Canadian audiences spend a substantial amount of time consuming media each day. That includes content produced for TV, radio and digital platforms. Some of the country’s most notable media organizations operate in Toronto, and we’ve put together a list of a few to watch.
Top Toronto Media Companies
- CBC
- Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
- Corus Entertainment
- Blue Ant Media
- Torstar
Media Companies in Toronto to Know
The Globe and Mail is Canada’s best-read newspaper, with 6 million subscribers across the country. Since its inception (a merger of three once-separate newspapers) in 1936, it has evolved into a robust media company, with a digital presence and multiple newsletters. The digital newspaper has a pillar devoted to Taylor Swift.
Pearson produces and publishes educational content for educators and students alike across 22 subjects, from physics to business. Its Channels app helps students prepare for exams and explore learning beyond the classroom. Channels also offers learning for tech professionals, on subjects including blockchain, Python and Javascript.
Ubisoft makes AAA (high quality, high production values) games, including Assassin’s Creed and For Honor. Ubisoft Toronto recently partnered with Ubisoft Montreal to develop a remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Ubisoft Toronto says it is committed to DEI as well as environmental measures such as reducing carbon emissions.
Live Nation, the global producer of concerts and other live events, has a Canada office in Toronto. The company’s divisions include Ticketmaster and Artist Nation, which helps musicians market their product and secure rights and sponsorships.
St. Joseph Communications was founded as a print communications company in 1956. Its print titles include McLean’s, Toronto Life and Chatelaine, as well as other periodicals focused on lifestyle and entertainment. It is also a digital media and marketing company that produces branded content and offers solutions for multi-channel marketing.
Bell Media creates content for and owns many media outlets and services, including streaming service Crave, AM talk radio stations, BNN Bloomberg, FM rock radio stations as well as the CTV television network. CTV has a variety of programming, from comedy and drama to news and sports. The current iteration of Bell Media was founded in 2001, and it is based in Toronto.
Getty Images is a visual content creator and marketplace operating brands including Getty Images, iStock and Unsplash as well as a collection of websites and APIs. Its offerings let users discover, purchase and share visual content from a vast array of photographers and videographers. The company collaborates with over 488,000 contributors and 300 content partners to provide its wide selection of media.
Netflix opened an office in Toronto, its first in Canada, in 2023. The Toronto location produces movies and televisions shows, including Fubar, and says it spends more than $200 million a year on productions in the city. Netflix says it has filmed in eight of Canada’s 10 provinces.
Moveable Ink specializes in personalizing online visuals for content marketing, helping brands create tailored images for users on email, mobile and desktop platforms based on location and browsing history. The company has seven global offices, including one in Toronto, near Junction-Wallace Emerson.
Penguin Random House Canada publishes and distributes books under a variety of imprints, including Viking Canada, Bond Street Books, Tundra Books and Strange Light. It has an audiobook recording studio in Toronto and also publishes Hazlitt, a magazine that covers culture.
Rogers, an entertainment and communications company, offers mobile phone service, home and business internet, sports, news and entertainment content (via deals with NBC Universal and Warner Bros. Discovery), plus streaming services thanks to a partnership with Xfinity.
Torstar is a holding company that invests in a range of news and media businesses. As a mass media company, it owns and oversees the daily publication of the Toronto Star, one of Canada’s most popular news publications, as well as a portfolio of daily and community newspapers that are distributed across the country.
Blue Ant Media makes television content, such as Canada’s Drag Race, Hoarder’s Canada and the docuseries Casey Anthony: Where the Truth Lies through a network of production companies that includes Beach House Pictures, Blue Ant Studios, Look Mom! Productions and Saloon Media. The company says its programming reaches audiences in more than 200 territories.
Corus Entertainment is a mass media company that owns the Canadian national network Global Television, as well as many radio stations, the animation studio Nelvana and a publishing house that focuses on children’s media. Brand agreements with U.S. and international media channels like A&E Networks and Paramount Global allow Corus to broadcast international media to a Canadian audience.
Electronic Arts, the gaming company, creates, produces and markets games such as Madden NFL, The Sims and Battlefield. EA’s Toronto studio produces games such as Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and Design Studio. The Toronto office employs a variety of tech professionals, including engineers and data scientists.
The Walt Disney Company operations in Canada include The Disney Channel, which broadcasts in English, Disney Jr., which shows educational programming for kids, and an animation studio. The company’s Canada headquarters are in Toronto.
Rockstar Games is best known for the open-world game franchises Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. The Toronto location hires coders, animators and artists, among other roles. Rockstar Games was founded in 1998 and is a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software.
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment owns professional sports franchises the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC and the Toronto Argonauts, as well as numerous development league teams across professional sports and an e-sports franchise. In addition to multiple sports and event venues, the company’s portfolio includes NBA TV Canada, which broadcasts basketball content.
CBC, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, is the publicly-owned news service in Canada. It provides radio and television news media in English and French, as well as in indigenous languages. CBC receives government funding and earns supplemental income from television ads, while its radio programs are free of ads.
Warner Bros. Discovery produces games, movies, television shows and apps. The U.S. company, based in Burbank, California, recently expanded its partnership with Canada-based Bell Media. The partnership extends viewer access to Crave, a Canadian streaming service that is the go-to place for HBO and Max content, and includes a commitment to co-produce original content for Canada.
