Two of Astral Communications’ operating divisions have been renamed to forge a stronger link with their parent company – TMN Networks has been changed to Astral Television Networks (atn), and Les Reseaux Premier Choix is now known as Les Chaines Tele-Astral.

As part of Astral’s realignment of its broadcasting unit, which will create 45 new jobs, its wholly owned or controlled English- and French-language pay and pay-per-view services – Super Ecran, TMN-The Movie Network, MOVIEPIX, Viewer’s Choice Canada and Canal Indigo – become part of atn, now helmed by former tmn president Lisa de Wilde.

It was ‘logical to group all the pay and pay-per-view services in one unit since the major portion of their programming – movies – is common to all five networks,’ says Andre Bureau, chair, president and ceo of Astral.

Premier Choix head Pierre Roy has been appointed president and ceo of Les Chaines Tele-Astral, where he’ll be responsible for Astral’s two fully owned specialty services (Canal D and Canal Famille), as well as the soon-to-be-launched specialties Canal Histoire and Canal Fiction, of which the company is a managing partner and owns 50%.

Other promotions and appointments include: vp and gm of Canal Indigo Rene Bourdages becomes exec vp, programming, marketing and sales, atn; Super Ecran programming vp Robert Lapointe adds vp, programming for tmn and MOVIEPIX to his title; Rose Mangone, former vp of publicity and promotions for Alliance Atlantis Communications, joins atn as vp of communications; Canal D’s vp of programming, Judith Brosseau, becomes senior vp of programming for the specialty; Nancy Rouleau, who helped develop the new French-language services, has been appointed to vp, programming Canal Fiction; and Jocelyn Lavoie, who was also instrumental in developing the two new specialties, becomes vp, programming for Canal Histoire.