- 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 -
BellMediaPR.ca
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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
