Western International Communications
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Media |
| Fate | Assets sold to Canwest Global (now Shaw Media), Shaw Communications, and Corus Entertainment |
| Successor |
Shaw Communications Canwest Global Corus Entertainment |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Products | Specialty channels, broadcasting, satellite distribution |
Western International Communications Ltd. (or WIC) was a Canadian media company that operated from 1982 to 2000, with operations including broadcast and specialty television, radio, and satellite distribution via a majority interest in Canadian Satellite Communications (or Cancom).
The company itself was acquired by CanWest Global Communications, which kept most of WIC's broadcast television stations and a variety of related television production assets. As a result of a takeover battle leading up to the acquisition, Shaw Communications assumed WIC's interest in Cancom, while a separate company owned by the same Shaw family, Corus Entertainment, acquired various radio stations and specialty services. A handful of assets would be acquired by other companies for competitive reasons.
With the sale of Canwest's broadcasting assets to Shaw a decade later, the Shaw family now controls almost all of the assets of the former WIC, through either Shaw or Corus, Corus acquired Shaw Media in 2016, giving Corus the former media assets of WIC, such as its former local TV, specialty services, and radio groups.
Frank Griffiths established Western Broadcasting Company Ltd. in the late 1950s to hold his various broadcasting assets in British Columbia, including radio station CKNW and a majority interest in BCTV, at the time the province's CTV affiliate. WBC was publicly traded for a time but was later reacquired by Griffiths's family.
In 1982, the Griffiths' media assets were again floated on the public markets in a restructured form via WIC. The Griffiths retained Western Broadcasting, which in turn held all of WIC's Class A voting shares; the Class B shares were sold to the public. Class B shares did not generally provide voting rights, but would be converted to voting shares should a majority of Class A shares change hands, a so-called coat-tail provision.
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