Montreal: A new international French-language service, TV5 USA, begins dth broadcasting early in December….

After a five-year term as ceo of the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters, entertainment lawyer Dan Johnson is returning to providing consulting services to the film and television industry….

Veteran Canadian comedian/actor Dave Thomas has expanded his independent film and television production company Maple Palm Productions with offices in l.a. and Toronto….

Tele-metropole is reporting year-end net earnings of $15.7 million, or $1.65 a share, a significant increase over the $9.1 million in profits reported in ’96. Revenues rose to $196.9 million from $184.1 million in the previous exercise….

In the Video Innovations section of the Oct. 6 issue of Playback, a caption accompanying a story on new animation shop Headgear incorrectly credited that shop with redesign work for the Disney Channel pictured alongside the article. The work for Disney…

Cable in context…

*Astral seeks full control of RPC…

With the acquisition of a major u.s. 3D animation studio, a similar facility being set up here, and its first 3D project now in production, Nelvana’s two-year plan is coming together in the potentially lucrative yet still largely unexplored 3D animation…

Montreal: Paris-based La Sept arte, the French pole of the Franco-German cultural network arte, has taken a minority position with pubcasters Radio-Canada and Tele-Quebec in a new joint venture specialty channel application called Reseau des Arts. The application is one of…

Montreal: Risky development costs, growing fragmentation in broadcasting and the ongoing appeal of a light entertainment spin in many program categories are opening new doors to the tv format business in Canada and the u.s., a sector already established in Europe….

The Emotion Pictures/Galafilm/ Triptych Media coproduction of director/writer Thom Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden is being given a wide release in Canada by Cineplex Odeon Films following awards at the Toronto and Atlantic film festivals….

*Handful of Mercury…