 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Traded as | TSX-V: ZUM |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | Toronto, Ontario (2007) |
| Founder | Moses Znaimer |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Products | Broadcasting, Advertising, Publishing, Television production |
| Website | www.zoomermedia.ca |
ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company. Founded by veteran media executive Moses Znaimer, the company has interests in radio, television, and digital media.
The company originally focused primarily on lifestyle properties appealing to baby boomers, later acquiring the broadcasting assets of S-VOX (including specialty channel VisionTV), and subsuming other privately held assets owned by Znaimer (including three Toronto radio stations). In the 2020s, it began to expand into young adult-oriented digital properties, including BlogTO, Daily Hive, and MobileSyrup.
History
ZoomerMedia was announced in February 2008 by Moses Znaimer—a veteran Canadian media executive that had recently been named the executive director of CARP—via his acquisitions of Kemur Publishing and Fifty-Plus.Net International. The two companies had originally been established by CARP's founders Lillian and Murray Morgenthau to house for-profit publishing and internet businesses that could not fall directly under the non-profit association; they provided revenue to CARP via royalties and other business agreements with the organization. Znaimer acquired the companies for $13.1 million in a reverse takeover, going public on the TSX Venture Exchange in July of that year.
The name of the company is derived from "zoomer", a term coined in 2000 by Znaimer for baby boomers "with zip" who wanted to live actively; as such, its operations would consist of businesses that target people between the ages of 45 and 65. ZoomerMedia would maintain its affiliations with CARP, with plans announced for its magazine to be relaunched as Zoomer Magazine under new publisher Suzanne Boyd, and the company expanding the "Zoomer" brand into other ventures targeting the demographic, such as the social networking service Zoomer.com, and the ZoomerShow expo in Toronto
In June 2009, ZoomerMedia announced a deal to acquire the broadcasting assets of S-VOX, which included conventional stations CHNU-TV and CIIT-TV, along with specialty channels VisionTV and a stake in One for $25 million. Alongside the acquisition of S-VOX, ZoomerMedia also planned to subsume MZ Media—a private company held by Znaimer that owned the Toronto radio stations CFMZ-FM, CFMX-FM, and CFZM. Following the transactions (which required the approval of minority shareholders and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Znaimer owns 66% of the combined company, and insurance company Fairfax Financial owns 28%. All of these transactions were completed on June 30, 2010.
Later, on September 28, 2010, ZoomerMedia relocated its headquarters to 64 Jefferson Avenue.
In 2022, ZoomerMedia began to acquire young adult-oriented digital properties, acquiring the publisher of BlogTO in February 2022, and the publisher of Daily Hive in September 2022. Chief digital officer Omri Tintpulver explained that despite being positioned towards young adults, BlogTO still had a sizable reach among ZoomerMedia's core demographic market, and that the site would also allow it to reach wider demographics, pursue "integrated" multi-platform advertising opportunities, and leverage its experience in developing digital and social media content.
On February 8, 2024, Bell Media announced that it would sell its Owen Sound radio station CJOS-FM to ZoomerMedia. In June 2024, Blue Ant Media sold the mobile and technology news website MobileSyrup to ZoomerMedia.
Assets
Conventional television stations
Main article: JoytvZoomerMedia's two conventional stations were part of a television system known as Joytv until August 2013 when CIIT was rebranded as "Hope TV" and dropped all non-religious programming. As Joytv, they were licensed as religious television stations that air religious-based programs in addition to other family friendly and entertainment programs. Both were previously owned by S-VOX. They had previously been a part of the Omni Television system, having been previously owned by Trinity Television before the sale to Rogers. Rogers sold the two stations to S-VOX on March 31, 2008.
Specialty channels
Radio
- CFMZ-FM, Toronto, Ontario (The New Classical 96.3 FM)
- CFZM, Toronto, Ontario (Zoomer Radio)
- CFMX-FM, Cobourg, Ontario (Classical 103.1)
- CFMO-FM, Collingwood, Ontario (Classical 102.9)
- CJOS-FM, Owen Sound, Ontario
Magazines
- On the Bay
- Tonic
- Zoomer Magazine
Digital
- EverythingZoomer.com
- Buzz Connected Media
- blogTO.com
- Ludwig-Van.com
Other assets
- Fresh Daily Inc
- BlogTO
- MZTV Museum of Television
- MZTV Production & Distribution
- ideaCity (Conference)
- Marketing / membership operations of CARP
- VoxBox
- Zoomer Management Limited
- ZoomerCard
- ZoomerShow
See also
- CHUM Limited – Moses Znaimer managed its television division from 1981 to 2003.
References
- ^ "MOSES HAS SPOKEN (so WHY aren't you listening?)". The Globe and Mail. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
- ^ "Old 'Boomers' have new name: 'Zoomers'". Toronto Star. 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
- "Spiritual TV fits Moses' Zoomer vision Archived 2009-06-19 at the Wayback Machine. The Globe and Mail, June 15, 2009.
- Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2010-03-30). "ARCHIVED - Vision TV - Acquisition of assets - CHNU-TV Fraser Valley and CIIT-TV Winnipeg - Change in effective control - ONE: The Body, Mind and Spirit Channel - Change in effective control Classical Digital, CFZM, CFMZ-FM, CFMZ-DR-1 Toronto, and CFMX-FM Cobourg - Corporate reorganization". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ZoomerMedia Limited Agrees to Purchase all Television Assets of VisionTV and $17.6 Million Private Placement with Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, ZoomerMedia press release via Marketwire, June 15, 2009
- ZoomerMedia Limited Completes Acquisitions and Financing
- ^ Krewen, Nick. "Zoomer's big plans for BlogTO are already underway". Media of Canada. Retrieved 2024-02-10.
- Rubin, Josh (2022-09-14). "ZoomerMedia goes after the younger generation with deal to buy Daily Hive publisher for $16.4 million". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2024-12-15.
- "Bell Media planning cuts to CTV, BNN Bloomberg following BCE layoffs, sale of 45 radio stations". CTV News. February 8, 2024. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- Townsend, Kelly (June 27, 2024). "ZoomerMedia buys Mobile Syrup from Blue Ant Media". Media in Canada. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- "FaithTV – ZoomerMedia Limited". Retrieved 2020-10-23.
- "FaithTV - The Nation's Faith Station". FaithTV. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
- Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) (2012-02-29). "ARCHIVED - Licensing of new radio stations to serve Shelburne and Collingwood, Ontario". crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
External links
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