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Vista Radio

{{short description|Canadian radio broadcasting company}}

{{Infobox company

| name = Vista Radio Ltd.

| logo = 150px

| type = Private

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| location = Courtenay, British Columbia, Canada

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| industry = Radio broadcasting

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| owner = Westerkirk Capital

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| homepage = {{url|https://www.vistaradio.ca|vistaradio.ca}}

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}}

Vista Radio Ltd. (also formerly known as Vista Broadcast Group) is a Courtenay, British Columbia-based media company. Owned by Westerkirk Capital, Vista is the second-largest owner of radio stations in Canada.

The company only owned stations in British Columbia until 2007, when it expanded outside the province by acquiring an existing station in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and launching a new one in Grande Prairie, Alberta.[http://bcradiohistory.radiowest.ca/Biographies/PaulMann.htm "Vista Radio: The Big Fish in the Small Pond"]. Broadcast Dialogue With its acquisition of Haliburton Broadcasting Group, the company expanded into Ontario in 2012. In 2025, the company acquired 21 additional British Columbia stations from Bell Media.

History

Vista Radio was founded by Paul Mann, Jason Mann, Margot Micallef, Barb Fairclough and Bryan Edwards in 2004.[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080315.RDECISION15/TPStory/Business "A small-town start tunes the dial on the big time"], The Globe and Mail, March 15, 2008.

On April 23, 2012, Vista announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Westerkirk Capital. With support from the new owner, Vista announced a concurrent agreement to acquire Haliburton Broadcasting Group, a broadcast group with 24 stations in small to mid-sized markets in Ontario.[http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/news/westerkirk-capital-acquires-vista-and-haliburton-broadcast-groups/1001105335/ "Westerkirk Capital Acquires Vista and Haliburton Broadcast Groups"]. Broadcaster, April 26, 2012. The deal was approved by the CRTC on October 19, 2012.[http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-577.htm Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2012-577]. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, October 19, 2012.

On February 8, 2024, Bell Media announced that it would sell 21 of its radio stations in British Columbia to Vista Radio. The applications were approved by the CRTC on February 13, 2025.{{cite news |date=February 8, 2024 |title='Not a viable business anymore': Bell Media selling 45 radio stations amid layoffs |url=https://www.thestar.com/business/not-a-viable-business-anymore-bell-media-selling-45-radio-stations-amid-layoffs/article_59a7d1cd-4fb8-5494-9dd6-01b6d3b96364.html |access-date=February 8, 2024 |work=Toronto Star}}{{cite web |title=Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2025-44 |url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2025/2025-44.htm |website=Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2025-44 |publisher=CRTC |access-date=13 February 2025}} In April, Bell also reached an agreement to add the remainder of Vista's stations to the iHeartRadio Canada platform.{{Cite web |last=Hathout |first=Ahmad |date=2025-04-02 |title=iHeartRadio Canada adds 51 Vista Radio stations |url=https://cartt.ca/iheartradio-canada-adds-51-vista-radio-stations/ |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=Cartt.ca |language=en-CA}} Vista relaunched all 21 stations under new brands on April 14, with most of the Move Radio stations rebranded as Go FM, Bounce Radio stations rebranded as Summit, and Pure Country mostly rebranded as The Ranch.{{Cite web |last=Thiessen |first=Connie |date=2025-04-14 |title=Vista Radio launches simultaneous rebrand of 21 former Bell Media stations |url=https://broadcastdialogue.com/vista-radio-launches-simultaneous-rebrand-of-21-former-bell-media-stations/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Broadcast Dialogue |language=en-US}}

Stations

=Alberta=

=British Columbia=

=Northwest Territories=

=Ontario=

Many of Vista's small-market radio stations in Ontario are branded as Moose FM, although the company uses a variety of other brands on its larger-market stations.

=Former stations=

  • Caledon, Ontario - CFGM-FM (defunct)
  • Kelowna, British Columbia - CJUI (sold to Avenue Radio Ltd. in October 2017){{Cite web|url=http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2017/2017-358.htm|title=CJUI-FM Kelowna – Acquisition of assets|publisher=CRTC|language=en|access-date=2017-10-18}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.castanet.net/news/Kelowna/200659/Castanet-buys-Juice-FM|title=Castanet buys Juice FM|work=Castanet|access-date=2017-10-18|language=en}}
  • Vanderhoof, British Columbia - CIVH (discontinued March 2018 after transmitter collapse. Programming moved to CIRX-FM-1.)
  • Haldimand, Ontario - CKJN-FM (sold to Durham Radio in 2016){{cite web|title=Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2016-258|url=http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2016/2016-258.htm|publisher=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission|access-date=6 September 2016|date=8 July 2016}}
  • Niagara Falls, Ontario - CFLZ-FM, CJED-FM (sold to Byrnes Communications in January 2018)
  • Medicine Hat, Alberta - CJLT-FM (sold to United Christian Broadcasters Canada in December 2023){{Cite web |date=2023-12-04 |title=CJLT-FM Medicine Hat - Acquisition of assets |url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2023/2023-403.htm?_ga=2.187307048.1019237454.1701885792-2102535694.1698377766 |access-date=2023-12-13 |website= |publisher=CRTC}}{{Cite web |last=Dialogue |first=Broadcast |date=2023-12-07 |title=Radio & Podcast News - CRTC approves UCB acquisition of CJLT-FM Medicine Hat |url=https://broadcastdialogue.com/radio-podcast-news-164/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=Broadcast Dialogue |language=en-US}}
  • Bolton, Ontario - CJFB-FM (sold to Local Radio Lab Inc. in April 2025){{cite web|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2025/2025-87.htm|title=CJFB-FM Bolton – Change in ownership and effective control|publisher=CRTC|access-date=2025-04-15}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Official website|http://www.vistaradio.ca}}
  • [http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/vista-broadcast-group-inc History of Vista Broadcast Group Inc.] - Canadian Communications Foundation

{{Vista Broadcast Group}}

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Category:Radio broadcasting companies of Canada

Category:Companies based in British Columbia

Category:Courtenay, British Columbia