becomes CEO of the Fight Network | Top MMA News at". Topmmanews.com. 2010-12-10. Retrieved 2015-03-30.
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.