Astral Media Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders - 13 consecutive
years of profitable growth

Company announces renewal of normal course issuer bid

TORONTO , Dec. 9 /CNW Telbec/ - Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM.A/ACM.B) today held its Fiscal 2009 Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders at which Ian Greenberg , President and Chief Executive Officer, highlighted another strong year of growth - the 13th consecutive year of profitable growth for the Company - achieved in spite of very challenging economic and advertising market environments.

He underlined the continued contribution of all of the Company's business units to a strong display of resilience and expressed his gratitude to all of Astral Media's 2,800 employees across Canada for their hard work and dedication. He also outlined the Company's strategy to take full advantage of the slowly upcoming economic recovery.

In his outlook for Fiscal 2010, Mr. Greenberg said: "Throughout Fiscal 2009, we kept investing in our brands, in our platforms and in programming initiatives that enable us to further enhance the experience of our listeners and viewers and to grow our market share. We viewed the downturn as an opportunity to strengthen our client relationships and to continue to improve the return on their advertising investments on our platforms. The early signs of increased advertising activity bode well for a gradual recovery towards the second half of the 2010 fiscal year and Astral will be fully positioned, both strategically and financially, to emerge as a stronger organization from this economic downturn."

During the course of the meeting, the Company also announced the renewal of its normal course issuer bid to purchase up to 2.5% of the outstanding Class A Shares and Class B Shares of the Company. Under the terms of the renewal, the Company intends to purchase for cancellation, through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange, up to 1,338,192 Class A Shares and up to 69,616 Class B Shares. This represents no more than 2.5% of the 53,527,697 issued and outstanding Class A Shares as at November 30, 2009 and no more than 2.5% of the 2,784,672 issued and outstanding Class B Shares as at November 30, 2009 . The shares will be purchased for cancellation in accordance with applicable regulations of the Toronto Stock Exchange over a maximum period of 12 months beginning on December 15, 2009 and ending on December 14, 2010 . The average daily trading volume for the Class A shares is 147,333 and the average daily trading volume for the Class B shares is 82. On a daily basis, the Company will not be entitled to purchase more than 36,833 Class A Shares and a maximum of 1,000 of its Class B Shares. The Company believes that the purchase of the Class A Shares and Class B Shares may be an economically worthwhile use by the Company of its funds and is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders. The Company has purchased 27,200 of its Class A Shares at an average price of $31.50 and none of its Class B Shares from December 15, 2008 to December 8, 2009 under the currently outstanding normal course issuer bid which expires on December 14, 2009 .

A webcast version of the Annual and Special Shareholder's Meeting is accessible on Astral Media's website at www.astralmedia.com and will be archived on the site until March 2010 . Copies of the President and Chief Executive Officer's remarks in both English and French can also be obtained on the site.

Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company, active in specialty and pay television, radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. Astral Media's solid and dynamic presence in the country's major markets rests on it commitment to offer a unique combination of high-quality, targeted media for all its audiences. For more details, please visit www.astralmedia.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements concerning the future performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations. We caution that all forward-looking information is inherently uncertain and actual results may differ materially from the assumptions, estimates or expectations reflected or contained in the forward-looking information, and that actual future performance will be affected by a number of factors, including technological change, economic conditions, regulatory change, competitive factors and changes in accounting rules or standards, many of which are beyond the Company's control. We disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release will be available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/

For further information: Media: Alain Bergeron, Vice-President, Corporate Communications and Chief Marketing Officer, Astral Media Inc., [phone]; Financial Analysts: Claude Gagnon, Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer, Astral Media Inc., [phone]