PR Newswire | Nov 18, 2020 08:00AM EST

Through New Partnership

11/18 07:00 CST

Bell Media and Grand Studios Increase Commitment to Qubec Content Creation Through New Partnership MONTRAL, Nov. 18, 2020

BellMediaPR.caTwitter.com/BellMediaPR

- Bell Media expands its industry-leading content production role with a minority investment in Grand Studios, a Montral-based multipurpose TV, film, and equipment company -

To tweet this release: https://thelede.ca/9OYZOD

MONTRAL, Nov. 18, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell Media and Grand Studios announced today a new partnership that will bring increased resources to Qubec's French-language content creation and production communities. Bell Media has acquired a minority investment in the Montral-based company, which provides production facilities, camera and lighting equipment rentals in Montral and Toronto, and technical services to the local and international TV and film production industry. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Grand Studios facilities have already been home to several Bell Media original productions including TRANSPLANT, LA SEMAINE DES 4 JULIE, and the Crave Original Film The Song of Names, in addition to several Hollywood blockbuster movie productions such as X-Men: Dark Phoenix,Jack Ryan,andMoonfall, one of the biggest productions currently filming in Canada.

"When we started out, Andrew Lapierre, Mitsou Glinas, Paul Hurteau and I dreamed of one day having a complete service offering that would rival with the big ones and the construction of Grand Studios was a crucial step in achieving this vision," explained Iohann Martin, President, Grand Studios. "This partnership with Bell Media is a source of pride. Together, we are committed to contributing to the influence of creators here and across the country."

"This partnership accelerates Bell Media's ongoing commitment to the Qubec economy and increases our ability to help bring more Qubcois content to market," said Karine Moses, Bell's Vice Chair, Qubec, and President, Bell Media Qubec. "With their real estate, Grand Studios has the opportunity to meet the increased demand for production facilities in Montral, and we look forward to working with creators to increase the number of productions in the city."

The partnership with Grand Studios is just one of Bell Media's many recent investments in Canada's French-language film and television industry, including the acquisition of conventional channel V, recently rebranded as Noovo, and the addition of French-language content to Crave, the leading Canadian subscription streaming service.

About Groupe Dazmo and Grand StudiosFounded in 1997 by Iohann Martin, Mitsou Glinas and Andrew Lapierre, Groupe Dazmo is a multidisciplinary Montral company working in the film, television and advertising industry. The convergence of its subsidiaries, Grand Studios, Grand Camera and Dazmo, allows the company to offer a wide range of creative and technical services. The business model focuses on all-in-one rental, offering rental of studio space and equipment for filming, music and sound design, as well as pre and post-production. Grand Studios, camera, lighting offers all types of structures for provincial, national and international television and film productions in both Montral and Toronto.

About Bell Media in QubecBell Media is a leading content creation company with premier assets in Qubec in television, radio, digital media, out-of-home, and more. Bell Media operates a number of French-language TV services in Qubec including Noovo (with five corporate-owned local stations, three network affiliates, and Noovo.ca), as well as eight specialty and pay TV services - Canal D, Canal Vie, Z, VRAK, Investigation, SUPER CRAN, Cinpop, and RDS, Qubec's #1 sports channel. Bell Media currently has three of the Top 5 most-watched shows on French Entertainment Specialty in key demos, including six of the Top 10 original productions. Bell Media also operates CTV Montreal (the #1 English news outlet in Qubec), and develops and operates websites, apps, and online platforms for its news, sports, and entertainment brands, including RDS Direct. Bell Media owns Crave, the only Canadian bilingual video streaming service, offering more than 6,000 hours of exclusive French-language content. Bell Media is Qubec's leading radio broadcaster, with 25 stations in 13 communities, all part of the iHeartRadio Canada brand and streaming service. Bell Media owns Montral-based Astral, an out-of-home advertising network of 50,000 faces in five provinces. Bell Media is part of BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company. Learn more at BellMedia.ca.

For more information, please contact:

Bell Media: Vanessa Damha, 514 870-6663, vanessa.damha@bell.ca

Grand Studios: Emilie Blanger-Auclair, 514 938-5990, ebauclair@dazmo.com

SOURCE Bell Media