Bill Custers, Cable 14’s community programming mainstay, passes at 63 – bayobserver.ca Hamilton, Burlington and GTA

Bill Custers, who recently retired after a long and successful career at Cable 14, died Sunday at the age of 63 after a short illness. His career in local television in Hamilton spanned decades, beginning in 1979 at Maclean Hunter Cable and ending as Senior Manager Broadcast and Strategy at Cable 14. In between, he spent nearly 14 years at Astral Media (now Bell) as Director of Operations and Director of Programming and Marketing. At Astral, Bill was responsible for the development of pay-TV products, including pay-per-view wrestling. In a tribute, Greg Oliver, co-founder and producer of the website Slam Wrestling, described Bill as “one of the most influential men in the history of Canadian professional wrestling.” He wrote: “Bill Custers – it’s a name that few of you will recognize, and that’s just how Bill would have wanted it. But he was the man who controlled a large portion of pay-per-view in Canada, from the early days until 2011.” That was the year that Bill, like many other fine Canadian broadcasters, was fired by Bell. He took the setback calmly, however, telling Oliver that he would enjoy a break from the long hours and constant pressure of his job.

That was when Bill returned to Hamilton and Cable 14, where he oversaw the channel’s transformation into a community force in Hamilton. Jonathan Freedman, Cable 14’s General Manager, paid tribute to Bill, writing, “Bill’s contributions to our station’s programming are a list far too long to give them the proper attention they deserve. Bill was committed to ensuring that the community was always informed of everything that was affecting the City of Hamilton from a political, cultural and charitable perspective. Bill was instrumental in CABLE 14’s relationship with City Hall during the Covid crisis. He took the initiative to ensure that CABLE 14 supported the broadcast of the City of Hamilton’s media briefings so that the community could stay informed on a daily basis. He also spearheaded an initiative called “14 Ways to Feed the Hammer” where we partnered with Hamilton Foodshare to highlight 14 other associated charities during the holiday season… Bill has spent two decades helping to grow CABLE 14 into an influential community channel here in Hamilton, Ontario. His passion for CABLE 14 and the team he worked with was matched only by his dedication to the community.”

When Bill retired last fall, he wrote, “A whole career has passed and now, at the end of October, I will retire from an industry that has given me so much. I am blessed. There have been so many people who have helped me, from previous employers, teachers, mentors, and friends, and I cannot possibly name or thank you all personally.”

Bill Custers is survived by his wife Sue, daughter Heather and her husband Josh, and stepsons Greg (wife Laura, grandsons Philip and Henry) and Eric (wife Miranda, granddaughter Liara).

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