CALGARY – On the face of it, Shaw Communications purchase of Pemberton Cable, announced late Wednesday, is small potatoes.
But, if you consider that Pemberton Cable’s owners have a license to build a cable system into mega-popular resort town, Whistler – home of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games – then the deal becomes something else altogether.
Pemberton Cable currently operates the cable and Internet systems located in Pemberton, B.C., 30 kms north of Whistler.
"We are truly delighted with the acquisition of Pemberton Cable" said Peter Bissonnette, president of Shaw Communications in a release. "This gem of a cable system complements our existing cable properties along the west coast and provides us further access to this growing recreational and tourist region. It offers great synergies with our existing cable operations located outside of Vancouver and further enhances our cable clusters moving north east from the BC Coast."
"Shaw will give Pemberton Cable the resources it needs to compete" said Todd Carter, representing the ownership group. "This deal will only enrich the cable and Internet services available to our customers in Pemberton."
In 2003, the CRTC granted the owners of Pemberton Cable a class 2 cable license to build into Whistler, which already has 30-plus year-old Whistler Cable, owned and operated by Manny Saperstein. Whistler Cable was then granted a license to build into Pemberton, if it wished.
It’s not clear at this time if either company has started their overbuilds.
Whistler has about 8,000 permanent homes and over 50,000 hotel rooms and other rentals, numbers that will surely grow as we approach 2010.
