Astral offers Canadians access to premium TV channels such as The Movie Network, HBO Canada, MPix and Playhouse Disney. It says it will use Rentrak data to better understand how its channels perform and help deliver the right programming mix.

Carol Hinnan, SVP of Rentrak’s national network sales, said: “Rentrak is the on-demand currency in Canada just as it is in the US. Adding Astra Television Networks suite of premium subscription video-on-demand channels to our growing roster of Canadian clients opens up the platform for explosive content growth and will help monetise speciality networks growing ad sales efforts.”