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Bell Globemedia Inc. (unofficially, abbreviated "BGM") is one of Canada's largest private media companies. Its operations include such Canadian market leaders as CTV, TSN, The Comedy Network, and The Globe and Mail. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Image File history File links BellGlobemedia. ... CTV is Canadas largest privately-owned English language television network. ... Availability Rogers Cable - Channel 26=hiddenStructure TSN(The Sports Network) is a Canadian cable specialty television channel and is Canadas leading English language sports television channel. ... The Comedy Network logo (the yellow oval now usually appears by itself) The Comedy Network (colloquially often just Comedy) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel with comedy programming. ... The Globe and Mail is a large English language national newspaper based in Toronto, Canada and printed in seven cities across Canada. ...

Ownership

BGM is presently 68.5% owned by Bell Canada Enterprises and 31.5% by The Woodbridge Company Ltd., the family holding company of the Thomson family, controlling shareholders of The Thomson Corporation. Bell Canada Enterprises is a major telecommunications company and a provider of telephone services in Canada. ... The Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC) (TSX: TOC) is a publishing company founded by Roy Herbert Thomson. ...

On December 2, 2005, BCE announced it would sell an 8.5% interest to Woodbridge (increasing their total ownership to 40%), a 20% interest to Torstar, and a 20% interest to Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. BCE will retain 20% of the group - a condition that would ensure that ExpressVu, Sympatico, and other Bell units continued to have access to Globemedia content - but as a result, the group will likely drop "Bell" from its name, if not change it entirely. The transaction was approved by the CRTC on July 21, 2006. December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bell Canada Enterprises is a major telecommunications company and a provider of telephone services in Canada. ... Torstar Corporation TSX: TS.NV.B-T is an independently owned Canadian publishing company. ... The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is the pension plan for the public school teachers of Ontario. ... Bell Canada Enterprises is a major telecommunications company and a provider of telephone services in Canada. ... Bell Canada Enterprises is a major telecommunications company and a provider of telephone services in Canada. ... The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC, in French Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes) was established in 1968 by the Canadian Parliament to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors. ...

Operations

Main article: List of assets owned by Bell Globemedia

BGM's core asset is CTV Inc., parent of the CTV television network, Canada's oldest, largest, and (as of 2006) most-watched private broadcast television network. CTV is also parent to a number of cable/satellite specialty channels, which include The Sports Network and its French-language equivalent Réseau des sports, Discovery Channel Canada, The Comedy Network, CTV Newsnet, Report on Business Television, MTV Canada, and various spinoff digital channels. CTV also owns 45% of number-three French-language network TQS, as well as the Atlantic Satellite Network, a regional channel in Atlantic Canada, which is based around programming from CHUM Limited. Bell Globemedia Inc. ... CTV is Canadas largest privately-owned English language television network. ... A television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. ... A specialty channel or specialty service is a television channel, generally not available through conventional broadcast television, which consists of programming focused on a single type or targeted at a specific demographic. ... TSN redirects here. ... Réseau des sports (RDS), is a Canadian French language cable television channel showing sports and sport-related shows, it is the French-language sister station of The Sports Network TSN. It is available in 2. ... Discovery Channel Canada is a Canadian cable specialty television channel devoted to science and nature programming. ... The Comedy Network logo (the yellow oval now usually appears by itself) The Comedy Network (colloquially often just Comedy) is a Canadian cable television specialty channel with comedy programming. ... CTV Newsnet is a Canadian 24-hour headline news cable television channel which went onair on October 17, 1997. ... Report on Business Television logo. ... MTV Canada (usually styled simply MTV), formerly known as talktv, is a Canadian cable television specialty channel devoted to talk programming, and is owned and operated by Bell Globemedia through CTV, in collaboration with MTV Networks. ... TQS is a Canadian French language commercial television network in Quebec. ... The Atlantic Satellite Network (ASN) is a television service serving Atlantic Canada and owned by Bell Globemedia through CTV. Designated by the CRTC as a satellite-to-cable television programming undertaking, it is essentially a local station without any broadcast transmitters, and available in the region on cable television and... CHUM-City Building, the headquarters of CHUM Limited. ...

Many of BGM's specialty channels are operated in partnership with U.S.-based media companies such as Discovery Communications (Discovery Channel), Disney (TSN), Viacom (MTV Canada), and Comcast (OLN Canada). See also Discovery Channel Discovery Communications Inc. ... The Walt Disney Company (most commonly known as Disney) (NYSE: DIS) is one of the largest media and entertainment corporations in the world. ... Viacom is a media conglomerate with various worldwide interests in cable and satellite television networks (MTV Networks and BET), video gaming (part of Sega of America), and movie production and distribution (the Paramount Pictures movie studio and DreamWorks). ... Comcast Corporation, (NASDAQ: CMCSA) based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the largest cable company and the largest broadband (second overall) Internet service provider in the United States. ... OLN which stands for Outdoor Life Network is a Canadian cable specialty television channel. ...

In addition, BGM owns The Globe and Mail, Canada's largest national newspaper, and websites associated with all of the above properties. The Globe and Mail is a large English language national newspaper based in Toronto, Canada and printed in seven cities across Canada. ...

History

Early history: Baton Broadcasting

For all practical purposes, Bell Globemedia is the successor to Baton Broadcasting, originally formed in 1960 to operate Toronto's first private TV station, CFTO-TV. Baton, which was largely held by the Bassett and Eaton families until the mid-1990s, eventually became a partner in the CTV network, and over the ensuing decades bought up several other CTV affiliates. CFTO (now identifying as CTV Toronto) is a Canadian television station, licensed to, and serving Toronto, Ontario and surrounding areas. ... The Honourable John White Hughes Bassett, PC , CC , O.Ont (August 25, 1915 – April 27, 1998) was a Canadian publisher and media baron. ... Eatons was once Canadas largest department store retailer. ...

Ivan Fecan joined the company in 1994; under the Fecan regime, Baton accelerated its acquisition of stations, culminating in the purchase of CTV itself in 1997. Baton, now renamed CTV Inc. (and with the Bassett and Eaton shares sold off to the general public), acquired NetStar Communications, parent of TSN and Discovery, in 2000. By the end of 2001, nearly all CTV stations would be consolidated under network ownership (including one replacement). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...

2000 to present

BGM in its current form was masterminded by former BCE chief executive Jean Monty, largely as a response to CanWest Global Communications's purchase of the Southam newspaper chain as well as the trend of media convergence. Monty believed that, to survive in a changing technological landscape, and in particular to drive subscriptions to satellite television provider Bell ExpressVu and internet service provider Bell Sympatico, BCE had to have control over content. CanWest Global Communications Corp. ... Southam Newspapers is a Canadian newspaper chain owned by CanWest. ... Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a commonly used term among media critics, policy makers, and others to characterize ownership structure of media industries. ... Artists impression of a Boeing 601 satellite, as configured for digital television transmission by SES Astra Satellite television is television delivered by way of communications satellites, as compared to conventional terrestrial television and cable television. ... Bell ExpressVu is the division of Bell Canada that sells digital television services in Canada. ... An internet service provider (abbr. ... Bell Sympatico, originally and frequently simply called Sympatico, is the consumer-side Internet service provider division of Bell Canada. ...

In early 2000, under Monty, BCE acquired CTV Inc. Soon after, Monty arranged to have Thomson Corp. transfer control of The Globe and Mail, the Toronto-based national newspaper, to BCE in exchange for a significant interest in the company that would become Globemedia. The Thomson family itself later bought Thomson Corp.'s interests. This article is about the year 2000. ... The Globe and Mail is a large English language national newspaper based in Toronto, Canada and printed in seven cities across Canada. ...

The resulting company, known as Bell Globemedia, consisted of CTV, The Globe and Mail, and the internet portal then known as Sympatico-Lycos. Fecan was named the combined firm's president and CEO, a role he continues in today. After Monty resigned and was replaced by Michael Sabia in 2002, it became clear that Monty's vision was not producing anything near the desired results, notwithstanding the good results for the individual units, particularly the CTV network. Bell Sympatico is the consumer-side Internet service provider division of Bell Canada. ... Michael J. Sabia Ba, MA, MPhil (1953-) is the CEO of Bell Canada and Bell Canada Enterprises. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

The following years provided a few cosmetic changes in BGM's assets: The company acquired partial ownership in TQS in 2002, the Sympatico portal was sold back to Bell Canada, while a further investment from the Thomsons funded the acquisition of 15% of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. However, since BGM was first termed a non-core asset by BCE management in 2003, much attention has been given to its likely sale, and possibly a breakup into several different pieces. Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) are the owners and operators of the Toronto Maple Leafs National Hockey League hockey team and the Toronto Raptors National Basketball Association team in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The ownership shift announced in December 2005, described above, suggests any breakup is unlikely in the near future. However, Torstar's interest may raise further media concentration concerns, although that firm insists it is committed to maintaining the editorial independence of the Globe and its own Toronto Star. The Toronto Star is Canadas highest circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. ...

Wikinews has news related to:

Canadian media company Bell Globemedia to acquire rival CHUM

On July 12, 2006, Bell Globemedia announced a friendly bid to take over CHUM Limited for an estimated $1.7 billion. Although likely to face immense regulatory scrutiny, the acquisition would bring a secondary broadcast system (Citytv), as well as brands such as MuchMusic, Bravo, and Space, into the BGM fold. CHUM's A-Channel stations will not be retained by BGM. Image File history File links Wikinews-logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... CHUM-City Building, the headquarters of CHUM Limited. ... Citytv is an urban television brand owned by CHUM Limited. ... MuchMusic (often called Much) is a 24-hour national Canadian cable music and variety television channel based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which debuted on August 31, 1984 as one of the first Canadian cable specialty channels on the air. ... Look up bravo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Categories: Television stubs | Canada-related stubs | Canadian television networks ... A-Channel, formerly known as NewNet or The New Net, is a system of six local Canadian television stations in Ontario and British Columbia, all owned by CHUM Limited. ...

Related links

• Bell Canada
• Torstar Corporation
• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan

Bell Canada Enterprises TSX: BCE, legally BCE Inc. ... Torstar Corporation is an independently owned Canadian publishing company. ... The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan is the pension plan for the public school teachers of Ontario. ...

External links

• Official website
• Restructuring announcement