Corus Entertainment Expands Interests in French-language Specialty Television Market through Major Deals with Bell and Shaw Media

Corus Entertainment Expands Interests in French-language Specialty Television Market through Major Deals with Bell and Shaw Media

Acquisitions include TELETOON, Historia and Series+; Ottawa-based Radio
Stations CKQB-FM and CJOT-FM; and ABC Spark


TORONTO, March 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Corus EntertainmentInc. (TSX: CJR.B) announced today that it has entered into a number of
agreements with Bell and separately with Shaw Media, that extends
Corus' portfolio of Radio assets into Ottawa, consolidates Corus'
ownership of ABC Spark and TELETOON, and enables Corus to become a
significant media contributor in the Quebec and the French-language
specialty television market.



Corus has reached an agreement with Bell to acquire the 50% remaining
ownership interest in TELETOON and two Ottawa-based radio stations,
CKQB-FM (The Bear 106.9) and CJOT-FM (boom 99.7), that Bell will
acquire as part of the acquisition of Astral Media Inc. pending
regulatory approval. With these acquisitions, TELETOON, Teletoon
(French), TELETOON Retro, Teletoon Retro (French), Cartoon Network
(Canada) and radio stations, CKQB-FM and CJOT-FM, will be wholly owned
by Corus. In addition, Corus has reached an agreement with Bell and
Shaw Media to acquire each of their respective 50% interests in the
French-language specialty channels Historia and Series+. Certain
transactions are subject to approval by the Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the Competition Bureau.



In a separate transaction, Corus has entered into an agreement with Shaw
Media that will result in Corus acquiring the remaining 49% interest in
the successful specialty television service ABC Spark from Shaw Media.
As part of the agreement, Corus will sell its 20% interest in Food
Network Canada to Shaw Media.



"These transactions represent a transformative opportunity for Corus,"
said John Cassaday, President and Chief Executive Officer, Corus
Entertainment. "The consolidation of TELETOON and the addition of the
popular services Historia and Series+ give Corus the scale to expand
into the growing French-language specialty television market. As a
well-capitalized company, Corus can contribute to the growth of this
market and provide new opportunities for the production community,
while adding greater diversity to the system and more choice to
French-speaking audiences.



The addition of the Ottawa radio stations, CKQB-FM and CJOT-FM, has been
a long-standing goal and allows us to bring our skills and passion for
radio to another major Canadian market, while delivering exceptional
programming and local information to the Ottawa community. Finally,
full ownership of ABC Spark, based on the highly successful ABC Family
channel in the U.S., and now widely distributed across Canada,
represents an excellent growth opportunity for Corus."



The combined acquisition price for these assets is $494 million Cdn.
The overall transaction is valued at an LTM EBITDA multiple of 10.4x.



A conference call with Corus senior management to discuss these
transactions is scheduled for Tuesday,March 5, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. ET. While this call is directed at analysts and investors, members of the
media are welcome to listen in. The dial in number for the conference
call for North America is 1.800.926.5230 and for local/international callers is 416.981.9020. PowerPoint slides for the call will be posted 15 minutes prior to the
start of the call and can be found on the Corus Entertainment website
at www.corusent.com in the Investor Relations section.


About Corus Entertainment Inc.



Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian-based media and entertainment
company. Corus is a market leader in specialty television and radio
with additional assets in pay television, television broadcasting,
children's book publishing and children's animation. The Company's
multimedia entertainment brands include YTV, Treehouse, Nickelodeon
(Canada), ABC Spark, W Network, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada),
CosmoTV, Sundance Channel (Canada), Movie Central, HBO Canada, Nelvana,
Kids Can Press, Toon Boom and 37 radio stations including CKNW AM 980,
99.3 The FOX, Country 105, 630 CHED, Q107 and 102.1 the Edge. Corus
creates engaging branded entertainment experiences for its audiences
across multiple platforms. A publicly traded company, Corus is listed
on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CJR.B). Experience Corus on the web at www.corusent.com.


This press release contains forward looking information and should be
read subject to the following cautionary language:

To the extent any statements made in this report contain information
that is not historical, these statements are forward looking statements
and may be forward looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws (collectively, "forward looking statements"). These
forward looking statements related to, among other things, our
objectives, goals, strategies, intentions, plans, estimates and
outlook, including advertising, distribution, merchandise and
subscription revenues, operating costs and tariffs, taxes and fees, and
can generally be identified by the use of the words such as "believe",
"anticipate", "expect", "intend", "plan", "will", "may" and other
similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to
expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events
or circumstances are forward looking statements. Although Corus
believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking
statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and
uncertainties and undue reliance should not be placed on such
statements. Certain material factors or assumptions are applied in
making forward looking statements, including without limitation factors
and assumptions regarding advertising, distribution, merchandise and
subscription revenues, operating costs and tariffs, taxes and fees and
actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in
such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from these expectations include, among other things:
our ability to attract and retain advertising revenues; audience
acceptance of our television programs and cable networks; our ability
to recoup production costs, the availability of tax credits and the
existence of co production treaties; our ability to compete in any of
the industries in which we do business; the opportunities (or lack
thereof) that may be presented to and pursued by us; conditions in the
entertainment, information and communications industries and
technological developments therein; changes in laws or regulations or
the interpretation or application of those laws and regulations; our
ability to integrate and realize anticipated benefits from our
acquisitions and to effectively manage our growth; our ability to
successfully defend ourselves against litigation matters arising out of
the ordinary course of business; and changes in accounting standards.
Additional information about these factors and about the material
assumptions underlying such forward looking statements may be found in
our Annual Information Form. Corus cautions that the foregoing list of
important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive.

When relying on our forward looking statements to make decisions with
respect to Corus, investors and others should carefully consider the
foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Unless
otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we disclaim any
intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward
looking statements whether as a result of new information, events or
circumstances that arise after the date thereof or otherwise.




SOURCE Corus Entertainment Inc.

Corus Entertainment Inc.

CONTACT: Follow CorusPR on Twitter @CorusPR For more information, please contact: Sally Tindal
Director, Corporate Communications
Corus Entertainment
416.479.6107
sally.tindal@corusent.com Annick Belanger
Vice President
Casacom
514.286.2145
abelanger@casacom.ca


-------
Profile: intent