Diversified was founded as
Hildreth Broadcasting in 1949 when
Horace Hildreth, the former
governor of Maine, president of
Bucknell University, and future
U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, purchased Community Broadcasting Service, owner of Maine's oldest radio station,
WABI in
Bangor. In 1953, he launched Maine's first TV station,
WABI-TV in Bangor. In 1970, Hildreth Broadcasting entered the publishing and trade show business by merger with
Journal Publications, the owner of National Fisherman and FISH EXPO Boston. Throughout the 1980s, Diversified Communications 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 began to co-produce
Kosherfest, a two-day trade show for the
kosher-certified until it was discontinued after its last show in 2022. In 2009, Diversified Communications expanded into Hong Kong with the acquisition of Asia Business Events and established a presence in India with the acquisition of Infocast. On July 15, 2014, the contracts that Diversified Communications had with
Dish Network expired. Among the issues Diversified cited included financial terms, customer service issues between the station and Dish Network, and, in Bangor, viewership changes on Dish's part in several counties to another CBS station on account of DMA location (including
WGME in the Portland area). After a breakdown on contract talks, which picked up slowly, an agreement was reached on October 8, 2014, allowing both stations to return to Dish Network later that day. On February 16, 2017, it was announced that WABI-TV and sister station
WCJB-TV in
Gainesville, Florida would be sold to
Gray Television for $85 million, pending FCC approval. It will make WCJB a sister station to
WCTV (Gray Television's then-
flagship station) in Tallahassee and
WJHG-TV and
WECP-LD in
Panama City, while reuniting WABI-TV with
WAGM-TV (which Gray acquired two years prior) in
Presque Isle, Maine. The sale was completed on May 1, 2017. In 2024, Diversified Communications updated its branding to operate under the name "Diversified" as its official
doing business as name, introducing a new logo and visual identity. This rebranding coincided with the company's 75th anniversary, celebrating its legacy while positioning the organization for future growth and innovation. == Properties ==