Montréal to welcome the 2010 New Year at the Big Astral Countdown for Mira

MONTREAL, Sept. 10 /CNW Telbec/ - Astral Media Inc. (TSX:ACM.A/ACM.B) is pleased to invite all Montréalers to welcome the 2010 New Year at the spectacular premiere of an all-new annual gathering to be held at the heart of downtown Montréal! The first edition of the Big Astral Countdown for Mira will be held on McGill College Avenue on the night of December 31, 2009.

Montréalers and citizens from Canada and the world over are invited to participate with family and friends in these great celebrations with live music and comedy, activities, as well as sound and light performances.

Profits will be donated to the Mira Foundation. Organized with the close collaboration of Publicis, the event will be broadcast live on many Astral Media television channels and radio stations: Canal D, Canal Vie, Séries+, Historia, Ztélé, VRAK.TV, MusiquePlus, MusiMax, Super Écran, NRJ 94.3, 107.3 RockDétente, CHOM 97.7, Virgin Radio 96 and CJAD 800. The Big Astral Countdown for Mira will also benefit from extensive publicity on Astral Media Outdoor's advertising platforms throughout Greater Montréal.

"Thanks to this large gathering, Montréal will be celebrating with great panache the beginning of the New Year, inspired by the immense celebrations organized in the world's most glamorous cities," declared Ian Greenberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Astral Media. "We are very proud that the Big Astral Countdown for Mira can count on the participation of major sponsors and thus contribute to ensure a bright future for the Mira Foundation, which helps persons with visual or motor disabilities as well as children suffering from Pervasive Development Disorders, including autism."

"This event will provide Mira with the necessary means to achieve its objective of doubling the number of guide dogs and its assistance capacity. Astral Media has a unique ability to reach Québecers. Moreover, its organizational and broadcasting capabilities are matched only by its great awareness of humanitarian causes, such as that of Mira," stated Éric St-Pierre, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Mira Foundation.

In addition to boosting our cultural landscape, this new event will be a new powerful tourist attraction and provide a unique local, regional and international showcase for Montréal. Additional event information will be available at www.granddecompteastral.com.

Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company, active in specialty and pay television, radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. With over 2,800 employees and offices in 45 Canadian cities, Astral Media is proud to play a leading role within communities where we entertain and inform our audiences, and where we work and live. Last year, Astral Media made a contribution of over 20 million dollars to more than 370 community and charitable organizations, notably through funding activities and donations, and the broadcasting of hundreds of public service announcements on our media platforms: television, radio, outdoor advertising and interactive media. For more information on Astral Media, go to: www.astralmedia.com.

Founded in 1981, the Mira Foundation provides over 180 guide dogs and assistance to persons with mental, visual, hearing and motor disabilities. Twenty thousand dollars and two years are required to train a guide dog, which is then given the huge responsibility of increasing the autonomy of disabled individuals in order to facilitate their social integration.

Contacts

Pierre Boisseau
Astral Media Inc.
(514) 939-5000
ext. 3077
pboisseau@corp.astral.com