Diversified Communications

Diversified Communications is a multimedia company, headquartered in Portland, Maine. The company provides market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, digital products and publications.

History

Diversified was founded in 1949 when Horace A. Hildreth, the former governor of Maine, president of Bucknell University and U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, purchased Community Broadcasting Service, owner of Maine's oldest radio station, WABI in Bangor. In 1953, he launched Maine's first TV station, WABI-TV in Bangor.

In 1970, Diversified entered the publishing and trade show business with the acquisition of National Fisherman and FISH EXPO Boston. In 1972, it formed New England Cablevision which it sold in 2000.

Throughout the 1980s, Diversified expanded its publishing and trade show business with products in the commercial marine and seafood industries. In 1993, it expanded internationally with the European Seafood Exposition. Diversified continued its international growth with the acquisition of Australia Exhibition Services in 2000, the formation of DBC Canada and the acquisition of UK-based Full Moon Communications in 2002. In 2004 it joined Menachem Lubinsky of Lubicom Marketing and Consulting to co-produce Kosherfest, a two-day trade show for the kosher-certified food industry started in 1989.[1] In 2009, Diversified expanded into Hong Kong with the acquisition of Asia Business Events and established a presence in India with the acquisition of Infocast.

On July 15, 2014, the contracts that Diversified Communications had with Dish Network expired. Among the issues Diversified cited included financial terms, customer service issues between the station and Dish Network, and, in Bangor, viewership changes on Dish's part in several counties to another CBS station on account of DMA location (including WGME in the Portland area). After a breakdown on contract talks, which picked up slowly, an agreement was reached on October 8, 2014, allowing both stations to return to Dish Network later that day.[2]

On February 16, 2017, it was announced that WABI-TV and sister station WCJB-TV in Gainesville, Florida would be sold to Gray Television for $85 million, pending FCC approval.[3] It will make WCJB a sister station to WCTV (Gray Television's flagship station) in Tallahassee and WJHG-TV and WECP-LD in Panama City, while reuniting WABI-TV with WAGM-TV (which Gray acquired two years prior) in Presque Isle, Maine. The sale was completed on May 1, 2017.[4]

Properties

Today, Diversified operates trade fairs on four continents, produces trade publications, and owns several digital businesses. SPAR Point Group, which focuses on the 3D imaging technologies sector, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Diversified.[5]

Former Diversified-owned stations

Stations arranged alphabetically by state and by city of license.

Television stations

Note:

  • (**) – Indicates a station built and signed on by Community Broadcasting Service/Diversified Communications.
City of license / Market Station Channel
TV (RF)		 Years owned Current ownership status
Gainesville, Florida WCJB-TV 20 (16) 1976–2017 ABC affiliate owned by Gray Television
Bangor, Maine WABI-TV ** 5 (13) 1953–2017 CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television
Poland Spring - Portland, Maine WMTW ** 1 8 (8) 1954–1964 ABC affiliate owned by Hearst Television
Presque Isle, Maine WAGM-TV 8 (8) 1957–1984 CBS affiliate owned by Gray Television
New Bern - Greenville - Washington, North Carolina WCTI-TV 12 (12) 1986–1993 ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
Scranton - Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania WYOU 22 (13) 1986–1996 CBS affiliate owned by Mission Broadcasting
(operated through an SSA by Nexstar Media Group)
Florence - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina WPDE-TV 15 (16) 1985–2006 ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group
WWMB 21 (21) 2 The CW affiliate owned by Howard Stirk Holdings
(operated through an SSA by Sinclair Broadcast Group)

Notes:

  • 1 This station was owned by Mount Washington Television, whose ownership partially overlapped with Community Broadcasting Service.
  • 2 This station was owned by Atlantic Media Group, but was operated by Diversified under a local marketing agreement from its sign on in 1994 until Diversified sold operating station WPDE-TV to Barrington Broadcasting in 2006.

Radio stations
AM Station FM Station
Market Station Years owned Current ownership status
Bangor, Maine WABI-910 1949–1993 WTOS, owned by Blueberry Broadcasting
WABI-FM/WBGW/WYOU-FM-97.1 ** 1961–1993 WBFB, owned by Blueberry Broadcasting
Houlton, Maine WABM-1340
(later WHGS)		 1957–1959 defunct, went silent by 1994
Portland, Maine WPOR-1490 1958–1971 WBAE, owned by Saga Communications
WPOR-FM-101.9 ** 1967–1971 owned by Saga Communications
Presque Isle, Maine WAGM-950 1957–1981 defunct, went silent by 1991
Mount Washington, New Hampshire WMTW-FM-94.9 ** 1 1958–1964 WHOM, owned by Cumulus Media

Note:

  • 1 This station was owned by Mount Washington Television, whose ownership partially overlapped with Community Broadcasting Service..

References
  1. "Diversified Celebrates Kosherfest's 25th Anniversary". Diversified Business Communications. 2015. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. Diana Marszalek, Gray Buys Diversified's Stations in Bangor, Gainesville Broadcasting & Cable, February 16, 2017
  4. Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  5. "About". SPAR Point Group. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
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