Northern Cable was a Canadian

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 broa ...

provider, which operated from 1975 to 1998. The company, based in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, served most of the

Northeastern Ontario Northeastern Ontario is a secondary region of Northern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, which lies north of Lake Huron and east of Lake Superior. Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiska ...

region. Although

CUC Broadcasting CUC Broadcasting was a Canadian media company, active from 1968 to 1995. Active primarily as a cable television distributor, the company also had some holdings in broadcast media and publishing. The company was founded in 1968 by chairman Geoffrey ...

was the largest single shareholder,"Struggle under way to control CUC Broadcasting, sources say". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', March 2, 1989. the company was structured to maintain corporate control within the region. F. Baxter Ricard, the largest local shareholder, was the company's chairman, with his wife

Alma Ricard Alma Ricard , née Vézina (October 4, 1906 – June 2, 2003) was a Canadian broadcaster and philanthropist."Philanthropist extraordinaire". ''The Globe and Mail'', July 4, 2003. A partner with her husband F. Baxter Ricard in his broadcasting h ...

"Philanthropist extraordinaire". ''

'', July 4, 2003. and cofounder Norman Bradley as the other primary shareholders."CFCF about to join cable giants: Planned purchase of Sudbury company will make Montreal firm fifth largest". ''

'', September 30, 1993. The company was one of ten bidders for the original cable license to serve Sudbury, alongside competitors such as

Maclean-Hunter Maclean-Hunter (M-H) was a Canadian communications company, which had diversification (finance), diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution. History The company began in 1887, when brothers J ...

, Bushnell Communications, Jarmain Teleservices, Trans-Video, Malo-Hosken, Cambrian Broadcasting, City Cablecasting and Huneault Cablecasting. The company was also the primary shareholder in the region's MCTV and

Mid-Canada Radio Mid-Canada Communications was a Canadian media company, which operated from 1980 to 1990. The company, a division of Northern Cable, had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario. MCTV Mid-Canada Television, or MCTV, was created in 1 ...

systems. By 1989, the company was sending signals that due to Baxter Ricard's age and declining health and a developing ownership challenge at CUC, it was opening itself up to acquisition by larger companies, hiring business consultancy Thorne Ernst & Whinney to solicit bids. Bradley tentatively bought out CUC's shares in the company in 1989,"Firm that owns CHRO sold; Deal for Northern Cable may halt bid for Ottawa licence". ''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', May 27, 1989. with the deal to be financed by selling off the company's broadcast holdings. The deal also halted a pending application by the company to expand

CHRO-TV CHRO-TV (analog television, analogue channel 5) is a television station licensed to Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, serving the capital city of Ottawa as part of the CTV 2 system. It is Owned-and-operated station, owned and operated by Bell Media alo ...

, its station in Pembroke, into the larger

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

market. In 1990, Northern sold MCTV to

Baton Broadcasting Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

, and Mid-Canada Radio to

Pelmorex Pelmorex Corp. is a Canadian weather information and media company. Based in Oakville, Ontario, it is the owner of the Canadian specialty channels The Weather Network (English) and MétéoMédia (French), and their associated digital properties. ...

. In 1993, shortly after Baxter Ricard's death, Northern was acquired by

CF Cable CF Cable TV was a Canadian cable company in the 1980s and 1990s. Owned by Jean Pouliot, a businessman in Montreal, Quebec whose holdings also included CFCF-TV"CFCF issue is proving attractive to investors". ''The Globe and Mail'', June 18, 1985. an ...

, although Northern remained a separate division of the company. The deal made CF Cable the fifth-largest cable operator in Canada. In 1997, CF Cable sold its cable operations to

Vidéotron Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Quebecor, it primarily s ...

. Northern Cable was sold the following year to Regional Cablesystems,CRTC Decision 98-452
/ref> which folded the company into its own operations and branding. Regional subsequently became

Persona Communications Persona Communications, formerly Regional Cablesystems, was a cable television, Internet and telecommunications provider in Canada. Persona was purchased by EastLink in 2007. At that point it ceased to be an independent company, and the Persona ...

in 2001, and Persona in turn was sold to EastLink in 2007. EastLink has, however, kept Northern Cable's former head office in Sudbury open as its divisional office for operations in

References

{{CATV Canada Defunct cable and DBS companies of Canada Companies based in Greater Sudbury Mass media companies established in 1975 Telecommunications companies established in 1975 Companies disestablished in 1998 1975 establishments in Ontario 1998 establishments in Ontario