Torstar Corp Cl-B CD (TORSF)

Description:

Torstar Corp was incorporated on February 6, 1958. The Company is a Canadian media and book publishing company. Its operating segment includes: Media and Book Publishing. The Media segment publishes four daily newspapers: the Toronto Star, The Hamilton Spectator, the Waterloo Region Record, and the Guelph Mercury. It also publishes over 100 community newspapers in Ontario; and it has a number of specialty publications, directories and consumer shows. In addition, the Company has a 90% interest in Free Daily News Group Inc. which publishes the English-language Metro newspapers in Canadian cities; and through a joint venture arrangement, the Company owns an interest in the Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily and its related publications in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. The Media Segment derives its revenues from advertising, circulation, distribution, third-party printing and other. The Book Publishing Segment represents Harlequin, a publisher of books for women. Harlequin publishes books internationally in a variety of genres and formats, including mass-market paperback, trade paperback, hardcover and digital. Harlequin sells books through the retail channel, in stores and online, and directly to the consumer through its direct mail business and from its internet sites. Harlequin derives its revenue from the publishing and distribution of books in both printed and digital formats. Geographically, its business is segmented into Canada; the United States; and Others, which principally includes United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Australia, Sweden and France. The Company faces competition in each of its business segments. Competition for advertising and subscription revenue comes from sources such as free and paid local, regional and national newspapers, radio, broadcast and cable television, outdoor, direct marketing, directories, and increasingly advertising-supported digital products that provide news and information, including websites, news aggregators, social media, applications for mobile devices, and other communications and advertising media. Its Book Publishing segment competes not only with other book publishers but also with other providers of entertainment including television, music, movies, games and magazines. The Company's facilities are subject to federal, provincial, state and municipal laws concerning, among other things, emissions to the air, water and sewer discharges, handling and disposal of wastes, recycling, or otherwise relating to the protection of the environment.