Jacques Parisien, Charles Benoît, and Luc Quétel Appointed to Bell Media Leadership Team

- Parisien to become President, National Specialty and Pay TV, Radio, and Out-of-Home -
- As President, Television and Radio, Québec, Benoît to lead Bell Media's French-language TV, radio, and new media teams as one operating unit in Montréal -
- Luc Quétel named President of Bell Media's OOH unit, Astral Out-of-Home -
- Pierre Roy to retire after a brilliant career in French-language television -
- André Bureau thanked for contribution to Canadian media industry -

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MONTRÉAL, July 4, 2013 /CNW/ - Kevin Crull, President, Bell Media, announced today the appointments of Jacques Parisien as President, National Specialty and Pay TV, Radio, and Out-of-Home; Charles Benoît as President, Television and Radio, Québec; and Luc Quétel as President, Astral Out-of-Home. Upon tomorrow's close of the Astral-Bell Media transaction, the three seasoned Astral executives will join Bell Media's Senior Leadership Team, with Benoît and Quétel both reporting to Parisien.

Reporting to Crull and based in Montréal, Parisien will oversee Bell Media's national specialty and pay television and radio properties as well as the company's out-of-home operations, which will be led by Quétel from Montréal. Benoît will oversee Bell Media's French-language (non-sports) TV, radio, and new media teams, which will be united in one unit in Montréal.

Pierre Roy, currently President, Les Chaînes Télé Astral and President, MusiquePlus Inc., will retire after an exceptional career in French-language television. Additionally, André Bureau, Chairman of the Board for Astral, will continue his work as counsel at law firm Heenan Blaikie.

As President, National Specialty and Pay TV, Radio and Out-of-Home, Parisien will be responsible for Bell Media's 34 national specialty television, four pay TV services, and 107 radio properties, in English and French, as well as the operation of Bell Media's OOH business, which will retain its name as Astral Out-of-Home. Parisien's intimate knowledge of the media landscape and relationship with the production community will both benefit Bell Media and the broadcasting system as a whole.

"Jacques Parisien has played a significant role in the developing the vision of our new company," said Crull. "His vast experience, leadership and extensive relationship with all industry stakeholders - especially in Québec - make Jacques a tremendous addition to Bell Media's senior management team."

Charles Benoît will lead from Montréal all of Bell Media's French-language TV, radio, and new media operations, including the programming, marketing, and communications functions of Bell Media's 21 French-language and four English-language radio stations in Québec, six French-language (non-sports) specialty and pay channels, and their affiliated digital properties, as well as the operations and local sales of the 25 radio stations.

"Charles is a highly-respected veteran with a remarkable track record in the media industry," said Crull. "His tremendous experience will be instrumental in making Bell Media the clear leader in Québec."

As President, Astral Out-of-Home, Luc Quétel will oversee the operations of Bell Media's out-of-home network of more than 9,500 advertising faces strategically located in the key markets of Québec, Ontario and British Columbia, with product lines including outdoor advertising, street furniture, transportation and digital.

"Luc has been instrumental in making Astral Out-of-Home the industry's indisputable innovation leader," said Crull. "Under Luc's direction and paired with Bell Media's assets, Astral Out-of-Home is poised for even stronger growth."

"Pierre Roy is a true builder of Québec's television landscape," said Crull. "He played a central role in bringing Astral to the forefront of Canada's specialty television industry. As Astral joins with Bell Media, we hope to build on his legacy."

"An architect of Astral's success as well as former Chairman of the CRTC, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to André Bureau for his significant contribution to Canada's media industry," said Crull.

Jacques Parisien joined Astral in 1994. He currently holds the positions of Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Astral Media Inc. and President of Astral Radio. He oversees all of Astral's operations and the company's growth strategy. He has spent his professional career in the communications industry, having worked several years at Telemedia before joining Astral.

Charles Benoît has made a career in management in the Canadian communications industry for nearly 25 years, preceded by 10 years in the film industry. He currently is Executive Vice-President of Astral Radio. He is responsible for the overall operations of Astral Radio's 84 radio stations across Canada and associated digital properties and development opportunities.

Luc Quétel has nearly 20 years of advertising experience that includes some 15 years in the media, primarily in sales and product development. He has worked mostly with the transportation industry, with a particular focus on rail and airports. In 1998, he founded Passeportmedia, one of the world's first companies to adopt plasma screen technology for an advertising network. Astral bought his company in 2005. Quétel is currently Astral's Vice-President, Business Development.

Pierre Roy has been involved in almost all facets of the television and media industry for more than 30 years. He started his career as a producer, later becoming Vice-President of Programming at Radio-Québec (now Télé-Québec). Pierre has been president of Les Chaînes Télé Astral since 1992 and of MusiquePlus Inc. since 2007, overseeing Astral's eight French-language specialty television channels. In 2008, he was awarded the prestigious Prix Gémeaux Grand Prix de l'Académie for his invaluable contribution to Quebéc television.

André Bureau has spent his professional career in the communications industry. He joined Astral in 1990 as President and Chief Executive Officer of Astral Bellevue Communications Inc. and has since occupied several executive roles within the company. In 2002, the Academy of Canadian Film and Television awarded him the Prix Gémeaux Grand Prix de l'Académie for his exceptional contribution to the Canadian television industry. The following year he received the Gold Ribbon for broadcast excellence awarded by the Association of Canadian Broadcasters (ACR) and in November 2004, he was introduced into the Hall of Fame by the ACR for his outstanding achievements and contributions to the private broadcasting and to Canada. He was named Officer of the Order of Canada in 1991 and Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters of France in 1992. In 2012, he was made Officer of the National Order of Québec. Until 1989, André was Chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

About Bell Media
With passion and an unrelenting commitment to excellence, Bell Media creates content and builds brands that entertain, inform, engage, and inspire audiences through the platforms of their choice. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out-of-home advertising, and digital media. Bell Media will own 30 local television stations led by CTV, Canada's #1 television network; 34 specialty channels, including TSN and RDS, Canada's most-watched specialty channels in English and French; four pay TV services, including The Movie Network and Super Écran; and will be managing shareholder of premium pay-per-view service Viewer's Choice Canada. Bell Media will also be Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 107 licensed radio stations in 50 markets across Canada. Bell Media will own Astral Out-of-Home, one of Canada's most dynamic and innovative out-of-home advertising companies. Bell Media will also operate more than 200 websites, deliver TV Everywhere with its innovative GO video streaming services, including TMN GO and Bravo GO, and own Dome Productions Inc., a multi-platform production company. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. For more on Bell Media, please visit www.bellmedia.ca.

SOURCE: Bell Media