 | |
| Type | Private (subsidiary of Northern Cable/CUC Broadcasting) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Defunct | 1990 (MCTV branding dropped in 2005) |
| Headquarters | Sudbury, Ontario |
Key people | George Lund |
| Products | television, radio |
Mid-Canada Communications (Canada) Corp. was a Canadian media company, which operated from 1980 to 1990. The company, a subsidiary of Northern Cable, [1] had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario.
Mid-Canada Television, or MCTV, was created in 1980 when Cambrian Broadcasting, which owned the CTV affiliates in Sudbury, North Bay and Timmins, merged with J. Conrad Lavigne's CBC affiliates in the same cities. [2]
This twinstick structure was permitted by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) because both companies were on the brink of bankruptcy due to their aggressive competition for limited advertising dollars in small markets. [2] Notably, the companies' holdings included two parallel microwave transmission systems, both of which were among the largest such systems in the world at the time, and which were technically redundant since one system can in fact carry multiple channels. [3]
The deal represented the first time that the CRTC had ever approved direct ownership of a radio or television broadcast outlet by a cable distribution company, which is now commonplace in Canada but was explicitly forbidden by CRTC policy prior to the MCTV approval. [4]
In its decision, however, the CRTC explicitly stated that the merger was approved as a temporary arrangement, only until the CBC could afford to directly acquire MCTV's CBC affiliates. That "temporary" deal, however, would last 22 years; even after MCTV was acquired by and folded into Baton Broadcasting in 1990, Baton still retained ownership of the CBC affiliates until the early 2000s. Mid-Canada Communications did offer ownership of its newly-redundant second microwave network to the CBC as an interim step toward the establishment of a CBC Television production facility in the region; [2] the CBC, however, expressed interest in keeping the negotiations open but declined to immediately purchase the system. [2]
In response to concentration of media ownership concerns, the merged company divested itself of its predecessor companies' radio holdings CKSO and CIGM-FM in Sudbury, [5] although it retained ownership of a couple of smaller-market radio stations and would later reacquire other radio stations in the region (see Mid-Canada Radio below.)
The MCTV stations were:
All six stations were primarily referred to on air as MCTV rather than by their callsigns, and were distinguished from each other by use of their network affiliation (i.e. "MCTV-CTV" and "MCTV-CBC".) Less frequently, versions of its logo were sometimes seen which included both the call sign and the MCTV branding.
Due to CTV's status at the time as a cooperative of its affiliated stations, MCTV itself held a 2.1 per cent share in the network. [6]
As well, MCTV owned CHRO in Pembroke, a CBC affiliate in a market with no other television stations. CHRO used the same logo and programming schedule as MCTV's other stations, but it used its own callsign, rather than MCTV, as its on-air identification.
In 1985, Mid-Canada Communications acquired six radio stations in Sudbury, Elliot Lake, Blind River and Espanola, [7] which were aligned with the company's existing radio holdings in Kapuskasing, Hearst, Timmins and Pembroke into the Mid-Canada Radio group. [8] The system expanded in the latter half of the 1980s, with further acquisitions in Sault Ste. Marie, Wawa, North Bay and another station in Kapuskasing bringing the group to 15 stations by 1990.
The stations shared some news and sales resources, but were programmed independently of each other except for two shared overnight programs: one for the francophone stations (CFBR, CFLK, CFLH and CFCL), and one for the anglophone stations (all others).
In 1990, Northern Cable began divesting itself of its media properties. Pelmorex purchased Mid-Canada Radio, [9] and Baton Broadcasting acquired MCTV. [10] Baton also purchased Sault Ste. Marie's Huron Broadcasting in 1990, and converted CHBX and CJIC to the MCTV branding as well. [10]
Under Baton's ownership, the stations retained the MCTV branding, and became part of the Baton Broadcast System. The CBC stations were eventually sold outright to CBC in 2002, [11] while the CTV stations were rebranded as CTV Northern Ontario in 2003.
CTV Northern Ontario, formerly known as MCTV, is a system of four television stations in Northern Ontario, Canada, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media.
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.
The Baton Broadcast System, also known as BBS, was a Canadian system of television stations located in Ontario and Saskatchewan, owned by Baton Broadcasting. BBS was the successor to two provincial systems also owned by Baton, the Saskatchewan Television Network (STN) and Ontario Network Television (ONT).
CHRO-TV is a television station licensed to Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, serving the capital city of Ottawa as part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside CTV outlet CJOH-DT. Both stations share studios with Bell's Ottawa radio properties at the Market Media Mall building on George Street in downtown Ottawa's ByWard Market, while CHRO-TV's transmitter is located on TV Tower Road near Pembroke. The station operates a digital-only rebroadcaster in Ottawa, CHRO-DT-43, with transmitter in the city's Herbert Corners section.
CICI-TV is a television station in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, and has studios on Frood Road in Sudbury; its transmitter is located near Huron Street.
CITO-TV is a television station in Timmins, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station has studios on Pine Street North in Timmins, and its transmitter is located near Highway 101. It also operates rebroadcasters in Kapuskasing, Kirkland Lake, Hearst and Chapleau.
CHBX-TV is a television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, and maintains studios and transmitter facilities on 6 Line East in Sault Ste. Marie.
CKNY-DT is a television station in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station maintains a transmitter adjacent to Ski Hill Road in Nipissing.
CHYK-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts at 104.1 FM in Timmins, Ontario. It broadcasts a francophone hot adult contemporary format for the city's Franco-Ontarian community. It is owned by Le5 Communications, and branded as Le Loup 104.1.
CKNC-TV was a television station in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1971 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television, and then continued until 2012 as a network-owned rebroadcaster of the network's Toronto affiliate CBLT.
CHNB-TV was a television station in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1971 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television.
J. Conrad Lavigne, CM, O.Ont was a pioneering Canadian media proprietor.
Félix Baxter Ricard was a Canadian media proprietor.
Northern Cable was a Canadian cable television provider, which operated from 1975 to 1998.
CJIC-TV was a television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1954 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television.
CFCL-TV was a television station in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. The station was in operation from 1956 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television.
CHVR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 96.7 FM in Pembroke, Ontario. The station airs a country format branded as Pure Country 96.7. Prior to May 28, 2019, it was branded Star 96.7.
Huron Broadcasting was a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, active in Sault Ste. Marie from 1976 to 1990.
Media of Timmins, Ontario includes:
This is a list of media in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. For stations licensed to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, see that city's article.