Shaw Reveals Details of Rebranded Canwest

CALGARY: With its acquisition of Canwest Global Communications Corp.’s broadcasting assets complete, Shaw Communications has renamed the business as Shaw Media and has announced its senior leadership team.

“The Asper family built a broadcasting organization which served our country well," said JR Shaw, executive chair, as the transaction closed yesterday. "We look forward, under our stewardship, to strengthening these important assets for the benefit of all Canadians."

Brad Shaw, executive VP and soon-to-be CEO, added, “Today marks the successful emergence of Canwest broadcasting assets from creditor protection and represents a major milestone in the evolution of broadcasting in Canada. We are excited about the possibilities that the marriage of distribution and content creates for all of our stakeholders and we are pleased to be in the position to officially welcome an additional 2,100 employees to the Shaw family."

Paul Robertson is group VP of broadcasting and president of Shaw Media. He said of the Shaw/Canwest combination: “This acquisition brings together outstanding content and distribution capabilities and a team of talented and experienced industry leaders. Together, we will change the competitive landscape and create a new Canadian broadcasting model that delivers quality content when, where and how our customers want to receive it."

Named to the post of senior VP of content is Barbara Williams. She will oversee Canadian original productions, acquisitions and scheduling for the company’s conventional television network, 19 specialty channels and digital media sites.

Rounding out the senior team are Troy Reeb, VP of news; Paul Burns, VP of digital media; Andrew Akman, VP of planning; Charlotte Bell, VP of regulatory and government affairs; Carol Darling, VP of engineering and broadcast systems; Errol Da-Ré, senior VP of sales; Michael French, VP of finance; and Dervla Kelly, senior director of communications.