Mid-Canada Communications
The company, a subsidiary of Northern Cable,[1] had television and radio holdings in Northeastern Ontario.[2] This twinstick structure was permitted by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) because both companies were on the brink of bankruptcy due to their aggressive competition for limited advertising dollars in small markets.[3] The deal represented the first time that the CRTC had ever approved direct ownership of a radio or television broadcast outlet by a cable distribution company, which is now commonplace in Canada but was explicitly forbidden by CRTC policy prior to the MCTV approval.Due to CTV's status at the time as a cooperative of its affiliated stations, MCTV itself held a 2.1 per cent share in the network.[6] As well, MCTV owned CHRO in Pembroke, a CBC affiliate in a market with no other television stations.