About Corus Entertainment

Corus Entertainment Inc. operates as an integrated media and content company that creates and delivers brands and content across platforms for audiences in Canada and internationally. The company’s portfolio of multimedia offerings include 33 specialty (also known as discretionary) television networks, 15 conventional (also known as basic, over-the-air or free television) television stations, 39 radio stations, digital media assets, a social media digital agency, a social media creator network, technology and media services, and its content business, such as the production and distribution of films and television programs, merchandise licensing, book publishing, and animation software. As of October 21, 2021, the company had 675,000 paid streaming subscribers. It added six Global News regional streams, including Okanagan, Lethbridge, Peterborough, Kingston, Regina and Saskatoon to the Global TV app, increasing the total number of free news streams to 14 within the app. The company owns a 50% stake in Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS) in partnership with Rogers Sports & Media. CBS is a major national radio sales organization in Canada. CBS represents 43 broadcasters and approximately 400 radio stations (including repeaters) in 223 Canadian markets. Segments The company operates through two segments, Television and Radio. Television segment The Television segment includes 33 discretionary specialty television networks that provide programming to audiences across Canada, including news, drama, lifestyle, arts, children’s and entertainment content; 15 conventional basic carriage television stations, including Global Television; and the company’s content business, which includes wholly-owned Nelvana, a global creator, producer and distributor of children’s animated content and related consumer products, as well as Corus Studios, a global creator, producer and distributor of lifestyle and factual reality content, Kids Can Press and Toon Boom. The company also owns social digital agency so.da, lifestyle entertainment company Kin Community Canada and Quay Media Services. Conventional Television Stations The company owns and operates the Global Television network of 15 conventional stations located in Vancouver, Kelowna, Edmonton, Calgary, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Peterborough, Durham, Kingston, Montreal, Saint John and Halifax. Global Television and Global News Global Television stations operate in the ‘Conventional’ broadcast sector, which includes government-owned public networks, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as privately-owned station groups and networks that are available over-the-air to majority Canadian households. The Global Television network has major-coverage across Canada and is included in basic television packages offered by the broadcast distribution undertakings as part of the policy/regulatory changes implemented by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 2016. Global News is both a stand-alone news brand and an integral part of the overall Global Television brand, also reaching consumers through the Global News Radio brand and a network of 24/7, streaming video news channels. These ad-supported channels, localized for 14 different Canadian markets, are delivered direct-to-consumer via the Global TV App, Globalnews.ca, and Amazon Prime Video. With news bureaus and correspondents in various major Canadian cities, Washington, D.C. and London, England, Global National provides Canadians with analysis and perspective on major national and international events. Specialty Television The company’s specialty television networks operate in the ‘Discretionary Services’ segment as defined by the CRTC regulations, which include services providing programming, such as news, arts, children’s, drama, lifestyle and entertainment programming. It owns and operates a total of 33 specialty television networks. While the portfolio is complementary, each brand has a programming focus within the children’s, lifestyle, documentary/factual, drama or news genres, or a mix of these. As of August 31, 2021, the company operated the following specialty television networks: ABC Spark: ABC Spark offers a mix of fan-favorite series, movies and holiday stunt events. Adult Swim: From original animated comedies to live action programming, Adult Swim content is a blend of authenticity. Engaging audiences through an irreverent voice, Adult Swim offers an experience that places fans at the center, bringing together comedy, gaming, music and live events. BC 1: 24-hour, all news channel that provides breaking news, headlines, weather, traffic and coverage of community events and happenings that shape British Columbia. Cartoon Network Canada: Cartoon Network (Canada) offers animated content and brings a slate of entertainment experiences to kids and families, 24 hours. Cooking Channel Canada: Cooking Channel Canada focuses on food lovers. CMT Canada: CMT offers a programming mix of comedies, reality series, and movies. Crime + Investigation: Crime + Investigation focuses on investigating the life’s mysteries through true crime stories and dramatic series. C+I takes viewers on an emotional journey into the world of criminal investigation. DejaView: DejaView is the channel that focuses on TV’s classics with various classic sitcoms of all time, as well as a trove of favorites and acclaimed hits from the past 50 years of TV. Disney Channel Canada: Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family-inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through imagination, laughter and optimism with major TV shows and larger-than-life original movies. Disney Junior Canada: Disney Junior offers programming for younger children with magical and musical stories. This is a 24-hour a day network with development-based programming dedicated to little ones. Disney XD Canada: Disney XD offers a mix of live-action and animated kids programming, transporting viewers into worlds full of humor, fun and action-filled adventures. DIY Network Canada: DIY Network Canada is a destination for rip-up, knock-out home improvement television from small-scale fix-it jobs to major home renovations. DTOUR: DTOUR takes viewers on a journey exploring the world and all that it has to offer. It ranges from paranormal mysteries to pursuits of the legendary and the unidentified. Food Network Canada: Food Network Canada is the experiential and social epicenter of food entertainment, featuring major characters and industry heavy-hitters. HGTV Canada: HGTV Canada is a partner for home. The company focuses on the spirit of home through design, renovation and real estate shows. Historia: A French-language network that engages in programming that brings historical stories from Canada and internationally to life. HISTORY: HISTORY explores stories of human endeavor, achievement and progress through series and specials. H2: HISTORY2 brings users a view of history across science, technology and pop culture. La chaîne Disney: A kid-driven, family-inclusive French-language network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and movies. Lifetime: With exclusive movies, dramas and reality series, Lifetime enables women to find their strength through the attraction of entertainment. OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada: Oprah Winfrey Network provides viewers access to a lineup of original series and specials that focus on entertaining, informing and inspiring viewers to live their lives. MovieTime: With various titles each month, MovieTime offers movie lovers access to a collection of favorite hits. National Geographic: National Geographic focuses on the power of science, exploration and storytelling. Its series tell stories of humankind from an upclose perspective. Nat Geo Wild: Nat Geo Wild focuses on people’s passion for wild animals and wild places by taking viewers on the explorations and adventures that surround the company. Nickelodeon Canada: Nickelodeon is a destination for side-splitting, kid-friendly fun. Séries+: A French-language channel that offers a range of Canadian and American programs, original series, as well as foreign programming. Showcase: Showcase is a major drama network with various stories and characters, and serves as the destination for series and hit blockbuster movies. Slice: Slice is the destination for television showcasing major personalities and a glimpse into the lifestyles and relationships. TELETOON/TÉLÉTOON: The company’s cartoon-crammed network delivers comedy, surprises and action through an animated series. Télétoon is a destination for comedies and cartoons. This French language channel offers daily programming that appeals to the young. Treehouse: For pre-school children, Treehouse represents television that focuses on children from breakfast to bedtime. Delivering a balance of educational, imaginative and entertaining programs, Treehouse provides children’s series from Canada and internationally. W Network: Through dramatic series, exclusive Hallmark Channel seasonal stunts and movies, W embraces connections that focuses on storytelling for women. YTV: As Canada’s dedicated network for Kids, YTV embraces its role as a trailblazer in various things funny for families. With shows, such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Loud House, Trolls: TrollsTopia, The Hardy Boys and The Casagrandes - plus blockbuster movies - YTV’s signature style features made-up words, jokes and random acts of kidness, making it a destination for various things. Content Business The company creates content that is sold in approximately 160 countries worldwide. Nelvana, the cornerstone of the Company’s kids content business, is a creator, producer and distributor of children’s animated content and consumer products. With the launch of Corus Studios in 2016, the company expanded into an area of content creation, developing a slate of original unscripted lifestyle and factual content targeted to women and families. Nelvana’s animation studio has developed and produced a roster of major properties. The programming is sold to various major media companies and digital service providers, as well as being deployed across the company’s own media platforms. The content is distributed through three sales and distribution offices located in Toronto, Canada; Limerick, Ireland; and Paris, France. Nelvana’s program library, which includes proprietary owned content, as well as acquired rights, totals approximately 4,800 half-hour equivalent episodes. Corus Studios focuses on its library of owned and/or distributed unscripted lifestyle and factual programming, which is deployed across the company’s media platforms in Canada and sold to various media companies and networks for distribution on their international platforms. The content is distributed through two sales and distribution offices located in Toronto, Canada and Limerick, Ireland. Toon Boom focuses on digital content and animation creation software solutions with a worldwide sales, distribution and support network, selling its products in approximately 100 countries. The company uses this software as part of its content creation process. Toon Boom carries applications catering to studios and creative professionals, as well as students, educators and schools. Kids Can Press is the major Canadian-owned children’s book publisher. Kids Can Press operates as a publisher of children’s books and continues this tradition with its digital publications, custom publishing partnerships and brand marketing initiatives. Media Services Quay Media Services is a provider of technology service offerings for the television broadcast and production sector. Radio segment The Radio segment includes 39 radio stations (29 FM and 10 AM stations) that are situated primarily in urban centers in English Canada, with a focus in the densely populated areas of Southern Ontario. The company also operates companion websites and other digital platforms, including apps, which are related to its brands. Radio is a medium for advertisers to reach specific demographic groups on a local, regional, and national basis. Stations are classified by their on-air format, such as news/talk, classic hits, rock, country, and hot adult contemporary (Hot AC)/classic hit radio. A station’s format and style of presentation enables it to target certain demographics in a market. By capturing a specific share of the radio listening audience, with major focus concentration in a targeted demographic, a station is able to market its audience to advertisers. Advertisers and stations utilize data published by audience measuring services, such as Numeris, to estimate how many people within particular geographic and demographic markets listen to specific stations. Numeris has deployed the portable people meter (PPM) measurement system in major radio markets across Canada, including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. It is a passive electronic device that measures actual listening. The PPM device registers various radio station exposures over a period of time, in any environment and provides granular audience tracking data than the paper-based recall diary method used in smaller markets. Music streaming apps offer listeners access on smartphones, tablets and car audio systems. Furthermore, listeners have the ability to personalize their music content based on their musical preferences. All Corus Radio stations are streamed online in various forms, majority of which contribute to the measurable PPM ratings data for each station. Podcasting has emerged as a major method for listeners to listen to radio content in an on-demand, mobile manner. Various domestic and international podcasts from public and privately owned radio operators are available for download in the Canadian marketplace, including from the company’s podcast network, Curiouscast. Podcasting and Streaming Live audio streaming and audio on demand/podcasting affords the broadcaster and the advertiser a personal connection with the listener, which is not available through traditional radio. Corus Radio provides audio streams for its radio stations, and all seven of its news talk stations and its major six music stations are available through Apple Music via a relationship with Apple Canada. As a partner in Radioplayer Canada, the company’s radio stations are also available on the Radioplayer Canada platform and app. In 2018, the company launched the podcast network, CuriousCast. Seasonality The company’s advertising revenue is dependent on general advertising revenue and retail cycles associated with consumer spending activity. Based on historical results of the company, the first and third quarter (year ended August 2021) results tend to be the strongest and the second and fourth quarter results tend to be the weakest in a fiscal year. In fiscal 2021, the company had seen a return to historical seasonal trends with the first and third quarter resulting being the highest and the second and fourth quarter being the lowest in the fiscal year. In fiscal 2020, the pandemic resulted in advertising revenue deviating from historical distribution patterns with the third quarter of fiscal 2020 being lower than both the first and second quarters, which resulted in a downward trend in the second half of that fiscal year. The same pattern is observable in segment profit for fiscal 2020. The company’s merchandising and distribution revenue is dependent on the number and timing of film and television programs delivered, as well as the timing and level of success achieved of associated merchandise licensed in the market, which cannot be predicted with certainty. Regulation The company’s radio stations and basic television undertakings, and discretionary television services are subject to licensing and regulation by the CRTC. History Corus Entertainment Inc. was founded in 1998. The company was incorporated in 1998.