– Cablecos/Telcos knock heads

The crtc is hearing grievances from cable companies beginning Feb. 10 over requests from Bell Canada and Telus Multimedia to begin cable tv market trials for 10,400 consumers in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. Cable companies – including Groupe Videotron, Cogeco, Shaw and Rogers – are looking to convince the commission that the telco trials contravene the federal government’s attempts to create a level playing field for convergence.

Calling the trials a ‘commercial rollout,’ Richard Stursberg of the Canadian Cable Television Association says granting permission for the trials would break the government’s convergence policy statement of last August. The policy states that neither telcos nor cablecos should get a head start in each other’s core market.

A petition from Rogers uses Bell’s plans for trials in London, Ont. as an example. If Bell really intends to limit penetration to 3,500 subscribers as suggested, the cable company argues, then Bell is investing around $13,000 per subscriber in capital and operating expenses.

For their part, the telcos are still insisting the trials are for experimentation only. The cablecos are asking that the size of the trials be curbed and that Bell be obliged to offer the service under a separate subsidiary.

-Montreal foreign shoots hit $86 million

The Montreal Film and Television Commission reports production rose 15% to $405 million in 1996, up from $351 million a year earlier.

Film commissioner Andre Lafond says foreign shoots, essentially American, increased to $86 million last year, more than double the $35 million spent in ’95. And Lafond is projecting a further hike in ’97, in the order of $135 million and more.

The commission, now a part of the city’s Economic Development Office, says spin-off benefits (a multiple of two) to the city was $850 million.

Unlike Canada’s two other primary production centers, Vancouver and Toronto, both of which had higher numbers than Montreal in ’96, domestic production held steady in this market.

The commission reports 436 projects were shot in Montreal in ’96, among them 46 features, eight tv movies, 942 hours of tv programming, 134 commercials and 43 short films. Close to 80% of the projects are certified Canadian or Canadian coventures or coproductions. The city handed out more than 6,000 permits.

-Alberta starts

Groundhog month, and in Alberta crews also emerged to brave the elements. Principal photography on 13 more episodes of North of 60 began early this month. The new order from cbc will bring the episode count up to 90. The series, produced by Alliance in association with Alberta Filmworks, is averaging one million English viewers per week, 500,000 on Radio-Canada.

Tina Keeper, Tom Jackson and Tracey Cook are back for the new season, joined by newcomer Peter Kelly Gaudreault, who plays an arrogant new constable joining the Lynx River rcmp detachment.

Creators Barbara Samuels and Wayne Grigsby, who are now entrenched in their new series Black Harbour, will be serving as creative consultants.

At the same time, Cinepost Productions is set to begin a week of shooting in Saskatoon on a 30-minute tv drama, The Rink. Cinepost’s Bill Stampe is producer/director on The Rink, which tells the story of a young boy’s role in reconciling a recently widowed man with his grown son.

Produced on a budget of $200,000, the project employs 35 crew, and the federal JobStart program is enabling on-the-job training for another 10. The Saskatchewan Motion Picture Industry Association’s Debut Program, funded by Saskfilm, loaned $75,000.

-One-a-day from Coscient

In September, Coscient starts production of a one-hour daily talk show for Tele-Metropole, hosted by Julie Snyder. The 144-episode series will air live on tva in a 10:30 p.m. slot over nine months.

-French to lobby Cdn. TV

TVFI, Television France International, a tv promotion arm of Unifrance Film, will lead some 30 French industry reps to Canada March 8-12 for a series of meets with broadcasters, distributors and producers.

Per Zoom, the group will mainly focus on Toronto, looking to increase French program sales to Canada and boost coproduction and coventures. Event organizers include Jacques Bensimon of tvontario and the Embassy of France in Ottawa.

In a like-minded effort, Pat Ferns hit Paris Feb. 4 to prep a Banff Television Festival showcase on France’s tv production industry.

-People

Sara Morton, an entertainment lawyer on secondment from Lang Michener, has joined the ofdc to run the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit over the next several months. Corrie C’e, who previously held the position, has moved to the Licence Fee Program of the ctcpf.

– The Canadian Association of Specialty Television has appointed its executive committee for 1997. The new chair is Geoff Thrasher, director of marketing and sales for CBC Newsworld and Specialty Services. Treasurers named to the committee are David Kirkwood, vp sales and marketing at MuchMusic/Bravo!; Peter O’Neill, Alliance Broadcasting’s vp sales and promotion; Suzanne Carpenter, director of national sales at ytv; and a rep from a French-language specialty still to be appointed.

Founded in 1995 by the Canadian specialty channels, cast promotes the benefits and effectiveness of specialty tv services as an advertising medium.

– Wayne Arron has been named executive director of the Owl Children’s Trust.

– Roy Thompson, deputy head of children’s programs for BBC Television, has been appointed to the newly created post of head of children’s commissioning within BBC Broadcast.

– Paul Rogers has been appointed chief news editor at Global News, effective Jan. 27. Rogers comes to Global from cfto-tv where he held the position of news manager.

– On the heels of capturing a Gemini nomination for best writing (Traders), writer/director Tim Southam has been nominated for a Grammy award for Satie and Suzanne in the best video, long-form category. Satie and Suzanne, which features four contortionists and a jester from the Cirque du Soleil, was produced by Rhombus Media and premiered on cbc.

– Karen Lee Hall has joined Paragon Entertainment in the newly-created post of director of Canadian television development.

Hall’s appointment includes a first-look deal on features from her company Water Pictures.

-Birth of a Salesunit

Alliance Broadcasting has established an in-house ad sales unit to sell for both Showcase Television and newly licensed The History and Entertainment Network.

Peter O’Neill, who’s been with Showcase since 1994, becomes vp, sales and promotion, Alliance Broadcast Sales. O’Neill says he sees a ‘logical fit’ with audience profiles for Showcase and then, citing ‘an upscale, well-educated, highly desirable group of viewers.’ O’Neill has 17 years’ experience, including stints as director of sales and marketing at Bankten Communications and sales manager for Western Broadcast Sales.

-Dueling for development dollars

Women in Film and Television-Toronto is issuing a cross-Canada call for applicants to its CBC Woman Writer’s Award. The award, sponsored by cbc, antes up script development funding for a movie or tv series. First right of refusal g’es to the sponsor. If you have previous writing credit, get your project pitch into wift-t by March 14, and cross your fingers until the largess is presented at wift-t’s awards gala April 30.

-Astral sells CD plant

Americ Disc, a subsidiary of Transcontinental Group, Montreal, and Moulage Plastique de l’Ouest of France, have signed an agreement to purchase all the assets of AstralTech Americas.

Astral Communications put the Boca Raton, Florida, plant on the block in December, assigning a $25 million write-down on the discontinued operation in fiscal ’96. The price was not disclosed, but Astral ceo Ian Greenberg did say the sale would not impact on future earnings.

-Fest guide

Everything you ever wanted to know about entry deadlines and e-mail contacts for over 300 film fests, but didn’t know who to ask, has been put together in the International Film Festival Guide by Toronto film buff Shael Stolberg. Geared to filmmakers, the reference book published by Festival Products has a chronological festival listing, as well as a general film info and contact reference section.