Mid-Canada Communications was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 media company, which operated from 1980 to 1990. The company, a division of Northern Cable

Northern Cable

Northern Cable was a Canadian cable television provider, which operated from 1972 to 1998.The company, based in Sudbury, Ontario, served most of the Northeastern Ontario region. Although CUC Broadcasting was the largest single shareholder, the company was structured to maintain corporate control...

, had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario

Northeastern Ontario

Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...

.
Mid-Canada Television, or MCTV, was created in 1980 when Cambrian Broadcasting, which owned the CTV

CTV television network

CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...

 affiliates in Sudbury, North Bay

North Bay, Ontario

North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...

 and Timmins

Timmins

Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...

 merged with J. Conrad Lavigne

J. Conrad Lavigne

J. Conrad Lavigne, CM, O.Ont was a pioneering Canadian media proprietor.Born in Chénéville, Quebec, Lavigne was raised in Cochrane, Ontario. He joined the Canadian Forces in 1942 and fought in World War II...

's 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 in the same cities.

This twinstick

Twinstick

A twinstick, in Canadian broadcasting, is a term for two television stations, broadcasting in the same market, which are owned by the same company...

 structure was permitted by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission because both companies were on the brink of bankruptcy

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....

 due to their aggressive competition for limited advertising dollars in small markets.