Vancouuver: Carole Taylor, a former broadcaster and civic politician, was named chair of the board of directors for the CBC July 16.
The Vancouverite’s appointment by Prime Minister Jean Chretien marks the first time in the public broadcaster’s 65-year history that the top job has gone to someone from outside Ontario or Quebec. And, in another first, Taylor will run the board from Vancouver. Her appointment is effective immediately.

Vancouver: Mainframe Entertainment of Vancouver recorded earnings of $2.4 million ($0.14 per share) on revenue of $39.9 million, making fiscal 2001 (ended March 31) its best year yet. Fiscal 2000, by comparison, reported earnings of $840,000 ($0.05 per share) on revenue…

Vancouver: With the American actors reaching a contract settlement and the threat of production-squelching picket lines relegated to an excuse to take some summer holidays, Vancouver crews are starting to get booked up again.
Production volumes for the rest of the year are not expected to reach the overheated rates of activity leading to July 1 when the actors’ old contract lapsed. But Vancouver, true to its roots as a television town, will be busy with a slew of new and old series. A healthy batch of 18 series is in various forms of prep and production for summer shoots.

Vancouver: On July 3, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for a new three-year contract.
The previous contract expired on June 30 and the 135,000 members will vote to ratify the contract offering through a secret ballot mail referendum as soon as it can be arranged.
In the meantime, actors can continue to work and audition under the terms of the tentative agreement.

Vancouver: The recalibration of Vancouver’s television landscape has begun with CTV’s rebranding of its local station.
On Sept. 1, four-year-old VTV will become CTV British Columbia and the West Coast’s CTV affiliate. The signal will also feature the full CTV programming lineup.
Key to CTV BC will be its shift to an older demographic. Since going live, VTV has tried to appeal to an 18-49 demographic and used its youthful news team, entertainment-focused local programming and splashy, high-tech newsroom to pull in those viewers.

Vancouver: The seismic activity in the West Coast television broadcasting scene continues to rumble as the Vancouver-Victoria market nears an unprecedented shift of local ownership Sept. 1…

Vancouver: Lions Gate Entertainment, which has released positive fourth-quarter financial results, is not considering purchase bids by Artisan Entertainment, contrary to other published reports….

Last month, Vancouver’s a.k.a. Cartoon, maker of the Cartoon Network/YTV animated series Ed, Edd n Eddy, won the platinum-level award for best TV commercial/PSA series at the Houston International Film Festival, otherwise known as the 34th Annual WorldFest….

Vancouver: American producers may be taking a break these days, but not so Paperny Films of Vancouver. The aggressive documentary company – which has had significant success with its Showcase documentary series Kink – has five new projects scheduled for summer shoots. The slate of business is worth $2.8 million in budgets.
Having led the trend in reality TV with its CBC docusoap Brewery Creek in 1998, Paperny is back at it with Singles, a reality show for Life Network. Over 13 episodes, Paperny will follow 10 unattached Vancouverites in their quest for love and romance. Production begins this month and producers are still looking for subjects. Call the Singles Hotline at 604-837-4769 or e-mail info@papernyfilms.com.

Vancouver: Production volumes in Vancouver will drop about 75% July 1 in part because of the negative effects of a potential Screen Actor’s Guild strike.
At press time, U.S. studios and networks were negotiating with SAG – a positive sign that, like the Writers Guild of America talks last month, a strike may be averted at the 11th hour. The current SAG contract expires June 30.
For local crews dependent on U.S. service production for their livelihoods, however, the dramatic downturn will hit whether or not negotiations succeed.

Vancouver: Proving that fact-based production is still the mainstay of the domestic industry on the West Coast, 21 documentary singles and two long-form documentaries received investment from funding agency British Columbia Film, which has announced its choices for television support for…

Vancouver: Indicative of the migration of disillusioned Los Angelinos to the Lower Mainland, actress/singer/dancer Nia Peeples has taken up residency in West Vancouver, signed a business deal with Peace Arch Entertainment.
Peeples, whose stuntman husband is Saskatchewan-born, got her landed immigrant status last year (well before all the SAG strike fears, we should note), but only cleared her schedule enough to move in this month. She is best known for her work on the series Fame and most recently Walker, Texas Ranger.
At the Banff Television Festival, meanwhile, Peace Arch exec VP Kent Wingerak and Peeples pitched her one-hour dramedy Educating Annie, which Peeples created and has nurtured for four years. Peeples will star in the Northern Exposure-meets-Ally McBeal-inspired series about a high-powered L.A. attorney who flees the rolling blackouts of California and finds an odd sanctuary in B.C.’s Rocky Mountains.