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47-478: The channel first launched on June 1, 2011, under the ownership of Astral Media . It initially operated as a localized version of Disney XD , under license from Disney Channels Worldwide , as a sister network to Family Channel . Following the acquisition of Astral Media by Bell Media , Disney XD was divested to DHX Media (now WildBrain) in 2014. In 2015, Corus Entertainment acquired the rights to programming from Disney Channel and its siblings (later launching

94-577: A blind trust by Pierre Boivin until the completion of their acquisitions. On May 16, 2013, the Jim Pattison Group announced a deal to acquire three stations in Calgary and Winnipeg from Bell and Astral— CKCE-FM , CHIQ-FM , and CFQX , for an undisclosed amount. The deal expanded the Jim Pattison Group's operations in Calgary (where it was planning to launch a new station, CHPK-FM ), and gave

141-567: A CRTC's hearing, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation argued that Bell's proposal to use its mandatory tangible benefits to launch a French-language news channel (which would compete with its own Réseau de l'information ) was "self-serving and unprecedented." In September 2012, the Competition Bureau stated that it was becoming "increasingly concerned" about the implications of the merger, and warned that it could oppose

188-537: A Canadian company founded in 1961. It was created when Montreal 's Greenberg brothers, led by Harold Greenberg , founded it to operate the photography concession in Miracle Mart , a department store chain. Its acquisition in 1963 of Bellevue Pathé led to photography rights at the Montreal Expo 67 World's Fair, and it eventually grew into a 125-store chain, Astral Photo , the remnants of which are now owned by

235-514: A controlling share of outdoor advertising firm Omni Outdoor (which eventually became the fully owned Astral Out-of-Home division), as well as several French-language specialty channels such as Canal Vie , Ztélé , Séries+ , VRAK.TV , and 50% stakes in MusiquePlus and MusiMax (then co-owned with CHUM Limited ). On February 23, 2007, Astral Media announced that it had signed a letter of intent and had entered into exclusive negotiations regarding

282-574: A cross (†) character at the end indicates an asset which was not acquired by Bell Canada. *Currently being sold to other owners pending approval of the CRTC. Media conglomerate This is an accepted version of this page A media conglomerate , media company , media network , media group , or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music , television , radio , publishing , motion pictures , video games , amusement park , or

329-731: A development consortium that was led by Harold Greenberg with funding from the CBC called the Centre De Production De Montreal, which is set for open in 1989. In 1983, the Greenbergs acquired complete control of two pay television networks, First Choice (now known as The Movie Network) and Premier Choix TVEC (now Super Écran ), at which point Astral ceased to be directly involved in film and program production. The company would later expand its television operations by launching new specialty networks. In addition, it became involved with

376-589: A licensee of Disney Channel programming. In 2012, the channel premiered its first original series, Slugterra . After the Competition Bureau approved Bell Media 's takeover of Astral, Bell announced on March 4, 2013, that Disney XD, as well as its sister networks and Astral's French-language MusiquePlus and MusiMax would be divested. On October 27, 2013, the channel premiered its first original movie, Bunks , produced by Fresh TV . On November 28, 2013, DHX Media announced that it would acquire Disney XD and its sister networks for $ 170 million. The acquisition

423-571: A new Canadian Disney XD channel ), resulting in DHX's existing Disney XD channel being rebranded as Family Chrgd (stylized as Family CHRGD )—a brand extension of Family Channel with a similar positioning—in October 2015. The channel adopted its current branding in March 2022. In April 2009, Astral Media , via its subsidiary The Family Channel Inc. , was granted CRTC approval for a new category 2 service under

470-497: A seven-year period. Commissioner Suzanne Lamarre commented that Bell could have sold another station instead, given most of the comments on Bell's petition only supported CKGM maintaining a sports radio format, and not Bell's purchase of Astral. In response, Bell's CEO George A. Cope commented that the company did not want to sell off profitable radio stations, and Astral CEO Jacques Parisien remarked that breaking up its Montreal cluster would affect their operation. Rogers called on

517-570: A skyscraper rechristened Maison Astral . In May 2010, the company unveiled a new logo featuring a multi-coloured "a" insignia (reflecting ideals of "collaboration" and "creativity"). At this time, the company began to trade as simply "Astral". In the fall of 2011, Teletoon (co-owned with Corus Entertainment at the time) adopted a new logo to reflect Astral's 50th anniversary. On March 16, 2012, Astral Media announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Bell Canada through its Bell Media division for $ 3.38 billion. Astral Media shareholders approved

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564-808: A speech to the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television prior to the hearings, Bell Media's president Kevin Crull detailed plans to invest in French-language productions and maintain a distinct operation in Montreal devoted to its French-language outlets. Crull also praised the role of Québecor Média (despite the company being opposed to the merger) in using its own vertical integration strategy to help promote Francophone talent, and revealed his intention to try and emulate its "star system" in English Canada. CRTC hearings on

611-641: Is less diversity in news and entertainment and therefore less competition. This can result in the reduction of different points of view as well as vocalization about different issues. There is also a lack of ethnic and gender diversity as a majority of those in media are white, middle-class men. There is a concern that their views are being shared disproportionately more than other groups, such as women and ethnic minorities. Women and minorities also have less ownership of media. Women have less than 7 percent of TV and radio licenses, and minorities have around 7 percent of radio licenses and 3 percent of TV licenses. In

658-792: The Black's Photography chain. The company grew quickly into motion picture processing after acquiring the Pathé-Humphries motion picture lab in 1968 and Associated Screen News Industries of Montreal in 1969. The company was constituted in 1973 under the name Astral Bellevue Pathé Limited. It eventually undertook videocassette duplication and video wholesaling . The company also produced or executive produced over 100 feature films , television programs and television miniseries . The films were released by American Cinema Releasing . The company had operated such subsidiaries as Astral Films, Astral Film Productions Ltd. and Astral Video, as well as in 1987,

705-442: The Competition Bureau approved a new proposal by Bell to acquire Astral Media, which would involve the divestiture of certain television channels and radio stations owned by the combined company, and was subject to restrictions preventing Bell from imposing restrictive bundling requirements on any provider seeking to carry The Movie Network or Super Écran . The CRTC made the proposed takeover proposal public on March 6, 2013. Unlike

752-498: The Federal Court of Appeal , or restructuring the deal to selectively sell Astral assets to competing companies. Rogers Media expressed interest in acquiring some of Astral's channels if such a sale were to occur. On November 16, 2012, Astral confirmed that it was in talks with Bell to negotiate a new offer, which would involve the sale of the majority of its English-language television channels to third parties. On March 4, 2013,

799-713: The Internet . The weekly magazine The Nation commented, "Media conglomerates strive for policies that facilitate their control of the markets around the world." A conglomerate is a large company composed of a number of companies ( subsidiaries ) engaged in generally unrelated businesses. Some media conglomerates use their access in multiple areas to share various kinds of content such as: news, video and music, between users. The media sector's tendency to consolidate has caused formerly diversified companies to appear less diverse to prospective investors in comparison with similar companies that are traded publicly and privately. Therefore,

846-870: The 2024 Forbes Global 2000 list, Comcast is the world's largest media conglomerate, in terms of revenue, with The Walt Disney Company , Warner Bros. Discovery , & Paramount Global completing the top four. In 1984, fifty independent media companies owned the majority of media interests within the United States. By 2011, 90% of the United States's media was controlled by six media conglomerates: GE/Comcast (NBC, Universal), News Corp (Fox News, Wall Street Journal , New York Post ), Disney (ABC, ESPN, Pixar), Viacom (MTV, BET, Paramount Pictures), Time Warner (CNN, HBO, Warner Bros.), and CBS (Showtime, NFL.com). Between 1941 and 1975, several laws that restricted channel ownership within radio and television were enacted in order to maintain unbiased and diverse media. However under

893-571: The CRTC approved Bell's acquisition of Astral Media, which closed on July 5, 2013. The deal was subject to conditions, including the requirement for Bell to provide fair treatment to its competitors, to not impose "restrictive bundling practices" on Astral's premium movie channels, invest $ 246.9 million over the next seven years on Canadian-produced programming, and to maintain the operation and local programming levels of all of its television stations through 2017. The CRTC also approved Bell's proposed exemptions for maintaining ownership of CKGM. Following

940-472: The CRTC to require that Bell divest The Movie Network, claiming that Bell would make it harder and more expensive for competing service providers to access The Movie Network's content (especially on its own Anyplace TV and on-demand services) if Bell were to own the service. Bell disputed Rogers' claims, stating that the company already had a long-term deal to distribute The Movie Network on its cablesystems, and noted that Rogers had expressed interest in purchasing

987-621: The French television system V , announced that it would acquire MusiquePlus and MusiMax for an undisclosed amount. Members of the board of directors of Astral prior to the close of the Bell-Astral transaction were: Austin Beutel, Paul Bronfman, André Bureau (chairman), Jack Cockwell, George Cohon , Paul Godfrey , Stephen Greenberg, Ian Greenberg , Sidney Greenberg, Sidney Horn, Timothy Price, Phyllis Yaffe and Monique Jérôme-Forget . Any listing with

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1034-621: The Reagan administration, Congress and the Federal Communications Commission , then led by FCC Chairman Mark S. Fowler , began a concerted deregulation over the years 1981 and 1985. The number of television stations a single entity can own increased from seven to 12 stations. The industry continued to deregulate with enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 . Signed by President Bill Clinton on 8 February 1996, it

1081-512: The acquisition of "substantially all of the assets" of Standard Radio . A formal agreement was later announced, with the proposed transaction being approved by the CRTC on September 28, and completed on October 29 of the same year. The transaction gave Astral Media a significant foothold in English-language radio. In 2010, Astral Media relocated its headquarters to 1800 McGill College Avenue , in

1128-585: The acquisition of all of its issued and outstanding shares by Bell Media on May 24, 2012; the acquisition of Astral Media's issued and outstanding shares by Bell received approval by the Quebec Superior Court during a hearing on May 25, 2012. The proposed sale faced opposition: a coalition of Cogeco , Vidéotron , and Eastlink argued that Bell's market share following the merger would harm consumer choice , and that Bell would raise carriage fees for Astral's channels (impacting smaller providers). During

1175-695: The approval of the new proposal by the Competition Bureau, Corus Entertainment reached a tentative deal to acquire 2 radio stations ( CJOT , CKQB ), along with Astral's stakes in Historia , Séries+ , and the Teletoon networks from Bell for just over $ 400 million. Corus acquired the stakes in Historia and Séries+ from Shaw Media as well. On January 1, 2014, the acquisition was completed. In 2017, Corus attempted to sell Historia and Séries+ to Bell for $ 200 million, but

1222-523: The company its first stations in Manitoba. On August 26, 2013, Newcap Radio announced its intent to acquire the five aforementioned Toronto and Vancouver stations. Eventually, Newcap was in turn acquired by Stingray Digital Group in 2018. On November 28, 2013, DHX Media announced that it had reached a deal to acquire Family Channel and its sister networks for $ 170 million, the deal was completed in late July 2014. On December 4, 2013, Remstar , owners of

1269-637: The concentration of multiple media enterprises in a few companies. This concentration is an ongoing concern for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission , the Australian Communications and Media Authority , the Philippine National Telecommunications Commission , and New Zealand's Broadcasting Standards Authority . Other countries that have large media conglomerates with impacts on

1316-486: The deal by the CRTC, Bell Canada CEO George A. Cope asserted that calling the merger dead was "premature", citing that the formal merger agreement between Bell and Astral did not expire until December 16, 2012, and either company could extend it to January 15, 2013. Bell attempted to ask the Cabinet to overturn the CRTC's decision, but was told that they did not have the ability to do so. Bell also reportedly considered going to

1363-455: The deal even if it were to be approved by the CRTC. On October 18, 2012, the CRTC announced that it had rejected BCE's proposal to acquire Astral Media. The commission cited that their combined market power could "threaten the availability of diverse programming for Canadians and endanger the ability of distribution undertakings to deliver programming at affordable rates and on reasonable terms on multiple platforms", and also stated that allowing

1410-526: The deal was blocked and rejected by the Competition Bureau for violations of conditions forbidding Bell from re-acquiring divested Astral properties for ten years. Bell Media also divested Family , Disney Junior's English and French services, Disney XD , MusiMax , MusiquePlus , and 5 other radio stations in Toronto and Vancouver ( CHBM-FM , CFXJ-FM , CKZZ-FM , CHHR-FM and CISL ) at auction. These divested stations and channels were temporarily held in

1457-517: 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. Astral Media's roots lie with Angreen Photo,

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1504-455: The future, which eventually included a new Disney XD . In anticipation for this transition, DHX concurrently announced that its Disney-branded networks would be rebranded as spin-offs of Family Channel by November 2015, with Disney XD tentatively being rebranded as Family XTRM . On August 20, 2015, DHX announced the fall lineups for its networks, revealing the final branding for Disney XD as Family Chrgd (stylized as Family CHRGD ). Its lineup

1551-513: The home video and feature film market, lasting from the mid-1980s until at least 1996. In 1987, Astral Film Enterprises had teamed up with Management Company Entertainment Group to produce three feature films by 1988, with the first film slated to be in the co-production pact was Boris and Natasha , Boardwalk , and Villa Golitsyn , which were proposed in the three-picture pact, but the projects, aside from Boris and Natasha were never realized. In 1996, Astral Communications decided to sell all of

1598-415: The merger would have required the implementation of "extensive and intrusive safeguards" across the entire broadcasting industry. The CRTC also felt that Bell did not adequately demonstrate how having most of Canada's French-language media owned by two vertically integrated companies would improve competition, and how being bigger would allow it to compete against foreign services. Following the rejection of

1645-421: The merging of entertainment and news ( sensationalism ) at the expense of the coverage of serious issues. They are also accused of being a leading force behind the standardization of culture (see globalization , Americanization ) and are frequently criticized by groups that perceive news organizations as being biased toward special interests of the owners. Because there are fewer independent media, there

1692-492: The nation began to speculate how it might negatively impact society at large. In the case of Minot, North Dakota , the concerns regarding media consolidation is realized. On 18 January 2002, a train containing hazardous chemicals derailed in the middle of the night, exposing countless Minot residents to toxic waste. Upon trying to get out an emergency broadcast, the Minot police were unable to reach anyone. They were instead forwarded to

1739-511: The new proposals began in May 2013. Asserting that it would have to sell or shut down the station without one, Bell organized a petition proposing an exception to the ownership cap that would allow it to maintain ownership of CKGM , under the condition that Bell maintain the TSN Radio format on the station and provide $ 245,000 in funding for local amateur sports and scholarships in sports journalism over

1786-422: The previous deal, which would have given Bell a 42% share of the English-language television market, the new deal gave Bell a total market share of 35.7%, and increased its French-language market share to 22% (in comparison to 8% before). On March 18, 2013, the Competition Bureau cleared a proposed deal to sell Astral's stakes in several channels to Corus Entertainment in preparation for regulatory approval. In

1833-454: The program development and distribution divisions to Coscient Group . In February 2000, Astral Communications changed its name to Astral Media. Astral then expanded into radio, beginning with the 2000 acquisition of Radiomutuel, and the 2002 purchase of most of the radio assets of Telemedia , although those companies' joint AM radio network Radiomedia was ultimately sold to Corus Entertainment for competitive reasons. Radiomutuel also owned

1880-607: The programmings moved to new Disney XD (Canadian TV channel) Astral Media 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

1927-515: The same automated message, as all the broadcast stations in Minot were single-handedly owned by IHeartMedia . As the FCC reviews media ownership rules, broadcasters continued to petition it for the elimination of all rules, while those who are against this easing would often cite the incident in Minot as how consolidation could be harmful. Canada, Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand also experience

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1974-446: The service if it were to be divested. Bell indicated that it would not go ahead with the deal if it were forced by the CRTC to sell additional media outlets. Rogers also showed interest in making a "reasonable offer" to purchase CKGM as a complement to its recently acquired TV station CJNT-DT . Under Rogers ownership, CKGM would have kept its sports talk format, but as a Sportsnet Radio station instead of TSN Radio. On June 27, 2013,

2021-755: The term media group may also be applied, however, it has not yet replaced the more traditional term. Critics have accused the large media conglomerates of dominating the media and using unfair practices. During a protest in November 2007, critics such as Jesse Jackson spoke out against consolidation of the media. This can be seen in the news industry, where corporations refuse to publicize information that would be harmful to their interests. Because some corporations do not publish any material that criticizes them or their interests, media conglomerates have been criticized for limiting free speech or not protecting free speech. These practices are also suspected of contributing to

2068-487: The working name "Family Extreme". The new service would feature "programming from around the world devoted to entertainment, humour, travel, games, science and technology and targeted toward children aged 6 to 17 years and their families". Astral later announced that it would launch a Canadian version of Disney XD on June 1, 2011. Operating under the Family Extreme license, the service expanded upon Family's relationship as

2115-522: Was approved by the CRTC on July 24, 2014, and closed on July 31, 2014. In that same year, Disney XD premiered the pilot for Fangbone! , in May, and a new original series, Gaming Show (In My Parents' Garage) , in November. On April 16, 2015, it was announced that Corus Entertainment had acquired Canadian rights to Disney Channel 's program library; alongside the launch of a Canadian version of Disney Channel , Corus stated that it would launch other "Disney branded kids linear television offerings" in

2162-415: Was considered by the FCC to be the "first major overhaul of telecommunications law in almost 62 years". In the radio industry, the 40-station ownership cap was lifted, leading to an unprecedented amount of consolidation. Since this period, IHeartMedia grew from 40 stations to 1200 stations, in all 50 states, while Viacom grew to owning 180 stations across 41 markets. As media consolidation grew, some in

2209-478: Was to feature new seasons of the network's existing original series, in addition to new shows produced by DHX subsidiaries and other studios (such as the aforementioned Fangbone! ), as well as new program supply agreements with Mattel , and later in the year, DreamWorks Animation . The re-branding took place on October 9, 2015. On March 1, 2022, Family Chrgd rebranded as WildBrainTV, with no change in programming. As of October 2024: Programs in bold indicate that

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