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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1925; 100 years ago (1925) (Standard Radio Manufacturing Corporation) 1929; 96 years ago (1929) (Rogers Majestic Corporation Limited) 1941; 84 years ago (1941) (Standard Radio Limited, renamed Standard Broadcasting 1966) 1985; 40 years ago (1985) (acquired and merged into Slaight Broadcasting) |
| Founder | J. Allan Slaight |
| Headquarters | 22 St. Clair Avenue East,, |
Key people | J. Allan Slaight (CEO 1985-2000) Gary Slaight (CEO 2000-present) |
| Divisions | radio broadcasting |
Slaight Communications is a Canadianradio broadcasting company. The company was formed asSlaight Broadcasting in 1971, when ownerJ. Allan Slaight acquiredCFGM inRichmond Hill. Slaight later also acquiredCFOX inMontreal andCHOK inSarnia, and launchedCILQ inToronto.
The company later sold off all of its original assets, and continued to operate its radio holdings through theStandard Broadcasting division after Slaight bought out that company in 1985. As Standard, it remained the largest privately owned multimedia company in Canada until it sold its radio and TV broadcasting assets toAstral Media in 2007.[1] Today, all of Standard Radio stations are either owned byBell Media orStingray Radio.
The company continues to operate holdings in non-traditional broadcast platforms such assatellite radio andInternet radio. Slaight also continues to hold minority investments in three other small radio station groups.
Standard Broadcasting was founded as Standard Radio Manufacturing in 1925 byEdward S. Rogers, Sr.,[2] but soon became known asRogers Vacuum Tube Company and later became the Rogers Majestic Corporation Limited.[1]Rogers launched what would becomeradio stationCFRB in 1927 in order to demonstrate a batterylessalternating currentradio receiver he had invented.
In 1929 Standard Radio Manufacturing Corporation was renamed asRogers Majestic Corporation Limited
The broadcasting division of the company was renamed Standard Radio Limited in 1941 when the Rogers family sold off the assets of Rogers Majestic two years after the death of Edward Rogers. The Rogers family would later re-enter the broadcasting business in 1960 in a form ofAldred-Rogers Broadcasting, the company founded by Edward's son,Ted Rogers, which later becameRogers Communications.
In 1945, Standard Radio was purchased byArgus Corporation and in 1966 Standard Radio Limited was renamed Standard Broadcasting.[1] Argus was acquired byConrad Black and his brother in 1978. Argus subsequently sold Standard to Slaight in 1985 and merged into Slaight Broadcasting.
As Standard, the company under Slaight operated 82 radio stations in English Canada and two television stations in northernBritish Columbia. It also owned a significant minority interest in the radio station operatorsMilestone Radio,Haliburton Broadcasting Group and3937844 Canada Inc. in Canada, andMartz Communications Group in the US. The company also operated divisions ine-commerce,videotape andDVD distribution, retail marketing and audio and video post-production,[1] and was the primary shareholder in thesatellite radio providerSirius Canada.
In 2006, the company announced aninitial public offering via anincome trust; these plans were later cancelled due to "market conditions". On February 23, 2007,Astral Media announced that it had signed a letter of intent and had entered into exclusive negotiations regarding the acquisition of "substantially all of the assets" of Standard.[3] A formal agreement was later announced, with the proposed transaction being approved by theCRTC on September 28, 2007. Astral would eventually be taken over byBell Media on July 5, 2013.
Astral did not acquire Standard's Internet and satellite radio assets, nor its minority interests in various other radio stations.[4] The transaction was finalized on October 29, 2007, and Standard changed its name to Slaight Communications the following day.
After selling its Standard Radio assets toAstral Media in October 2007, Slaight Communications remained the owner and operator ofInternet radio portalIceberg Radio,[5] which was subsequently also sold to Astral in a separate transaction.[citation needed] The company is still a partner, along withCanadian Satellite Radio Holdings,Sirius XM Radio and theCanadian Broadcasting Corporation, inSirius XM Canada.
The company also retained its minority shares in theHaliburton,Milestone andMartz radio groups, although all three groups have since sold off many or all of their assets as well.
Standard's minority share in 3937844 Canada was also not transferred to Astral, but was wholly acquired by its majority owner,Newcap Broadcasting, in a separate transaction which also took place in 2007.
In 2010, the company invested in Mediazoic, a webcasting software project.[6]
Slaight Communications owns a 7.19% stake in Fight Holdings, a minority partner inAnthem Sports & Entertainment.[7]