Astral Media and Cineplex Entertainment Join the Canadian Premium Audience Exchange

CPAX now reaches more than 20 Million Unique Canadians Monthly

TORONTO, Feb. 6, 2013 /CNW/ - The Canadian Premium Audience Exchange (CPAX), the online, real-time bidding exchange service that provides advertisers and agencies with access to premium digital inventory, is pleased to announce that Astral Media and Cineplex Entertainment have each joined CPAX.  They join founding partners CBC/Radio-Canada, Shaw Media, Rogers Media as well as Corus, V and Télé-Québec in the initiative.

Nationally CPAX offers an efficient and cost-effective means of reaching targeted audiences with premium inventory across leading Canadian brands in both English and French, a reach that now exceeds more than 20 million Canadians.

"Strategically, CPAX makes a lot of sense for Astral's digital inventory as you have a group of like minded premium publishers committed to this space in Canada. We are thrilled to be joining the largest brand safe environment in the country for real time bidding and programmatic buying," said Stéphane Goyette, vice-president of Astral Digital.

"Cineplex's core entertainment audience is a natural fit with the CPAX entertainment channel," said Lori Legault, senior vice president of sales, Cineplex Media.  "As a proud Canadian company that is looking to continually evolve our digital presence in the marketplace, CPAX provides the ideal vehicle for us to do so."

With CPAX, each media company maintains their unique, direct sales operations with a portion of their inventory flowing directly into CPAX for bidding by private access buyers. Inventory is pooled amongst the companies' digital assets, enabling buyers to bid specifically on inventory targeted to their demographic. Agency partners have first access to bid on the inventory. CPAX launched in May 2012, and is powered by technology developed by AppNexus, the world-leader in real-time advertising technology that serves the largest and most innovative buyers and sellers of online advertising.

Additional information can be found at http://www.cpaxrtb.ca/

About Astral Media
Astral is one of Canada's largest media companies. It operates several of the country's most popular pay and specialty television, radio, out-of-home advertising and digital media properties. 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

About Cineplex Entertainment
Cineplex Inc. ("Cineplex") is one of Canada's leading entertainment companies and operates one of the most modern and fully digitized motion picture theatre circuits in the world.  A top-tier Canadian brand, Cineplex operates numerous businesses including theatrical exhibition, food services, gaming, alternative programming (Front Row Centre Events), Cineplex Media, Cineplex Digital Solutions and the online sale of home entertainment content through CineplexStore.com and on apps embedded in various electronic devices. Cineplex is also a joint venture partner in SCENE - Canada's largest entertainment loyalty program.

Cineplex is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, and operates 134 theatres with 1,449 screens from British Columbia to Quebec, serving approximately 70 million guests annually through the following theatre brands: Cineplex Odeon, SilverCity, Galaxy Cinemas, Colossus, Coliseum, Scotiabank Theatres, Cineplex VIP Cinemas, Famous Players and Cinema City. Cineplex also owns and operates the UltraAVX, Poptopia, and Outtakes brands. Cineplex trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CGX. More information is available at cineplex.com.

About CBC/Radio-Canada
CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. The Corporation is a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivers a comprehensive range of radio, television, Internet, satellite-based and mobile services. CBC.ca and Radio-Canada.ca reach more than 7 million unique visitors per month and are essential reference tools for news on the Web in Canada. Deeply rooted in the regions, CBC/Radio-Canada is the only domestic broadcaster to offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages, plus five languages for international audiences. With more than 55 million page views per month, Radio-Canada.ca is a first-choice destination for Francophones from coast to coast.

About Rogers Media Inc.
Rogers Media Inc., a division of Rogers Communications (TSX: RCI; NYSE: RCI), is a diversified leading Canadian media company that engages in television and radio broadcasting, publishing, digital, and sports entertainment.  Rogers Broadcasting has 55 AM and FM radio stations across Canada; television properties include seven City stations, five OMNI multicultural television stations, Sportsnet (consisting of four regional channels and the nationally-distributed Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet World), and The Shopping Channel, a televised and internet shopping service.  Rogers Publishing produces many well-known consumer and online magazines, such as Maclean's, Chatelaine, L'actualité, Canadian Business, and is the leading publisher of a number of industry, medical and financial publications.  Rogers Media's suite of digital assets reaches 17 million unique visitors per month through more than 1,000 premium owned + exclusive and extended network sites.  Rogers Media Inc. owns Rogers Centre stadium, a year-round sports and entertainment facility, and the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Club.

About Shaw Communications Inc.
Shaw is a diversified communications and media company, providing consumers with broadband cable television, High-Speed Internet, Home Phone, telecommunications services (through Shaw Business), satellite direct-to-home services (through Shaw Direct) and engaging programming content (through Shaw Media). Shaw serves 3.4 million customers, through a reliable and extensive fibre network. Shaw Media operates one of the largest conventional television networks in Canada, Global Television, and 19 specialty networks including HGTV Canada, Food Network Canada, HISTORY and Showcase. Shaw is traded on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges and is included in the S&P/TSX 60 Index (Symbol: TSX - SJR.B, NYSE - SJR). For more information about Shaw, please visit www.shaw.ca.

SOURCE: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

For further information:

Media Contacts:
Astral Media - Stéphane Goyette, [e-mail] 514-939-5001 ext 3366
Cineplex Entertainment - Pat Marshall, [e-mail] 416-323-6648
CBC/Radio-Canada  - Chuck Thompson, [e-mail], 416-205-3747
Marc Pichette, [e-mail], 514-597-4140
Rogers Media - Suneel Khanna, [e-mail], 416-764-1219
Shaw Media - Amy Waters, [e-mail], 416-934-4691