Craig Media - Definition

Craig Media Inc. is a Canadian television broadcasting company wholly owned by CHUM Limited. Founded in 1948 by John Craig in Brandon, Manitoba, the company began its foray in television broadcasting in 1955 with the launch of CKX-TV.

Today, the company is based in Calgary, Alberta with Drew Craig, the grandson of John Craig, as its CEO. Craig Media is the owner of the A-Channel system; CKX, a CBC affiliate, in Brandon, Manitoba; and three digital television specialty channels: MTV Canada, MTV2 and TV Land Canada.

Craig Media also owns Craig Wireless, a subsidiary which offers broadband communications, including digital television, to Manitoba, British Columbia, California and Hawaii.

In January 2004, it was announced that Craig Media's broadcasting assets were up for sale. On April 12, 2004, CHUM Limited announced a deal to purchase Craig Media's broadcasting assets for $265 million. The sale was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on November 19, 2004, and was completed on December 1 of that year.

As CHUM already owns two stations in the Toronto market, a condition of the purchase was that Toronto One, a previous Craig Media venture, was sold to TVA and Sun Media. This sale was completed on December 2, 2004, for $46 million (CAD) and Sun Media's 29.9% share of the Toronto news channel CablePulse24.

Assets

Local stations

• A-Channel
  • CKAL - Calgary, Alberta
  • CKEM - Edmonton, Alberta
  • CHMI - Winnipeg, Manitoba
• CKX - Brandon, Manitoba

Digital television stations

• MTV Canada
• MTV2
• TV Land Canada

External links

• Craig Media Inc. (http://www.craigmedia.com/)
• Broadcaster Magazine: CHUM buying Craig, will spin-off Toronto 1 (http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/article.asp?id=29242)