Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

distribution.

History

The company began in 1887, when brothers John Bayne Maclean and Hugh Cameron Maclean launched their first trade publication, ''Canadian Grocer & General Storekeeper''. Hugh left the company in 1899 and later return to Toronto to establish his own publication firm. John subsequently expanded his company into other areas of publishing, launching the general interest magazine ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' in 1905, the business newspaper ''

Financial Post The ''Financial Post'' is a financial news website, and business section of the ''National Post'', both publications of the Postmedia Network. It started as an English Canadian business newspaper, which published from 1907 to 1998. In 1998, the ...

'' in 1907, the lifestyle magazine '' Canadian Homes and Gardens'' in 1925, the women's magazine '' Chatelaine'' in 1928, and its French-language counterpart, ''

Châtelaine ''Châtelaine'' is a French language, French-language magazine of women's lifestyles, published in Quebec by St. Joseph Communications. History and profile The magazine was first published in 1960 by Maclean-Hunter Publishing. It covers issues ...

'' in 1960. Horace Talmadge Hunter joined Maclean Publishing in 1903, moving up the management ranks from general manager in 1911 to succeed John Bayne Maclean as president in 1933; in 1945 the company's name was changed to Maclean-Hunter. Hunter retired in 1952 and died in 1961. Hunter's son Donald Fleming later became president and chairman of M-H. In 1961, the company began to diversify, adding its first broadcasting asset, radio station CFCO in Chatham,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. In 1968 Maclean-Hunter Publishing Company Limited was renamed to Maclean-Hunter Limited and finally as Maclean Hunter Limited in 1981. In the 1970s, M-H merged its ''Le Maclean'' French-language magazine with ''Actualité'', and began publishing '' L'actualité''. In 1982, the company acquired a controlling interest in Sun Media; ownership of the ''Financial Post'' was transferred to Sun Media for $46 millions in 1987 to facilitate the publication's expansion from a weekly to a daily newspaper. The following year Maclean Hunter acquired additional shares of Sun Media, bringing its total ownership to 60.5% of all shares (up from 50.8% in 1987). By the early 1990s, Maclean-Hunter's assets also included cable television services in 35 Ontario markets, 21 radio stations, television station CFCN in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

and a significant minority share in CTV. Maclean-Hunter was acquired in 1994 by Rogers Communications. The

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

approved the transaction, but required Rogers to divest itself of some of Maclean-Hunter's individual assets to alleviate concerns about concentration of media ownership.

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

acquired some of the cable holdings and radio stations,

Telemedia Telemedia was a Canadian media company, which had holdings in radio, television and magazine publishing. The company was launched in 1968 by Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien, when he purchased CKAC in Montreal from Power Corporation of Canada. CKAC r ...

and

Blackburn Radio Blackburn Radio, Inc. is a Canadian radio broadcasting group, which owns several radio stations in Southwestern Ontario. Headquartered in London, Ontario, the company is owned by 2061302 Ontario Limited, which is majority owned by Cogent Investmen ...

acquired other radio stations,

Maritime Broadcasting System Maritime Broadcasting System Limited, branded as MBS Radio, is a private Canada, Canadian broadcasting company owning 26 radio stations serving several communities in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick. History MBS Radio was e ...

acquired the maritime stations, and the consortium of

Baton Broadcasting Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc. (also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company Bell Canada). Its operations include national television ...

and

Electrohome Founded in 1907, Electrohome was Canada's largest manufacturer of television sets (TVs) from 1949 to 1987. The company was also involved in television broadcasting, and was a leader in data, video, graphics displays and projectors. From 1984 to 1 ...

acquired CFCN and the CTV shares. Sun Media was sold in an employee buyout in 1996. Maclean-Hunter also had cable holdings in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, which were acquired by

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

in 1994 for $1.27bn. In 2016 ''L'actualité'' was sold to Mishmash (XPND Capital). The former assets of Maclean-Hunter, including ''Maclean's'' magazine, were sold by Rogers to St. Joseph Communications in March 2019.

Operations

Maclean-Hunter's main office was at College Park from the 1980s until its acquisition by Rogers in 1994. Its previous head office was in a series of buildings along the corner of Dundas Street and University Avenue. ''Maclean's'' magazine moved to Rogers Communications premises at 1 Mount Pleasant Road ( Rogers Building) and remained there until it was sold to St. Joseph Communications. In 1948, M-H moved their printing plant at 210 Dundas Street West to

North York North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

( Highway 401-

Yonge Street Yonge Street ( ') is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Great Lakes#Geography, Upper Great Lakes. Ontario's first colonial administrator, ...

). The large plant was built near the home of Robert Earl Bales, Reeve of North York. The plant was sold and demolished in 2001 for re-development as "Mansions of Avondale" condominiums and Avondale Park. Macleans along with other Rogers Media print publications are now printed by Transcontinental.

Presidents

* John Bayne Maclean — 1887-1933 * Horace Talmadge Hunter — 1933-1952 * Floyd Chalmers — 1952-1964 - chairman 1964-1969 * Donald Fleming Hunter — 1964-1976 - later as chairman * Frederick T. Metcalf — 1977-1984 - later as chairman * Donald Graham Campbell — 1984-1986 * Ronald Osborne — 1986-1994

Assets

At the time of Maclean-Hunter's takeover by Rogers in 1994, the company owned the following assets:

Television

Rogers immediately spun off Maclean-Hunter's television assets. Baton Broadcasting and Electrohome acquired CFCN-TV and Maclean-Hunter's share of CTV, a transaction which moved Baton significantly closer to its eventual takeover of the entire CTV network. Shaw acquired Maclean-Hunter's share in the New Country Network, which was licensed but had not yet launched at the time of the takeover. * Calgary - CFCN-TV * 14.3% of CTV * 60% of New Country Network

Radio

Maclean-Hunter owned 21 radio stations. Most were spun off by Rogers to other owners; only the Kitchener and Ottawa stations are still owned by Rogers today. * Amherst - CKDH *

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

- CFNY * Campbellton - CKNB *

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

- CFCY, CHLQ * Chatham - CFCO * Halifax - CHNS, CHFX * Kitchener - CKGL, CHYM * Leamington - CHYR *

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. Th ...

- CKCW, CFQM * Newcastle - CFAN *

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

- CIWW, CKBY * Saint John - CIOK *

Sarnia Sarnia is a city in Lambton County, Ontario, Canada. It had a Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population of 72,047, and is the largest city on Lake Huron. Sarnia is located on the eastern bank of the junction between the Upper and Lower Great Lakes, ...

- CKTY, CFGX *

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

CJCW CJCW-FM is a Canadian radio station broadcasting at 92.9 FM broadcasting, FM in Sussex, New Brunswick, Sussex, New Brunswick. The station airs an adult contemporary format and is owned & operated by the Maritime Broadcasting System. The station h ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

- CKYC

Cable television

Maclean-Hunter Cable served the following markets in

. These were acquired by Rogers, although some were later sold to

Shaw Cable Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

or Cogeco. Shaw's share was sold to Rogers in 2023. *

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

* Alfred * Arnprior * Beachburg * Bourget *

Carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

* Chalk River * Cobden * Collingwood * Deep River *

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

* Hawkesbury * Huntsville * Lancaster *

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* Maxville * Midland *

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

* North Bay *

(west of Bank Street) *

Owen Sound Owen Sound (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat, seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi River, Pottawatomi and Sydenham River ...

* Pakenham * Pembroke *

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

* Renfrew * St. Catharines * St. Isidore de Prescott *

* Sault Ste. Marie *

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...

* Wallaceburg

References

External links

CRTC decision approving the acquisition of Maclean-Hunter by Rogers

Maclean-Hunter Limited fonds
Archives of Ontario
Maclean Hunter Limited (1887-1994)
- Canadian Communications Foundation {{CATV Canada Defunct cable and DBS companies of Canada Defunct radio broadcasting companies of Canada Magazine publishing companies of Canada Newspaper companies of Canada Defunct broadcasting companies of Canada Publishing companies established in 1887 Mass media companies disestablished in 1994 1887 establishments in Ontario 1994 disestablishments in Ontario Maclean's Rogers Communications Canadian companies established in 1887