Vancouver: The first episode of children’s series Magician’s House – the international coproduction between Vancouver’s Forefront Entertainment, ctv and the bbc – brought in an impressive 6.1 million viewers when it aired Oct. 31 on BBC One….

Vancouver: A flurry of ownership changes mean West Coast and East Coast companies are becoming greater cable forces in the post-monopoly era….

Vancouver: Film commissions in Victoria, the Okanagan region and other b.c. regions may have to close their offices in the new year because of a lack of funding, says the Regional Film Commissions Association of b.c….

vancouver: On Nov. 15, Vancouver producers Jeff Barmash and George Erschbamer of Cinevu Films begin 13 episodes of Call of the Wild, the first dramatic series commissioned by Animal Planet, a division of Discovery Channel….

Vancouver: As Playback went to press, Shaw Communications and CanWest Global were to sign off on their long-awaited plan to divide WIC Western International Communications on Nov. 1 – almost 18 months after they announced that they would dissolve the Vancouver-based…

Vancouver: Chris Brough and a group of friends head up his latest business venture. Brough resigned as ceo of Vancouver’s Mainframe Entertainment earlier this year….

Vancouver: Kenneth Ross, the deep cover cop-turned television writer, is suing his coproducers over credit on the ctv-backed Vancouver-shot series Cold Squad….

Vancouver: As Playback went to press, Vancouver’s Peace Arch Entertainment was offering ‘no comment’ to rumors it is involved in the new David Hasselhoff action series AKA Picasso – 22 episodes about a glamorous art thief who swaps his trade secrets…

Vancouver: Following in the footsteps of Madison and Northwood, new West Coast teen soap Edgemont Road (Water Street Productions) went into production Oct. 18. The 13-episode series for cbc explores the varied lives of kids aged 14 to 18….

Vancouver: Attendance was up 2% at the 18th annual Vancouver International Film Festival, which wrapped two weeks of screenings Oct. 10. Ticket sales numbered 135,000 and overall revenues jumped 4% to $775,000….

Vancouver: b.c.-owned and -controlled production quadrupled to $167 million in 1998 from $43 million in spending in 1994, says the provincial ministry responsible for film and television. Canadian-controlled production shot in b.c., meanwhile, more than quadrupled over the same period to…

Vancouver: As the first anniversary of the labor dispute between b.c. projectionists and the employer duo of Famous Players and Cineplex Odeon approaches in December, the two parties are now facing binding arbitration….