The only change on the dial will be in the ownership of two private radio stations in Charlottetown.
Ocean 100 and Hot 105.5 will fall under new ownership later this year when Newfoundland Capital Corporation Ltd., the parent company of Newcap radio, completes a sale to Stingray.
Stingray is a provider of multiplatform music and digital experiences for pay TV operators, commercial establishments, OTT providers, mobile operators, consumers and more.
The company has 400 million subscribers in 156 countries.
Jennifer Evans, general manager of the Charlottetown radio stations, said the sale will not affect programming and no jobs will be lost.
“Stingray does not have a radio division so there’s no duplication of any resources or people so no changes to local services whatsoever,’’ Evans said.
“… The exciting part for us is that Stingray distributes content and Newcap creates content. I think they are two very complimentary businesses so we’re pretty excited that a very forward-thinking, evolving company is the potential purchaser.’’
Newcap owns and operates 72 radio stations in Canada. The sale requires approval by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which means the sale likely won't be finalized until the end of the year.
“Staff are pretty excited here because it is a very forward-thinking acquisition.’’
The transaction is valued at about $506 million, including the assumption of net debt of about $112 million as of Dec. 31, 2017.
Robb Steele, chairman, president and CEO of Newcap, said joining forces with Stingray will allow the business to move towards greater success.
“Together, we have begun to build a solid foundation for Canada’s next great media group,’’ Steele said.
Eric Boyko, president and co-founder of Stingray, said the acquisition comes after months of careful review, and positions the company as “a major player in the Canadian media landscape.’’
“We have found in (Newcap) an established and trusted partner with a proven track record of delivering results in niche markets across the country,’’ Boyko said.
When the sale closes, Steele will step down as chairman of Newcap and assume a leadership position with Stingray’s newly formed radio division.
Evans said it will be business as usual for Ocean 100 and Hot 105.5.
“We have been assured that all the local station levels that it’s business as usual now and after the sale, because they don’t have radio stations. We are the content so that’s why they bought us,’’ Evans said.
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