Diversified Communications

Updated on Dec 27, 2023

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Founded 1949

Headquarters Portland, Maine, United States Subsidiaries Diversified Business Communications Canada

Diversified Communications is a broadcasting company, headquartered in Portland, Maine. Among the various publications and broadcast outlets, the company organizes trade shows, publishes magazines, produces digital business and operates broadcast stations.

Under the name, Community Broadcasting Service, it founded and still owns Maine's first TV station, WABI-TV.

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History

Diversified was founded as Community Broadcasting Service in 1949 when Horace A. Hildreth, the former governor of Maine, president of Bucknell University and U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, purchased the license for Maine's first radio station, WABI. In 1953, he launched Maine's first TV station, WABI-TV in Bangor, Maine. Recently, Diversified Communications demanded a 300% increase from its Direct TV customers. In response, millions of viewers in the Gainesville, Florida and Bangor, Maine area have lost all access to the stations listed below.

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. 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.

Properties

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

Television stations

(**)—indicates a station built and signed on by Community Broadcasting Service/Diversified Communications.

Former Television stations

Notes:

¹ 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.

² This station was owned by Mount Washington Television, whose ownership partially overlapped with Community Broadcasting Service.