Shaw Communications to buy the Campbell River Cable System for $46 million

By THE CANADIAN PRESS
August 28  

CALGARY - Shaw Communications Inc. said Thursday that members of the Campbell River TV Association have approved the sale of the cable system in and around Campbell River, B.C., to Shaw in a deal worth $46 million.

The sale still requires CRTC approval.

The Cable River TV Association started operations in 1957 and provides the residents of Campbell River with cable and Internet offerings.

Shaw Communications serves 3.3 million customers, including 1.5 million Internet and over 550,000 residential digital phone customers.  

(Ed note: Shaw has tried before to acquire the Campbell River system, but those earlier overtures were rejected.)

"We are delighted that the CRTV membership has so strongly endorsed our offer", said Peter Bissonnette, President of Shaw Communications. "We look forward to serving the Campbell River customers who join their neighbours from Courtenay and the Comox Valley in choosing Shaw."

"We are proud of the services we developed and offered at CRTV over the last 50 years," said John Kerr, President of the Board of Directors of CRTV.  "Our members recognize that they will enjoy an enhanced offering of entertainment, Internet and digital phone services through Shaw."

CRTV should have continued saying no - if I was a member, I would have.

Actually, if you knew the full story you would feel differently. I'm a CR resident with CRTV and I'm happy to have Shaw take over. Millions of $$$ in updates are required and CRTV will have to try to find the money to do it...by hiking our rates. Latest update is that the "anti-Shaw" faction have succeeded temporarily in derailing the process for a bit longer by throwing lawyers at it but legally they have nowhere to go. In the meantime I watch snowy pictures from external sources and can't get the channels I want without paying huge $$ for packages I don't want.