# CUC Broadcasting

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{{Short description|Canadian media company}}
'''CUC (Conway Upper Canada) Broadcasting''' was a Canadian media company, active from 1968 to 1995. Active primarily as a [cable television](/source/cable_television) distributor, the company also had some holdings in broadcast media and publishing.

The company was founded in 1968 by chairman Geoffrey Conway,<ref name=rivals/> with shareholders including [Jerry Grafstein](/source/Jerry_Grafstein), Michael Koerner and Ken Lefolii.<ref>"Geoffrey Conway: Cable pioneer sought channel for children". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', March 1, 1988.</ref>

==Holdings==
The company's '''Trillium Cable''' division served several markets in [Ontario](/source/Ontario), including [Scarborough](/source/Scarborough%2C_Toronto), [Windsor](/source/Windsor%2C_Ontario), [Barrie](/source/Barrie%2C_Ontario), [Pickering](/source/Pickering%2C_Ontario), [Smiths Falls](/source/Smiths_Falls%2C_Ontario), [Perth](/source/Perth%2C_Ontario), [Chatham](/source/Chatham%2C_Ontario) and [Leamington](/source/Leamington%2C_Ontario),<ref name=starcuts>"Cable takeover kills 251 jobs New owner axes Trillium staffers". ''[Toronto Star](/source/Toronto_Star)'', June 15, 1995.</ref> and was also a minority investor in other smaller cable companies, including [Northern Cable](/source/Northern_Cable) in [Northern Ontario](/source/Northern_Ontario),<ref name=struggle>"Struggle under way to control CUC Broadcasting, sources say". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', March 2, 1989.</ref> '''UMG (Upper Midlands Group) Cable''' in  [Brockville](/source/Brockville), [Cobourg](/source/Cobourg%2C_Ontario) and [Port Hope](/source/Port_Hope%2C_Ontario),<ref>"Ontario cable firms". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', May 9, 1984.</ref> and several local systems in [The Midlands](/source/The_Midlands) region of [England](/source/England).<ref name=britain>"CUC closer to lining up partner Broadcaster negotiating with Telus for cable-TV venture in Britain". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', September 23, 1992.</ref>

CUC's broadcasting holdings included radio stations [CKLW](/source/CKLW_(AM)) and [CKEZ](/source/CIDR-FM) in [Windsor](/source/Windsor%2C_Ontario),<ref name=waived>"Radio rules waived for Windsor". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', January 30, 1993.</ref> and a 25 per cent founding stake in [YTV](/source/YTV_(Canadian_TV_channel)),<ref name=rivals>"Rivals eye cable empire after founder's death". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', April 2, 1988.</ref> which had increased to 34 per cent by the company's dissolution in 1995. Through its share in Northern Cable, it also held a stake in that company's radio and television subsidiary [Mid-Canada Communications](/source/Mid-Canada_Communications)<ref name=rivals/> until its share of that company was bought out by local shareholder Norman Bradley in 1989.<ref name=chro>"Firm that owns CHRO sold; Deal for Northern Cable may halt bid for Ottawa licence". ''[Ottawa Citizen](/source/Ottawa_Citizen)'', May 27, 1989.</ref>

In addition, the company held a significant minority stake in the magazine ''[Toronto Life](/source/Toronto_Life)''.<ref name=rivals/>

==Acquisition==
Conway's death in 1988 made the company a strong takeover target,<ref name=rivals/> and by 1989 an active struggle for the controlling share of the company was under way.<ref name=struggle /> Control was ultimately maintained by Julia Conway, Geoffrey's widow.<ref name=britain/>

CUC sold its radio stations in Windsor to [CHUM Limited](/source/CHUM_Limited) in 1993.<ref name=waived /> The deal was approved by the [Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission](/source/Canadian_Radio-television_and_Telecommunications_Commission), and formally established the commission's current practice of granting the Windsor market a special exemption from its normal [concentration of media ownership](/source/concentration_of_media_ownership) rules because the city's proximity to the [Metro Detroit](/source/Metro_Detroit) market in the United States was threatening the financial viability of Windsor's radio and television services.<ref name=waived />

CUC was acquired by [Shaw Cable](/source/Shaw_Cable) in the 1990s, for a purchase price of $645 million.<ref name=shawcuts>"Shaw to cut CUC by 251 jobs Will reduce new unit's work force by almost half over next 4 months". ''[The Globe and Mail](/source/The_Globe_and_Mail)'', June 15, 1995.</ref> First announced in April 1994,<ref>"Shaw buys Ontario network". ''[Calgary Herald](/source/Calgary_Herald)'', April 30, 1994.</ref> the deal was reached as part of a [bidding war](/source/bidding_war) which also saw a competing offer from [Cogeco](/source/Cogeco).<ref>"Shaw hooks CUC in $635M deal". ''[Financial Post](/source/Financial_Post)'', April 30, 1994.</ref> The purchase received CRTC approval in February 1995.<ref>"CRTC approves Shaw purchase". ''[Edmonton Journal](/source/Edmonton_Journal)'', February 18, 1995.</ref>

The merger of CUC's 420,000 subscribers with Shaw's, along with an additional 102,000 subscribers added from Shaw's simultaneous purchase of [Classicomm](/source/Classicomm), made Shaw the second largest cable company in Canada.<ref>"Ontario cable deal keeps Shaw in big leagues; Shaw on the move". ''[Edmonton Journal](/source/Edmonton_Journal)'', July 30, 1994.</ref>

Shortly after the takeover was approved, Shaw cut 251 jobs from Trillium in the engineering, customer service and finance departments,<ref name=starcuts /> due to operational redundancies with Shaw's existing staff.<ref name=shawcuts />

Following an exchange transaction between Shaw and [Rogers Cable](/source/Rogers_Cable) in 2001,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Rogers, Shaw swap cable assets, strike Internet alliance|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/rogers-shaw-swap-cable-assets-strike-internet-alliance-1.229973|access-date=August 16, 2021}}</ref> most of Trillium's and UMG's former markets are now served by Cogeco, with Scarborough and Barrie now being served by Rogers Cable.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{CATV Canada}}
{{Rogers Communications}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuc Broadcasting}}
Category:Defunct cable and DBS companies of Canada
Category:Defunct radio broadcasting companies of Canada
Category:Defunct broadcasting companies of Canada
Category:1968 establishments in Ontario
Category:Mass media companies established in 1968
Category:1995 disestablishments in Ontario
Category:Mass media companies disestablished in 1995
Category:Shaw Communications
Category:1995 mergers and acquisitions

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [CUC Broadcasting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUC_Broadcasting) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CUC_Broadcasting?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.