Astral Media | The Canadian Encyclopedia

article

Astral Media

Astral Media is the largest radio broadcaster in Canada, with major interests in specialty television channels.
Astral Media logo

The company was founded by brothers Harold, Harvey, Sidney and Ian Greenberg as Angreen Photo in 1961 - a photo finishing concession in Miracle Mart stores that later became the chain Astral Photo (now owned by the Black's Photography chain). Astral Photo entered the motion processing sector after acquiring the Pathé-Humphries motion picture lab in 1974, eventually becoming AstralTech.

In the early 1980s, Astral ceased to be directly involved in film production and instead expanded into television operations and the home video market. In February 2000, the company was renamed Astral Media.

Starting in 2000, Astral Media made significant headway into broadcast radio, purchasing most of the radio assets of Télémédia in 2002. Since then, Astral Media has grown to include 82 licensed radio stations in 8 Canadian provinces.

Astral Media is Canada's largest broadcaster of English- and French-language pay and specialty television services, which include over 20 television services.