Corus Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.
Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio
producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's animation. The company’s multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse TV
, W Network
, Movie Central
, CMT
, Teletoon
, Encore Avenue
, Nelvana
, Nickelodeon
, and Kids Can Press.
Their radio division includes radio stations in major markets like Toronto
, Ontario
; Winnipeg
, Manitoba
; Edmonton
and Calgary
in Alberta
; and Vancouver
, British Columbia
. Corus owns 50 radio stations in Canada, and is Canada's fourth largest radio broadcaster, behind Astral Media
, Newcap Broadcasting
and Rogers Media
. It was the largest owner of radio stations in Canada until 2007
, when Astral Media
acquired Standard Radio from Standard Broadcasting (now Slaight Communications).
Corus Entertainment's voting majority is held by the company's founder James Shaw and his family, which also owns cable operator and media group Shaw Communications
Inc. (Shaw Cable, Shaw Broadcast Services, and Shaw Media
), from which Corus was spun off in 1999.
.
Shaw and Corus both continue to be controlled by the Shaw family, and as a result, media reports have sometimes erroneously referred to Corus as a subsidiary of Shaw. In fact, Shaw and Corus are independent, publicly-traded companies, with separate management teams and separate boards of directors.
Nonetheless, some reports indicate that the two companies continue to have a close relationship. For several years, Corus managed advertising operations (such as TV listings channels) for Shaw's cable systems, although this operation has since been discontinued. Executives have also occasionally moved between the two companies, with former Corus Television president Paul Robertson
joining Shaw to head Shaw Media
(the former Canwest broadcasting operations) in 2010.
Following Shaw's acquisition of Canwest's TV assets, the two companies have incidentally become partners in certain channels including Dusk and Food Network Canada. Otherwise, there is presently no connection or common programming between Corus's conventional and specialty television operations and those of Shaw Media. For example, Corus owns three over-the-air TV stations, all currently CBC
affiliates, and there is presently no indication of those stations switching to the Shaw-owned Global
network.
for $80 million, pending CRTC approval. Corus's reason for the sale is that their Quebec radio stations are less profitable than their stations in other parts of Canada. However, Cogeco must either apply with the CRTC for an exemption from the common ownership policy, or sell off some of these (or their own) stations as they will be over the maximum allowable number of stations in Montreal, Quebec City, and Sherbrooke.
On June 25, it was reported that Corus has agreed to sell CKRS to Radio Saguenay, a local business group.
The sale of the Corus Québec stations has been approved by the CRTC on December 17, 2010, on the condition that Cogeco-owned CJEC-FM
and Corus-owned CFEL-FM
and CKOY-FM be sold to another party by December 2011. On January 13, 2011, competing broadcaster Astral Media
announced that they will seek legal action to stop the sale of these stations to Cogeco, citing the fact that it would own more stations than Astral in the Montreal market, making the competition unfair.
of Corus Entertainment are: Fernand Bélisle, John Cassaday, Dennis Erker, Carolyn Hursh, Wendy Leaney, Susan Mey, Ronald Rogers, Cathy Roozen, Terrance Royer, Julie Shaw, and Heather Shaw.
Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's animation. The company’s multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse TV
Treehouse TV
Treehouse TV is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel with programming targeted towards preschoolers that was launched on October 17, 1997. Its name comes from YTV's old children's programming block, The Treehouse...
, W Network
W Network
W Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. W Network broadcasts lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women....
, Movie Central
Movie Central
Movie Central is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service. Movie Central is designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories...
, CMT
CMT Canada
CMT is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel which airs country music and family-orientated general entertainment programs in the form of music videos, award shows, concerts, sitcoms and more...
, Teletoon
Télétoon (Canadian TV channel)
Télétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
, Encore Avenue
Encore Avenue
Encore Avenue is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service. Encore Avenue is designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories. Encore Avenue is owned by Corus Entertainment...
, Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
, Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (Canada)
Nickelodeon is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the U.S. cable network Nickelodeon. It is wholly owned by Corus Entertainment, with its name licensed from MTV Networks International, a division of Viacom....
, and Kids Can Press.
Their radio division includes radio stations in major markets like Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
; Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
; Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
and Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
in Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
; and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. Corus owns 50 radio stations in Canada, and is Canada's fourth largest radio broadcaster, behind Astral Media
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
, Newcap Broadcasting
Newcap Broadcasting
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited is a major Canadian broadcasting company, majority-owned by Harold R. Steele. Newfoundland Capital is the parent company of Newcap Inc. . It is currently the number two private-sector radio broadcaster in Canada, just behind Astral Media...
and Rogers Media
Rogers Media
Rogers Media Inc is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., which owns Canada's largest publishing company, Rogers Publishing Limited, which has more than 70 consumer and business publications. Rogers Media Inc...
. It was the largest owner of radio stations in Canada until 2007
2007 in radio
The year 2007 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*January 8: Nanci "The Fabulous Sports Babe" Donnellan returns to radio after a six-year absence, filling in for local hosts in Florida....
, when Astral Media
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
acquired Standard Radio from Standard Broadcasting (now Slaight Communications).
Corus Entertainment's voting majority is held by the company's founder James Shaw and his family, which also owns cable operator and media group Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
Inc. (Shaw Cable, Shaw Broadcast Services, and Shaw Media
Shaw Media
Shaw Media is the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owns the Global Television Network, which broadcasts via 11 television stations, as well as various specialty channels including HGTV Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, and History Television.Despite also...
), from which Corus was spun off in 1999.
Relationship with Shaw Communications
Corus Entertainment was originally formed from media assets originally owned by Shaw CommunicationsShaw Communications
Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
.
Shaw and Corus both continue to be controlled by the Shaw family, and as a result, media reports have sometimes erroneously referred to Corus as a subsidiary of Shaw. In fact, Shaw and Corus are independent, publicly-traded companies, with separate management teams and separate boards of directors.
Nonetheless, some reports indicate that the two companies continue to have a close relationship. For several years, Corus managed advertising operations (such as TV listings channels) for Shaw's cable systems, although this operation has since been discontinued. Executives have also occasionally moved between the two companies, with former Corus Television president Paul Robertson
Paul Robertson
Paul W. Robertson is a Canadian businessperson, media executive and producer known for his work in animated television and broadcasting. He is currently the Group Vice President, Broadcasting of Shaw Communications and the President of Shaw Media....
joining Shaw to head Shaw Media
Shaw Media
Shaw Media is the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owns the Global Television Network, which broadcasts via 11 television stations, as well as various specialty channels including HGTV Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, and History Television.Despite also...
(the former Canwest broadcasting operations) in 2010.
Following Shaw's acquisition of Canwest's TV assets, the two companies have incidentally become partners in certain channels including Dusk and Food Network Canada. Otherwise, there is presently no connection or common programming between Corus's conventional and specialty television operations and those of Shaw Media. For example, Corus owns three over-the-air TV stations, all currently CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
affiliates, and there is presently no indication of those stations switching to the Shaw-owned Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
network.
Recent transactions
On April 30, 2010, it was announced that all Corus Québec stations, with the exception of CKRS, will be sold to CogecoCogeco
Cogeco Inc. is a Canadian media and communications company. The name is an acronym for Compagnie Générale de Communication .-History:...
for $80 million, pending CRTC approval. Corus's reason for the sale is that their Quebec radio stations are less profitable than their stations in other parts of Canada. However, Cogeco must either apply with the CRTC for an exemption from the common ownership policy, or sell off some of these (or their own) stations as they will be over the maximum allowable number of stations in Montreal, Quebec City, and Sherbrooke.
On June 25, it was reported that Corus has agreed to sell CKRS to Radio Saguenay, a local business group.
The sale of the Corus Québec stations has been approved by the CRTC on December 17, 2010, on the condition that Cogeco-owned CJEC-FM
CJEC-FM
CJEC-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Quebec City, Quebec.Owned and operated by Cogeco, it broadcasts on 91.9 MHz using a directional antenna with an average effective radiated power of 14,550 watts and a peak effective radiated power of 31,000 watts . The station's...
and Corus-owned CFEL-FM
CFEL-FM
CFEL-FM is a French-language Canadian radio station located in Quebec City, Quebec, but the station's official city of license is Lévis....
and CKOY-FM be sold to another party by December 2011. On January 13, 2011, competing broadcaster Astral Media
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. is a Canadian media corporation. It is Canada's largest radio broadcaster with 83 radio stations in eight provinces, and is a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, including The Movie Network, Super Écran, Family, Teletoon, Canal D, Canal Vie, VRAK.TV,...
announced that they will seek legal action to stop the sale of these stations to Cogeco, citing the fact that it would own more stations than Astral in the Montreal market, making the competition unfair.
Board of directors
Current members of the board of directorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of Corus Entertainment are: Fernand Bélisle, John Cassaday, Dennis Erker, Carolyn Hursh, Wendy Leaney, Susan Mey, Ronald Rogers, Cathy Roozen, Terrance Royer, Julie Shaw, and Heather Shaw.
Key executives
- John Cassaday, President and CEO
- Heather Shaw, Executive Chair
- Tom Peddie, Senior VP and CFO
- Hal Blackadar, VP Human Resources
- Mario Cecchini, VP Corus Quebec
- Scott Dyer, Chief Technology Officer
- Bryan Ellis, VP Development and Radio Operations
- Tracy Ewing, VP Communications
- Gary Maavara, General Counsel
- Kathleen McNair, VP Corporate Development and Strategic Planning
- Doug Murphy, President, Corus Television
- Chris Pandoff, VP, Ontario Radio
- Jack Perraton, Corporate Secretary
- Susan Ross, Executive Vice President and General Manager Pay and Specialty Television
- Doug Rutherford, VP, Western Radio
- David Spence, VP, Controller
See also
- List of assets owned by Corus Entertainment
- List of companies paying monthly dividends
- List of conglomerates