Comox Valley Record

What Comox Valley Record does

Comox Valley Record is a private local newspaper founded in 1989 that serves the Comox Valley region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, covering the communities of Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland, and surrounding areas. Its core product is a hyperlocal digital news website (comoxvalleyrecord.com) delivering regional news, municipal and election coverage, business reporting, community events, sports, entertainment, opinion, obituaries, and public notices, complemented by an eEdition digital replica of the printed newspaper. The publication operates on a standard WordPress content management system with no proprietary technology platform, and distributes content through its website, email newsletters, and social channels integrated within the Carpenter Media Group / BlackPress Media network of community newspapers across Canada.

The business model is a hybrid of advertising and reader-payments typical of legacy community journalism. Revenue is generated from four streams: local display advertising and sponsored content sold to regional businesses (operated through the BlackPress Media marketing services arm), recurring eEdition digital subscriptions via digital.comoxvalleyrecord.com, classifieds listings that route through the shared used.ca marketplace, and obituaries and public notices. The publication serves two primary customer segments: local community residents consuming news content (free and paid via eEdition), and local/regional SMB advertisers seeking targeted reach into Vancouver Island consumers. With 1-10 employees and no disclosed funding, the operation is small and embedded within a larger parent network that provides shared advertising sales, classifieds infrastructure, events listings, and corporate functions.

Strategically, the publication functions less as an independent company and more as a regional property within the Carpenter Media Group / BlackPress Media portfolio, with day-to-day positioning decisions (network platforms, verticals like Today's Home real estate and West Coast Traveller, shared events and classifieds portals) driven at the parent-network level. There is no evidence of proprietary technology, AI/ML capability, standalone funding, or independent M&A activity; the publication's strategic optionality is largely derivative of its parent's community-newspaper roll-up strategy.

Name

Comox Valley Record

Legal name

Comox Valley Record

Website

https://comoxvalleyrecord.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Comox Valley Record is a private local newspaper founded in 1989 serving the Comox Valley region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It delivers hyperlocal news, sports, and community coverage through its website and eEdition, monetized via local advertising, digital subscriptions, and classifieds within the BlackPress/Carpenter Media Group network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local News Media

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Local news media
• Community newspaper
• Digital newspaper subscription
• Local advertising sales
• Classified listings

Headquarters

HQ city

Courtenay

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Advertising: Local advertising revenue generated through display ads, sponsored content sections, and advertising partnerships with local businesses. The website features a dedicated advertising information page linking to BlackPress Media marketing services.
2. Digital Subscriptions: eEdition digital newspaper subscription service providing access to the digital version of the newspaper through the digital.comoxvalleyrecord.com portal.
3. Classifieds: Classified advertising marketplace directing users to used.ca for classified listings, generating referral or transactional revenue.
4. Sponsored Content: Sponsored content partnerships with local businesses featuring dedicated sponsored content sections on the website.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Comox Valley Record publishes local digital and print news for the Comox Valley region on Vancouver Island, covering regional news, elections, business, community, sports, entertainment, opinion, and obituaries. It monetizes this content through advertising (display, sponsored content), eEdition digital subscriptions, and classified listings, operating as part of the Carpenter Media Group / BlackPress Media network of community newspapers.

Product overview

Comox Valley Record operates as a local digital news media platform offering comprehensive coverage of the Comox Valley region. The core product is the news website providing articles across multiple categories including news, business, community, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, and opinion. As an add-on offering, the eEdition provides a digital replica of the printed newspaper with special sections.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Comox Valley Record Website Digital news website serving the Comox Valley community with articles across news, business, community, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, and opinion categories, plus sponsored content and advertising placements.
• eEdition Digital Newspaper Subscription-based digital edition of the Comox Valley Record newspaper, including special sections, accessible online to subscribers.
• Email Newsletters Email-based news updates delivered to subscribers covering Comox Valley news, sports, and community events.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Carpenter Media Group / BlackPress MediacoreOthersComox Valley Record is operated as part of the Carpenter Media Group network of community newspapers. The publication operates under the BlackPress Media marketing and advertising brand. The group manages multiple regional news properties across Canada.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Campbell River Mirror: Adjacent Vancouver Island local newspaper also operated within the BlackPress Media / Carpenter Media Group network. Covers a neighbouring region with a comparable mix of hyperlocal news, eEdition subscriptions, and SMB advertising, making it a near-direct peer.
• Nanaimo News Bulletin: Vancouver Island community newspaper in the same BlackPress/Carpenter network offering local news, eEdition, classifieds, and SMB advertising. Highly comparable in product mix, geography, and audience profile to Comox Valley Record.
• Alberni Valley News: Another BlackPress Media community newspaper on Vancouver Island. Serves a similar-sized community with hyperlocal coverage and the same revenue mix (ads, eEdition, classifieds), making it a tightly comparable peer.
• Victoria News: BlackPress Media community newspaper serving the Greater Victoria region. Same network, same product offering (news site, eEdition, sponsored content, classifieds), making it a directly comparable peer.

Broad incumbents

• Times Colonist: Vancouver Island's largest daily newspaper, providing regional and provincial coverage that overlaps with Comox Valley Record's audience. Operates at greater scale and broader geographic scope but competes for the same island-region ad budgets and reader attention.
• CHEK News: Regional television broadcaster covering Vancouver Island, including the Comox Valley. Competes for local news audience share and advertiser attention in the same geography, with overlapping election and community event coverage.
• Glacier Media community newspapers: Glacier Media operates a portfolio of Canadian community newspapers that compete with BlackPress titles for hyperlocal advertising and audience share. Comparable business model and target customers across Western Canadian markets.
• Postmedia Network: Canada's largest newspaper chain operating national and regional titles. Competes indirectly with Comox Valley Record for digital advertising budgets and overlapping coverage of regional BC news.

Others

• Used.ca (BlackPress classifieds): The classifieds platform that Comox Valley Record redirects its users to, generating transactional/referral revenue for the publication. Functions as an adjacent infrastructure partner within the BlackPress ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Castanet: Digital-first hyperlocal news and classifieds platform serving the BC Interior with growing reach. Represents the digital-native competitive model for local news that community newspapers like Comox Valley Record must defend against.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CVRecord
• Facebookfacebook.com/ComoxValleyRecord
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/comox-valley-record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Comox Valley Record