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Diversified Communications

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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

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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. The company was also the original owner of Home Theater Network, until Westinghouse Broadcasting bought out a majority stake in the company in 1980.[1]

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 began to co-produce Kosherfest, a two-day trade show for the kosher-certified[2] until it was discontinued after its last show in 2022.[3] 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.[4]

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.[5] It will make WCJB a sister station to WCTV (Gray Television's then-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.[6]

In 2024, Diversified Communications updated its branding to operate under the name "Diversified" as its official DBA, introducing a new logo and visual identity. This rebranding coincided with the company's 75th anniversary, celebrating its legacy while positioning the organization for future growth and innovation.

Properties

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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.[7]

Former stations

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  • Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
  • Two boldface asterisks appearing following a station's call letters (**) indicate a station built and signed on by Community Broadcasting Service or Diversified Communications.
Stations owned by Diversified Communications
Media market State Station Purchased Sold Notes
Gainesville Florida WCJB-TV 1976 2017
Bangor Maine WABI 1949 1993
WABI-TV ** 1953 2017
WYOU-FM ** 1961 1993 [a]
Houlton WABM 1957 1959
Portland WMTW ** 1954 1964 [b]
WPOR 1958 1971
WPOR-FM ** 1967 1971
Presque Isle WAGM 1957 1981
WAGM-TV 1957 1984
Mount Washington New Hampshire WMTW-FM ** 1958 1964 [b]
New Bern–Greenville–Washington North Carolina WCTI-TV 1986 1993
Scranton–Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania WYOU 1986 1996
Florence–Myrtle Beach South Carolina WPDE-TV 1985 2006
WWMB 1994 2006 [c]
  1. ^ Known as WABI-FM prior to 1973 and as WBGW from 1973 to 1986.
  2. ^ a b Owned by Mount Washington Television, whose ownership partially overlapped with Community Broadcasting Service.
  3. ^ Owned by Atlantic Media Group, but operated by Diversified from its sign on in 1994 until 2006.

References

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  1. ^ "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 24, 1980. p. 30. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  2. ^ "Diversified Celebrates Kosherfest's 25th Anniversary". Diversified Business Communications. 2015. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  3. ^ "Kosherfest No More: Popular Food Show Says It is Discontinuing | Matzav.com". May 31, 2023. Retrieved May 31, 2023.
  4. ^ "DISH Negotiations Notices | WABI TV5". Archived from the original on April 26, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  5. ^ Diana Marszalek, Gray Buys Diversified's Stations in Bangor, Gainesville[permanent dead link‍] Broadcasting & Cable, February 16, 2017
  6. ^ Consummation Notice, CDBS Public Access, Federal Communications Commission, Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  7. ^ "About". SPAR Point Group. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
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