Postmedia Network
Public | |
Traded as | TSX: PNC.A, PNC.B |
Industry | Newspaper publishing |
Predecessor | Canwest |
Founded | 13 July 2010 |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Key people
|
Paul Godfrey - President |
Products | Newspapers |
Revenue | CAD$750.283 million (2015)[1] |
Number of employees
|
4,733[2] |
Subsidiaries | Postmedia News |
Website | Postmedia Network |
Postmedia Network Canada Corporation (also known as Postmedia Network or Postmedia) is a Canadian media company consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news gathering and Internet operations.
The ownership group was assembled by National Post CEO Paul Godfrey[3] in 2010 to bid for the chain of newspapers being sold by the financially troubled Canwest (the company's broadcasting assets were sold separately to Shaw Communications). Godfrey secured financial backing from a U.S. private equity firm, the Manhattan-based hedge fund GoldenTree Asset Management—which owns 35 per cent—as well as IJNR Investment Trust , Nyppex and other investors.[3] The group completed a $1.1 billion transaction to acquire the chain from Canwest on July 13, 2010. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company has over 4,700 employees.[4] The company's shares were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2011.[5]
The company's strategy has seen its publications invest greater resources in digital news gathering and distribution, including expanded websites and digital news apps for smartphones and tablets.[6] This began with a revamp and redesign of the Ottawa Citizen, which debuted in 2014.[6]
History[edit]
On July 13, 2010 the Manhattan-based hedge fund, Golden Tree Asset Management acquired the Asper family’s bankrupt CanWest media empire for $1.1 billion.[3]
On October 6, 2014, Postmedia's CEO Godfrey announced a deal to acquire the English-language operations of Sun Media.[3][7] The purchase received regulatory approval from the federal Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015,[8] even though the company manages competitive papers in several Canadian cities; while the Sun Media chain owns numerous other papers, four of its five Sun-branded tabloids operate in markets where Postmedia already publishes a broadsheet competitor.[7] Board chair Rod Phillips has cited the Vancouver market, in which the two main daily newspapers, the Vancouver Sun and The Province, have had common ownership for over 30 years, as evidence that the deal would not be anticompetitive.[7] The purchase did not include Sun Media's now-defunct Sun News Network.[7] The acquisition was approved by the Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015.,[9] and closed on April 13.[10]
In 2016, the company sought to restructure its compensation plans and reduce spending by as much as 20%, after reporting a net loss of $99.4 million, or 35 cents per diluted share, in the fourth-quarter ended Aug. 31, compared with a $54.1 million net loss, or 19 cents per diluted share, in the same period a year earlier. This resulted in 90 newsroom staff losing their jobs.[11]
On November 27, 2017, Postmedia and Torstar announced a transaction in which Postmedia will sell seven dailies, eight community papers, and the Toronto and Vancouver 24 Hours to Torstar, in exchange for 22 community papers and the Ottawa and Winnipeg versions of Metro. Except for the Exeter Times-Advocate, St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Peterborough Examiner, and Welland Tribune, all acquired papers will be closed.[12][13]
In March 2018, the Competition Bureau issued a court filing accusing the two companies of structuring the deal with no-compete clauses in an effort to reduce competition in the newspaper industry, in violation of the Competition Act.[14][15]
Assets[edit]
Advertising[edit]
- The Flyer Force
- Go!Local
Publishing[edit]
Newspapers[edit]
National[edit]
Broadsheet dailies[edit]
- Calgary Herald
- Cornwall Standard Freeholder
- Edmonton Journal
- London Free Press
- Montreal Gazette
- Ottawa Citizen
- Regina Leader-Post
- The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon)
- The Vancouver Sun (not related to the tabloid Sun newspapers also owned by Postmedia)
- Windsor Star
Tabloid dailies[edit]
Free dailies[edit]
Community newspapers[edit]
Postmedia owns newspapers that serve smaller communities across Canada, including:
- Airdrie Echo (tabloid)
- Barrie Examiner (broadsheet) sold to Torstar and closed, 2017[16]
- Belleville Intelligencer (broadsheet)
- Bow Valley Crag & Canyon (tabloid)
- Brantford Expositor (broadsheet)
- Bradford Times (tabloid) sold to Torstar and closed, 2017[16]
- Brockville Recorder and Times (broadsheet)
- Camrose Canadian (tabloid)
- Chatham This Week (tabloid)
- Clinton News-Record (tabloid)
- Cochrane Times (Alberta) (tabloid)
- Cochrane Times-Post (tabloid)
- Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin sold to Torstar and closed, 2017[16]
- Cornwall Standard Freeholder (broadsheet)
- Drayton Valley Western Review (tabloid)
- Edson Leader (tabloid)
- Elliot Lake Standard (tabloid)
- Fort McMurray Today (tabloid)
- Fort Saskatchewan Record (tabloid)
- Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune (tabloid)
- Hanna Herald (tabloid)
- High River Times (tabloid)
- Hinton Parklander (tabloid)
- Kenora Daily Miner and News (broadsheet)
- Kincardine News (tabloid)
- Kingston Whig-Standard (broadsheet)
- Kingston This Week (tabloid)
- Lakeshore Advance (Grand Bend; tabloid)
- Lloydminster Meridian Booster (tabloid)
- Mid-North Monitor (Espanola; tabloid)
- Mayerthorpe Freelancer (tabloid)
- Nanton News (tabloid)
- Niagara Falls Review (broadsheet) sold to Torstar, 2017
- North Bay Nugget (broadsheet)
- Norwich Gazette
- Orillia Packet & Times (broadsheet) sold to Torstar and closed, 2017[16]
- Owen Sound Sun Times (broadsheet)
- Peace River Record-Gazette (broadsheet)
- Pembroke Daily Observer (broadsheet)
- Peterborough Examiner (broadsheet) sold to Torstar, 2017
- Pincher Creek Echo (tabloid)
- Sault Star (broadsheet)
- Simcoe Reformer (tabloid)
- St. Catharines Standard (broadsheet) sold to Torstar in 2017
- St. Thomas Times-Journal (tabloid)
- Strathmore Standard (tabloid)
- Stratford Beacon Herald (broadsheet)
- Sudbury Star (broadsheet)
- Timmins Daily Press (broadsheet)
- Vulcan Advocate (tabloid)
- Whitecourt Star (tabloid)
- Woodstock Sentinel-Review (broadsheet)
Magazines[edit]
Online[edit]
- Canada.com
- celebrating.com
- connecting.com
- driving.ca
- househunting.ca
- remembering.ca
- shoplocal.ca
- SwarmJam.com
- Infomart.com
- in addition, Postmedia Network owns all websites associated with all properties listed on this page either wholly or in partnership.
Software[edit]
Other properties[edit]
See also[edit]
Other media groups in Canada include:
Related articles[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ 2015 Annual Report (PDF), Postmedia Network Canada Corp., 2015
- ^ 2015 Annual Information Form (PDF), Postmedia Network Canada Corp., 2014
- ^ a b c d Olive, David (23 January 2015). "Postmedia and the heavy price it pays to survive: Olive". Toronto, ON. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Postmedia Network Annual Information Form" (PDF). Postmedia Network Canada Corporation (Report). October 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ^ "Postmedia begins trading on TSX", Financial Post, June 14, 2011, retrieved February 21, 2016
- ^ a b "Postmedia revamps Ottawa Citizen's digital service". CBC News, May 20, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Postmedia buys 175-paper Sun Media for $316m". Toronto Star, October 6, 2014.
- ^ Competition Bureau will not challenge Postmedia’s acquisition of Sun Media. Competition Bureau, March 25, 2015.
- ^ "Postmedia purchase of Quebecor's Sun Media OK'd by Competition Bureau". CBC News. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
- ^ "Postmedia-Sun Media deal officially closes".
- ^ "Five things to know with Canada's news media industry under public policy review - CityNews Toronto". CityNews Toronto. 2016-06-21. Retrieved 2017-12-21.
- ^ "Postmedia to close community newspapers in Stratford, London, St. Thomas". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
- ^ "Torstar, Postmedia swap community papers, most to close". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2017-11-27.
- ^ "Competition Bureau's concerns over Postmedia-Torstar newspaper swap revealed in court filing". Financial Post. 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
- ^ "Torstar, Postmedia and the arrogance of the deal". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
- ^ a b c d e http://business.financialpost.com/telecom/media/postmedia-and-torstar-swap-41-newspapers-most-to-close-291-jobs-lost