Astral says its support for Canadian film remains strong

Astral Media Inc. fired back at cultural groups at a CRTC hearing last week, saying its support for Canadian film continues to be strong. “We can assure the commission and all our partners, that Astral has no intention of changing its practices or its business model, and that it is committed to continue to offer its English and French-speaking subscribers quality Canadian content,” Jacques Parisien, vice-president and CEO of Astral, told commissioners at a hearing Friday in Montreal. He said the company’s business model is “appealing and more competitive than ever.” The CRTC's French-language television licence renewal hearings ended last week as Astral pledged to continue its support for the Canadian feature film industry. At a hearing Thursday, Mark Slone, vice-president of Alliance Films Inc., who appeared with the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters (CAFDE), said Astral’s contributions to the Canadian film industry have dropped during the last two years. Slone said Astral once bought a majority of the Canadian films released in a year but that now even successful films are struggling to find a place among a variety of popular sitcoms. Cultural groups have also said that a bilingual group designation for Astral, as the company has requested, would allow it to transfer mandatory Cancon spending from its English-language services to the French side, where money is more readily spent. The CAFDE asked the CRTC to make the acquisition of Canadian feature films a condition of Astral’s new licence. John Riley, president of television at Astral and Astral Télé Réseaux, said Friday that such a licence requirement would be “unworkable, unnecessary and unreasonable.” Parisien said that "since 2006 the total number of Canadian feature films that we support each year has remained constant, and furthermore, our average license fee have increased by 39 per cent."

Astral says its support for Canadian film remains strong

Brief | December 14, 2011

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us