Harold Greenberg was one of Canada's leading television and film entrepreneurs. As chief executive officer and majority owner of Montreal-based Astral Communications, a leading provider of specialty television services, he was responsible for some of Canada's most significant successes in television and film production, processing, and delivery.

     Starting in the photofinishing business, Greenberg moved into film processing and sound production through an acquisition of Canada's largest motion picture laboratory in 1968. The processing laboratories, Astral Bellevue-Pathe, established strong ties to major U.S. studios. This purchase represented the beginnings of the diversified structure of Greenberg's operations as well as its links to Hollywood. First forays into film production range from the faux-American The Neptune Factor (Daniel Petrie, 1973) to the critically acclaimed The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (Ted Kotcheff, 1974). Greenberg also produced Porky's (Bob Clark, 1981), still Canada's highest-grossing film of all time. After producing over 30 motion pictures, Greenberg became interested in developing a Canadian pay-TV movie channel. In this way, Greenberg came to television via photo and film processing and production, all of which still play a central role in As­tral's diversified interests.

     Astral Communications is a vertically integrated corporation, involved in production, processing, duplication, and distribution of film, television, and video. It plays a leading role in Canadian specialty channels. Its first were two premium film channels, the Movie Network (formerly First Choice) and the French-language Super Ecran in 1983. Since then As­tral 's English-language broadcasting ventures in Canada have come to include Viewer's Choice Canada Pay Per View, the Family Channel, and MoviePix, a pay-TV venue featuring films of previous decades. French-language broadcasting includes Le Canal Famille, Canal Vie, and Canal D, which offers arts and entertainment programming. The company also owns 50 percent of two French-language music channels, MusiquePius and MusiMax. Australia's involvement in radio includes nine FM and three AM stations in Quebec. These cross-media interests are expected to expand with further acquisitions and plans for additional specialty channels. Astral continues to provide an array of post production and technical services, including dubbing, processing, and printing of film, video, and compact discs. In 1994 Astral opened a compact disc and video replication plant in Florida. The company has duplication and distribution agreements with Buena Vista, HBO, and Barney Home Video for Canada and French-language markets. Distribution deals with U.S. majors have made Astral the Canadian distributor for some popular U.S. programs. Astral has historically used its Montreal location as a way to bridge both English- and French-language markets, eventually giving the company a credible foothold in European ventures (e.g., co production agreements with TF-1, France 3, and Canal Plus in France; RAI-2 in Italy; and Europool in Germany, in addition to a minority holding in France's Canal En­fants).

     Despite his internationalist outlook, Greenberg was chair of the Canadian Communications and Cultural Industries Committee, a lobby group of industry leaders who view their operations as fundamental to Canadian cultural sovereignty. In this capacity, Greenberg repeatedly supported the cultural exemption clause for Canada in the North American Free Trade Agreement. This brought him into conflict with some U.S. industry figures, including Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association of America. Astral's interest in ExpressVu, a Canadian direct-to-home satellite service, echoed Greenberg's corporate nationalism. Greenberg claimed that support for the Canadian service over offerings from Power DirectTV, a subsidiary of the U.S. DirectTV service, was fundamental to the protection of Canadian cultural interests. After a brief period of monopoly for ExpressVu, granted by the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Parliament overturned the federal regulator's decision in April 1995 and opened the way for competition in the direct-to-home market, potentially from U.S.-controlled services.

     Before his death, Greenberg received numerous awards and honors, including the Order of Canada and France's Chevalier de la Légion d' honneur. The Harold Greenberg Fund, established in 1986, offers loans and equity investments to Canadian film produc­tion and script development and has been an important source of support for the Canadian film industry. Astral Media is a distinct example of contemporary conver­gence in the film and television sectors, as well as the synergy developing between broadcasting and theatrical production in Canada.