Access Media Group
- This article is about the Canadian media company. For the American company that uses the same name, see AMGTV.
 | |
| Access Media Group | |
| Broadcasting/Multimedia | |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | Edmonton, Alberta (1994) |
| Defunct | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Products | Media, Broadcasting |
| Owner | Bell Media |
| Parent | Bell Canada |
Access Media Group (legally Learning and Skills Television of Alberta Ltd., which also served as the corporate brand until 2005) was a privately held Canadian broadcasting and multimedia group based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada specializing in learning-based media, originally majority-owned (and later wholly owned) by CHUM Limited. It owned four television channels, a multimedia distribution company, and a school for continuing education and personal growth. AMG's headquarters are situated at Enterprise Square in Edmonton, Alberta.
At the time of the company's founding in 1994, it was 60% owned by CHUM Limited. On February 15, 2005, CHUM purchased the remainder of the company. The company had been owned by CTVglobemedia since June 22, 2007 as a result of its takeover of CHUM; and AMG was wound up into CTV Limited (the renamed CHUM Limited) in 2008.[1] CTVglobemedia (now Bell Media) continues to own the majority of AMG's assets, broadcasting and otherwise.
In the near future, BookTelevision and CourtTV Canada will be moved to the CTVglobemedia headquarters in Toronto, Ontario while Access TV will be relocated to CFRN-TV's studios.
Subsequently, BCE announced plans to re-acquire 100% of the company's broadcasting arm, including CTV Limited and most of the former assets of the Access Media Group. Under the deal, Woodbridge, Torstar, and Teachers' will together receive $1.3 billion in either cash or equity in BCE, while BCE will also assume $1.7 billion in debt (BCE's existing equity interest is $200 million, for a total transaction value of $3.2 billion). Woodbridge will simultaneously regain majority control of The Globe and Mail, with Bell retaining a 15% interest. The deal is expected to close by mid-2011 pending CRTC approval.[2]
Assets prior to dissolution
All assets remain under the ownership of CTVglobemedia (now Bell Media) unless otherwise noted.
Television stations
- Access
- BookTelevision
- Canadian Learning Television (sold to Corus Entertainment in 2008)
- CourtTV Canada (became Investigation Discovery in 2010)
Distribution
- Distribution Access (bought out by management in 2009)[3]
Continuing education
- The Learning Annex of Canada (70%) (website now redirects to TLA's corporate site, implying that TLAC may now be wholly owned by the U.S. company)
- ideaCity, an annual conference of forward-thinkers held in Toronto (now directly managed by Moses Znaimer)
References
- ↑ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2008-141, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, 14 July 2008
- ↑ Bell Canada (2010-09-10). "Bell to acquire 100% of Canada's No.1 media company CTV". CNW Group. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ↑ Distribution Access Unit of CTV Acquired by a Group led by Senior Management (press release). Retrieved 2011-03-01.