Media conglomerate Astral Media Inc. of Montreal also had an eventful first quarter of the 2007 fiscal year in which it upped its stake in the Teletoon animation network by 10% and launched seven new high-definition French-language pay and specialty channels.

"Once again, the unique revenue mix that we have at Astral Media allows us to post solid results," said president and CEO Ian Greenberg in a media release.

During the three-month period, revenue from subscription fees rose 8% and ad revenue grew by 14% at Astral’s television properties – which include The Movie Network family of pay services and specialty channels such as Family, Historia and Teletoon – for a total of $120.8 million compared with last year’s $110.3 million.

Meanwhile, Astral’s 21 Quebec radio stations and eight Atlantic Canadian stations saw modest revenue growth as well, booking $31.1 million worth of gross income, up from $30.4 in Q1 2006. Finally, revenue at Astral’s out-of-home advertising business contracted slightly during the quarter, dipping to $13.2 million from last year’s $13.8 million.