Although an attempt to purchase the entirety of the company was blocked under competition law, the CRTC approved a revised offer on June 27, 2013, which saw various Astral specialty channels and radio stations divested to competitors.

On February 23, 2007, Astral Media announced that it had signed a letter of intent and had entered into exclusive negotiations regarding the acquisition of "substantially all of the assets" of Standard Radio.

[11] During a CRTC's hearing, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation argued that Bell's proposal to use its mandatory tangible benefits to launch a French-language news channel (which would compete with its own Réseau de l'information) was "self-serving and unprecedented.

"[12] In September 2012, the Competition Bureau stated that it was becoming "increasingly concerned" about the implications of the merger, and warned that it could oppose the deal even if it were to be approved by the CRTC.

The commission cited that their combined market power could "threaten the availability of diverse programming for Canadians and endanger the ability of distribution undertakings to deliver programming at affordable rates and on reasonable terms on multiple platforms", and also stated that allowing the merger would have required the implementation of "extensive and intrusive safeguards" across the entire broadcasting industry.

The CRTC also felt that Bell did not adequately demonstrate how having most of Canada's French-language media owned by two vertically integrated companies would improve competition, and how being bigger would allow it to compete against foreign services.

Bell also reportedly considered going to the Federal Court of Appeal, or restructuring the deal to selectively sell Astral assets to competing companies.

[15][16] On November 16, 2012, Astral confirmed that it was in talks with Bell to negotiate a new offer, which would involve the sale of the majority of its English-language television channels to third parties.

[17] On March 4, 2013, the Competition Bureau approved a new proposal by Bell to acquire Astral Media, which would involve the divestiture of certain television channels and radio stations owned by the combined company, and was subject to restrictions preventing Bell from imposing restrictive bundling requirements on any provider seeking to carry The Movie Network or Super Écran.

[20][21] On March 18, 2013, the Competition Bureau cleared a proposed deal to sell Astral's stakes in several channels to Corus Entertainment in preparation for regulatory approval.

Crull also praised the role of Québecor Média (despite the company being opposed to the merger) in using its own vertical integration strategy to help promote Francophone talent, and revealed his intention to try and emulate its "star system" in English Canada.

Asserting that it would have to sell or shut down the station without one, Bell organized a petition proposing an exception to the ownership cap that would allow it to maintain ownership of CKGM, under the condition that Bell maintain the TSN Radio format on the station and provide $245,000 in funding for local amateur sports and scholarships in sports journalism over a seven-year period.

Cope commented that the company did not want to sell off profitable radio stations, and Astral CEO Jacques Parisien remarked that breaking up its Montreal cluster would affect their operation.

[25] Rogers also showed interest in making a "reasonable offer" to purchase CKGM as a complement to its recently acquired TV station CJNT-DT.

[27][28] Following the approval of the new proposal by the Competition Bureau, Corus Entertainment reached a tentative deal to acquire 2 radio stations (CJOT, CKQB), along with Astral's stakes in Historia, Séries+, and the Teletoon networks from Bell for just over $400 million.

[30] On May 16, 2013, the Jim Pattison Group announced a deal to acquire three stations in Calgary and Winnipeg from Bell and Astral—CKCE-FM, CHIQ-FM, and CFQX, for an undisclosed amount.