Bell Media has completed more housekeeping from its Astral Media acquisition by concluding a trade agreement with the Alliance des Producteurs Francophones du Canada, representing French-language producers outside of Quebec.

The broadcaster earlier extended terms of trade agreements with the Canadian Media Production Association for English-language services in Quebec and with the L’Association québécoise de la production médiatique, representing Quebec producers, to cover programming for its newly acquired Astral assets.

The separate terms of trade agreements were required as part of the CRTC’s approval of the Astral services purchase.

The five-year renewable agreement with the APFC covers Bell Media’s French-language specialty and pay TV services, and aims to streamline and cut the administrative and legal costs of transactions between the broadcaster and independent producers.

“The agreement consists of guiding principles for our relationship with the French-language production community in Canada outside Québec,” Bell Media spokesman Olivier Racette said in a statement about the deal points of the agreement with the APFC.

The APFC serves a select broadcast market by being among the only French-language content makers outside of Quebec, serving minority communities countrywide.

TFO in Ontario is the main commissioner of French-language projects outside Quebec, but Radio Canada, Astral, TVA and others also aim programming at niche francophone markets outside of Quebec.

The lobby group’s members include Zazie Films in Toronto, Slalom Productions and Balestra Productions in Ottawa and Bellefeuille Productions in Moncton, New Brunswick.