Tom Mazza is the new EVP and head of worldwide TV for Cookie Jar Entertainment, responsible for…

In a dramatic reversal, California authorities have dropped all bank fraud charges against former Peace Arch Entertainment CEO…

– Media investment management firm GroupM predicts ad spending in Canada will drop by 2.9%, or $11.6 billion, this year compared to last. (That’s better than the 4.4% drop it predicts for global spending.) The 2008/09 period is a more serious advertising recession in scale and duration than the post-dotcom disruption of 2001, notes Adam Smith, GroupM’s futures director in London.

Why should AIG and General Motors have all the fun? The networks are bleeding red ink with the best of ’em and, word has it, have gone cap in hand to the feds looking for a handout. Something in the ballpark of $150 million, if you please. Which raises the question: Should Ottawa bail out the private broadcasters?

The City of Toronto has approved a proposal to install and help bankroll new ownership at Filmport. City councilors voted 31-7 in favor of allowing Britain’s Pinewood Studios Group to take control of Filmport as part of a five-year management deal. Once the final transaction is completed, Filmport will be renamed Pinewood Toronto Studios. Also in the works is new investment from the City of Toronto, Toronto real estate developer Alfredo Romano of Castlepoint Developments and pension fund investor ROI Capital, as they look to buy out studio founder and 80% stakeholder Sam Reisman of The Rose Corporation.

Cineplex is moving to buy big-screen advertiser Onsite Media Network, looking to add the Alberta-based company to the ad muscle of its Cineplex Media division. The $1.7-million deal would see the cinema chain buy up all issued and outstanding shares of Onsite, which runs ads on screens in office towers and sports centers across Canada. The deal is subject to court, shareholder and regulatory approval. Onsite locations include General Motors Place in Vancouver, the Calgary Saddledome and Toronto’s underground PATH system.

The pubcaster’s president and CEO urged the government on Monday to include CBC in any efforts to help ailing over-the-air networks, while repeating calls…

The cable channel is getting two new crime series from Canwest, which has picked up the Whizbang Films vehicle…

Peter Menzies is now a full-time commissioner at the CRTC, following word on Monday from…

Telefilm Canada has backed 83 English-language movies including the latest by filmmakers Ruba Nadda, Don Shebib…