IZZY ASPER (Israel Harold Asper). Born in Minnedosa, Manitoba, Canada, 11 August 1932. Educated at the University of Manitoba, B.A., 1953; LL.B., 1957, LL.M., 1964. Married Ruth Bernstein, 1956, children: David, Leonard, and Gail. Newspaper columnist on taxation, 1966-77; leader of the Liberal Party in Manitoba, 1970-75; sat in Manitoba Legislative Assembly, 1972-75; counsel to the law firm of Buchwald, Asper, and Henteleff; acquired ownership of a string of independent stations during the 1970s; partner in Global Television programming service; head of CanWest Global Communications Corporation and CanWest Capital Group Inc. since 1989. Address: 1063 Wellington Crescent, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3N 0A1.

 

 

 

Izzy Asper is chairman and chief executive officer of CanWest Global Communications Corporation, a western-based Canadian programming service which supplies an informal "network" of independent stations with originally-produced and syndicated international content. CanWest Global intends to become the third English-language Canadian television network and is developing a growing international presence.

Asper's career began in law and politics. In 1964, he was called to the Manitoba bar and established himself as an expert on tax law. Indeed, from 1966 to 1977, Asper wrote a nationally-syndicated newspaper column on taxation and in 1970 authored a book critical of the federal government's tax reform proposals. He remains legal counsel to the firm of Buchwald, Asper, and Henteleff, and was named Queen's Counsel in 1975. Asper also pursued a political career. From 1970 to 1975, he was leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party and from 1972 to 1975 sat in opposition as a member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly.

In the early 1970s, Asper turned to broadcasting as he and partner Paul Morton set up Winnipeg independent television station CKND. In 1974, however, Asper became involved in a financial package to salvage a Toronto-based station, Global Television. As Global's fortunes rose during the late 1970s, so too did Asper's financial stake. He likewise extended his broadcast holdings in Western Canada. Indeed, Asper and his partners were successful in building a string of Western independent stations.

Global Television, located in the Toronto-Hamilton corridor, Canada's richest media market, soon became the flagship of a new programming service. Global's originally-produced content was sold to the string of independents controlled by Asper and his partners. Global also acquired top-rated U.S. shows which it syndicated across Canada. The profits from this were reinvested in original production. Global also sought to reduce its reliance on expensive U.S. shows by developing Canadian content capable of gaining a following. Finally, Global increasingly sought to market its content and expertise internationally.

By 1986, however, disputes had erupted between Asper and his partners, and these in turn led to lawsuits. The disputes were resolved in 1989 when the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench ordered that the contentious partnerships be dissolved and the assets auctioned to the former partners. Asper emerged victorious from this "corporate shoot-out" as head of a new entity called CanWest Global Communications Corporation.

Since assuming control of CanWest Global, Asper has acquired international interests. CanWest Global now owns 57.5% of the Australian Ten Network, exercises operational control of New Zealand's TV3 (despite owning only 20%), and controls 50% of Chile's La Red network. Finally, CanWest Global is also currently the leading bidder for Britain's fifth television network. CanWest is also seeking to extend its reach into Quebec and the Maritime provinces.

Asper's broadcasting career has been characterized by two major tendencies. The first is the attempt to move the overall broadcasting system away from Central Canada (Toronto and Montreal) towards the West. This is achieved in the structure of CanWest Global whose main station and facilities are located in Toronto but whose command centre lies in Winnipeg. The second has been the belief that Canadian content can profitably replace much American content which is over-valued for the Canadian market because of competitive network bidding and regulatory distortions. To that end, CanWest Global has produced and co-produced content which has achieved a degree of success: the highly rated Global News, the weekly comedy/drama Ready Or Not, the weekly "reality" series Missing Treasures: The Search For Our Lost Children, and several TV movies. These tendencies are, however, tempered by market realism. Hence, like Canadian broadcasters generally, CanWest Global also uses U.S. shows to subsidize Canadian production, seeks out the largest population centres, and attempts to develop international markets.

-Paul Attallah