Astral Media Inc. Holds its 2010 Meeting of Shareholders

Company Announces 50% Dividend Increase and Renewal of Normal Course Issuer Bid

MONTREAL, Dec. 9 /CNW Telbec/ - Astral Media Inc. (TSX: ACM.A/ACM.B) today holds its 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders at which Mr. Ian Greenberg, President and Chief Executive Officer, will remind shareholders of the Company's record financial performance in Fiscal 2010 that led to the Company's 14^th consecutive year of profitable growth.

"During the past year, we continued to outperform the industry in each of our business sectors. This performance, coupled with our financial discipline enabled us to generate $125 million in free cash flow, of which $105 million went to debt repayment, allowing us to maintain a very strong balance sheet," commented Mr. Greenberg. "In the second half of Fiscal 2010, we saw signs of recovery in the Canadian advertising market and we now turn to the future with the hope that this momentum will carry through in Fiscal 2011. As well, we are confident that the appointment of Jacques Parisien as Astral's Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer announced earlier today will enable us to capitalize on untapped organic growth opportunities."

Dividend Increase
Prior to the Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Astral's Board of Directors approved a significant increase of the Company's annual dividend for its Class A and Class B shares to $0.75 per share, or $0.375 on a semi-annual basis. This represents a 50% increase over the Company's previous annual dividend of $0.50 per share.

Renewal of Normal Course Issuer Bid
The Board of Directors of the Company also announced the renewal of its normal course issuer bid. Under the terms of the renewal, the Company intends to purchase for cancellation, through the facilities of the Toronto Stock Exchange, or any other alternative trading systems, up to 2,709,149 Class A Shares and up to 137,908 Class B Shares. This represents no more than 5% of the 54,182,987 issued and outstanding Class A Shares as at November 30, 2010 and no more than 5% of the 2,758,172 issued and outstanding Class B Shares as at November 30, 2010. 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, 2010 and ending on December 14, 2011. For the six-month period ended November 30, 2010, the average daily trading volume for the Class A shares was 81,136 and the average daily trading volume for the Class B shares was 146. On a daily basis, the Company will not be entitled to purchase more than 20,284 Class A Shares and a maximum of 1,000 of its Class B Shares on the TSX. The Company believes that the purchase of the Class A Shares and Class B Shares is 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 129,900 of its Class A Shares at an average price of $38.72 and none of its Class B Shares from December 15, 2009 to December 8, 2010 under the currently outstanding normal course issuer bid which expires on December 14, 2010.

A webcast version of the Annual Shareholders Meeting is accessible on Astral's website at astral.com and will be archived on the site until March 2011. Copies of the President and Chief Executive Officer's remarks in both English and French can also be obtained on the site.

Photos of the event will be available on the CNW website at www.newswire.ca.

Astral is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates several of the country's most popular media properties in pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media. Astral plays a central role in community life across the country by offering diverse, rich, and vibrant programming that meets the tastes and needs of consumers and advertisers. To learn more about Astral, visit astral.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.

For further information:

Media:

Hugues Mousseau  Manager, Corporate Communications     Astral Media Inc.   514-939-5000

Analysts :

Claude Gagnon Senior Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer Astral Media Inc. 514-939-5000