Astral Media

Astral Media Inc.
FormerlyAstral Communications Ltd. (1973–2000)
Company typePublic
TSX: ACM.A, ACM.B
IndustryMass media
FoundedAugust 31, 1961, 63 years ago
(as Angreen Photo),
DefunctJuly 5, 2013, 11 years ago
FateAcquired by Bell Media.
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Key people
Ian Greenberg
(President, CEO and co-founder)
RevenueIncrease $1.02 billion (2012)[1]
$204.4 million (2012)[1]
Number of employees
2,800+ (2010)[1]
Websiteastral.com

Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels and two conventional stations. In addition, Astral had a presence in out-of-home advertising.

In March 2012, Bell Media announced its intent to acquire Astral for $3.38 billion. Although an attempt to purchase the entirety of the company was blocked under competition law, the CRTC approved a revised offer on June 27, 2013, which saw various Astral specialty channels and radio stations divested to competitors. The sale was consummated on July 5, 2013. Astral was dissolved later the same year as a result of Bell Media completing its acquisition of the company. Bell Media assumed some of Astral's television functions and absorbed some of its premium television services.

  1. ^ a b c "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-28. Retrieved 2011-07-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)